Emoji Project

Our first project in Photoshop will be to create our own emoji. Using the tools in Photoshop, specifically the layer tool, elliptical marquee, and paint, will be the focus of this exercise. Proper use and management of layers is key to succeeding in ANY Photoshop project.

Video Tutorial Part One:

Setting Units to Pixels
Using a Grid
Using Layers
Using the Elliptical Marquee
Using Shortcuts like ALT-Del and CTRL-J

Step by Step Instructions

1. Getting Started

1. Setup

Create a New Blank Canvas
1. Use FILE - NEW - BLANK FILE set the RESOLUTION to 500x500 pixels in size, 72 DPI
Turn on the GRID
1. Use VIEW - GRID from the drop-down menu
Set your preferences to a GRIDLINE EVERY 100 PIXELS with 2 SUBDIVISIONS
1. Use EDIT - Preferences - Grid
2. Make sure your UNITS are in PIXELS (not inches)
3. Notice that there are dark gridlines every 100 "pixels" and light gridlines every 50

2. Make a Face

Create a new Layer and call it "Face"
1. Look for the LAYERS palette in the bottom right corner of the screen
2. Hover over the buttons there until you find the one that lets you "Create a new layer"
3. Double click on the label "layer 1" and change it to read "Face"

Use the "Elliptical Marquee" tool to select a circle in the very center of the canvas
1. Hover over the tools in the top LEFT side of the screen until you find the one called "Rectangular Marquee Tool" (it's located below the eyedropper tool)
2. Click and hold on it until it lets you select the "Elliptical Marquee tool"
3. Use the gridlines and drag a circle so it's exactly 400 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall. If it isn't exactly in the center, you can drag and move it later so it is
Paint it Yellow
1. Choose a yellow colour by clicking the "Set Foreground Colour" tool at the bottom left side of the screen, and adjusting the colour to yellow
2. Be sure you're on the FACE layer and fill the circle with yellow by using either:
  1. the PAINT BUCKET tool in the left tool bar
  2. pressing the keys ALT-DELETE

NOTES:

This circle is a SELECTION - you can DESELECT by clicking outside of it, or by clicking CTRL-D

3. Making Eyes

Create a new layer and call it "EYES"
Use the "Elliptical Marquee" tool to create a circular selection in the EYES layer
Tap the D key on your keyboard to set the colours back to the DEFAULT of black & white
Use ALT-DELETE to fill the oval with black
With the first eye selected, use CTRL-J to create a SECOND eye layer - Use the MOVE tool (top left on the screen) to locate it properly on the face
When the eyes are properly aligned you can merge them onto the same layer by right mouseclicking the topmost eye layer, and selecting MERGE DOWN

4. Make a Mouth

Create a new layer and name it "MOUTH"
Make a an oval selection right in the MIDDLE BOTTOM of the face, make it nice and big
Fill it in with black
Make a new Elipse above the one you just made, this will be used to shape the mouth.
Once you have created the second ellipse, select it, and press the delete key.
This should leave a smile on your face!

Part Two - Enhancements

5. Enhance the Illustration

Enhance your basic illustration by learning to use:

1. Layer Styles to add beveled edges and dropshadows
2. Gradients - linear, radial and reflective
3. Layer Opacity for transparency

SAVE YOUR FILE!

SAVE YOUR MASTER FILE: Use FILE - SAVE AS and save your file (as .PSD) to your P: drive using an appropriate filename.
SAVE A JPG: Use FILE - SAVE FOR WEB and the it should save to an appropriate name by default
Make a new page in your portfolio at the project level called "Photoshop" and put your JPG image(s) on the page. Include a brief description of how you made your happy face(s)

Done early?

Try creating a SECOND happy face and make it a self portrait by including a personal feature that makes you stand out - Hair, glasses, etc. Can you figure out which of the emoji's shown here is a self portrait?