Managing the Adobe Photoshop Environment

• Exploring default Workspace & Bridge
• Introduction to the Toolbar
• Palette management & Screen real estate
• History Palette & Undoing Actions
• Navigation shortcuts

Working with Selections

• Creating Selections using Magic Wand
• Adjusting Selections
• Quick Selection and Lasso tools
• Combining Selection tools for complex objects
• Saving and Reloading a Selection

Enhancing an Image

• Using Levels and Curves
• Compensate for flash with Shadow & Highlight
• Variations to quickly decide about a colour cast
• Hue & Saturation controls
• Blurring and sharpening using Filters

Painting and Retouching Images

• Digital darkroom techniques
• Clone Stamp and Heal tools
• Creating, saving and loading custom colours
• Painting with Paintbrush, Pencil or Paint Bucket tool
• Introduction to Gradients and painting with Gradients
• Working with Quick Mask mode & Layer Masks

Working with Layers

• Importing images, Layers and Selections
• Transforming Layer Objects & using the Smart Objects
• Starting to build layered compositions
• Applying Transparency
• Basic Blending Modes
• Other goodies as Text Layers, Adjustment Layers and Layer Styles

Outputting your artwork

• Colour modes, Resolution and Image Size
• Cropping an image Vs Extending the Canvas
• File formats & optimizing artwork for Web

Managing the Adobe Photoshop Environment

• Working with Tool Presets
• Using Layer Comps for layouts
• Exploring default Preferences
• Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts
• Camera Raw files functionality
• Colour management
• Actions, Droplets & Batch processing

Advanced Image Adjustments

• Face Retouch & Manipulation
• Sharpening with Lab Mode
• Greyscale with Black & White Conversion
• Advanced effects with Gradient map
• Photo Filters
• Creating Panoramic images with Photomerge
• Affect Perspective using Vanishing Point

Advanced Painting & Retouching

• Exploring the Brush Engine and creating custom Brushes
• Working with Patterns
• Using Smart Filters
• Liquify Techniques
• Lighting effects and 3D Textures

Advanced Layer Compositions

• Replace colour & Colour Range vs Extract
• Selecting Pixels using Paths
• Advanced Masking with Calculations
• Advanced use of Blending Modes
• Knockouts and Clipping Masks
• Type on a Path

Advanced Outputting features

• Animated bitmaps
• Combining Photoshop and Illustrator
• Creating Multi Package
• Getting It Right In Print

Adobe Certification Prep and ACA Exam day

• Take Practice exam
• Work through exam preparation sheet
• Any other questions?
• Photoshop ACA Exam
• Pass or fail?

Introductory level

• The Adobe Photoshop environment:
• Controlling the workspace
• The screen layout
• Navigation and zoom shortcuts

Working with selections

• What are selections, and why are they useful?
• Creating selections using the Marquee tools
• The Lasso tools
• The Magic Wand and Quick Selection tools
• Adding to or deleting from selections
• Saving and loading selections
• Cropping and rotating an image

Fixing problem images

• Using Levels to fix tone range
• Using Curves to fix contrast
• The Clone Stamp and Heal tools
• Shadow and highlight adjustments
• Fixing colour with Variations
• Hue and saturation controls
• Blurring and sharpening filters

Painting and retouching Images

• Creating, saving and loading custom colours
• The Paintbrush tools
• Creating and using new brushes
• Digital darkroom techniques
• Creating and editing gradients

Working with layers

• Layers and selections
• The Transform commands
• Building layered compositions
• Merging layers
• Applying transparency
• Basic layer blending modes
• Adding text layers
• Adjustment layers
• Special effects
• Layer masks

Saving files

• Choosing the right colour mode
• Adjusting resolution and image size
• Cropping or enlarging the canvas
• File formats
• Optimising images for the web

Merging layers

• Applying transparency
• Basic layer blending modes
• Adding text layers
• Adjustment layers
• Special effects
• Layer masks

Saving files

• Choosing the right colour mode
• Adjusting resolution and image size
• Cropping or enlarging the canvas
• File formats
• Optimising images for the web

Managing the Photoshop environment

• Creating tool presets
• Changing default preferences
• Customising keyboard shortcuts
• Recording actions
• Batch processing

Colour management

• Creating and using colour settings
• ICC profiles explained
• Precise image calibration

Advanced image adjustments

• Retouching skin tones
• Sharpening with ‘LAB’ mode
• ‘Black and white’ conversion
• Photo filters

Accurate image calibration

• Creating panoramic images
• Using the ‘vanishing point’ window
• New in CS5: ‘Puppet warp’
• ‘Camera Raw’ format
• ‘HDR’ images

Advanced painting and retouching

• The refine edge window in CS5
• Painting with the mixer brush
• The ‘calculations’ command
• Using ‘smart filters’
• The ‘liquify’ window
• Lighting effects
• 3D controls
• Content-aware scale, heal and fill

Advanced layer composition

• ‘Replace colour’ and ‘colour range’
• Working with the pen tool
• Advanced masking techniques
• Advanced blending mode techniques
• Creating type on a path
• Using spot colour channels
• Using clipping groups
• Creating stereoscopic images
• Using layer comps
• CS5 masking techniques

Advanced outputting features

• Creating animated GIF images for web
• Slicing images
• Printing from Photoshop

• Non-destructive workflow
• Working with RAW photographs
• Merging images (HDR photography, panoramas, special montages)
• Animation and video layers
• Painting and creating special brushes
• Web design tools and techniques
• Working with Smart Objects
• Creating Actions for automation
• Working with 3D layers
• Integration with other other Creative Suite applications (Illustrator, InDesign, Flash)
• Working with the pen tool and vector layers
• Colour Management and Print
• Common questions in ACE exams

Adobe Certified Expert Revision

• What to expect on exam day and how to book an exam
• Example questions
• Practice Exam
• Results
• What next?

Introductory level

• The Adobe Photoshop environment
• Controlling the workspace
• The screen layout
• Navigation and zoom shortcuts

Working with selections

• What are selections, and why are they useful?
• Creating selections using the Marquee tools
• The Lasso tools
• The Magic Wand and Quick Selection tools
• Adding to or deleting from selections
• Saving and loading selections
• Cropping and rotating an image

Fixing problem images

• Using Levels to fix tone range
• Using Curves to fix contrast
• The Clone Stamp and Heal tools
• Shadow and highlight adjustments
• Fixing colour with Variations
• Hue and saturation controls
• Blurring and sharpening filters

Painting and retouching Images

• Creating, saving and loading custom colours
• The Paintbrush tools
• Creating and using new brushes
• Digital darkroom techniques
• Creating and editing gradients

Working with layers

• Layers and selections
• The Transform commands
• Building layered compositions
• Merging layers
• Applying transparency
• Basic layer blending modes
• Adding text layers
• Adjustment layers
• Special effects
• Layer masks

Saving files

• Choosing the right colour mode
• Adjusting resolution and image size
• Cropping or enlarging the canvas
• File formats
• Optimising images for the web

Merging layers

• Applying transparency
• Basic layer blending modes
• Adding text layers
• Adjustment layers
• Special effects
• Layer masks

Managing the Photoshop environment

• Creating tool presets
• Changing default preferences
• Customising keyboard shortcuts
• Recording actions
• Batch processing

Colour management

• Creating and using colour settings
• ICC profiles explained
• Precise image calibration

Advanced image adjustments

• Retouching skin tones
• Sharpening with ‘LAB’ mode
• ‘Black and white’ conversion
• Photo filters

Accurate image calibration

• Creating panoramic images
• Using the ‘vanishing point’ window
• New in CS5* ‘Puppet warp’
• ‘Camera Raw’ format
• ‘HDR’ images

Advanced painting and retouching

• The refine edge window in CS5
• Painting with the mixer brush
• The ‘calculations’ command
• Using ‘smart filters’
• The ‘liquify’ window
• Lighting effects
• 3D controls
• Content-aware scale, heal and fill

Advanced layer composition

• ‘Replace colour’ and ‘colour range
• Working with the pen tool
• Advanced masking techniques
• Advanced blending mode techniques
• Creating type on a path
• Using spot colour channels
• Using clipping groups
• Creating stereoscopic images
• Using layer comps
• CS5 masking techniques

Advanced outputting features

• Creating animated GIF images for web
• Slicing images
• Printing from Photoshop
• Non-destructive workflow
• Working with RAW photographs
• Merging images (HDR photography, panoramas, special montages)
• Animation and video layers
• Painting and creating special brushes
• Web design tools and techniques
• Working with Smart Objects
• Creating Actions for automation
• Working with 3D layers
• Integration with other other Creative Suite applications (Illustrator, InDesign, Flash)
• Working with the pen tool and vector layers
• Colour Management and Print
• Common questions in ACE exams

Adobe Certified Expert Revision

• What to expect on exam day and how to book an exam
• Example questions
• Practice Exam
• Results
• What next?

Managing the Adobe Photoshop Environment

• Exploring default Workspace and Bridge
• Introduction to the Toolbar
• Palette management and Screen real estate
• History Palette and Undoing Actions
• Navigation shortcuts

Working with Selections

• Creating Selections using Magic Wand
• Adjusting Selections
• Quick Selection and Lasso tools
• Combining Selection tools for complex objects
• Saving and Reloading a Selection

Enhancing an Image

• Using Levels and Curves
• Compensate for flash with Shadow and Highlight
• Variations to quickly decide about a colour cast
• Hue and Saturation controls
• Blurring and sharpening using
• Filters

Painting and Retouching Images

• Digital darkroom techniques
• Clone Stamp and Heal tools
• Creating
• Saving and loading custom colours
• Painting with Paintbrush
• Pencil or Paint Bucket tool
• Introduction to Gradients and painting with Gradients
• Working with Quick Mask mode and Layer Masks

Working with Layers

• Importing images
• Layers and Selections
• Transforming Layer Objects and using the Smart Objects
• Starting to build layered compositions
• Applying Transparency
• Basic Blending Modes
• Other goodies as Text Layers
• Adjustment Layers and Layer Styles

Outputting your artwork

• Colour modes
• Resolution and Image Size
• Cropping an image vs Extending the Canvas
• File formats and optimizing artwork for Web

Setting Up Your Document

• Be precise with Rulers and Guides
• Add, move and shuffle Pages in your Document
• Paginate Spread Pages
• Using Bridge to organise your creative assets
• InDesign Libraries to share them

Working with Frames

• Place Text and Graphics on the Document Pages
• Applying Colours
• Tints and Gradients
• Get creative with the Stroke panel
• Shapes and Corner options inside of InDesign
• Transforming Frames Content
• Changing the default Transparency
• Share the Appearance attributes with Object Styles

Importing and Editing Text

• Flowing Text and multiple Columns design
• Formatting with Character and Paragraph Styles
• Leading
• Spacing
• Tracking and Kerning
• Create Bulleted and Numbered lists
• Explore decorative Fonts and special Characters with Glyphs panel

Working with Graphics

• Image quality and Display options
• Fitting or Clipping graphics with Frames
• Share Colours across the with Swatch Exchange Format
• Manage linked files and automate updating of your content
• Vector artworks inside of InDesign
• Goddies inside of the Effects panel

Page Layout tools

• Using Placeholders Eyedropper and Master Pages for different workflow
• Aligning multiple Objects and working with Object Groups
• Wrap text around inline Objects while making use of Alpha Channels
• Be a professional with Baseline Grid alignment

Outputting and PDF Export

• Understanding Bleed and Slug
• Differentiate between Spot and Process colours
• Create a Package to share InDesign Documents
• Manage missing Fonts
• Preflight for Prepress

Creating basic Documents

• Explore the prebuilt Document Profiles
• Shortcuts to navigate the Artboard effectively
• Create custom Workspaces

Drawing in Illustrator

• Draw Paths with the Pen tool
• Add, delete or adjust points along a path
• Understand how BÈzier Curves work
• Freeform Drawing tools
• Live Trace to transform images or hand drawn sketches into vector artworks that can be further adjusted Create Logo using simple Shapes
• Discovering basic Blends
• Symbols in Illustrator and Symbol Sprayer options

Modifying Objects

• Lasso select and the other goodies in the Select Menu
• Be precise using Smart Guides
• Grids and Guidelines
• Align, Group and Duplicate to achieve better results
• Transform objects with Twirl
• Bloat and other Warp tools
• Layers palette: Hide and Lock Objects
• Intro to Isolation Mode for effective editing

Working with Colours in Illustrator

• Difference between Swatches and Colour palette
• Applying colour to Stroke and/or Fill
• Adjusting Stroke attributes with Stroke panel
• Introducing Gradients and Patterns

Text in Illustrator

• Point
• Area and Type on a path
• Import Body Type and fix Spelling Errors
• Find and Replace Text or Insert Typographic Characters
• Create Text Outlines to design your own fancy headlines

Outputting your Artwork

• Defining cropping area
• Saving your artwork in vector formats
• Save for Web and Devices

Please check out the “Outlines” section of the following courses.

• InDesign 101 : Rookie
• InDesign 201 : HotShot
• Photoshop 101 : Rookie
• Photoshop 201 : HotShot
• Illustrator 101 : Rookie
• Illustrator 201 : HotShot

1. day: Basics to become a Digital artist

• using a digital tablet, painting on a digital canvas. The course trainer will use a Wacom Cintiq tablet.
• A quick overview of necessary Photoshop skills, working with layers, selections, blend modes and masking)
• painting with Photoshop (learning the brush engine, creating customised brushes and adding brushes to your ‘brush library’)
• Getting inspiration from famous digital artists and their work
• Basic overview on drawing techniques and industry tricks for doing quick and effective drawings.
• Drawing the human figure, basics of human anatomy, designing female and male characters, and expanding this knowledge to create ‘super’ heroes (for example Marvel characters like ‘Spiderman’ and ‘The Fantastic Four’ )
• Creating quick sketches to capture ideas and play with composition and form
• Learn how to draw fast and economic drawings through a short storyboarding exercise to learn fast drawing and think about composition and the visual language of cinema art.
• More advanced digital drawing : Creating dynamic compositions ,through staging, lighting, colours, perspective, style, genres, anatomy, etc)

2. day: Sketching and Colouring

Begin thinking about a character design and environment for a mood ‘poster’ which sells your concept.

• A series of exercises learning how to paint : different skin textures, hair, reflections, glass surfaces eyes, metal, environments, clouds, simulating camera depth of field, etc through practical examples.
• Developing a composition for your ‘poster’ image.
• Modifying and preparing sketches for colouring
• lay out the colour scheme of the image

3. day: The Devil is in the details.

• working on particular elements of an image:
• finalising the coloured ‘poster’ sketch from day 2

4. day: Matte painting and concept art

• using textures and photographic elements to build a scene for a movie or a computer game, advancing from the ‘poster’ image created in day 3.
• Overview of creating matte paintings in After Effects. (Some students may wish to create a scene from artwork generated during the course in After Effects, others may continue with their digital compositions)
• Finally, final discussions on the advanced development of the Poster for a hero, a villain and a monster character for a movie or a computer game. Discussions on alternative compositions, and a round up of skills learned and discussions on further development by reviewing artwork created during the course.