Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Project 5:

Catalog CoverCreating a complex selection

Compositing complex selections

Working with spot channels

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Complex Selections

Review existing image channels

Duplicate highest-contrast channel

Use filters/ adjustments to edit Alpha channel

Paint directly on Alpha channel to refine

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Color Channels

Grayscale representation of color

In RGB:– Black = 0% of that color– White = 100% of that color– Gray = middle % of that color

In CMYK:– Black = 100% of that color– White = 0% of that color– Gray = middle % of that color

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Alpha Channels

Store complex selections

Store semi-transparent selections

Directly editable

Can be turned on or off

Non-destructive

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Channel Options

By default, color shows selected areas

Choose Masked Areas to show non-selected areas in color

Change channel opacity for on-screen composite preview

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Editing Alpha Channels

If color shows Selected Areas:– Black shows selected pixels

– White shows non-selected pixels

– Gray shows partially selected pixels

Use default foreground and background colors [D]– Paint with the Brush tool [B] and switch

foreground/background as needed [X]

or

– Switch to Eraser tool [E] to “paint” black

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

“Other” Filters

Filter>Other submenu– High Pass

– Custom

– Minimum

– Maximum

– Offset

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Creative Adjustments

Image>Adjustments submenu

Apply to composite image or specific channels

Invert Posterize Threshold Equalize

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Compositing

Images automatically converted to working space of target file

Verify color spaces of component images

Check Gamut Warning for color shift

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Compositing (cont’d)

What do you need to accomplish?– How do composite images work together?

– Do they fill the required space?

– Should I create extra pixels to fill in space? Will it be evident?

– Can I cover unwanted/problem areas with something else?

– Does foreground/background image contrast work well?

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Spot Channels

Special ink colors in addition to CMYK

Consistent reproduction of specific color

Added separation, production expense

Typically chosen from printed swatch books

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Professional Portfolio

Spot Channels (cont’d)

Not associated with any Photoshop layer

All content on a specific channel

No vector data

No styles or effects

Can be saved as PSD, TIFF, or DCS