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Now that we’ve got a good idea of what to expect from Photoshop’s user interface, let’s take a look at the basic structure of a photoshop file.
New Terms:
- Artboard - The artboard is the container of a photoshop document where the final artwork will appear.
- Layer - Layers represent individual pieces of content and stack one on top of another within the artboard.
- PSD - A PSD file is a native photoshop document that preserves all our layers, as opposed to exported file formats such as a JPG.
- Properties Panel - The Properties Panel allows us to make fine adjustments to the Photoshop Document.
- Crop Tool - The Crop Tool allows us to adjust the dimensions an artboard.
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Let's now take a closer look at the structure of a Photoshop document.
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The general structure of a Photoshop document consists of the artboard, or
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the area in which your content displays, and
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layers of content stacked one on top of another.
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Let's have a closer look at artboards.
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The artboard is an area in which all of our content will display in our
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final graphic.
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Think of the artboard as a frame for our content.
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We can have the content outside of our artboard, but
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it won't show in the final product.
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We're also able to adjust our artboard size in a few ways.
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One way is to view the Properties panel and
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input the exact number in which we want to have the artboard displayed.
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Another is to use the Crop tool and use the click and drag handles to adjust
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the size While not as precise,
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we can always make adjustments in the Properties panel if need be.
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Using the Crop tool on an artboard will not modify the content of the artboard,
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and we can essentially use the same handles to expand the artboard again.
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Similarly, the Artboard tool can be used to click and drag, or
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select a pre-set from the top tool bar.
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Next, let's have a look at layers.
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Layers represent different pieces of content within the document stacked
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one on top of the other.
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Within the Layers panel, we can add new layers.
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We can change the order.
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And we can also change the visibility.
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The order of layers can be important on how the final graphic appears, so
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if you happen to have a photo filter on top of another photo filter,
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it will likely have a different effect if you change them.
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Generally, any time you add new content to a Photoshop document,
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it will likely create a new layer.
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So, for example, the Type tool.
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If we happen to type in some new content here,
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it adds it to its own layer within the Layers panel.
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However, things like painting with the Brush or
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Gradient tool will only affect a currently selected layer that already exists.
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That's looking pretty horrendous, so I'm gonna go ahead and
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click on the History tool and go back a few steps.
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Keeping the Photoshop document organized will come in very handy
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as you add content and layers.
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We can group layers within folders and create additional artboards.
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Within the Layers panel, clicking on a folder icon will create a new folder,
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and we can drag whatever content we'd like within that folder.
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As your document grows in layers and possibly artboards,
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it's a good practice to name them.
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One way we can rename a layer is within the Layers panel itself.
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Just double-click on a layer name and give it a title.
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This will help you keep track of what's going on in each layer.
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Now, things are a bit different if we've opened a photo that
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isn't a native Photoshop document or a PSD file.
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Let's open this original JPG file from my camera.
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If we take a look at our Layers panel,
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we don't see that this image lands in an artboard, and is simply a layer.
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Using the Properties panel to adjust the size, or
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using the Crop tool will indeed cut off our content.
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And I'm not able to uncrop this as we did before.
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Again, I'm going to head back to the History panel and undo that change.
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If we would like to create an artboard, we can use the Artboard tool to draw one.
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If we take a look at our Layers panel, we can see that we have indeed created our
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own artboard, and our photo has remained in it's own layer.
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That's the general structure of a Photoshop file.
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Layers are the building blocks of any Photoshop document,
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and artboards are the frames that hold those creations.
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Folders can be used to help group your layers and stay organized.
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In this stage, we've introduced the mighty graphics tool, Photoshop.
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We went through a brief history of the application and
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learned a bit about how it evolved.
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From two brothers simply wanting to display an image on a screen to a world
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recognized app that's used in many stages of a standard creative process today.
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We took a brief look at the user interface of Photoshop and shared a few tips for
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rearranging your panels, and where to look for adjustments for an active tool.
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We then deconstructed a Photoshop document learning about layers,
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artboards, and how they work together.
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In the next stage, we'll dive in head first and
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start creating our ads for client's photo studio
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