Adobe Photoshop Basics

Exercise 1 - Dolphins

Download this zip file for all the images you need to complete the exercises for Lesson 7. (Mac users can use Aladdin's free Stuffit Expander to extract the zip file.)

Open the image lesson1e7.psd. We're going to color this image and apply several layer effects to produce the image shown here.

The first thing we need to do is promote the background to a layer so we can keep the lines separate from the color fills. Double-click the background and name it "lines" and set the blend mode to multiply. Setting the blend mode to multiply will allow the layers below to show through the white areas on the lines layer. By using the multiply blend mode, we don't have to worry about removing the white areas.

Add another layer and drop it behind the lines layer. Name this layer "Sea."

Choose the paint bucket tool and set the options to "Use all Layers." This will allow us to sample from the lines layer, but paint onto the Sea layer. Make sure the Contiguous button is checked and that the Sea layer is the active painting layer.

Show the Swatches palette and begin filling the background areas of the dolphin image with various shades of blue-green.

Remember you can press the Alt/Option key to pick up colors from your document.

Once the Sea layer has been filled in, create another new layer, name it dolphins, and drop it below the lines layer.

Fill each section of the dolphins with various shades of gray. You may need to zoom in close to catch some of the smaller areas.

When you finish filling in the dolphins, switch to the pencil tool and use the pencil tools and the eyedropper toggle to fill in any tiny areas that may have been missed.

Now lets give the picture some dimension by applying layer effects. I used different amounts of Inner Bevel on each layer. Experiment with the layer effects until you come up with something you like.

Next we're going to add a watery texture to the Sea layer.

In Photoshop 6, use the Pattern Overlay layer style and set the Pattern to "Satin" and the blend mode to Soft Light. You might want to drop the opacity down and scale the pattern smaller.

To add the watery texture in Photoshop 5, you will need to use the water texture included in the zip file for this lesson. Insert a layer above the Sea layer. Open the water texture. Define it as a pattern and use the paint bucket to fill the layer with the pattern. Remember to uncheck use all layers and set the contents to pattern. Now change the blend mode of the layer to hard light and drop opacity down to about 50%. Your texture may not look exactly like my example because I used the pattern layer effect in Photoshop 6. If you've got a better water texture, feel free to use it instead.

I've included the layered PSD file of my finished project in the zip file. You can open this file and examine it if you get stuck. The extra layer for the Photoshop 5 instructions are included in the file as a hidden layer.

Next > Exercise 2 - Straight lines