1. Complete the class check-in form.

If you have not done so already, go to the Section page and click on the link near the bottom of the page for Check-In. You will be taken to a page where you will need to create a username and password. Once you press the submit button, your instructor will get an email stating that you checked in. Within 24 hours (or so) of your checking in, your instructor will activate your class account so you can access all the class pages with your username and password.

2. Obtain class book and notes CD, and software if needed.

Be sure to get the correct CD. There are old versions out there. They will not work for this course. We have totally rewritten the materials for CS2.

3. Introduce yourself to your instructor.

• Complete and submit the Instructor form to let me know a little about yourself so that I can teach you more effectively. If you are going to use a computer other than the college lab, tell me the platform (Mac or Windows), operating system, processor speed, and how much RAM is in your system.
• If you have any special needs or concerns, you can also tell me about them here. Anything you put in your instructor introduction will be kept confidential.

4. Introduce yourself to the class on the Discussion Forum.

• The passwording for the forum is independent of the SRJC CATE system that we use for the rest of the course. Before you can post to the forum for the first time, you will need to click the Register link at the top of the forum. Then you will need to log in before you can post a message.
• Whatever you post to the forum will be visible to the open Internet. Any images you upload are behind the college firewall and only visible to me and your classmates. Only I can see your quizzes and worksheets.

5. Carefully review our section home page to acclimate yourself to the class web site and learn how to submit your homework.

E. Do Project 1: Visual Introduction.

• View examples from previous semesters.
• Create a new document that is 600 pixels x 400 pixels – you may choose either portrait or landscape orientation.
• Create a 'visual introduction' of yourself. Include images that depict you, your family, your job, hobbies, pets, etc. Your visual introduction is a way to let your class know a little about you. These images will be placed on a Web site for your classmates to take a look at, so be sure to not include any images you would not like to be made public. Build your introduction by using image elements you've drawn/painted and images gathered from other copyright-appropriate sources.
• Save the image as a .JPG file, following the guidelines from Pp. 22-23 of Chapter 1 from the Notes CD, and name it 01-intro.jpg. Your name will be appended when you upload the file.
• Upload the file to the Project 1 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• View the class gallery of Visual Introductions.

A. Read and do Chapter 1 notes CD.

B. Read Chapter 1, Studio Techniques.

C. Complete Project 2: Grape Juice Poster - Using Custom Brushes.

• View examples from last year. We have changed the assignment slightly, but the examples still give you the general idea.
• Begin with the grayscale scan of a grape on the class CD: proj2-grape.tif. (Since it is a tif, you will need to right click or ctrl-click the link, and choose Save Image As, or Save Target As to save the image to your disk.) So many of you had trouble downloading the tif file in the past that it is also saved here in gif format:proj2-grape.gif.
• Scale the image as you feel is appropriate, and turn the image into a custom paint brush.
• Make a new RGB image, 4 x 6 inches, at appropriate print resolution (portrait or landscape).
• Use guides to mark off a 1/2 in. frame inside the perimeter of your document. Use any painting tools/options of your choice to make a distinguishable frame for your image in the area defined by these guides.
• Using the grape brush, paint with different colors, modes, and painting tools to make a poster advertising grape juice. Use at least 5 brush options (scatter, texture, etc.) as you paint your poster and its frame.
• Define a custom calligraphy brush and use it to write the words "grape juice."
• Save the image as a .JPG file, following the guidelines from the chapter 1 notes and name it 02-grape.jpg.
• Submit the file to the Project 2 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Use the Project 2 Documentation Form to document your work.
• View the class gallery of Grape Juice Posters.

D. Complete Project 3: Decoration.

• View examples from last semester
• Sonoma recently finished up a 2-year community fundraising project. www.sonomacows.com. Local artists were commissioned to decorate "nude" cows. After much display and hoopla, the cows were auctioned off (and Donald was there). His "nude" cow photo, proj3-start.jpg needs decoration.
• Using a minimum of six painting tools, decorate the cow and its surroundings. Be sure to use a mixture of brushes, painting modes, and tool options. Do not use any filters or layer styles.
• Add at least one gradient to the image, as appropriate.
• Save the image as a .JPG file, following the guidelines from the week 1 notes and name it 03-decor.jpg. Don't forget to check the image size.
• Submit the file to the Project 3 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 3 Documentation form to list the tools, painting modes, and tool options you used.
• View the class gallery of Decoration Projects.

E. Take online Quiz 2 – Painting.

• All exams in this class are timed (one minute per question), open book open-note, open Photoshop. But, the more you read and study before taking each exam, the more you will learn. Once you open an exam, take it. (Your instructor can tell if you open and close exams without taking them - and I will deduct points if you have opened the test more than once.)
• This quiz covers overall course mechanics and the topics in Chapter 1 of the notes CD, and Photoshop Help from Lesson 1, CIB.

A. Study Chapter 2 CD notes.

B. Complete the online Optimization and Customization Worksheet.

C. Take online Quiz 3 – Optimize and Customize.

A. Study Chapter 3 CD notes.

B. Read Chapter 5, Studio Techniques.

C. Read Bonus CH-01 Line Art.pdf, Studio Techniques CD.

D. Complete Project 4: Grayscale Conversion

• Begin with a color image, proj4-gray-start.jpg. It is on the Notes CD.
• Look at the examples from last semester. They used a different image, but it will give you some ideas.
• Convert the kite image into at least four different grayscale images, trying out different conversion techniques.
• Use the Picture Package command to create an 8x10 image that combines the four images. Keep the resolution high if you want to print the images on your own (recommended for comparison).
• Below or next to each image, use the Type tool to briefly list the methods used for each conversion and identify the one you like the best.
• Save the image as a .JPG file, following the guidelines from the week 1 notes and name it 04-gray.jpg. Don't forget to check the image size.
• Submit the file to the Project 4 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 4 Documentation form to describe the conversion methods you tried, and why you did or did not like them.

E. Complete Project 5: Bitmap Conversion

• Begin with a grayscale image, proj5-horseman.jpg in the projects folder on the Notes CD. It's a scan from a very old book.
• Crop the image if you want.
• Sharpen the image to accentuate the detail. Smart Sharpen with Lens Blur worked quite well. We'll cover sharpening in more detail later in the course, but for now, take a look at this tutorial which that explains the difference between the Gaussian Blur, Lens Blur, and Motion Blur Remove options: http://webdesign.templatemonster.com/web/photoshop/tutorials/smart-sharpen-filter.5293.html.
• Add a Threshold adjustment layer, and adjust the Threshold slider until it gives you the best overall detail without getting totally muddy.
• Use the Dodge and Burn tools, changing options, on the background to fine tune the detail.
• Flatten the image and convert to Bitmap mode. Diffusion Dither and a high ppi (remember, the same as your printer output) should give you the best results.
• Save the image as a .JPG file, following the guidelines from the week 1 notes and name it 05-horseman.jpg. Don't forget to check the image size.
• Submit the file to the Project 5 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 5 Documentation form to evaluate the process.

F. Take online Quiz 4 – Color Theory.

A. Read and Do Chapter 4 CD notes on Spot and Process Colors.

B. Complete Project 6: Spot and Duotone Conversion

• Begin by downloading the source file. This photo of a Cisitalia 202G was taken by Thad Zajdowicz; Rockville; MD, and posted on the stockxchng. You will need to download it from there.
• Select the red body of the car, store the selection as an alpha channel, and turn it into a spot channel. You may use any spot color you think will look good--red is not required.
• Convert the image to grayscale, using the techniques you feel gives the best results.
• Save the image as 06-car.psd and save a copy for web following the directions in the notes CD.
• Open 06-car.psd, duplicate it, and turn the duplicate file into a multitone image using colors and settings of your choice. Save the multitone car image as 06-car-2.psd according to the instructions in Chapter 1 of the Notes CD.
• Submit both files to the Project 6 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 6 Documentation form to describe the spot and multitone settings you used, and to evaluate each image.

C. Take online Quiz 5: Spot and Process Colors

A. Study Chapter 5 CD notes on Web Graphics and Animation.

B. Complete Project 7: Animation

• View some examples from last semester.
• Use this starting image: proj07-start.pdf. PDF files need to be downloaded, not opened in a web browser. Then you can either open them in Photoshop (with rasterization) or placed into a document you already have open in Photoshop (you will do that here).
• Make a new Photoshop document, 200 x 200 pixels.
• Place the proj07-start.pdf file into that document.
• Jump the document into ImageReady.
• Create an animation with this file. Your animation must:
  • Have at least 8 frames.
  • Use at least 3 layers. You may use shape layers and/or paint layers.
  • Have a file size of 100k or less. The weekly reading has suggestions for minimizing animation file sizes.
• Trim the image to remove unused edge pixels.
• Save the animation file as 07-anim.gif.
• Submit the file to the Project 7 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 7 Documentation form to report the number of frames and layers used.
• View the Animations class gallery.

C. Complete Project 8: Indexed Color Conversion with different color tables.

• Begin with an RGB image, proj8-start.jpg.
• Duplicate the image and tile the two documents to see them side by side.
• Convert the duplicate into Indexed Color mode, using the Local (Perceptual) color palette and 256 colors. Note the similarity between the original image (up to 16 million colors) and the indexed color version (256 colors).
• Duplicate the Indexed Color image three more times. You will apply a different color table to each.
  • Use Image > Mode > Color Table to force the colors in one image into the Black Body color table.
  • Use Image > Mode > Color Table to force the colors in another image into the Spectrum color table.
  • For the final image, create your own color table. Choose Image > Mode > Color Table. Click on any of the color swatches to change that individual color. You can also drag over more than one color swatch to change several colors at once. Have fun with this copy, changing colors with wild abandon.
• Save each of the duplicate images in GIF format, naming them as you choose.
• Use File > Automate >Web Photo Gallery command to create a Web site that compares the perceptual, black body, spectrum, and custom color images.
• If you have the ability, upload the Web gallery to a Web server and make note of the URL. If not, compress the resulting folder that contains the new Web gallery into a .zip or .sit file and name this file 08-index.sit or 08-index.zip.
• Submit the file to the Project 8 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 8 Documentation form. Be sure to include the URL of your web gallery, if you uploaded it to the Web.
• There will be no gallery for this project.

E. Take online Quiz 6 – Web graphics and animation

A. Study Chapter 6 CD notes on ImageReady. You may also choose to read the class notes PDF taken by Nancy Carroll and partially edited by Barbara Heiman.

B. Complete Project 9: NavBar with Remote Rollover.

In this project, you will use the same procedure for creating a rollover as in chapter 6 of the notes. This time, though, you get to choose the shape of the button as well as what appears on the button in both the Normal and Over states.

• Make a new Photoshop document, 200 x 200 pixels.
• Create a button of whatever shape you want. Use layer effects/styles to make it look like a button.
• Add text and/or images to the button, for the Normal state.
• Add an Over state, and have the text/image/effects change to reflect this new state.
• Use File > Save Optimized to save both the image and the HTML code necessary to make the rollover work.
• If you have the ability, upload the image and code to a Web server and make note of the URL. If not, compress the resulting folder that contains the new Web gallery into a .zip file and name this file 09-rollover.zip.
• Submit the file to the Project 9 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself. There will be no gallery for this project.
• Complete the Project 9 Documentation form. Be sure to include the URL of your web gallery, if you uploaded it to the Web.

C. Complete Project 10: Image Map.

In this project, you will use the same procedure for creating an image map as in chapter 6 of the notes. This time, though, you get to choose the beginning image, as well as set up the image map regions.

• Open an image of your choice.
• Create at least five different image map regions, being sure to include at lease one circle, rectangle, and polygon region. Be sure the regions are appropriate to where they're located in the image. Have each region destination point to one of your favorite Web sites.
• Use File > Save Optimized to save both the image and the HTML code necessary to make the image map work.
• If you have the ability, upload the image and code to a Web server and make note of the URL. If not, compress the resulting folder that contains the new Web gallery into a .zip file and name this file 10-map.zip.
• Submit the file to the Project 10 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself. There will be no gallery for this project.
• Complete the Project 10 Documentation form. Be sure to include the URL of your web gallery, if you uploaded it to the Web.

Sara Silver, a former student, did a particularly nice job on this assignment because she incorporated a remote rollover with each image map regions, so that the user can see that a region is clickable, and where it will lead to. Check it out.

D. Take online Quiz 7 – ImageReady.

A. Review for the comprehensive Midterm Exam. It uses the same format and testbank as the quizzes, only it has 30 questions.

B. Take the Midterm Exam.

A. Study Chapter 7 CD notes on Actions

B. Complete Project 11: Actions and Automations

1. Read the notes on Actions and Automations, trying out the various actions and automations that are described in the chapter.
2. Use at least one action or automation in your own workflow. You may either make up your own steps, or use a premade action or automation. If you download something from the Web, or use an online tutorial, be sure to reference it.
3. Post your action or automation to the class forum describing:
   • What you did and why you did it.
   • How it worked.
   • Additional comments

C. Take online Quiz 8 – Actions.

A. Study Chapter 8 CD notes on Color Management.

B. Read Chapter 7, Studio Techniques.

C. Complete the online Color Management Worksheet.

D. Complete Project 12: RGB to CMYK conversion

• Begin with the bubbles.jpg image in RGB_to_CMYK folder inside the student_folder. This photo of a five year old child was taken by Steve Ford Elliott; Mountshannon; Co Clare; Ireland, and posted on the stockxchng.
• Convert the image to CMYK, experimenting with the various options discussed in Chapter 8 of the Notes CD.
• Complete the CMYK Conversion documentation form. (No need to upload because when you save for web you strip off the embedded profile, and later the appearance of the image.)

C. Take online Quiz 9 – Color Management.

A. Study Chapter 9 CD notes on Type.

B. Read Bonus CH-04 Type and Background Effects.pdf, Studio Techniques CD.

C. Complete Project 13: Variations on a Word

• Create a new Photoshop document 600 x 400 pixels, 72 ppi.
• Use guides to divide the document into six 200-pixel squares.
• With the Type tool, type a word of between three and seven characters. Place it in one of the squares.
• Choose a font and size that you like for the word.
• With the five other squares, type the same word, or duplicate the type layer and move in into its own square.
• Change the formatting of the type in each additional square so that each one looks very different from the others:
  • For the first duplicate square, restrict your formatting experimentation to the Type tool Options bar settings, including one of the warp settings.
  • For another, restrict your formatting experimentation to Character palette settings.
  • For another, restrict your formatting experimentation to pre-defined layer styles from the Styles palette.
  • For another, start with a pre-defined style from the Styles palette, and modify it by changing the specific settings for the included effects.
  • In the last square, go hog wild and change the word with any combination of formatting you'd like.
• Expand the document canvas to add an additional 100 pixels above and below your word squares.
• Use paragraph type to briefly document what you did to the type in each square.
• 'Sign' your document – with the Type tool, of course.
• Save the document in psd format, and print it without resizing. Your scalable type should print nicely.
• Save the image in JPG format without resizing it, and name it 13-type.jpg. Keep the image size below 125 kb.
• Submit the file to the Project 13 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 13 Documentation Form to list the specific formatting options you used in each square.
• View the Type class gallery.
• As an experiment, print the web version. How does it compare with the PSD?

C. Take online Quiz 10 – Type.

A. Study Chapter 10 CD notes on Paths.

B. Read Pp. 418-42 on the Pen tool from the Studio Techniques book.

C. Complete Project 14: Type on and in a Path.

• Begin with an RGB image, proj14-start.pdf. This image contains a template of a cartoon speech bubble, with a rounded rectangle inside.
• Using the Pen tools, create two paths, one for the outside bubble and one for the inside rounded rectangle. Edit each path as needed.
• Delete or hide the unnecessary template layers.
• Type your first name repeatedly on the speech bubble path, putting a space and a bullet or other special character in between, such as alisandra • alisandra • alisandra     or   donald * donald * donald.
• Add type in the internal path, using a short quotation, saying, song lyric, poem, etc. of your choice.
• Format all text as desired. You may add color to the background if you like, but avoid a gradient for this image--and do not import any other images. Here's an example that Windsor Green did:
  
• Check your spelling (Edit > Check Spelling), crop as desired, and save the image in GIF format, named 14-typepath.gif. For print work, your document would be kept in pdf format so that your type layers would print at optimal resolution, but you use GIF here because your document only has a few colors, and GIF will do the best job of reducing the file size for online viewing, especially if you optimize it by only using as large a color palette as you need.
• Submit the file to the Project 14 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 14 Documentation Form to list the tools and tool options you used.
• View the Type-Path class gallery.

D. Complete Project 15: Stroked Paths

• Begin with an RGB image, proj15-start.jpg. It is a gerber daisy, repeated eight times.
• Make a path around the upper left flower. For those of you who are pen-tool challenged, the image has an alpha channel to start you out.
• Using the Brush tool and options of your choice, stroke the path. Use the type tool to document these settings.
• Move the path to another flower, choose another tool that uses a brush, set its options, and stroke the path a second time. Use the type tool to document these settings.
• Repeat the last step until you have applied different strokes to each of the flowers.
• Briefly document how you stroked each flower in the Stroked Paths Documentation Form.
• Save the image for web without resizing and submit it to the Project 15 drop box. It can be up to 125 kb.
• View the Stroked Path class gallery.

E. Take online Quiz 11 – Paths.

A. Study Chapter 11 CD notes on Shapes, Fill Layers, and Vector Masks.

B. Read Pp. 4-42 on shape layers, and Pp. 458-462 on vector masks from the Studio Techniques book.

C. Complete Project 16: Vector Garden.

• View the Vector Gardens from previous semesters.
• Start with a blank document that is 8 in by 10 in, either portrait or landscape, 72 ppi.
• Draw a picture of a garden, using only the vector tools and shapes. Use layer effects and styles to enhance your shape layers.
• Be sure to use at least three of the following vector tools: Rectangle, Ellipse, Line, Custom Shape, Polygon and at least one Path drawn or edited with the Pen tools.
• On the same image, type the word 'Garden'.
• Convert the type to a shape layer, and embellish with painting or vector tools. Save in psd format.
• Save the image asecond time as a .PDF file, including vector data and fonts, but NOT layers. See if you can keep your file under 300 kb. Print this image on a Postscript printer, if possible.
• Save the image as a .JPG file, following the guidelines from the week 1 notes and name it 16-vect.jpg. Print this image as well, and compare its quality with the PDF version.
• Submit the JPG file to the Project 16 drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself.
• Complete the Project 16 Documentation form to describe at least three tools used to produce the elements of the image.
• View the class gallery of Vector Gardens.

D. Take online Quiz 12: Shapes and Vector Masks.

A. Study Chapter 12 CD notes on Masks.

B. Read Chapters 2-3 and 13-15, Studio Techniques.

C. Start big project - travel or nonprofit poster.

In this project, you will combine multiple images to create a new image. You will choose your own images. These may be images you’ve scanned, digital camera images, or images you’ve obtained by any other copyright-appropriate method.

Before you begin, view examples from previous semesters. You will see examples of three themes-- a travel poster to a real or fantasy location, a National Enquirer spoof, or a poster for a non-profit organization.

1. Start by creating a blank PSD document, RGB image mode, that is no larger than 13 x 19 inches or 19 by 13 inches, 200 ppi. These are the requirements to give a good-quality printout for the wide format Epson printer in the CIS lab in Petaluma. If your computer does not have at least 512 kb RAM, work in 150 ppi. The image will still print quite well, although slightly less than professional quality. (You probably won't be able to tell the difference.)

2. Bring your images into this blank document. As you make your poster, do not use any filters except for Gaussian Blur, Unsharp Mask, Lens Flare, and Lighting Effects.

3. All layers should be given descriptive names.

4. Use the techniques you have learned or practiced in the course so far to make your poster. For full credit on this project, your final image must have ALL of the following:

• At least one element separated from its original image by using a layer mask.
• At least one clipping mask.
• At least one layer that uses the Blend If command.
• At least one layer set, containing at least three layers.
• At least one layer that uses a layer style.
• A title and your name created with the Type tool.
• At least three layers that have different blending modes.
• At least two layers that use shadows effectively (at least one cast shadow and at least one drop shadow).

5. If you are able to (not restricted by management software in the CIS labs), take a screen capture of your Layers palette, showing all the layers in your document.

6. Save a copy of the image to print in generic PDF format, print quality, and print it.

7. Downsamplea copy of the image in the Image > Image Size dialog box to no more than 800 x 600 pixels (a little larger than usual, if you wish) and then save another copy for the web. Your original image will be too large to go straight to Save for Web. Save the image as a .JPG file. For this assignment only, this JPG file may be as large as 200k. Name the file bp.jpg.

You have a couple of weeks to work on this project. When you are done, you will submit the file to the Big Project drop box. The specific instructions are on the submission page itself. If you were able to take a screen capture, name it bp1-screen-xxx.jpg and drop it in the project drop box as well.

• Complete the BP Documentation Form to list each layer and note which layers meet which of the project requirements.
• View the class gallery for the Big Project.
• Have fun. I'm looking forward to wonderful projects, based on the creativity and high quality of Photoshop techniques I've seen so far.

C. Take online Quiz 13: Masks.

A. Study Chapter 13 CD notes on Combining and Compositing

B. Read Bonus CH-03 Shadows.pdf, Studio Techniques CD.

C. Continue working on the Big Project. There are no assignments due this week.

A. Complete Big Project. Submit the file(s) to the Big Project drop box. View the class gallery for the Big Project.

B. Participate in online review.

C. Take the Final Exam.

D. Your final exam and Big Project MUST be submitted by midnight on Monday, December 18. I might be soft on deadlines during the semester, when you have good excuses, but I have only a couple of days after that to get the Gradebook wrapped up and your grades submitted.