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The Photoshop 6 Wow! Book, the benchmark by which allother Photoshop books are judged, delivers creative, timesavingtips and techniques for Web graphics, illustration, photocorrection and compositing, painting, and special effects.Packed with stunning new examples of Photoshop artistry,Photoshop 6 Wow! presents real-world, full-color artwork inclear, step-by-step instructions that you can use immediatelyfor your own projects. This new edition shows you how to getthe most from Photoshop 6’s redesigned interface, new Shapetools and other vector-based features, improved typesetting,ImageReady’s automated rollover states, and one of the hottestnew features — Layer Styles, for instant, elaborate special effects.

The accompanying Wow! CD-ROM is invaluable and could bea best-selling product by itself. It’s loaded with “before andafter” tutorial files from the techniques in the book, with layers,adjustments and Styles intact. There are dozens of preset Wow!Layer Styles (like all the “marbles” on this flyer) and improvedActions designed to automate Photoshop creativity andproductivity. Also on the CD-ROM are libraries of new Wow!Patterns, Custom Shapes, Gradients, Brushes, and bevelContours, ready to apply to your own work, as well as anInstructor’s Guide pdf for educators.

Find out why Photoshop Wow! is the best-selling Photoshopbook of all time, awarded the Most Useful Book, Best Com-puter Book, and Best Advanced How-To Software Book —and why this new edition tops them all!

Order your copy today!To place an order or find abookstore near you, call us at800-283-9444 or visitwww.peachpit.com/wowMention EC42072 for 20% off!

The Photoshop 6 Wow! Bookby Linnea Dayton and Jack Davis360 pages with CD-ROMISBN 0-201-72208-9 • $49.99Spring 2001

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Peachpit Press / Spring 2001

A Sampler of Pages from

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WELCOME

1INTRODUCTION

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP, ESPECIALLY IN COMBINATION with Adobe Image-Ready, is one of the most powerful visual communication tools everto appear on the desktop. Together the two programs allow the newgeneration of information architects to forge ahead in creating on-screen imagery for the Web and other interactive digital deliverysystems. Photoshop has also expanded the visual vocabulary ofdesigners, illustrators, and fine artists. And Photoshop makes itmuch easier for photographers to do the resizing, cropping, and basiccolor correction of production work, both for print and for theWeb. Beyond that, it provides a laboratory for synthesizing textures,patterns, and special effects that can be applied to photos, graphics,video, or film. It can even automate many of these tasks, everythingfrom routine production operations to graphics special effects.

WHAT’S NEW IN PHOTOSHOP 6 & IMAGEREADY 3?In terms of work processes, the step up to version 6 of Photoshophas the potential to be the biggest improvement since layers wereadded in Photoshop 3. Photoshop 6 brings numerous improve-ments that long-time Photoshop users will appreciate, both for cre-ating images and for making production work more efficient. Ifyou’re new to Photoshop, you can consider yourself lucky to bestarting out with a version that’s more versatile and potentiallyeasier to use than ever.

Beyond PixelsMany of the best new features in Photoshop 6 are either vector-based or procedural, which means they’re stored as instructionsthat define their effects, rather than as pixels, the tiny squares ofcolor that make up a typical photo or painting. Vector-based shapesand procedural effects can be changed without degrading theimage, and they take less file space than pixel arrays. Here are someof the new “non-pixel-based” features:

• Shapes are drawing and masking tools — rectangle, ellipse,polygon, and star — and you can also define or import your ownCustom Shapes. Because Shape outlines are vector-based —that is, stored as geometric descriptions rather than pixels — youcan redraw, stretch, rotate, and otherwise edit them repeatedly,without degrading the edges; as you edit, Photoshop simplychanges the geometry in the description and redraws the Shape,so you don’t get the softening and blurring that can happenwhen pixel-based elements are transformed. When you sendyour file to a Postscript printer, the Shapes will be printed withthe sharpest edge the printing device is capable of.

Shapes can be filled with colors, gradients, or patterns, and canalso be used to mask photographs. Chapter 2, “Basic PhotoshopTechniques,” and Chapter 7, “Painting & Drawing,” provide thebasics of using Shapes, and you’ll find examples of good uses forShapes throughout the book.

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2 INTRODUCTION

• Photoshop 6 shows big improvements in layer effects, nowgrouped as Layer Styles. These are sets of instructions for add-ing shadows, glows, texture, beveling and other treatments likethose shown at the left. First of all, version 6 has more kindsof effects than versions 5 and 5.5, such as the new Color, Gra-dient, and Pattern Overlays used for color fills. Strokes, Textures,and the Satin effect are also new. You can set the numericoptions higher for layer effects than before, so you can use theseeffects on higher-resolution images. Equally as important,combinations of layer effects treatments can be saved as presetLayer Styles, so you can apply them to other layers, even toother files. Since Layer Styles are procedural — saved as a set ofinstructions rather than as pixels — a Style, including all itscomponent effects, can be quickly scaled to fit elements of dif-ferent sizes and shapes, so it’s easy to reproduce the same bevelor glow effect on both large and small elements.

Layer Styles are introduced in Chapter 2 (see “Anatomy of aLayer Style”), are also used heavily in Chapter 9, “Special Effectsfor Type & Graphics,” and are an important ingredient in manyother techniques presented in the book.

• Photoshop’s typesetting has also improved. Version 6 givesyou easier and more comprehensive character-by-character con-trol of color, more options for setting character width andheight, and extensive paragraph composition tools brought overfrom Adobe InDesign. Text wraps automatically at the end of aline, and there are several alignment and spacing options. Thenew Warp Text command lets you reshape blocks of type to fitwithin preset “envelopes.”

The basics of using type are covered in Chapter 2, “Basic Photo-shop Techniques”; exporting type to page-layout programs iscovered in “Silhouetting Images & Type” in Chapter 8; in Chap-ter 9, “Special Effects for Graphics & Type,” you’ll find numerousexamples of coloring, patterning, and dimensioning type; andyou’ll find other examples of using type throughout the book.

• New Fill layers let you assign a color, gradient, or pattern in aprocedural way — that is, as a set of instructions rather than anarray of colored pixels — so it’s easy to change your fill choicelater. Like the adjustment layers familiar from earlier versions,Fill layers can include both pixel-based and new Shape-basedmasks to control where the color is applied.

Changes to the User InterfaceThe new version of this powerful program is easier to understandand operate. In Photoshop 6 you won’t need as many “secret hand-shakes,” in the form of helper keys, to get your work done. You’llfind more context-sensitive menus than before. Opened by right-clicking (or Control-clicking on a one-button Mac mouse), these

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3INTRODUCTION

context-sensitive menus appear right where you need them, andthey make it clear what your options are.

Listed here are some of the other interface improvements. In Chap-ter 1, “Getting the Most out of Photoshop 6,” you’ll find tips for settingup your workspace to take advantage of these and other changes:

• One of the most obvious elements of Photoshop 6’s new inter-face is the Options bar, with its context-sensitive buttons andinput fields, both of which change depending on what toolyou’re working with. For instance, when you choose a selectiontool, four little iconic buttons make it easy to either make a newselection, or add to a current selection, or subtract from it, orselect the intersection. These buttons eliminate the need toremember a list of helper keys to use with the tool.

• Overall, the new interface makes more economical use ofscreen space, too, with the slimmed-down Options bar and theability to dock palettes in its palette well. You can now arrange itso that once you’ve assembled all the palettes you need, there’sstill plenty of room left for the image you want to work on!

• The Preset Manager, available in the Edit menu, lets you loadlibraries of preset Gradients, Styles, Patterns, Contours, andCustom Shapes, as well as the familiar Brushes and colorSwatches. Many of the presets stored in the Preset Manager canbe reached via pop-out palettes in the Options bar. This palettechanges to offer the library that’s appropriate for the tool you’recurrently using.

• Creating and managing layers, layer masks, and layer effects hasgotten easier. Out-in-the-open buttons at the bottom of the newLayers palette let you add layer effects or adjustment layersfrom a pop-out list. You can also color-code and lock layers, andgroup them into sets that can be manipulated together. Also,individual layer effects appear in the Layers palette for easyaccess if you want to change them. (You’ll find a thoroughdescription of the improved Layers palette and how to use it inChapter 2, “Basic Photoshop Techniques.”)

Other Additions and ImprovementsA new “widget” in Photoshop 6 is the Liquify command. Thefilterlike Liquify dialog box lets you push pixels around to yourheart’s content, warping, twisting, and otherwise distorting animage. As you work, you can protect parts of the image fromchange. And if you go too far with your changes, you can partiallyor fully restore the image to its original state. Because of its similar-ity to Photoshop’s filters, Liquify is covered mainly in Chapter 6,“Using Filters & Liquify.”

Just as important as the brand-new features and the new look forthe interface are improvements to previously existing

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4 INTRODUCTION

functions — additions and changes that make familiar featureswork better in this new version:

• Opening, saving, and printing have become easier. AndPhotoshop 6 can open and save more file formats than ear-lier versions, saving layers and paths in TIFF and other formats.(The “File Formats” section of Chapter 1 tells about these additions.)

• New tools for adding written and spoken notations let you passmessages along with your image files.

• Color management is also improved, to make it easier to getconsistent color throughout all parts of your workflow. (SeeChapter 3, “Color & Calibration,” for tips on color management.)

• You can do more with 16-bit files. Now you can use several ofPhotoshop’s filters without having to reduce the color gamut.

• The Crop tool has a Perspective option, for straighteningout perspective distortion in photographs.

• The Extract command has been improved, with Smart High-lighting making it easier to separate sharp-edged images fromtheir background. There are two new tools for refining the edgesof an extraction, so it’s easier to make an extracted subject lookright at home in a new background image, as shown at the left.(The improvements to the Extract command are covered inChapter 2.)

• Photoshop 6 makes it easier than ever to automate productiontasks. Improvements to Actions let you record more tools,include Actions within other Actions, and set up a Batch Actionto serially name and number files as they are saved. You can alsoturn an Action into a droplet, a little program with its ownicon, that lets you apply an Action to a file or group of files sim-ply by dragging and dropping them onto the droplet icon.

Other automation improvements include more layout templatesand better control of type for Contact Sheet II, Web PhotoGallery, and Picture Package. (Photoshop’s automated func-tions are covered in Chapter 1.)

• Many of the functions that affect edges — such as Contract,Expand, Smooth, Border, and Defringe, as well as several of thefilters, have larger maximum settings. So, like layer effects,they now work well with higher-resolution images.

• Slicing functions and optimization features that before werefound only in ImageReady are now also available in Photoshop,as described in Chapter 10, “The Web & Motion Graphics.”

Improvements to ImageReadyImageReady 3, Photoshop’s Web-optimization and animation side-kick, supports all the new features of Photoshop 6, including thenew layer effects and the improvements to type. It’s now easier to

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KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

In this book the keyboard short-cuts are given with the Windowsmodifier key first, followed by aslash and then the Mac modifierkey. So, for instance, “Ctrl/1-R”means “hold down the WindowsCtrl key (called the ‘Control’ key)or the Mac 1 key (called the‘Command’ key) as you press the‘R’ key.”

5INTRODUCTION

move back and forth between Photoshop and ImageReady, and togo from either program directly to the Adobe GoLive website-creation program. Version 3 of ImageReady provides weightedoptimization using alpha channels to control which parts ofan image are considered most important for color preservationwhen file size is reduced by limiting the number of colors. Version3 also adds new tools for creating image maps and for animatingwarped type, and shows improvements in virtually all of its corefunctions: file compression, HTML code generation, slicing con-trols, rollover creation (several preset rollover styles are provided),and preview in a browser. (ImageReady is covered primarily inChapter 10, “The Web & Motion Graphics.”)

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKThe aim of The Photoshop 6 Wow! Book is to provide the kind ofinspirational examples and practical “nuts-and-bolts” info that willhelp you maximize the program’s performance and your own cre-ativity and productivity with it.

You’ll find six kinds of information in this book: (1) basicinformation about how Photoshop’s tools and functions work, (2)short tips for making your work quicker and easier, (3) step-by-steptechniques for particular kinds of projects, (4) Galleries of workdone by experienced Photoshop artists, (5) illustrated lists or “cata-logs,” and (6) the Wow! CD-ROM.

1 You’ll find the Basics sections at the beginning of each of the tenchapters of this book. Most of the chapter introductions are short,with most of the “meat” of the chapter in the techniques sectionsthat follow. The exceptions are Chapters 1 and 2, which cover thefundamentals of using Photoshop 6.

Whether or not you start by reading Chapters 1 and 2, at somepoint you’re going to come up against the need for some “Photo-shop fundamentals.” When you do, here’s where to look:

• To maximize your efficiency, the “Working Smart”section of Chapter 1 tells how to stock your system with RAMand disk storage space, how to construct your files to give your-self as many options for change as possible, and how to recoverfrom mistakes.

• To learn how to scan a photo or artwork so you getenough information to make a good print, read “SettingUp a Scan” starting on page 32.

• To get the color you expect when you print, read “GettingConsistent Color” on page 70.

• For a quick tutorial on how Layer Styles work to produce spe-cial effects, see “Anatomy of a Layer Style” on page 62, andthen try out the techniques in Chapter 9, “Special Effects forType & Graphics.”

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6 INTRODUCTION

• To find out how to make a clean selection of part of animage without spending all day at it, read “Making Selec-tions” and “Modifying Selections” in Chapter 2.

• To learn how to choose component images and make them worktogether in a seamless montage, read “Extracting anImage” starting on page 52.

• For a quick tutorial on using layer masks to combine severalelements, see “Using Layer Masks in Photo Compositing”in Chapter 2.

• To set up assembly-line production and reliable repeat-ability, read “Automating with Actions,” starting on page27 in Chapter 1.

• To decide which web-preparation tasks to do in Photoshopand which in ImageReady, see Chapter 10, “The Web &Motion Graphics.”

2 To collect the kind of hands-on information that can make youinstantly more efficient, flip through the book and scan the Tips.You can easily identify them by the gray title bar on top. The tipsare nuggets of information related to the main text. But each onealso stands on its own, and you can pick up a lot of useful informa-tion quickly by flipping through the book and reading them. Youcan identify tips about keyboard shortcuts by the yellowbackground behind them.

3 Each Technique, presented in 1 to 6 pages, is designed to giveyou enough step-by-step information so you can carry it out inPhotoshop. Our goal was to provide enough written and pictorialinstructions so you wouldn’t have to hunt through the Adobe Pho-toshop User Guide or continuously consult Photoshop’s online Helpto follow the steps. But to spare you a lot of repetition, we’veassumed you know the basic Windows or Mac interface — how toopen and save files, for instance. Some of the techniques are simpleand introductory; others are more advanced and challenging. Ifsomething isn’t clear to you, you may find it helpful to go back toreview Chapters 1 and 2, as well as the introductory pages for thechapter you’re working in.

Where possible, “Before” and “After” versions of the filesused in the techniques have been provided on the Wow CD-ROMin the pocket at the back of the book. You can use these files to fol-low the steps and check your results, before trying the techniqueson other images.

The techniques sections are more like recipes than like TV din-ners — you follow the directions to combine the ingredients. Whenyou want the equivalent of a microwavable meal, turn to the auto-mated Wow Styles or Wow Actions on the CD-ROM. Afteryou’ve enjoyed a no-fuss-no-muss Style or Action, you can dissect

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7INTRODUCTION

the resulting file along with the Style or Action itself, to learn aboutthat particular technique and about making Styles or Actions.

As you work with Photoshop 6, you’ll notice that there seem tobe at least a dozen ways to do everything — you can choose from amenu, use a keyboard shortcut, or click in the customizable Actionspalette; you can cut and paste, or drag and drop; you can combineimages using layer masks or blend modes or both; you can applycolor adjustments or special effects directly, or add adjustment lay-ers or a Layer Style to do it. Because of the variety of possibilities,you’ll find varied approaches used in the techniques sections, soyou’ll get a broad exposure to the different ways Photoshop canwork. But, in general, the methods that are presented are the mostefficient and effective — approaches that will save you time, pro-duce top-quality results, and leave you with the most flexibility tomake the inevitable last-minute changes.

4 The images in the Galleries are for inspiration. Their captionsalso include a lot of useful information about how the artwork wasproduced. Many of the methods mentioned in the Galleries are de-scribed more fully elsewhere in the book. Check the index if youneed help finding a particular technique.

5 Throughout the book are illustrated “catalogs” of options forimage treatments, such as “Filtered Frames” in Chapter 6, “Art His-tory Treatments” in Chapter 7, and “Wow Layer Styles” in Chapter 9.

6 Don’t miss the Wow CD-ROM with its “Before” and “After”files; the Wow Styles, Gradients, Patterns, Shapes, and Contours;and the Wow Actions, as well as demo programs.

In response to requests from readers of earlier editions, the “StudyGuide” pages in Acrobat PDF form on the Wow CD-ROM includesuggestions for using The Photoshop 6 Wow! Book and CD-ROMeither for teaching classes in computerized imagery and design withPhotoshop 6, or for self-paced exploration and mastery of the program.

Experiment! The aim of this book is to get you started using thetools if you’re new at it, and to give you some new insight andideas if you’re an old hand. As you read the book and try out thetips, techniques, Styles and Actions, we hope you’ll use them as ajumping off place for your own fearless experimentation.

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Extractingan ImageOverview Use the Extractcommand to select the subject fromthe background; to improve the edgeof the extracted subject, make alayer mask from the extractedsubject’s transparency mask andthen modify the mask; import thenew background; use adjustmentlayers, with masks if needed, tomodify the color of the ambient anddirectional lighting to make the twolayers match.

JHD

WHEN YOU WANT TO COMBINE a subject from one photo with a back-ground from another, one of the main tasks is making a clean selec-tion of the subject from its original background. If you’re workingwith a portrait, that usually means solving “the hair problem”: Howdo you make a selection that separates the hair from the backgroundwith a result that looks natural instead of too smooth or too spiky?There’s no simple one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. The approachthat works best depends on whether the hair color contrasts stronglywith the background, and whether the wisps of hair are in sharpfocus or soft, among other things. But Photoshop 6’s Extract com-mand has three improvements over past versions that can make iteasier to select a subject: (1) the Smart Highlighting functionmakes the Edge Highlighter tool automatically follow the edge; (2)the Cleanup tool can subtract from or add to an extracted image;and (3) the Edge Touchup tool sharpens and smooths soft or roughedges of an extraction. (For more about using the Extract command,see “Extraction Pointers” (opposite) and “Extracting” on page 33.

Even when the hair problem is solved and the selection is made,there are other important factors that will help to make the subjectat home in its new environment so the composite will be convincing:

• The ambient lighting, most evident in the color and density ofthe shadows, has to look the same for both the subject and thebackground.

The original subject and background photos

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“Extracting” image

52 CHAPTER 2: FUNDAMENTAL PHOTOSHOP 6 TECHNIQUES

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• The directional lighting also has to be consistent.

• The depth of focus has to look realistic. If the subject is entirelysharp and in focus, the background can be either in focus orblurred. But if the subject shows a short depth of field, withsome parts in sharp focus and others soft, the background willneed to be soft.

• The film grain or “noise” in the component images has to match(Simulating or adjusting film grain is covered in “Blurring theBackground, but Keeping the Grain” on pages 191–194).

1 Analyzing the photos. Select the two photos you want tocombine, and crop if necessary. In choosing the subject and back-ground, look for images whose lighting doesn’t “fight” uncontrolla-bly. The sunset sky we chose for our ad image had ambient lightingthat was opposite in color from the lighting in our portrait — awarm golden brown instead of a cool green 1. But we knew wewould be able to fix this difference by adjusting the color of thegreen-tinted highlights in the portrait (in step 5). The direction ofthe lighting in the background photo was straight into the camera,so there was nothing to conflict with the basic directional lightingin the portrait, which came from behind the woman and from herleft (notice the highlights on the shoulders). So we were confidentthat the two images could be made into a convincing composite.

2 Starting the extraction. The Extract command (Image,Extract) is often Photoshop’s best tool for solving the hair problemand other selection bugaboos. But using this command is a “destruc-tive” process — it permanently removes pixels. So before you Extract,duplicate your image layer for safekeeping by dragging its name inthe Layers palette to the Create New Layer button at the bottom ofthe palette 2a. (Alternatively, you could make a Snapshot in theHistory palette as described on page 30, but History doesn’t persistbeyond the current working session, so the extra layer is safer.)Click the eye icon of the bottom image layer to turn off its visibilityso you’ll be able to see the resultof your extraction.

Next open the Extract dialogbox (the shortcut is Ctrl-Alt-X inWindows, 1-Option-X on theMac). Choose a color from thepop-out Highlight menu. Wechanged the default Green toRed, since the background ofthe photo was green.

With the Edge Highlightertool chosen, set the Brush Size:A large brush works well for softor fuzzy edges. We chose a

NAVIGATING THE PREVIEW

To temporarily turn on navigationtools without dropping the EdgeHighlighter, use these keyboardshortcuts:

• Hold down the spacebar for the Handtool, to scroll around the image.

• Hold down Ctrl/1-spacebar for theZoom tool and click to magnify theimage.

• Hold down Ctrl-Alt-spacebar (Win-dows) or 1-Option-spacebar (Mac)and click to zoom out.

Before the Extract command was used, wemade a copy of the image for safekeeping.

2a

EXTRACTION POINTERS

Here are some general rules of pro-cedure for highlighting the edgewhen you use the Extract command(Image, Extract) to isolate a subjectfrom a background:

1 Some edges may be “fuzzy”because they are partly out offocus or partially transparent, orbecause they include highlights orshadows that have picked upcolor from the background. Typi-cal edges of this kind includewisps of hair against a back-ground, or tree leaves or blades ofgrass against the sky. To highlightfuzzy edges, use the EdgeHighlighter tool with a broadbrush (a large Brush Size setting).

2 Where the edge you want toselect is distinct and high-contrast,turn on the Smart Highlightingoption for the Edge Highlighter.

3 After you’ve surrounded the sub-ject with highlight, filled the high-light with the Fill tool, and turnedon Preview, use the Cleanup tool inspots where you want to takeaway from the extracted imageand make it more transparent. Usethe Cleanup tool with the Alt/Option key held down where youwant to restore the image so it’smore opaque.

53EXTRACTING AN IMAGE

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relatively large Brush Size (40) toselect the hair. Although on firstinspection the contrast betweenthe green background and theblack hair looks strong, the depthof field for this photo is veryshort, so some of the hair is out-of-focus and soft; also, the greenbackground has created greenhighlights in the hair. A largebrush would allow us to dragalong the edge quickly, catchingall the fine curls of hair in onesweep. Drag the Edge Highlighterto draw a highlight that overlapsboth the subject and the back-ground at its edge 2b. This high-light defines the band where theExtract function will look for theedge when it selects the subject.In the extraction process, any-thing within the highlight bandcan be made transparent. In our image the broad strokes wouldhelp with selecting the fine detail, and would allow the hair to beselected as partially transparent, without the color cast from the back-ground. When the extracted image was put against the new back-ground, this semi-transparency of the hair would allow the newbackground to add its own color cast.

A smaller brush is better for a hard edge, or if there are two edgesclose together. In our image, we could use a small brush to make asharp selection of the left side of the neck. But instead of resetting theBrush Size, we clicked the Smart Highlighting checkbox 2c. With SmartHighlighting turned on, the cursor changes 2d and Edge Highlighterbecomes “magnetic,” automati-cally clinging to the edge as youdrag the tool and automaticallynarrowing the brush whenever possible.

In our portrait there were reallytwo high-contrast edges on thewoman’s profile — the green-against-white edge between thebackground and the white-against-brown edge betweenhighlight and normal skin tone.We zoomed in as described in the“Navigating the Preview” tip onpage 53 for a close-up, in order to

REPAIRS ON-THE-FLY

If you make a mistake with the EdgeHighlighter and have to make arepair:

•You can quickly add by dragging thetool back over an area you missed.

• Or to remove some of the edgematerial you’ve applied, holddown the Alt/Option key to tem-porarily turn the Edge Highlighterinto the Eraser.

CHANGING BRUSH SIZE

The control keys for resizing thebrush tip for the Edge Highlighter,Cleanup, and Edge Touchup tools inthe Extract dialog box are the sameas for Photoshop’s painting tools:You can use the bracket keys toincrease or decrease brush size asyou work by pressing “[“ to shrinkthe brush, or “]” to enlarge it.

THE DUMB/SMART TOGGLE

Unfortunately, “Smart Highlighting”is really only smart about sharp,high-contrast edges. So as you dragfrom an area with a high-contrastedge to an area of low contrast,you’ll need to turn off Smart High-lighting and operate the EdgeHighlighter “by hand.” Holdingdown the Ctrl/1 key automaticallyswitches out of Smart Highlightingif you have it turned on, or switchesinto it if you have it turned off. Thenrelease the key to toggle back again.

Using the Edge Highlighter with a largebrush size and Red as the Highlight colorfor areas that have transparency or havethe background color showing through

2b

Turning on Smart Highlighting to trace theedge “magnetically”

2c

When the EdgeHighlighter is inSmart Highlightingmode, the cursorchanges.

Holding down theAlt/Option key turnsthe Edge Highlighterinto a highlighteraser.

2d2e

3a

Filling the completed highlight with the Filltool makes the Preview button available.

54 CHAPTER 2: FUNDAMENTAL PHOTOSHOP 6 TECHNIQUES

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follow the edge. We had to switch back to “manual” operation of theEdge Highlighter (by holding down the Ctrl/1 key) to follow the high-light on the shoulders in order to “tell” the Edge Highlighter thatwe wanted to keep, not cut away, the hot white edges. Left to itsown devices, Smart Highlighting would have followed the higher-contrast edge between the white highlight and the darker skin.

The highlighting is complete when the subject is entirelyenclosed within the highlight, except that you don’t have to dragalong the outside edges of the image. For instance, in this photo thehighlight extended from the point where the shoulder intersects thebottom edge of the photo on the left, up and around the profile tothe right, and over to where the other shoulder reaches the rightedge of the photo.

3 Completing the extraction. Before you can preview the selec-tion you’ve made with the Edge Highlighter, you need to add a fill.Select the Extract box’s Fill tool and click inside your highlight tofill the enclosed area and make the Preview button available 3a. Inthe Extraction section of the dialog box, you can set the Smoothvalue to 100 to make an extraction with as little “debris” at the edgeas possible; you’ll be able to smooth it more later with the EdgeTouchup tool if needed, as described below. Click the Preview but-ton to make the background disappear.

In the Preview section at the bottom of the dialog box, you canchange the Display setting to a color that contrasts with the originalbackground of the photo. This will give you the best indication ofhow good your extraction is. If you don’t find a workable color inthe Display menu, choose Other and pick a color; we picked a red tocontrast with the original green 3b. By switching back and forthbetween Show Extracted and Show Original in the Preview section,you can compare the extracted edge with the original 3c.

To make repairs, in the Extracted view use the Cleanup tool (“C”is the keyboard shortcut) on the edge to erase excess material 3d.What’s really exciting is that you can also use the Cleanup tool with theAlt/Option key held down, to bring back material that was lost in theextraction. Besides using the bracket tools to change brush size, youcan change the pressure (or opacity) of the tool as you work bypressing the number keys (“1”through “9” for 10% to 90%, and “0”for 100%). Use a low opacity setting for a softened edge. In general,using a fairly low opacity and “scrubbing” with the tool gives goodresults. The Edge Touchup tool can be used to smooth the edge. Itautomatically removes or consolidates edge pixel debris.

As you touch up the edge and get ready to leave the Extract dia-log box, keep in mind that it’s better to have too much image materialthan not enough, because you can further trim the edge after extraction(as described in step 4), but it can be a lot harder to add back. Whenyou’ve examined and fine-tuned the entire edge as well as you can, clickOK to finalize the extraction and close the Extract dialog box 3e.

3b

Choosing acontrasting color forthe Previewbackground

Switching the “Show” setting from Original(left) to Extracted to check the edge

3c

The Cleanup tool (shown here) and theEdge Touchup tool (below it in the Extracttool palette) become available after youclick the Preview button, so you can refinethe edge before finalizing the extraction.

3d

The subject layer after extraction

3e

55EXTRACTING AN IMAGE

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4 Combining the subject with the new background. Use theMove tool to drag and drop the new background image into theportrait file; then drag the imported layer’s name in the Layers pal-ette to a position under the extracted layer 4a. Use the Move tool toreposition the image if you like. Or scale it by pressing Ctrl/1-T (forEdit, Free Transform) and dragging a corner handle. You can alsoblur the image (Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur) to soften the focus ifneeded, as we did here.

Now that the new background is in place, you may want to fur-ther refine the edge of your extracted subject. A flexible, nondestruc-tive way to do that is to make a layer mask that exactly fits the sub-ject and then modify the edge of the mask. First make a selection byloading the transparency mask that’s inherent in the subject layer(Ctrl/1-click on the layer’s thumbnail in the Layers palette) 4b.Then add the layer mask (click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bot-tom of the palette) 4c. Because of the semi-transparency at the edgeof the transparency mask, the layer mask that you’ve made from itwill automatically be a bit smaller than the transparency mask, sothe layer mask will trim the edge slightly. This change by itself maysmooth the edge or get rid of unwanted background color 4d.

If you need to refine the edge further, you can now paint blackon the layer mask to hide more of the extracted image (try the Air-brush with a low Pressure setting). Or use the Blur tool on areas ofthe edge that you want to soften; we did this for the sweater on theshoulders. Or use Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur to soften the entire edge4e, or just a selected part of it. If you don’t like what your paintingor blurring did, paint on the mask with white to restore parts of theoriginal extraction edge.

5 Adjusting the ambient lighting. Now you can make changesto the color and intensity of the lighting to make the subject lookmore at home in the background. To add the warm sunset glow tothe ambient lighting of the portrait, we created an adjustment layerthat we could use like a photographic gel. Because we knew whatblend mode and Opacity we wanted to try, we held down the Alt/Option key as we clicked the Create New Adjustment Layer button(the black-and-white circle) at the bottom of the Layers palette andchose Hue/Saturation Layer from the pop-up menu. (Alt/Option-clicking brings up the New Layer dialog box.) We chose Soft Lightfor the mode (so we could add a tint without overwhelming the ex-isting color) and set the Opacity at 75% as a first try. We also clickedthe Group With Previous Layer box to form a clipping group so thecolor adjustment would affect only the subject, not the backgroundimage 5a (“Organizing Layers” on page 38 tells more about group-ing layers). Clicking OK opened the Hue/Saturation dialog box,where we clicked the Colorize checkbox (so the adjustment layerwould act like a sheet of clear, colored plastic over the image) andmade sure Preview was selected (so we could see the change in the

Bringing in the new background image

4a

The transparency mask loaded as a selection

4b

A layer mask, made from the transparencymask selection, added to the subject layer

4c

The silhouetted subject before (left) andafter adding the layer mask

4d

Blurring the mask tosoften the edge

4e

56 CHAPTER 2: FUNDAMENTAL PHOTOSHOP 6 TECHNIQUES

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image as we experimented with the sliders). We shifted the Hue towarm up the ambient light. We also reduced the Lightness sincethe strong backlighting would naturally put the subject more inshadow 5b. (Although in reality the entire face would be shaded,for our ad we limited the adjustment to the shadow tones, leavingthe midtones and highlights bright enough to print well 5c, 5d).This was accomplished by using the Advanced Blending option inthe Layer Style dialog box (“Combining Interior Effects”on page 63tells more about using the powerful Advanced Blending options).

6 Modifying the directional light. Next we used anotheradjustment layer, with a mask, to expand, soften, and color thehighlight areas, so warm yellow light would spill over the edges ofthe face and shoulders. First we made a soft selection of the high-lighted edges, as follows: We again loaded the subject layer’s trans-parency mask as a selection (by Ctrl/1-clicking its thumbnail in theLayers palette. We shrank this selection inward (Select, Modify,Contract, using a setting of 10 for our 1000-pixel-wide image). Wesoftened the selection (Select, Feather, using the same 10-pixel set-ting as we had for the Contract command), and then inverted it(Select, Inverse, or Ctrl/1-Shift-I), to select just the outer edge of thesubject 6a. We again Alt/Option-clicked the Create New Adjust-ment Layer icon and made another Hue/Saturation layer, againchoosing Group With Previous Layer to add to the clipping group.We reduced the Opacity, but this time we used Overlay mode toexaggerate the contrast of the colors. We turned on the Colorizeoption, adjusted the Hue (to a setting of 40), and boosted the Satu-ration to 100. Our selection automatically became a mask for thenew adjustment layer 6b, which changed the color only at the edgeof the face and shoulders, where the soft edge of the white part ofthe mask allowed the adjustment to affect the subject (see the finalimage on page 52).

5a

Adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer

Coloring and darkening the ambient light

5b

Double-clicking on the name — not thethumbnail — of an adjustment layer bringsup the Layer Style dialog box. In theAdvanced Blending section you can controlwhat part of the image’s tonal range isaffected by the adjustment layer. Bymoving the white-point slider for “ThisLayer,” we limited the adjustment to theshadow tones; we split the slider (byholding down the Alt/Option key anddragging) to make a smooth transition (thistechnique is described on page 46).

5c

Ambient lighting adjustment made with aHue/Saturation layer

After

5d

Before

6b

A second Hue/Saturation adjustment layerwas added to color and exaggerate thedirectional lighting at the edge of the face.

6a

The mask for targeting the second Hue/Saturation adjustment was made byloading the subject’s transparency mask(top) and then contracting, softening, andinverting the selection (bottom).

57EXTRACTING AN IMAGE

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62

Anatomy ofa Layer StyleThe Layer Style dialog box offersalmost limitless combinations ofsettings within the 10 layer effectslisted at the left side of the box.The names of the effects tell youthe obvious ways you can use them,but the names don’t come close todescribing their potential forimage manipulation and blending.

These two pages explain how theWow-Plastic-Clear Blue LayerStyle (used in “Clear Plastic” onpage 70) was built and how itscomponent effects work. Toexplore the individual settings forthe effects, open the Plastic P-After.psd file on the Wow CD-ROM, then open the Layerspalette and double-click the “f”symbol next to the “P” layer’sname to open the Layer Styledialog box. Click on the names ofthe individual effects listed at theleft side of the box to see thesettings for each effect.

For more about creating and usingStyles, see “Layer Style Basics” onpage 60.

When you start to put together a Layer Style,it’s best to start with the layer effect that willbring about the biggest change. So in thiscase we started by applying color using theColor Overlay effect; we clicked the colorswatch to open the Color Picker and chose alight blue. By applying the effect in Normalmode at 100% Opacity, we completelyreplaced the black that had been assignedwhen the type was set.

For the Wow-Plastic-ClearBlue Layer Stylewe used 7 of the10 effects thatare possible inPhotoshop 6.The effects wereapplied in theorder shown onthe next threepages.

Find the “Plastic P” tutorial files and theWow-Plastic-Clear Blue Action and layerStyle on the Wow! CD-ROM.

2

We started by setting type on a transparentlayer above a white Background. The PlasticP-Before.psd file includes the live type,which you can change to an Extra Bold orBlack font if you don’t have the BeesWaxfont we used (available for Windows fromfontfiles.com). In the Plastic P-After.psdfile the type has been rasterized, so you canexplore the Layer Style without the “P”changing shape if you don’t have the font.

1

Once you’ve applied the most significanteffect, the Drop Shadow is a good next step, tobegin creating dimensionality. Here the DropShadow effect makes a blurred offset copy“behind” the “P.” We used a 90° Anglesetting to light the “P” from the top, andturned on Use Global Angle so this Anglecould carry over to all other effects that use anAngle. One goal for the Drop Shadow here wasto contribute to the illusion of transparency bymaking it look as if light is passing throughthe blue type and coloring the shadow. So weclicked the color swatch to open the ColorPicker, moved the cursor into the workingwindow to sample the color of the “P,” andthen chose a darker, less saturated blue.

3

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63

The Inner Shadow effect, a blurred offsetcopy that’s inside the edge, was used here tohelp round the edges of the “P.” We made asoft transition for a gentle rounding (theSize setting controls how soft, or diffuse, ablurred effect will be). So that it woulddarken the color already established by theColor Overlay, we left the Inner Shadow inits default Multiply mode. We made surethe Use Global Light box was checked sothe Angle would be the Angle we had set instep 3).

4

Skipping the Outer Glow until step 9, wenext added an Inner Glow. To enhance therounding of the edge, we changed the modeto Multiply and used approximately thesame blue as for the Inner Glow. The InnerGlow darkens the shading alreadyestablished inside the “P” by the InnerShadow. But unlike the Inner Shadow, theInner Glow is not an offset effect, so it alsodarkens the edge areas that were not shadedby the Inner Shadow — for example, thelower edges of the “P.”

5

Next we used the Bevel And Emboss effect,not for bevelling but to add reflectivehighlights on the surface of the “P.” Workingin the Inner Bevel section of the dialog box,we used the default white Highlight. But weeffectively turned off the Shadow by settingits Opacity at 0. Changing the Altitudesetting to 67° was very important, because itpulled the highlight off the top edge and ontothe front surface of the plastic “P.”

6

CONTROLLING TRANSPARENCY

To reduce the opacity of a layer thatyou’ve treated with a Color Overlaylayer effect, use the Fill Opacity con-trol in the Advanced Blending areaof the Layer Style dialog box, ratherthan the Opacity control for thatlayer in the Layers palette. That wayyou can make the interior of theelements on the layer more trans-parent without reducing the inten-sity of the of the other effects in theLayer Style.

COMBINING INTERIOR EFFECTS

For a Layer Style that depends onthe interaction of Color Overlay,Satin, and Inner Glow, be sure tocheck the Blend Interior Effects AsGroup option in the AdvancedBlending section of the Layer Styledialog box. This will determine howthe combined effects respond toadjustment layers, clipping groups,and other externally applied changes.

ANATOMY OF A LAYER STYLE

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64

SMART SCALING

Whenever you apply a preset LayerStyle, be sure that the first thingyou do is to scale it to fit. This isnecessary because if the Style wasdesigned for a different-size ele-ment than the one you’re applyingit to, it will look entirely differentuntil you resize it.

In Photoshop 6 there’s no need totackle the nearly impossible task ofresetting the values for each indi-vidual effect, checking the resultinginteractions of the effects at eachstep. Instead, simply choose Layer,Layer Style, Scale Effects (or right-click the Effects line in the Layerspalette to bring up a context-sensitive menu where you canchoose Scale Effects; Control-clickthe Effects line if you’re using a Macwithout a two-button mouse). Nowwatch the changes in your image asyou adjust the Scale slider.

The Scale Effects command doesn’taffect Pattern Overlay or the Texturecomponent of Bevel And Emboss(since Texture is based on pattern);Gradient Overlay and, of course,Color Overlay are also independentof Scale.

The Wow-Plastic-Clear Blue Stylelooks very different (top left) until it’srescaled to fit the buttons (top right).

We clicked the Contour checkbox underBevel And Emboss in the list of effects. Weclicked the Contour thumbnail, andcustomized the curve as shown above. Wealso changed the Range to 90%. Thesechanges narrowed the highlight, pulling itup and off the top edge even more, so itlooked even more like a reflection on thefront surface of the “P.”

7

The Satin effect was applied in light blue inOverlay mode, creating an offset, manipu-lated copy of the “P.” The Distance settingscaled the copy, reducing it verticallybecause of the 90° Angle setting; the Sizesetting made the effect subtler by blurringthe copy. We clicked the little triangle tothe right of the Contour thumbnail andchose a Contour (called “Ring”) “that pro-vides light-dark-light variation, making itlook as if light is bouncing around insidethe thick plastic shape.

8

9

Finally, the Outer Glow effect in light bluewas applied in its default Screen mode.The result was to lighten and color theDrop Shadow close to the edge of the “P.”This makes it look as if light is beingfocused through the plastic, lightening theshadow beneath.

CHAPTER 3: FUNDAMENTAL PHOTOSHOP 6 TECHNIQUES

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84FRAMING WITH MASKS

Framingwith MasksOverview Inside your imagemake a rectangular selection ofthe area that you want to frame;make a layer mask from theselection; blur the mask;experiment with black and whitebackgrounds behind the image;for variations apply filters to thelayer mask.

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IT’S EASY TO CREATE CUSTOM EDGE TREATMENTS for photos by makinga layer mask to define the area you want to frame, then blurring theblack-and-white mask to create soft edges that blend into the page.As shown above, you can also create a well-defined, “dark-haloed”edge for the image within the soft vignetting.

1 Creating the layer mask. Open an image 1a and open the Lay-ers palette (Window, Show Layers). If your image consists of a singleBackground layer, you’ll need to turn it into a layer with the capacityfor transparency so that it can have a layer mask: Double-click theBackground label in the Layers palette; in the New Layer dialog box,rename the layer if you’d like and click OK.

To add a layer mask, first choose the Rectangular Marquee tool(the keyboard shortcut is “M”) anddragging to select the part of theimage you want to frame; makesure your selection is far enoughinside your image so that any softvignetting will not hit the edge ofthe file. Then turn the selectioninto a layer mask by clicking theAdd A Mask button at the bottomof the Layers palette 1b. (Beforeyou modify the mask in the nextstep, store the frame shape forsafekeeping: Open the Channelspalette [Window, Show Channels] and drag the Layer Mask name tothe Create New Channel button at the bottom of the palette.)

2 Softening the edges. Adding a white-filled layer below theimage layer will give you a better look at the frame edges as youdevelop them: Alt/Option click the Create A New Layer button at the

AVOIDING HARD EDGES

Any time you create soft vignettingat the edge of an image, you riskhaving the soft edges cut off abruptlyby running into the actual edge ofthe image. To avoid this, make surethe area of the image that youselect to frame doesn’t extend tooclose to the edges — a good rule ofthumb is to allow a buffer of at least1.5 times the Gaussian Blur settingyou plan to use to soften the edge.

1b

A layer mask was made from a rectangularselection used to frame the image.

Original image

1a

“Framing” images

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85 CHAPTER 4: RETOUCHING & ENHANCING PHOTOS

IMAGE SWAPPING

Once you have a framing file set up,it’s easy to experiment with the sameframe and another image of similarsize: Start by targeting the image-and-mask layer and then drag-and-drop your new image into the file.Then press Ctrl/1-G to make a clip-ping group of the new image layerand the masked layer below.

The layer mask was targeted and theTexturizer filter was applied. The filtersettings you need to create this and other“filtered edges” are on pages 150–151.

bottom of the Layers palette to create and name the layer. Then fill itwith white (choosing Edit, Fill, Use: White is one way to do it). In theLayers palette, drag the layer down below the image-and-mask layer.

Now soften the edges of the mask: With the image layer targetedin the Layers palette and the layer mask active (click on the maskthumbnail to make the mask icon appear next to the eye), chooseFilter, Blur, Gaussian Blur. Experiment with Radius setting until yousee the soft-edged fade-to-white effect you want.

At this point you may want to rename your image layer toinclude information about the Gaussian Blur setting. If so, right-click on the layer’s name in the Layers palette (Control-click on aMac with a one-button mouse), choose Layer Properties from thecontext-sensitive menu, and type a new name 2.

3 Adding black to define the frame. For a well-defined framein combination with the soft edge treatment 3, add a black backinglayer that will show through the softened edge of the maskedimage, creating “a dark halo”: With the white background layer tar-geted, click the Create A New Layer button. Then activate the sameselection you used to make the mask (if you haven’t made a selec-tion since creating the mask, choose Select, Reselect, or use theshortcut Ctrl/1-Shift-D; if reselecting doesn’t work, in the Channelspalette Ctrl/1-click the alpha channel you made in step 1). Fill theselection (Edit, Fill, Use: Black).

To soften the transition between sharp frame and soft edge, youcan blur the black layer slightly. We used a Gaussian Blur with aRadius of 2 pixels for the result atthe top of page 84.

Fancy framing. Experiment onthe layer mask with filters to styl-ize either the edge area or theentire mask, as shown below. Seepages 150–151 for examples of fil-tered edge treatments.

2

A white background layer was added andthe mask was blurred to soften its edges.We used a Radius setting of 20 pixels forour approximately 1000-pixel-wide image.

3

A layer was added with a black-filledrectangle the same size as the originalframe selection. This clearly defines theframe without eliminating the soft edges.

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150FILTERED FRAMES

FilteredFramesEach of the examples shown onthese two pages was made byrunning a filter on a layer mask ina 560-pixel-wide file built in thesame way as the one in the“Framing with Masks” techniqueon pages 84–85. The layer maskwas Gaussian-blurred with aRadius of 20 pixels; the blackbacking layer was blurred with aRadius of 2 pixels. Some filters,such as the Texturizer, create theirtexture even in the white areas ofthe mask, which affects the imageas well as the edges.

Brush Strokes: Sprayed Strokes (StrokeLength, 12; Spray Radius, 20; Stroke Dir:Right Diagonal)

Pixelate: Color Halftone (Max. Radius, 5;all Screen Angles, 45)

Artistic: Rough Pastels (Stroke Length, 10;Stroke Detail, 10; Texture, Canvas; Scaling,100%; Relief: 20; Light Dir., Top Left)

Sketch: Graphic Pen (Stroke Length, 15;Light/Dark Balance, 30, Stroke Dir., RightDiagonal)

Distort: Twirl (Angle, 400°) Distort: Twirl (Angle, 999°)

ADDING A LAYER STYLE

If you add a Layer Style to theimage-and-mask layer, the effects inthe Style will be built using theedge of the layer mask.

Where there aretwo examples,visibility of theblack layer was offfor the upper one,but on for the lower.

The four singleexamples at thetop of this pagewere made withthe visibility of theblack backinglayer turned off.

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151 CHAPTER 6: USING FILTERS AND LIQUIFY

Distort: Ocean Ripple (Ripple Size, 1; RippleMagnitude, 12)

Brush Strokes: Spatter (Spray Radius, 15;Smoothness, 5)

Sketch: Halftone Pattern (Pattern Type,Line; Size, 1; Contrast, 25)

Sketch: Water Paper (Fiber Length, 50;Brightness, 50; Contrast, 75)

Texture: Texturizer (Texture, Canvas;Scaling, 125%; Relief, 10%; Light Dir., Top)

Texture: Grain (Grain Type, Horizontal;Intensity, 65; Contrast, 75)

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220SILHOUETTING IMAGES AND TYPE

SilhouettingImages andTypeOverview Make a clipping pathfor the subject you want tosilhouette; save a copy of the fileusing the clipping path; set orimport type and add a Layer Style;add a color-filled layer below thetype; convert the type to a Shapelayer; make a permanent pathfrom the Shape layer; make thepath into a clipping path.

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WITH VERSION 6’S NEW TYPE CONTROLS and its special effects thatcan be applied through Layer Styles, it’s easy to create illustrativedisplay type right in Photoshop. Version 6 also lets you export thedisplay type for use in a page layout program, with perfectlysmooth, razor-sharp edges based on the vector outlines of the type.Since it’s also possible to eliminate the background when exportingimages, you can now export a “backgroundless” photo and type togo with it, So it makes sense to use Photoshop to arrange the basiccomposition of silhouetted photo and type, and then export thephoto and type separately — each with its own clipping path. Thatway you’ll be able to further tweak the composition in your pagelayout — for instance, putting the type behind the image or infront of it, or arranging both on a custom background. There are afew tricks you can use to make the “clipping” work perfectly,including conversion of the type to a Shape layer and conversion ofthe Shape to a clipping path.

1 Selecting the subject of the photo. Open the photo whosesubject you want to silhouette. Since your aim is to create a clip-ping path, the best way to select the subject may be with the Pen,which draws paths. (The Magnetic Pen can be helpful in automat-ing the selection task; you can choose it by clicking the FreeformPen tool in the Pen pop-out in the Toolbox and then choosingMagnetic in the Options bar.) Though other kinds of selections canbe converted to paths, the fit will not be as good as with a path cre-ated and fine-tuned with one or more of the Pen tools.

After we made our initial outline with the Pen 1a, we refined thefit by moving points, curve segments, or direction line handleswith the Direct Selection tool (the hollow arrowhead in the Tool-box; press Shift-A to reach it) 1b. We also added more points wherewe needed them; the Pen automatically becomes the Add AnchorPoint tool when you move its cursor onto a curve segment, whereyou can then click to add a point. (For more about operating thePen tools, see “Drawing” on page 210.)

“Silhouetting ” image

1a

The original photo with a path drawn toselect the subject

Adjusting the path

1b

Double-clicking the Work Path designationin the Paths palette opens the Save Pathdialog box, where you can name the pathto save it.

2a

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221 CHAPTER 8: PHOTOSHOP & OTHER PROGRAMS

2 Making a clipping path for the subject. When you’ve fin-ished drawing and editing the path, name it and make it perma-nent: Double-click on the Work Path name in the Paths palette toopen the Save Path dialog box, type a descriptive name, and clickOK 2a. In the Paths palette, choose Clipping Path from the pop-outmenu 2b. Select your new path from the Path list. You can leavethe Flatness setting blank so that the imagesetter will set it appro-priately for the output resolution. When you click OK, the name ofthis path will be outlined in the Paths palette, indicating that it’sthe clipping path to be used for export 2c. Finally, choose File, SaveAs, Save: As A Copy and save the file as a TIFF, a format that’s com-monly used by page layout programs and that supports a clippingpath 2d.

3 Setting the type. Choose the Type tool and click the Palettesbutton in the Options bar to open the Character palette. There youcan control the color, size, tracking, kerning, leading, stretch, andbaseline shift. We typed our title in three lines, using the Returnkey to start each new line. We condensed the type by setting thecharacter width to 60%. To “bounce” the individual characters, weselected each one and adjusted the baseline shift (the setting in thelower left corner of the Character palette) 3a, 3b.

4 Adding a Layer Style to the type. To add special effects tothe type:

• Click the Add A Layer Style button (the “f ”) at the bottom of theLayers palette and choose an effect from the pop-out menu.Then work within the Layer Style dialog box to customize thateffect and set up others as well.

• Or click on one of the thumbnails in the Styles palette to apply aLayer Style (a preset mix of effects). We used “Wow-Bevel-1”from the Wow! Layer Styles on the CD-ROM that comes withthis book 4a.

Whether you build your own Layer Style or use a preset, keep inmind that any effect that extends beyond the actual type edges will

IMPORTING TYPE FROM ILLUSTRATOR

You can use Adobe Illustrator’s extensive facilities for setting and manipulatingtype, and then import your type as aShape layer in Photoshop 6: Set andcustomize the type in Illustrator,select it, and choose Edit, Copy. Thenin Photoshop, choose Edit, Paste,Paste As: Shape Layer. Though theimport won’t be editable as type, itwill retain its vector-based curves asit’s imported as a Shape layer.

Using the Paths palette’s pop-out menu(top) to make a clipping path for export

2b

The outlined path name in the Pathspalette shows that the path is currentlydesignated as the clipping path for export ofthe file.

2c

Saving a copy ofthe file forexporting the“backgroundless”image. Note thatthe SaveTransparencyoption hasnothing to do withthe “clipping” ofthe file for export.

2d

Using theCharacter paletteto adjust thebaseline of a letterselected bydragging with theType cursor

3a

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222SILHOUETTING IMAGES AND TYPE

be eliminated when you “clip” the type to export it (in step 7). So,for instance, drop shadows, outer glows, and outer bevels will beremoved. Once your Layer Style has been applied, you can turn offvisibility for the photo layer (by clicking in the Eye column) toview the type alone 4b.

(We added the Layer Style to the type before converting the typeto a Shape layer. But it isn’t crucial that you do it in this order.Instead, you can convert the type to a Shape layer first and thenadd the Layer Style.)

5 Adding a color layer to protect the edges. Before you turnyour display type into a path that can be used for export, it’s a goodidea to create a color-filled layer directly below the display typelayer. Filling this layer with the same color as the body of the typewill ensure that any semi-transparent pixels at the edges of the let-ters will pick up a matching color, rather than a potentially con-trasting color from the photo. (The same technique will work ifyou’re creating your type without a photo underneath.) To do this,activate the layer that’s currently below the type layer by clickingits name in the Layers palette. Then click the Create New Layer but-ton at the bottom of the palette. Choose the Eyedropper tool, andin the Options bar choose “5 by 5 Average” from the pop-outSample Size menu 5a; this will “average” any color variations in thearea you sample. Then click in the body of the type, and press Alt/Option-Delete to fill the new layer with the chosen color 5b.

6 Converting the type to a Shape layer. You may want to fur-ther modify the characters in the display type, making changes thataren’t possible with live type (as described next, in step 7). To dothis, first convert the type layer to a Shape layer (choose Layer,Type, Convert To Shape) 6a. Notice that the appearance of thelayer’s thumbnail changes in the Layers palette. Also, as long as theShape layer is the active layer, the display type outlines now appearas an entry in the Paths palette, with the name in italics and theterm “clipping path” as part of the name 6b. (Note: The Paths pal-ette can be confusing because it uses the term “clipping path” intwo different ways — to refer to the outline information in a Shapelayer, and to refer to the path used to eliminate the backgroundwhen you export an image for use in another program. For anexplanation, see “Understanding the Paths Palette” on page 211.)

7 Modifying the shape outlines. Before making a clipping pathfrom the Shape layer, you can use the Path Component Selectiontool (the solid arrow in the Toolbox) to modify the letter shapes:Click on an individual letter to select its outline, and then makechanges. For instance, to slightly rotate individual letters such asthe first “e” in “Wheel,” we clicked on the letter and then choseEdit, Free Transform Path (Ctrl/1-T) and dragged outside the upper

The finished typesetting, before treatmentwith a Layer Style

3b

4a

Choosing a preset Layer Style

Viewing the type with the Layer Style added;visibility is turned off for the photo layer inorder to get a clear view of the edges.

4b

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223 CHAPTER 8: PHOTOSHOP & OTHER PROGRAMS

right corner handle in a counterclockwise direction 7. Pressing theEnter key completed the transformation. (Note: It’s important tomake any transformations now, before the Shape information isturned into a permanent path in step 8. If you try to make thechanges to the permanent path instead of the Shape information,

the clipping path that yougenerate in step 8 won’t matchthe transformed letters.)

8 Making a clipping pathfor the display type. Oncethe transformation is com-plete, you’ll need to save theShape information as a perma-nent path, or you won’t beable to use it as a clipping pathfor export. To turn the Shapeinformation into a permanentpath, double-click the itali-cized path name for yourShape layer in the Paths pal-ette, and use the Save Path dia-log box as you did in step 2.We called our new path “TypePath” 8a.

Next make a clipping pathfor export by choosing Clip-ping Path from the Pathspalette’s pop-out menu 8b. Asin step 2, save the file as a TIFF,choosing a different name forthe new file.

9 Arranging the elementsin a page layout. Open yourpage layout program (we usedAdobe PageMaker) and importthe two copies of the file thatyou saved in steps 2 and 8.Now you can arrange the twoimports to match your Photo-shop composition, and thenfreely experiment withchanges to the layout by mov-ing one or both elements orchanging their “stackingorder” to move one in front ofthe other 9.

5b

A color-filled layer was added below thetype layer.

Positioning the silhouetted subject and typefiles in a page layout program

9

Turning the “Type Path” into the clippingpath to be used in saving a second copy ofthe file

8b

8a

A permanent path was made from theShape layer.

7

Using the Free Transform command to tiltindividual letters

5a

Setting up the Eyedropper to sample colorfrom the type

6a

Convert live type to a Shape layer bychoosing Layer, Type, Convert To Shape

When type is converted to a shape layer,the layer thumbnail changes in the Layerspalette and the name of the Shape layeralso appears in the Paths palette with thesomewhat confusing designation of“Clipping Path.”

6b