Photoshop: Behind the Mask

Ah, the ability to momentarily escape reality. It's just one of the perks of this week's Photoshop project.

Our final task was to create a book cover, front and back, illustrating our ability (or lack thereof) to manipulate images using masks, a tool in Photoshop.

As with all my school projects, I pick themes that actually mean something to me. I'm 29 weeks pregnant, so my main focus right now is food, specifically anything containing sugar. So, naturally, I decided to create a book cover about... well, cakes.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am skilled at many things, but cooking is NOT one of them. This is where the whole "momentarily escape reality" thing comes into place. For my project, I decided to pretend I was the author of this book, which meant I was also a skilled caterer, pastry chef and food stylist. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Man, just looking at this book cover makes me hungry. Doesn't that count for something?

Photoshop: Using Filters

This was probably my most challenging Photoshop project to date. Our assignment was to create a CD cover and back while experimenting with filters. I'm going to sound like a complete geek when I say this, but completely distorting images by applying crazy filters is a lot of fun. It's almost as fun as changing your voice by appyling audio filters in Garageband. If you haven't tried that yet, I highly recommend it.

What made this project challenging (besides coming up with a good concept) was applying enough filters to complete the assignment, but not making them so crazy that they detract from the overall design. The video equivalent would be applying crazy transitions every time you have a scene change. If you don't do it right, it just looks amateur.

For my theme, I decided to appeal to pregnant women who might need a little extra rest and relaxation. I guess you could say this is a case of art imitating life... or is it life imitating art?

Whatever.

The Cover

The Back

By the way, I just registered to take an advanced Photoshop class being offered online this summer. Technically, the class ends August 2nd, which is about a week after my due date. I'm hoping the instructor lets me complete some assignments early. I doubt I'll be in the mood for Photoshop with a newborn crying in the background. Although, having this CD might help :)

Photoshop: Getting Canned

I originally titled this blog post, "Photoshop: Using Layers". But, I nearly fell asleep after reading it, so I thought it best to spice things up a bit.

As you know, I'm taking an online Photoshop class. This week's project was to create a label for can. The goal was to help us better learn the concept of layering and creating patterns. Most of the examples I saw were pretty boring, so I ventured outside the box... or in this case, "outside the can".

And by the way, I totally stole this concept from a cheap, Ft. Lauderdale souvenior shop.

Here's a close-up of the "nutrition" label.

Photoshop: Correcting and Coloring Photos

It's weird. I think my last school assignment was tougher than this one. Aren't classes supposed to get harder the further you progress in the semester? Not that I'm complaining....

For our second assignment, we were asked to make some major corrections to a black and white photo, color it and add some text. When complete, the image should look like an advertisement.

Photoshop: My First Assignment

I've always known I would go back to school. And ironically, I knew I was going to be pregnant when I started. Inevitably, we got our baby news approximately one week after I enrolled in my first class at Palomar College.

I already have a degree in broadcast journalism, which I earned while attending The Ohio State University and Ohio University in the late 1990s. It's served me well. However, the growing demand of online video is forcing producers to be skilled in many different areas. My classes at Palomar are really geared towards teaching me the ins and outs of specific software programs... programs I already use on a daily basis even though I rarely know what I'm doing.

My first class started a couple weeks ago. It's a beginner's Photoshop class, and it's online. I complete the assignments at home and email them to the instructor, which is perfect for me.

Right now we're learning how to color, which brings back fond memories of my crazy kindergarten years. I was never very good at coloring, but I seem to have improved with age. Unfortunately, this online class doesn't include an afternoon nap.