Lesson 3 : Opening your own document.

To start your work , you need to open a new document. Go to menu>file> and click on new> . A new window will open which asks you about the specifications of the document you want to start. Name your document "artwork."

Choosing size and resolution: From the drop down menu of "preset size" chose the size of "letter" and set the resolution of your document to "72" pixel. This will create a document for you that exacts the size of a letter sheet of paper. Now go to menu>file> save and save your new document in a folder on the computer.

Adjusting your canvas : if you followed the instructions above , you will now have a artwork document which has a portrait orientation ( the longer side of your image is vertical and you have a long canvas) , if you want your canvas to have a "landscape" orientation( the long side to be horizontal and there fore having a wide canvas) , go to menu>image>rotate canvas> 90CW this will rotate your canvas 90 degrees in the direction of the rotation of clock hands ( clockwise). Click on menu>file>save and save your work.

Lesson 3 : selecting , pasting and moving

What we want to do now, is selecting your portrait and cutting it out so you can change the background of your image.

Selecting : There are different ways for selecting an area or object in our image. Once an area is selected we can perform different actions on it , or cut and copy it , without affecting the unselected areas. In Photo shop , Marquee tool, Lasso tool , Magic wand and pen tool can all be used for making different kinds of selections. Here, we cover the marquee tool and Lasso tool. At any stage , if you want to see the details of your image better, or viceversa want to pull back and see the whole picture; chose the zoom tool from the toolbox and click on the image ( or alt click : for zooming out ) in order to change your view .

MARQUEE SELECTION The marquee tool selects a square or circle area of your image and does not trace a specific part or object . To use the marquee tool, click on the square or circle marquee tool on the tool box. Place your mouse on the image and drag it to draw a square or circle around the area you wish to select.

LASSO SELECTION : The lasso tool can make irregular selections and also trace a specific area within your image. To use the Lasso tool , go to tool box and chose the lasso tool with your mouse. You will see a menu opening , chose "polygonal Lasso" .( see picture)

Come back to your workspace and place the lasso tool on the contour of your figure and click. You will see that the lasso will stick to your image. Now move your mouse a bit and go a bit further on the contour and click again. Continue this procedure until you have traced all the contour and arrived at the first place. At this stage, you will see a circle at the point of the lasso tool. This circle means that your selection is becoming complete and rounded. Make your last click when you see the circle. You will now see a dashed flashing line all around your figure, this shows that your figure has been selected. Now you can move or copy this selection. Go to the menu bar>edit>copy to copy your selection.

Pasting the selection: Select the document where you want to paste your selection ( the "artwork document" in your case.) . Now go to menu>edit>paste . This will paste your selection on a new layer in your work document. Double-click on this layer and give it a name like "myface". Next, go to file >save and save your document.

tracing contours and selecting.

Moving the selection or pasted area: We use the move tool to drag and move images or selected areas in photo shops. To move your selection or the contents of a layer, go to the tool box and chose the move tool. Now click on your section or image and drag and move it to the place you like. After you are done with re-locating things go to menu>file>save and save your work

Lesson 4: Adding a new background

Now we want to chose a background for your portrait: go to your backgroundbox file/document. Find the layer which has the background that you like, and click on it. Now go to the toolbox and chose the move tool. Come back to your layer palette, and pull your chosen layer to the top of your layer stacks. Now go back to your workspace and click and drag ( click, hold the mouse button down, and drag) the background you have chosen to the workspace of your "artwork" document. ( You have to move your mouse between two windows) You will see that the background transfers to a new layer in the "artwork" document. Double click on this layer and give it a name.

dragging a layer to another document

the image with the new background

If the background layer is hiding your face, chose its layer in the layer palette and drag it down below your face layer.

Using the same process you can bring different elements like face parts, flowers, trees, and animals from your different downloaded files into your artwork. You can make these elements to show on top or behind each other by pulling their layers up and down.

in the next lesson , you will learn how to change the size of your different elements and rotate them in the way that you like

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