Photoshop Tools and Features User Log

The purpose of this log is for you to record what tools and features you used in the creation of your digital graphics. You should try to use as many as possible and you
must record how, why and when you used them. You do not need to record repeated actions but each single new action should be recorded. An example of this would
be setting up a new Photoshop file/image which would cover the ranges; Image Settings (all) and part of Menus (some of). You only need to do this once. Remember
that where the e.g. appears in a range, as many of the items should be covered as possible but not all of them; your tutor will guide you here. Where possible you
should also provide a screen dump to illustrate the action (see sample image below).

Tools and features

Menus:

Open;

How, why and when used.

I have opened and created a new file for
each of my graphics. I have then used
open so that I can get my edited images
with transparent backgrounds, which are
saved in my work area and I can then
transfer the images onto one file in order
to put the images together to make my
logo.

save;

I have used save in order to make sure

each of my graphics are saved as the
right file format. It also means I can save
them with different names such as logo
or navigation bar.

import;

I havent had to use import much whilst

creating my graphics although some
people use it so that they can add video
frames to layers. I have mostly just
imported my images into Photoshop.

Screen dump

export;

Image settings:
2

I used export in order to make my images

suitable file formats that can be used on
the web. To do this I choose save for
web, this means if I created a GIF
animation I could save it as a gif and it
would be better quality.

edit;

I have edited my images by copying and

pasting images from the internet. I have
also added colour and texture to my
graphics in order to make them look
more professional and 3D.

view;

I have used view in order to zoom in and

out of my graphics in order to re-position
text boxes etc into the right place. More
or less I have kept the view on 100% in
order to be able to see the whole of my
graphic.

help

When it comes to help I have needed

assistance while creating my logo as I
had to use the paint bucket tool so that I
could change the colour of my dancers
and text. The reason I needed help was
because the images were too many bits
and had to be changed before I could
edit the image.

There are no screenshots to show me getting help.

size;

Resolution;

width;

height;

colour mode;

background;

When creating my graphics I made the

size of my screen icons, 5x5cm. I made
the image size of my web banner around
50x150cm.
I set the resolution of my web banner to
72 and the resolution for screen icons is
also 72. This is the general setting for
each of my digital graphics.
The width of an image is how wide the
image is, in my case they all vary as my
screen icons are likely to be used in a
smaller size then what my web banner
will be. The width of my screen icons is
5cm and the width of my web banner is
150cm. As for my logo its width is 50cm.
The height of my images vary as well, the
screen icons and logo canvas are both
squares so the height is the same as the
width. As for my web banner I made it
rectangular so that height of it is 50cm.
This is a thing which you can change
when your first open a new file. The
colour mode can be either RGB,
grayscale, CMYK or bitmap. You can also
have 8-bit, 16-bit or 24-bit. For my images
I made them as 32-bit but when I
optimised I saved them as PNG 24-bit.
For my backgrounds I made sure they
were all transparent. After I had created
the canvas and set it up. I then added a
rectangle onto my canvas which created
a block screen of colour. Alternately I
could of just used the paint bucket tool
but I want my graphics to have rounded
edges.

transparency;

aspect ratio,

file name

Drawing tools:

tool options;

On each of my images I made sure that

they had the transparent background set
up instead of a white one meaning that
my starting image transparency was
100%.
I also changed the transparency of
images on my logo so that the two
dancer images are slightly transparent
compared to the rest of the image. The
reason for doing this is because I didnt
want my image to be a constant block of
colour.
Aspect ratio is what I used in order to
keep all my images proportionally and so
that my graphics dont look odd or
stretched. For example, my Screen icons
need to be square so I made my canvas
size 5 x 5.
When it comes to file names I have given
all my created graphics different names
for each of the versions I created. My first
version would be called logo 1 and then
my second would be logo 2 and so on.
Tool options is where you have more
than one option of how to use each of
the tools available. For example, I have
used two of the options from the shape
tool. One being the rounded corner
rectangle and the other being line tool.
The reason I made my rectangle have
round corners is to make my graphics
seem smoother and blend into the page
better.

Paint brush/eraser;

pencil;
duplicate;

clone;

Bucket fill;

I havent used the paint brush tool much

but I have used the eraser to get rid of
the stars which were originally on the
just dance image I got from the internet.
The reason I got rid of the stars is because
I wanted to put a dancer image where
they were. I also wanted to edit the
image so it was my own.
I havent used the pencil but I could have
used it to add detail to my logo. With a
pencil you can draw onto the graphics.
I have used the duplicate tool so that I
could make a copy of a certain layer and
then drag and drop it onto the correct
place. This saved me time as I didnt have
to go through the process of making the
same thing more than once.
I havent used the clone tool. A clone tool
is used so that you can take a sample
area of my picture and then the pixels are
able to paint over a mark.
The example right is where I took colour
samples from the hot air balloon basket
and made dots in the sky background.
I used the bucket fill tool in order to add
and change the colour of my dancers on
my logo and to add colour to my
background rectangles. By using the
paint bucket tool it allows to colour in
things in big sections.

text;

line;

stroke;

shape;

zoom;

I have added text boxes onto most of my

graphics, such as for the logo I added a
text box saying direct. I then just
changed the size and colour so that it
matched my designs on my storyboards.
I have used many lines in my navigation
bar to separate the buttons into the
different sections. To make the lines I
went on more option in the shape tools
at the side and selected the line instead
of a shape.
I havent used any strokes in the making
of my graphics, however if I did I would
go into the blending options and add a
stroke to my logo graphics. This would
make there be an outline around my logo
text, making it stand out more.
I have used many shapes when making
my graphics. An example is when I had
to add a shape with rounded edges so
that the overall graphic had smooth
edges giving it the look I wanted. When I
add the graphic onto my website it wont
look like its just been put there as it will
blend in more.
I have used zoom in so that I can refine
my images to make sure all the required
detail is shown. I have also zoomed out of
my images so that I can look at what my
final image will look like.

guides and rulers;

Grid;
Snap;

Palettes, e.g. colour,

gradients, layers,
object, brushes,
history, actions, size,
resolution;

I have used guides in order to make my

shapes and text boxes line up on all my
graphics which I have made in
Photoshop. I have also used rulers to
make my images a certain length.

By using a grid in Photoshop I was able

to line all my graphics up so that they are
spaced apart and are all clearing shown.
Snapping is when you have an uneven
amount of pixels in a graphic, it
automatically changes to whole
numbers. This means the anchor points
of the shape are sat in a whole pixel. This
means that the graphic will look sharper
and neater.
The history palette is a very useful tool,
because if you make a mistake, you can
easily go back and undo stuff from the
back log. I used this tool many times as I
was slowly getting used to Photoshop so
I was making a few errors.
I also used the paint brush history tool to
figure out with tools I last used.

There is no way of showing a grid in a screenshot.

Layers, e.g. copying,

saving, arranging;
flattening; colour
selection,

The thing that I did quite a lot was

copying, which made it easier when
making my graphics because it meant I
could copy text and other small things
onto each image. If I was too trademark
my graphics I would use this tool in order
to copy the logo across.

Colour selection,
e.g. foreground,
background, colour
swatch, eyedropper

When it comes to choosing a colour

selection for my background, I decided to
leave my finished graphics with a
transparent background. The reason for
doing this is because it looks better and it
fits better with the overall appearance of
my website.

Editing tools:

Selection, e.g.
marquee, lasso,
magic wand,
magnetic lasso,
deselect;

When it comes to using any of the

selection tools for editing, I only used the
lasso, magic wand and deselect. I used
the lasso tool to allow me to delete the
white background by drawing an outline
around the part I wanted to keep and
then clicking backspace. I used the magic
wand to select different sections of an
images background in order to delete it.
The deselect tool was used to get off the
thing you have selected.

Transform, e.g.
scale, rotate, skew,
flip; cut; copy; paste;
crop; trim; erase;
undo; fill

Advanced tools:

Effects, e.g. layer

effects, filters,
channels; image
adjustments,
Image adjustments,
e.g. brightness and
contrast, hue and
saturation, colour
balance, gradients,
transparency, invert;
masks;

Paths, e.g. vector

paths, converting
text to paths; image
slicing.

When transforming my images, I rotated

my dancers on my logo so that they were
at an angle. To do this I selected the
image and then went to the corner of the
images to rotate it. I also went into
image > rotation. I also used the erase
tool to get rid of stars on my just dance
original image. I also used undo
whenever I made a mistake. If I couldnt
undo something I would have to cope
with it as much as possible.
I didnt use any of these effects, I mostly
used bevel and contour so that my
graphics look 3D. Channels can be used
in changing the effects so that there are a
different amount of pixels.
I only changed the image on my logo by
making it slightly transparent, this gives
more definition to the look of my overall
image. I only used this adjustment once
as an overuse of it, would make my
images not look as strong in the colour.
The colour balance was also changed
throughout the making of my images so
that the quality is slightly different on
each graphic.
I didnt use any of these, however I was
shown how to make text go along a
path. This is good if you want to make
some text on a logo for example go
around the image.