CBSE Notes for Class 8 Computer in Action – Exploring More Features of Adobe Photoshop

In the previous chapter, we learnt about the Selection tools, the Drawing tools and the Painting tools. In this chapter, we will learn about the Retouching tools and the Type tools. We will also learn about two interesting and useful features of Photoshop—Layers and Filters. Layers let us organise our work while Filters let us enhance the look of an image by adding various effects.

RETOUCHING TOOLS
The Retouching tools let you repair damaged images, apply repeated patterns or enhance the look of an image using various effects. Some of the Retouching tools available in Photoshop are Healing Brush Tool, Spot Healing Brush Tool, Patch Tool, Red Eye Tool, Blur Tool, Sharpen Tool, Smudge Tool, Dodge Tool, Sponge Tool, Burn Tool, Clone Stamp Tool and Pattern Stamp Tool.
Let us learn about some of these tools in detail.

The Healing Brush Tool allows you to repair imperfections such as scratches, blemishes and marks in an image. While working with this tool, you pick up sample pixels (pixels to be used for repairing) from the adjoining portion of an image. The Healing Brush Tool matches the texture, lighting, transparency and shading of the sampled pixels and applies them to the pixels that are being repaired.

The steps to use the Healing Brush Tool are:
Step 1: Select the Healing Brush Tool.
Step 2: Select the appropriate options for the Healing Brush Tool in the Options bar (Fig. 8.1).

These options include:

• Brush Picker: To set the size of the brush tip.
• Source: To specify whether to pick up sampled pixels from the image (Sampled) or use pre-defmed patterns.
• Aligned: To specify the sampling point to be used for repairing. If you select this option, you can release the mouse button without losing the current sampling point. If you deselect this option, the sampled pixels are always taken from the initial sampling point.

Step 3: Hold down the Alt key. The cursor shape changes to a target symbol. Click on the area close to the area to be repaired to pick up the sampled pixels.
Step 4: Click and drag over the area to be repaired. The image gets repaired (Fig. 8.2 and Fig. 8.3).


The Spot Healing Brush Tool works in a similar manner to the Healing Brush Tool except that it does not require the sampling point to be set. It automatically picks up the sampled pixels from around the area to be retouched. This tool can be used to quickly remove spots, blemishes and other marks from photographs.
The steps to use the Spot Healing Brush Tool are:
Step 1: Select the Spot Healing Brush Tool.
Step 2: Select the appropriate options in the Options bar (Fig. 8.3). One of the options includes choosing an appropriate Type option.

The Type options include:
(a) Content-Aware: Choosing this option uses actual content from the image close to the flaw. You can use this option when removing large items such as scratches from your image.
(b) Create Texture: Choosing this option uses all the pixels in the selection to create a texture that can be used to fix the area.
(c) Proximity Match: Choosing this option makes the Spot Healing Brush Tool use the pixels around the edge of the selection to pick the patch for repairing the selected area.
Step 3: Click on the area you want to fix (Fig. 8.4a and B).


The Clone Stamp Tool lets you duplicate the parts of an image by setting a sampling point in the image to be cloned. The cloned image can be drawn over another image or part of the same image.
The steps to use the Clone Stamp Tool are:
Step 1: Choose the Clone Stamp Tool.
Step 2: Click the appropriate settings in the Options bar (Fig. 8.5). These settings may include choosing a Brush Size Opacity value or setting the Aligned checkbox.

Step 3: Hold down the Alt key. The cursor shape changes to a target symbol. Click on the image to be cloned to set the sampling point.
Step 4: Click and drag where you want the cloned image to appear. When you draw, a plus sign (+) appears on the original image while a corresponding circle appears on the cloned image (Fig. 8.6a and b).


A pattern is usually a design made up of an image that is repeated or tiled. The Pattern Stamp Tool lets you fill an area with a selected pattern. Photoshop comes with a variety of preset patterns. You can select a preset pattern from the Photoshop library or create your own pattern.
The steps to use the Pattern Stamp Tool are:
Step 1: Select the Pattern Stamp Tool.
Step 2: Set appropriate options such as Brush Size, Mode, Opacity and Flow for the Pattern Stamp Tool in the Options bar (Fig. 8.7).
Step 3: Select a pattern from the Pattern Picker in the Options bar.

Step 4: Place the mouse pointer inside the area where you want to apply the pattern and drag the mouse. The area of the image across which you drag the mouse gets filled with the pattern (Fig. 8.8).


These tools let you change the appearance or the focus of selected portions of the image.
The Blur Tool softens the selected portions of an image giving it a blurred effect. This tool is useful in situations when you want to moderate or soften the focus of some areas of an image.
The Sharpen Tool is the opposite of the Blur Tool. This tool lets you improve the clarity of an image by sharpening the edges of selected portions of an image.
The Smudge Tool gives an effect of spreading the paint across the image as if you have dragged your finger through wet paint. This tool picks up the colour from where the stroke begins and pushes it in the direction you drag your mouse.

The steps to use the Blur, Sharpen and Smudge tools are:
Step 1: Select the Blur Tool, the Sharpen Tool or the Smudge Tool from the Tools panel.
Step 2: Set the Brush Size and Blending Mode for the tool in the Options bar.
Step 3: Drag the mouse pointer over the portion of the image you want to blur, sharpen or smudge (Fig. 8.10a and b, Fig. 8.1 la and b).


The Dodge Tool is used to lighten the areas of an image whereas the Burn Tool is used to darken the areas of an image.
The steps to use the Dodge tool or the Burn Tool are:
Step 1: Select the Dodge Tool or the Burn Tool.
Step 2: In the Options bar, set the appropriate Brush Size and select an appropriate Range option and the Exposure Level.
Step 3: Drag the mouse pointer over the area of the image you want to lighten or darken (Fig. 8.12a, b and c).

The Type Tools are used for inserting text in Photoshop. You can format the text in many ways such as changing its font family , size, style, colour, alignment, horizontal or vertical orientation, indentation, line spacing and much more. You can also warp the shape of the text in a number of interesting ways such as that of a wave, a flag or an arc.
Note: When you insert text in Photoshop, it is created on a separate layer called the Type Layer. You will learn more about layers later in this chapter.

The Type Tools available in the Tools panel that we will discuss in this chapter are:

• Horizontal Type Tool inserts text in the horizontal direction.
• Vertical Type Tool inserts text in the vertical direction.

The steps to use the Type Tool are:
Step 1: Open the image.
Step 2: Select the Horizontal Type Tool or the Vertical Type Tool.
Step 3: Set the appropriate options such as font family, size, style, alignment and text colour for the Type Tool in the Options bar (Fig. 8.14 and Fig. 8.15).

Step 4: Click to set the insertion point anywhere on the image.
Step 5: Enter the desired text.
Step 6: Accept changes to the text by clicking the Commit button or cancel the operation by pressing the Cancel button in the Options bar.

Warping Text
The steps to be followed for warping the text are:
Step 1: Place the cursor anywhere in the already written text.
Step 2: Select the Type tool.
Step 3: Click the Create warped text %, button in the Options bar. This displays the Warp Text dialog box (Fig. 8.16).
Step 4: Choose a warp style from the Style drop-down list.
Step 5: Select the orientation of the warp style—Horizontal or Vertical.
Step 6: If desired, specify values for additional options given in the Warp Text dialog box.
Step 7: Click OK to apply the warp style.

The Eraser Tool erases pixels as you drag it across an image. Pixels are erased to transparency or to the background colour if the layer is locked. There are three variants of this tool—Eraser Tool, Background Eraser Tool and Magic Eraser Tool (Fig. 8.18).

The Background Eraser Tool allows you to erase the background colour from an image or a layer. You will learn more about layers later in this chapter. The Background Eraser Tool picks up the sample colour when you click on the image and erases this colour as you drag the mouse (Fig. 8.19).

On the other hand, the Magic Eraser Tool erases all areas that share similar coloured pixels. When using this tool, click on the area containing the colour to be removed from the image. This erases all the coloured pixels within a set tolerance. You can associate the functionality associated with Magic Eraser Tool to using the Magic Wand Tool and then pressing Delete.

The steps to use the Eraser Tools are:
Step 1: Select the Eraser Tool, the Background Eraser Tool or the Magic Eraser Tool.
Step 2: Set the appropriate options for the eraser tools in the Options bar.
Step 3: Drag over the area you want to erase when using the Eraser or the Background Eraser Tool.
When using the Magic Eraser Tool, click on the part of the image you want to erase (Fig. 8.20).

Practice Zone
Which Photoshop tool will you use to

1. duplicate a part of an image by setting the sampling point in the image?
2. quickly remove blemishes and other marks in photos without setting the sampling point?
3. remove all areas that share similar pixels in an image?
4. darken certain areas of an image?
5. give an effect of spreading paint across the image?
6. moderate or soften the focus of some areas of an image?

Scan any of your old photographs. Make use of various Retouching Tools to   remove any scratches, marks and so on, in your photographs to give it a new and fresh look.

LAYERS
Layers can be thought of as transparent sheets mounted on the top of each other.
Layers let you work on an individual part or an element of an image without affecting the other parts or elements. You can change the composition of an image by changing the order and properties of layers. Elements placed on higher layers are displayed above the elements placed on lower layers.
Look at the graphic in Figure 8.21. To you, it may look a single, flat graphic but it is actually a combination of various elements placed on different layers. In the given graphic, the lady, flag, text and background are all placed on different layers (Fig. 8.22).

When you open a new image file with a white or a coloured background, the bottom-most image in the Layers panel is called Background. An image can have only one background. You cannot change the order of the background layer. You can add more layers, delete layers, show/hide layers, lock layers and use different layer styles to add sophisticated effects to your image.
Let us learn more about working with layers.

Working with Layers
Let us now learn about adding new layers, deleting layers, renaming layers, hiding and showing layers, changing the order of layers and layer effects in this section.

Adding a new layer
You can add a new layer by using any one of the following methods.
Click the New Layer button Ü in the Layers panel.
OR
Choose Layer → New → Layer.
A new layer with the name Layerl gets inserted above the selected layer.

Renaming a layer
You can rename a layer by double-clicking on the layer name in the Layers panel and typing a new name.

Deleting a layer
You can delete one or more layers by using any one of the following methods.
Select the layer and click the Delete Layer  button in the Layers panel.
OR
Choose Layer ? Delete ? Layer.
OR
Drag the Layer to the Delete Layer button.

Showing and hiding layers
To hide the layer contents, click the Eye icon next to a layer. Click in the Eye icon again to display the contents of the layer again.

Changing the order of layers
The elements that are placed on the higher layers are displayed above the elements placed on the lower layers. To change the placement of elements in an image, you can rearrange the layers containing them in the Layers panel. To change the order of layers, drag the layer to an appropriate position in the Layers panel.

Layer effects
Photoshop offers various layer effects that allows you to enhance the look of the contents of a layer. Some of these effects include shadow, glow, bevel, emboss and overlay.

The steps to apply the layer effects are:
Step 1: Select a layer in the Layers panel (Fig. 8.23).
Step 2: Click the Layer Styles button at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose an effect from the list, or Choose Layer ? Layer Style.
Step 3: The Layer Style dialog box appears (Fig. 8.24). Choose the desired effect by clicking the corresponding check boxes on. the left side of the dialog box.
Step 4: Set appropriate options for the selected effect on the right side of the dialog box.
Step 5: Click OK to apply the effect.

When you apply Layer effects, an ‘fx’ icon appears to the right of the layer name in the Layers panel. You can click on this icon to display the list of the effects applied on the layer (Fig. 8.25 and 8.26).

Create a beautiful scenery/greeting card/collage by placing various elements of an image on different layers. Apply layer effect to various elements of the | image. Also, make use of Type Tool to provide appropriate caption to your i
scenery/greeting card/collage.

Practice Zone
State whether the following statements are True or False.

1. Layers let you work on an individual part of an image without affecting others.
2. You cannot change the stacking order of layers.
3. When you insert text in Photoshop, it is created on a separate layer called the Type Layer.
4. Elements placed on higher layers are displayed below the elements placed on lower layers.
5. You cannot apply effects on layers.
6. An image can have only one background.

FILTERS
Filters let you change the appearance of an image by adding special effects to it. Filters are available under the Filter menu. Photoshop offers various categories of Filters. For example, you can use the Stylize filters to give a painted effect to your images, the Render filters to create 3D shapes, reflections in an image and so on.

Applying Filters
You can apply a filter to an entire layer, or a Selected portion of a layer. The steps to be followed are:
Step 1: Select the entire layer or a particular portion of a layer.
Step 2: Choose the desired filter from the Filter menu (Fig. 8.27).

Step 3: Some filters have a dialog box associated with them. If the dialog box appears, set the desired options in the dialog box to apply the filter. If no dialog box appears, the selected filter is applied directly to the image (Fig. 8.28 and Fig. 8.29).

Filter Gallery
Filter Gallery offers a convenient way of applying multiple filters on the image or applying individual filters more than once on an image.
To apply a filter or multiple filters on an image using the Filter Gallery, follow the given steps.
Step 1: Select the entire image layer or a particular portion of a layer to which the filter needs to be applied.
Step 2: Choose Filter ? Filter Gallery (Fig. 8.30). The Filter Gallery dialog box gets displayed.
Step 3: The Filter Gallery dialog box arranges filters by category. Click the inverted triangle next to the filter category to display the list of filters. Choose a filter name to add the first filter.

Step 4: Choose the desired settings for the selected filter. The applied filter gets added to the list at the lower-right corner of the Filter Gallery dialog box (Fig. 8.31).
Step 5: To apply additional filters to the image, click the New Effect Layer icon. Choose another filter to apply. Repeat this procedure to add more filters.

Step 6: To remove the already applied filters, select a filter in the applied filter list and click the Delete icon.
Step 7: If you are satisfied with the current image settings, click on OK.

CBSE Notes for Class 8 Computer in Action – Introduction to Visual Basic

Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 is one of the most powerful image editing and creation software. We can use this software to correct errors in photographs, to add effects to images or to build complex images from scratch. This software is widely used for creating graphics for magazines, newspapers and websites. We can improve or change colours of faded photographs; add, remove or replace people from photographs; and apply artistic effects to our photographs using this software.
Let us get started to learn about this exciting and versatile software program.

Learning Objectives

To Learn about:

❖ starting Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.
❖ components of Photoshop workspace.
❖ selection tools in Photoshop.
❖ drawing tools in Photoshop.
❖ painting tools in Photoshop.

STARTING PHOTOSHOP
To open Adobe Photoshop,
Step 1
Type Photoshop in the Search box next to the Start button.
Step 2
Click on the Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 option.
The startup screen of the Photoshop appears as shown in Figure 7.1.

We can customise the appearance of the Photoshop window according to our own preferences. In this chapter, we have chosen to display the interface in light grey colour by choosing the Edit ► Preferences ► Interface menu option.
While working in Photoshop, we can choose to create a new image or open an existing image for editing. To open an existing image, choose File ► Open. The Photoshop workspace appears as shown in the following figure.

Components of The Photoshop Workspace
The Photoshop workspace consists of the various components (Fig. 7.2). They are:

Tools Panel: The Tools panel offers various tools that let us select, edit, draw, paint and view images (Fig. 7.3). To use any tool, we can click on its icon in the Tools panel. Most of the tools in the Tools panel show a small triangle at the lower-right corner. Click and hold the mouse on these tools to view more tools of the same category.
Menu Bar: The Menu bar provides menu commands for performing various tasks in Photoshop. The Photoshop menus are arranged by topic. For example, the Layer menu provides options for working with layers.

Options Bar: The Options bar provides options related to the tool currently selected in the Tools panel. For example, to choose the thickness of the Brush Tool selected in the Tools panel, we use the Options bar.

Panels: Photoshop offers various other panels that help us monitor and change various properties of an image.

Document Window: It is the area that displays the image file that we will work on. The name of the image file appears as a tab at the top of the Document window.

Creating a New Photoshop File
We can create a new image by choosing the File ► New menu option. This displays the New dialog box (Fig. 7.4) wherein we can set properties related to the new file.

In the New dialog box, we can change the following properties.

► Name: To specify the name of an image file.

► Width and Height: To specify the size of an image file in different units of measurement such as pixels, inches, centimeters or points.

► Resolution: To specify the number of pixels to be displayed per inch or per cm. Resolution determines the sharpness and clarity of an image. Higher the resolution, better will be the clarity of an image.

► Color Mode: To specify the colour mode such as RGB, CMYK or Grayscale to be used for displaying or printing an image. Colour mode determines the number of colours and the file size of an image.

►Background Contents: To provide information about the background of an image. We can choose from three options—white, background colour and transparent.

Saving a File
We can save the new Photoshop file using the File ► Save or File ► Save As menu option. Photoshop supports various types of file formats such as PSD, TIFF, GIF, JPEG and PDF. The Photoshop file format is .PSD.

Using The Tools Panel

The Tools panel contains a collection of tools that let us work with different aspects of images. Some of the categories of tools that will be discussed in this class are —Selection tools, Painting tools, Drawing tools, Type tools and Retouching tools.
Before we proceed to learn about the different categories of tools, let us first learn about the Color Picker tool in the Tools panel.

The Color Picker tool lets us select a colour for setting the foreground and the background colours. The currently selected foreground colour gets displayed in the upper box and the currently selected background colour is displayed in the lower box.
The foreground colour is used for painting, filling shapes and drawing strokes (lines). The background colour is used to fill the erased areas of an image.
The steps to change the foreground or the background colour using the Color Picker are:
Click the upper box or the lower box of the Color Picker in the Tools panel. The Color Picker dialog box appears (Fig. 7.5).
Select a colour by performing any one of the following tasks.

► Drag the white triangles along the color slider, or
► Click in the Color slider, or
► Click in the Color field.

Click OK.

Selection Tools
The Selection tools allow us to select a portion or subset of an image to work on. This help us in editing and applying effects only to the selected portions of an image while leaving the unselected areas unaffected. The selected portions are highlighted using a dashed border.

In this section, we will learn about the following categories of selection tools—
Marquee Tools, Lasso Tools, Quick Selection Tool, Magic Wand Tool and Crop Tool.
► Rectangular Marquee Tool

The marquee tools include:
allows us to make a selection in a rectangular shape.
► Elliptical Marquee Tool allows us to make a selection in an elliptical or a circular shape.
► Single Row Marquee Tool allows us to make a selection as a row that is one pixel wide.
► Single Column Marquee Tool allows us to make a selection as a column that is one pixel wide.
The steps to be followed to select an area using the Marquee tools are:
Step 1
Open the image.
Step 2
Choose the required Marquee Tool.
Step 3
Drag the mouse over the surface of the image to mark the selection (Fig. 7.7 and Fig. 7.8).

Step 1:
Open the image.
Step 2
Choose the required Lasso Tool and follow the given steps to understand the working of each tool.
► Lasso Tool: The Lasso Tool allows us to make selections by drawing a freehand area. For this, drag the mouse around the portion of the image to be selected (Fig. 7.10).

► Polygonal Lasso Tool: The Polygonal Lasso Tool allows us to make selections by clicking specific points around an image. To use this tool, click anywhere on the image to mark the starting point and then click at the position where you want the first straight segment to end. Continue clicking to mark endpoints for subsequent segments till the area you wish to select is enclosed forming a polygon. To close the selection, position the pointer over the starting point and click (Fig. 7.11).

► Magnetic Lasso Tool: The Magnetic Lasso Tool allows us to select objects by sticking the selection border to the edges of an object. This tool is particularly useful when there is a huge contrast between the foreground objects and the background objects of an image. Magnetic Lasso Tool identifies this contrast and draws points to create a selection area as you drag the mouse around the edges of the object to be selected (Fig. 7.12).

The Magic Wand Tool lets us select those areas of an image which share a similar colour. When using this tool, we can also set various options for specifying the exact selection in the Options bar (Fig. 7.13). These options include:

► Tolerance: Tolerance determines how closely the colours should be matched. Specifying a low value selects colours that are very similar to the pixel where you clicked. Specifying a higher value selects a wide range of colours.
► Anti-aliased: This option lets us define a smooth edge for the selection.
► Contiguous: This option lets us select only adjacent areas that share the same colours.

Drawing Tools
We can use tools such as Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon and Line from the Tools panel for drawing various shapes in Photoshop. We can also draw other shapes such as a blob, a heart and arrows using the Custom Shape Tool.

The steps to use the Custom Shape Tool are:
Step 1
Select the Custom Shape Tool from the Tools panel.
Step 2
Select a shape from the Shape pop-up panel in the Options bar
(Fig. 7.21).
Step 3
Click and drag the mouse to draw the selected custom shape
(Fig. 7.22).

Painting Tools
The Painting Tools are used for changing the fill colour of an image. The Painting tools available in Photoshop are Brush Tool, Pencil Tool, Color Replacement Tool, History Brush Tool, Paint Bucket Tool and Gradient Tool.

You can use the Brush Tool and the Pencil Tool to apply colour with brush strokes while the Gradient Tool and the Paint Bucket Tool can be used to apply colour to large areas. Let us discuss some of these tools.

You can set various options in the Options bar (Fig. 7.23). These options include:

► Brush Preset Picker: It lets us change the master diameter of the brush. The master diameter determines the size of the brush. We can change the size either by dragging the master diameter slider or by selecting a preset brush at the bottom of the menu.

► Mode: It allows us to set the painting mode such as to darken and to lighten when applying the brush strokes.

► Opacity: It allows us to set the level of transparency when applying brush strokes. Decreasing the opacity makes your brush more transparent while increasing the opacity makes it less transparent.

► Flow: It allows us to specify how quickly the paint will be applied.

To use the Brush Tool, follow the given steps.
Step 1
Open the image file.
Step 2
Choose an appropriate foreground colour from the Color Picker.

Step 3
Select the Brush Tool.
Step 4
Set the appropriate Brush size, Mode, Opacity and Flow for the Brush from the Options bar.
Step 5
Drag the mouse to paint strokes using the brush on the image (Fig. 7.24).

The Gradient Tool is used to fill selected areas with a blend of multiple colours. You can choose from the Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected or the Diamond gradient types. The steps to use the Gradient Tool are:
Step 1
Select the area of the image in which you wish to apply the gradient fill using one of the Selection tools.
Step 2
Select the Gradient Tool.
Step 3
Double-click on the Gradient Sample box in the Options bar (Fig. 7.25). The Gradient Editor dialog box appears (Fig. 7.26).

Step 4
Select a Preset gradient fill or create a New gradient fill in the Gradient Editor dialog  box. Click on OK to close the dialog box.

Step 5
Choose an appropriate gradient type in the Options bar.
Step 6
Place the mouse pointer in the selected area where you want to set the starting point of the gradient and drag to define the end point (Fig. 7.27).

The Color Replacement Tool in Photoshop enables you to replace the colour of an image with the colour of the foreground. When you choose this tool, the mouse pointer changes to the target symbol. As you drag the Color Replacement Tool, it picks up a sample of the colour that has to be replaced. That colour is then replaced with the colour that you have selected for the foreground from the Color Picker.
You can also specify various settings to control the behaviour of the Color
Replacement Tool in the Options bar (Fig. 7.28). Two of these settings include:

► Tolerance: Tolerance determines how closely the colours should be matched for sampling. Specifying a lower value selects colours that are very similar to the pixel where you clicked. Specifying a higher value selects a wide range of colours.
► Limits: It allows you to specify whether only the colour of adjacent pixels containing the sample colour should be replaced or the colour of the non-adjacent areas should also be replaced.

The steps to use the Color Replacement Tool are:
Step 1
Set the foreground colour using the Color Picker in the Tools panel.
Step 2
Select the Color Replacement Tool. The pointer shape changes to a target symbol.
Step 3
Set the appropriate options for Tolerance and Limits in the Options bar.
Step 4
Drag the target symbol over the port where you want to change the colour.