The following will aim to not only create an understanding of the element of Color in your designs, but teach you to use the Photoshop brushes with significantly greater power as well. This project will count as a test grade based on your final product, and a daily grade to account for your diligence in completing it. Trust me: the last thing you want to do is have me come back after two days to have found you've done nothing or next to nothing. If you need help finding your way to menus etc, then check out the reference guide in the files section at the bottom of this page.
PART 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE BRUSHES
- Start a new, blank Photoshop document that is 800 pixels by 800 pixels @ 72 pixels per inch, RGB color.
- Save this right now in your Photoshop folder as 'brush panel practice' and make sure the 'format' is set to a PSD file.
- Add a new, blank layer. Re-name this layer "Brush Tip Shape" by left-clicking once on the name of the new layer (it will likely be 'Layer 1'). You will do your first round of painting in this layer. Painting in the background layer for this project will be a 50-point deduction.
- Activate your brush tool, and then right-click on the open, white canvas to bring up your basic brush options.
- Hit the little button that looks like a Play symbol on an mp3 player to bring up your Brush library, and select the 'calligraphic brushes' library. You want to hit 'OK' to replace this vs append it.
- Change your Brush color to a bright red (pick a red hue, and then move the circle to the top-right corner of the square used to pick brightness and richness of color.
- Open the Brush Panel.
- Make sure that 'Brush Tip Shape' is the option category highlighted in blue.
- Make your settings in this option category match the following:
- Size: 74 Pixels
- Shape: Flat Angle
- Bristles: 1%
- Length: 25%
- Thickness: 1%
- Stiffness: 50%
- Angle: 0%
- Spacing: 1%
- Open up A new Microsoft Word document and type your name on the top line, and 'Photoshop Brush Questions' on the second line.
- Go ahead and save this RIGHT NOW in your Photoshop folder as 'Photoshop Brush Questions' so that you don't lose your work along the way.
- Paint a stroke with the brush as-is.
- Change the Bristles setting to 12%.
- Paint a second stroke. Notice that there are far more lines now.
- Turn your bristles up to 100%.
- In the word document, type the number 1 and a period (like this: 1. ) This is question #1. You do not have to write down the question; just the answer. This is how you will answer question 2, 3, and so on. In at least a short phrase tell me how the brush changed.
- Turn Bristles down to 10%, and turn the length up to 99%. Notice the thicker areas in the stroke you paint.
- Turn the length up to 500%, stiffness to 10%,and paint a stroke. For question #2, (Remember: 2. ) tell me the odd way in which the brush acted.
- Try painting a loop with the length set at 30%, then 90%, then 250%.
- Turn the length back down to 50% and stiffness back up to 50%.
- Turn the thickness setting up to 100% for just a moment to see how the bristles become so thick they turn the brush into a solid stroke, then lower it back down.
- Slide around the stiffness slider to see how it affects brush length as well.
- Turn up the spacing slider to 50% and paint a stroke, then turn it up to 150% and paint another. Notice its variation.
Hide this layer (ask a classmate if you don't know how), and then make a new layer named "Shape Dynamics."
- If you are on track, you should have a blank, white canvas in front of you at this point, because your previous work is hidden.
- Paint a stroke WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE SHIFT KEY TO ENSURE YOU PAINT IN A STRAIGHT LINE.
- Click on the WORD 'shape dynamics' (NOT THE CHECK BOX) to activate it.
- For this brush, you can only change the 'angle jitter.' Change it to 4%. Paint a stroke WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE SHIFT KEY TO ENSURE YOU PAINT IN A STRAIGHT LINE.
- Question #3 to answer in your word document: How does angle jitter affect your brush stroke?
- Turn the angle jitter up to 15%, and paint a stroke. Then paint strokes with it set at 25%, 50%, and 100%.
- Click the check-box next to shape dynamics to turn them off for now.
Hide this layer. Make a new layer named 'Scattering.' GO TO FILE AND SAVE TO SAVE YOUR PROGRESS.
- Click on the options for Brush Tip Shape again, and set the spacing to 150%.
- Paint a straight line using the shift key.
- Click on the option for scattering in the Brushes panel. Remember to click on the word, not just the check box.
- Set the scattering to 400%, Count to 1, and Count Jitter to 0%. Be sure 'both axes' is unchecked. Paint a straight line using the shift key.
- Question #4: How does scattering affect your brush?
- Think of it like the amount of scattering when you are plotting points in a graphing calculator.
- Turn up the 'count' to 5, and paint a line.
- Question #5: How does increasing the count affect your brush?
- Count Jitter simply randomly selects a count each time your brush paints; the more jitter, the more random it will be.
- Click the check-box next to scatter to turn it off for right now.
Hide this layer. Make a new layer called 'Color Dynamics.' GO TO FILE AND SAVE TO SAVE YOUR PROGRESS.
- Click on the options for Brush Tip Shape again, and set the spacing to 125%.
- Paint a straight line using the shift key.
- Change your background color (click on the color square that appears to be behind your foreground color at the bottom of the tools panel) to a bright, bold blue, like the one surrounding the 'Ps' in the Photoshop icon.
- Click on the word 'Color Dynamics' in the Brush panel to activate it and show its options.
- Change foreground/background jitter to 100%, and then make sure the settings for all of the sliders are at 0%.
- Paint around until you see some blue.
- Question #6: (You can answer this by simply writing three words that are separated by commas) Foreground/background jitter creates random switching between your ___________ and ____________ colors, while also _______________ them to form other colors.
- Slide the foreground/background jitter back to 0%.
- Press the CTRL, ALT, and Z keys at the same time to step backward and get rid of that last bit of painting. If you step back too far and get rid of the first stroke, too, that's okay.
- Raise the Hue jitter to 15%, and paint a line across the page. Notice that the colors are similar, but there is a difference.
- Question #7. You need to know from now on that an 'analogous' color harmony refers to colors that are side by side by side on a color wheel. Google image search for 'color' wheel if you need to verify that these colors are near one another on the color wheel.
- Raise the Hue jitter to 100%, and paint a couple of circles/swoops all around the page. Notice that it essentially paint in any color it pleases, though the colors are all of the same brightness/intensity.
- Question #8. You had better know from now on that a 'hue' is simply a color on the color wheel. Do you understand?
- Turn Hue Jitter back to 0%.
- Turn 'Saturation Jitter' to 100%. Paint in a line across the page.
- Question #9. Go to this page and answer the following: Color saturation is the amount of _________ in a color. (Hint: it's in the third paragraph).
- I think you can probably figure out that brightness jitter will affect the variation between how bright or dark a color is.
- Purity is better left alone for now.
- You're almost done! Go down to the layer styles (the Fx Button at the bottom of the layers panel) and click on it. Turn on a Bevel/Emboss effect. Try adding a stroke. Play around. I'll be a monkey's uncle, that's awesome!
- Save this PSD one last time, and then save your Word document.
- Open a new photoshop document and play around!
- Free time til I get back!
- I'm hungry. It's 9:37 P.M. and I haven't left my classroom since about 4:30.