Photoshop Training: Lesson #2 - Creating and Saving Files

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Creating a New Image

Once you're comfortable with Photoshop's workspace, it's time to create your first image.

To start a new picture, go to “File > New” or simply hit Ctrl+N (on Windows) or Cmd+N (on Mac). A new window will pop up, all ready for you to fill in.

Each new image requires at least five pieces of information before you can begin your work of art.

• Name

• Width and Height

• Resolution

• Color Mode

• Background Contents

Name, width, and height seem pretty easy...but what about those last three? What do they mean?

Name:

The name of the image is what your picture will be saved as. By default, it comes up as “Untitled-1”

It's always best to choose a name that will help you remember the content of the image. Something short and descriptive. For example, if you're doing something for a class, use the name of your assignment. A graphic for a webpage could be named “Front Page Photo.” It's entirely up to you.

Width and Height:

Here's where you tell the program how big you want your canvas to be. You'll notice that the drop-down menu has quite a few choices available. So which one do you choose?

Did you ever wonder why computer text sizes are in points (10pt, 12pt, 72pt)? Now you know!

Resolution:

The resolution of an image is how many pixels there are per inch (or cm). The higher the resolution, the larger the picture will be.

The resolution of an image is abbreviated as DPI (dots per inch) or PPI (pixels per inch).

Pictures taken from the internet will show up at 72 ppi. Photos from digital cameras have a wide range of ppi, which can normally be adjusted using the camera's settings. Most print shops will want your resolution to be at least 200 ppi.

Color Mode:

Color Mode is where you choose the palette of colors you intend to use. Just as the oil painter decides what paints she will buy for her masterpiece, the digital artist chooses his basic color mode.

RGB and CMYK colors are the most common color modes, and the one you choose is based on what you want to use your image for.

RGB color:

• Is based on blending light, so it's what your computer monitor uses.

• Gives you smaller file sizes, since it only uses three base colors.

• Results in more vibrant colors.

• Is the best for purely digital art.

CMYK color:

• Is based on blending ink, so it's the only kind printers can use.

• Results in cooler tones.

• Is necessary if you want to print professionally.

But don't worry if you can't decide right now. You can change the color mode at any time. Just be warned that doing it too often can really mess with your colors!

Background Contents:

This setting will determine what your first layer will look like. “White” and “Background Color” give you a locked single-color background layer. Selecting “Transparent” will give you an unlocked default layer.

Preset:

The preset menu is a list of saved layouts. If you know what size image you'd like to begin with, you can choose one of them and you're good to go.

You can also make your own presets. When you start changing things around, the preset menu will change to “Custom.” The “Save Preset” button then becomes active. Click on that and it takes all the information from in other drop-down menus and saves them for you.

Saving Your New Image (A Quick Overview)

Now that you have your new canvas, the very first thing to do is save. Save Often! ALL THE TIME! If you think you don't need to save, save anyway! Nothing in digital art is more heartbreaking than watching work vanish because you didn't save. I can't repeat that enough. Save, save, save.

The quickest and simplest way to save your image is to go to “File > Save” or hit Ctrl+S (on Windows) or Cmd+S (on Mac). Photoshop does, however, give you two more options for saving your work – “Save As” and “Save For Web.”

“Save As” gives you the ability to save another copy of your picture with a different name, or in a different location, or as a different file format.

“Save for Web” does the same thing, but optimizes the file for websites. It provides you with quick comparisons for file type, size, and quality. However, you can only save the image as a .jpeg, .gif, or .png file.

Putting it into Practice:

To end this tutorial, we're going to create and save a preset that I'll be using often in the tutorials to follow.

Go to “File > New” to open up the New Image window. Once that's up, change the settings to:

• Width: 500 pixels

• Height: 500 Pixels

• Resolution: 300 pixels/inch

• Color Mode: RGB Color, 8-bit

• Background Contents: Transparent

  
  

Your window should now look something like this:

Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting:

• DPI vs PPI – What?

It's a surprise to many people that even though DPI and PPI are often used interchangeably, they're actually very different things. “Dots per Inch” refers to the little dots of ink put onto paper during the printing process. The higher the print quality you choose, the higher the DPI.

Since a printer only uses four colors, each pixel of a printed image is rendered into many fine dots that the human eye views as a single color.

Get a magnifying glass and take a close look at any piece of printed media - food packaging, magazines, labels - and you'll be able to make out the little dots.

• What keyboard shortcuts should I know?

There are a lot of shortcuts used in Photoshop. For this tutorial, though, you only need to remember three of them.

The shortcut for saving your file is the most important of all! I recommend keeping your pinky and forefinger on those keys any time you're not typing. Use it often and the motion of hitting those two keys will become a habit. You might even find yourself doing it when you're working with non-digital art!

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