Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Unit H: Improving Productivity

Objectives Use the Image Processor Create and run an action Batch process an action Use the History panel Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Objectives Create a snapshot and use the History Brush tool Clone with the Clone Stamp tool Clone with the Healing Brush tool Experiment with cloning options Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Improving Productivity Photoshop is not only about design and photographs; it plays many roles in a graphics environment Adobe has designed Photoshop to be something of a workhorse, with many built-in modules to make Photoshop very effective as an image processor in a graphics workflow environment Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Image Processor Certain types of workflows call for repetitive tasks; such as the web environment   converting images to the same file format to be used on a web site Photoshop’s Image Processor feature is great for quickly converting groups of files to other file formats There are a number of options available for converting files when using the Image Processor Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the Image Processor Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Image Processor dialog box

Creating and Running an Action Actions are about repetition as is Photoshop; the same things are done over and over again It is a smart idea to save the repetitive steps as an action to save time Actions are created, stored, and automatically saved in the Actions panel   once an action is created it will be available on the Actions panel for all future files that are opened, even after quitting Photoshop Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Creating and Running an Action A smart set of actions is a big plus for getting work completed quickly Actions can be exported to a portable file that can be copied to a CD or ed to have it available for different computers   the saved file will have an ATN extension and will need to be loaded from the Actions panel Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Creating and Running an Action Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated New action added to the Actions panel Three commands added to the Invert action

Batch Processing an Action Batch process means, rather than opening each image in the folder and executing the action by hand, Photoshop can apply the action to an entire folder of images The primary function of the Image Processor is to convert files from one format to another; batch processing allows the application of a single action simultaneously to a bunch of images Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Batch Processing an Action Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Batch dialog box

Using the History Panel The History panel provides great features; one of them is the ability to quickly revert a file to its first opened state, then bring it back to its current state As an image is worked with, the History panel records all moves and lists the last twenty of them, called states, in the panel The last state in the list represents the last change made to the file Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the History Panel At any time a state in the list can be clicked to return to that point and then start working from that state The History panel logs each command performed as a new state   it will log only a specific number of states which is determined as a preference   the higher the number entered as a preference the more memory Photoshop requires to keep the states active The Revert command, on the file Menu, returns to the state of the file the last time the file was saved Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Using the History Panel Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Viewing states on the History panel

Creating a Snapshot and Using the History Brush Tool The History Brush tool is a “revert” brush-it paints using any one of the snapshots at the top of the History panel as its source Use the History Brush tool by clicking the Sets the source for the history brush icon beside the thumbnail that the History Brush tool is to paint from Use the History Brush tool to paint in artwork from a saved state Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Creating a Snapshot and Using the History Brush Tool The History Brush tool can also function artistically; set it to a low opacity and gradually “paint in” artwork from a saved state A tip--A smart way to work is to have the History panel automatically save a snapshot every time the artwork is saved Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Creating a Snapshot and Using the History Brush Tool Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Viewing the snapshot added to the History Panel Applying the History brush tool to the artwork

Cloning with the Clone Stamp Tool Cloning can be defined as copying pixels from one area to another The Clone Stamp tool is a brush, when it is used to clone pixels there are options of brush size, hardness and opacity Cloning has two parts:   the sample is the source from where the clone comes   the clone refers to the copied pixels that are created from the sample Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Cloning with the Clone Stamp Tool Current & Below is one of three sampling option that can be used with the Clone Stamp tool When using the Current & Below option it means that the Clone Stamp tool will sample artwork from the current layer and all the layers below it All of the cloning tools including the Clone Stamp tool have an Aligned option that is available on the Tools panel   with the Aligned option checked whatever was previously sampled will be continued Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Cloning with the Clone Stamp Tool Working “non-destructively” in Photoshop is a best practice-that goes for cloning When using the Clone Stamp tool the best way is to work in a way that does not permanently affect the original artwork   The Current & Below option is key to this concept When needing to clone create an empty layer above the artwork for the clone Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Cloning with the Clone Stamp Tool Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Viewing the finished artwork Viewing the cloned bird

Cloning with the Healing Brush Tool The Healing Brush tool is a cloning tool   sample using the Healing Brush and clone to another   matches the clone to the texture, lighting, and shading of the area being cloned to   Is useful for cloning large areas of non-specific data Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Cloning with the Healing Brush Tool Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Viewing the first clone Viewing the finished artwork

Experimenting with Cloning Options The options for the Clone Stamp and the Healing Brush tool are similar The sampling options are:   Current Layer-the tool samples artwork only on the targeted layer; artwork or adjustments on layers above or below the targeted layer will not be involved in the sample   Current & Below-the tool samples the appearance of the artwork as a composite of the current layer and all the layers beneath it; Artwork or adjustments on layers above the targeted layer are not involved in the sample   All Layers-the tool samples the appearance of the artwork as the result of all layers in the image Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Experimenting with Cloning Options Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated Viewing the first clone Viewing the second clone

Summary Adobe has designed Photoshop to be something of a workhorse, with many built-in modules to make Photoshop very effective as an image processor in a graphics workflow environment Photoshop’s Image Processor feature is great for quickly converting groups of files to other file formats Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

Summary Having the History panel automatically save a snapshot every time the artwork is saved is a smart way to work in Photoshop Cloning can be defined as copying pixels from one area to another Working “non-destructively” in Photoshop is a best practice-that includes cloning Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated