Total Photoshop 5.0 & 5.5

Total Photoshop Complete

"A Great Video Collection for Photoshop 5.0/5.5"

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Total Photoshop Complete is a compilation set comprised of all 20 Total Photoshop Tapes. This compilation is a thorough and in-depth Photoshop training package where you will learn it all. Spend a week with Deke McClelland as he takes you through the dynamics of Adobe Photoshop. This 20 tape, 32 hour set is appropriate for beginners and advanced computer users and is the most definitive, informative and entertaining video training course available for Adobe's Photoshop 5.0 and 5.5. With Total Photoshop you'll get clear demonstrations of key concepts and techniques while working with the same graphic elements on your computer that Deke McClelland, your expert instructor, works with onscreen. These files are included on a CD-ROM. Series 1, 2, and 3 also include Quick Reference Cards with the tape number, title, section titles, location (in minutes) on the tape, and duration of the section. This is great for going back to watch a lesson again. Deke walks you through the basic elements of Photoshop and goes step-by-step through each phase, explaining what each element does and how to combine the processes to achieve a desired goal--with a sense of humor throughout. He gives you every keystroke shortcut as well, and repeats and repeats until you get them ingrained in your mind. If you have ever fantasized about having the world's best private Photoshop instructor at your disposal right at your elbow, well this is what you will feel like when you view these tapes. Deke McClelland is quite qualified to teach Photoshop as he is a well known author of books about computer graphics, digital imaging, and electronic design. He has written more than 50 titles in the past decade, and his work has been translated into 24 languages. His books on Adobe Photoshop include Photoshop Bible, Photoshop for Dummies, and Photoshop Studio Secrets. Total Training is confident in the quality of this package. They state: "There's no better investment in yourself than training and Total Photoshop is worth every penny. Total Photoshop is not the least expensive option for Photoshop training but you get more than what you pay for at no risk. If you're not completely satisfied with Total Photoshop you can return it for a full refund. That's how confident we are in the quality of our training." The tapes are appropriate for both Windows and Macintosh users. The instructor uses a Macintosh computer for his demonstrations, but he gives keystrokes and techniques for both Windows and Mac users. Price for total package: $399.00 or $149 for each individual series.

Advanced Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced users. This is a great tool for anyone using Photoshop. It starts at a basic level which any novice could follow, but there are enough tips and techniques given throughout the tapes that would make it appealing to intermediate and advanced computer users. I would recommend users to have a basic grasp of how computers work.

Series 1

Total Photoshop Series 1 is comprised of the first 7 tapes in the Total Photoshop Complete set. This series introduces novices to the features of Photoshop, while providing those of you who are advanced users with further knowledge about some of the key concepts involved within Photoshop. You will learn the basics with the first 2 introductory tapes and then immediately begin putting those foundational skills to work with tapes 3-7, which dive right into the core features of Photoshop. With tapes 3-7 you will learn about: Paint, Color, Retouch, Selections and Paths.

Tape 1:
Introduction to Photoshop One

1. Introduction (13 min)
What Photoshop does; pixels; digital photos; a history of photo retouching.
2. Interface (14 min)
The basics; image window; menu bar; toolbox; palettes.
3. Navigation (34 min)
Opening files; navigation essentials.
4. Resolution (55 min)
Image size v. canvas size; cropping; rotting and cropping at once.

Tape 2:
Introduction to Photoshop Two

1. Rotating Images (17 min)
Measure Tool tip; Arbitrary command.
2. Rulers & Units (6 min)
Displaying ruler; tracking position with info palette; changing units.
3. Saving Image (50 min)
Save v. Save As v. Save a Copy; extensions; previews; formats.
4. Preferences (22 min)
Recommendations; memory; scratch disks, prefs file.

Tape 3:
Paint, Color and Retouch One

1. Paint Tools (3 min)
An overview of basic tools; and shift-clicking.
2. Brushes (55 min)
Brushes palette; modifying brush shapes; pressure-sensitive tablets.
3. Color (26 min)
Specifying colors; matching colors; eyedropper; color picker; color palette; basic color theory.

Tape 4:
Paint, Color and Retouch Two

1. Eraser (13 min)
Primary eraser tool; background color; eraser brushes.
2. Edit Tools (32 min)
Dodge; burn; sponge; smear; sharpen; blur; "Use All Layers."
3. Rubber Stamp (40 min)
Retouching photographs; eliminating extraneous details and dirt; creating repeating patterns.

Tape 5:
Selections and Paths One

1. What They Are (11 min)
Isolate areas of images; move selected area; apply area filter; marching ants.
2. Selection Tools (44 min)
Marquee; lasso; magic wand; polygons with the magic wand; magnetic lasso; contiguous v. discontiguous; antialiasing; tolerance.
3. Changing Selections (20 min)
Select menu; inverting selections; smoothing corners; expanding & contracting; feathering a selection; deselecting; adding, subtracting and intersecting; transforming selections.

Tape 6:
Selections and Paths Two

1. Move & Clone (23 min)
Moving secessions independent of content; moving pixels, drag and drop between windows; replace part of an image with another.
2. Color Range (27 min)
Selecting; limiting selected areas.
3. Applying Color In Selections (34 min)
Painting inside the selection mask; using the paint bucket tool; filling selection; using gradients; stroking selections; and arrowheads.

Tape 7:
Selections and Paths Three

1. Editing Gradients (8 min)
Change, create, and use gradients.
2. Pen Tool (50 min)
Adjust paths; convert to selections; fill with color; clipping paths.
3. Ram on the Mac (8 min)
Optimum settings for Photoshop
4. Happy Easter (4 min)
Impress your friends with hidden Photoshop secrets.

Series 2

Total Photoshop Series 2 is comprised of 7 tapes. With Series 1 you learned about some basic features of Photoshop as well as some core features of the Photoshop suite. Total Photoshop Series 2 continues to exploit core features, and you will learn about Layers, Text/Layer Effects, Web Graphics, History as a Creative Tool, Color Theory & Management and Color Correction. Total Photoshop Series 2 is designed to take your skills to the next level.

Tape 8:
Layers

1. Layers Intro (10 min)
Layers; drag & drop: copy, paste; paste inside layers.
2. Commands & Options (15 min)
Layer menu; layers palette; painting on layers; hiding and showing layers.
3. Stacking Order (10 min)
Reorder layers; switch between layers; find layers; "layer express" function.
4. Transparency Masks (25 min)
Converting transparency boundary to selection; preserving transparency.
5. Moving & Aligning (10 min)
Link and move layers; ruler guides; grid; clone layers; drag layers & linked layers between files.
6. Transformations (9 min)
Transforming a layer or linked layers.
7. Saving & Simplifying (11 min)
Saving in PSD; merging & flattening.
8. Big Layer (8 min)
Visible layer hides contents beneath; cropping outside the image.

Tape 9:
Text & Layer Effects

1. Introducing Text (9 min)
Bit-mapped text; Illustrator text vs. Photoshop text.
2. The Type Tool (17 min)
Creating text; the Type Tool dialog box; text from the keyboard.
3. Type on a Layer (12 min)
"Live" type; how to edit type; limitations of the feature.
4. Layer Effects (40 min)
Creating text; working in the Type Tool dialog box; text from keyboard.
5. Character Masks (16 min)
Selection outline type tools; filling text with color or imagery.
6. Chrome Text with Layer Effects (12 min)
Creating a Chrome look quickly.

Tape 10:
Web Graphics

1. Rules of Web Graphics (20 min)
Explanation of formats: GIF, JPEG, and PNG; using Save As.
2. Saving JPEG Images (22 min)
How JPEG compression works; JPEG save options, extensions.
3. Saving GIF Images (49 min)
Reducing colors with Indexed Color command; working with transparency inside indexed image; saving PNG.
4. PNG (3 min)
Uses for the PNG format.
5. Saving for the Web (4 min)
Using Photoshop 5.5's "Save for the Web" command.

Tape 11:
History as a Creative Tool

1. History Palette (19 min)
Intro; multiple undos; before & after.
2. History Drawbacks (14 min)
Memory and scratch considerations.
3. The History Brush (30 min)
Painting and filling from source state.
4. Retouching with History (11 min)
Using History to clean up and restore.
5. Art History Brush (14 min)
Creating Impressionistic effects from the History palette.

Tape 12:
Color Theory & Management

1. Color Theory and Management (42 min)
RGB vs. CMYK; how primaries mix; viewing channels in color and grayscale; color conversions.
2. Adobe Gamma (32 min)
Calibrating your monitor for consistent output.
3. CMYK Setup (22 min)
Ensuring that colors match from the monitor to the printed page.

Tape 13:
Color Correction One

1. Intro to Color Correction (17 min)
Correcting brightness, contrast, & colors.
2. Variations (8 min)
A way to learn color theory; using Fade Command to back off color correction.
3. Hue and Saturation (36 min)
Globally changing hue and saturation; isolating specific image areas.
4. Levels (38 min)
Gamma; fixing an image on a channel by channel basis; using Output Level sliders.

Tape 14:
Color Correction Two

1. Curves and Levels (32 min)
Levels allow three edit options per channel--black, white, and gamma; Using Curves to specify additional points on a graph.
2. Adjustment Layers (33 min)
Applying temporary changes; including masks; screening image onto itself.
3. Actions (22 min)
Recording and playing back Actions.

Series 3

Total Photoshop Series 3 is comprised of 6 tapes. With Total Photoshop Series 1 & 2 you learned key concepts, core features and many shortcuts. Total Photoshop Series 3 is all about the Filters. Here you will learn about Filter Basics, Blur, Emboss, Distortion, Displacement Maps, Masks and Extractions. Filters are important in Photoshop and Deke McClelland has them mastered and shares his expertise with you. While Total Photoshop Series 3 helps you elevate your general Photoshop skills, Total Photoshop Series 3 is designed to elevate your skills with Photoshop filters to the next level.

Tape 15:
Filters One

1. Filter Basics (26 min)
Using filters to sharpen and blur; filter plug-ins; corrective, destructive, and effects filters; using the Fade Filter option.
2. Unsharp Mask (19 min)
Best of several sharpening filters; Threshold.
3. Blur and Median (30 min)
Using Gaussian Blur; apply the Median command; using Median and Min/Max.
4. Descreening Halftones (21 min)
Applying scan large, rotate and reduce technique; median and sharpen on a channel by channel basis.

Tape 16:
Filters Two

1. The Emboss Filter (51 min)
Restoring color robbed by using the Emboss filter; and amplifying embossing to create patterns.
2. Distortion Filters (43 min)
Deke creates wild trippy patterns with Twirl, and polar coordinates; tear apart an image.

Tape 17:
Filters Three

1. 3-D Transform (21 min)
Wrapping an image around shapes.
2. Displacement Maps (55 min)
Using Displacement Maps so you can distort images.
3. The Custom Filter (19 min)
Creating your own specialized effects with the Custom Filter.

Tape 18:
Masking One

1. Masks (23 min)
How selections mask paint; using the simplest masking command--Color Range; saving selections as an alpha channel; Feather vs. Gaussian Blur.
2. Quick Masks (14 min)
Creating generalized selection and choke inside Quick Mask mode.
3. Full Masking (84 min)
Masking: The Rest of the Story.

Tape 19:
Masking Two

1. Combining Masks (17 min)
Mixing masks together with easier keyboard tricks and Calculations command.
2. Layer Masking (19 min)
Using automatic mask to paste inside; use of layer mask for retouching; gradients and clipping groups can mask layers above.
3. Alternative Masks (31 min)
Specialized masks such as the blue screen technique; creating an edge mask, improving Unsharp Mask Threshold.
4. Extractions (27 min)
New Photoshop 5.5 extraction tools; using the Extract command.

Tape 20:
Blend Modes

1. Normal and Dissolve (8 min)
Mixing layers with math; normal shows top layer subject to Opacity value.
2. Multiply and Screen (26 min)
Primary blend modes; burn a dark image into background for a drop shadow; burn a logo into a background; dodging a light image out of a background; adding spotlight to logos.
3. Layer Options (23 min)
Fade layers in and out according to color; combining Multiply & Screen; lens flares.
4. Overlay and Lights (18 min)
The importance of gamma; fixing an image on a channel by channel basis; using Output Level sliders.
5. Other Modes (18 min)
Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity, Difference, and Difference Clouds; Sandwiching effects.

In this section I will provide pertinent information from the tapes or show some examples produced while watching Series 1. I will also give tips from the tapes.

Tape 1: Introduction to Photoshop One
The tape provides an excellent history of image editing and how it has changed over the years. There is an excellent photo from early 1990s on the CD that shows how basic the early retouching techniques were. In the image to the right, you can see how the man on the truck has been touched up.
Useful Tip: Use the Tab key to show or hide all palettes and use the Shift + Tab key to show or hide all but the tool palette.

Tape 2: Introduction to Photoshop Two
The Crop tool can be used to rotate and straighten an image. Following the tape, I straightened the image of the Tower of Pisa. Click on the small image to the right to see the result.
Useful Tip: Double-click on the ruler to bring up the Units & Rulers dialog box under Preferences if you want to change the units as you are working.

Tape 3: Paint, Color and Retouch One
It is easy to use paint tools and the layer behind blend mode with a tracing layer to get special effects. Just work on a layer, choose the behind mode, and have preserve transparency turned off. On the CD there was the original photo of the girl with a tracing layer. To see the finished image I created with the paint bucket tool and the behind mode, click on the image to the right.
Useful Tip: Use the right and left bracket keys [ ] to increase and decrease paintbrush sizes.

Tape 4: Paint, Color and Retouch Two
You can retouch a photo by changing the color mode to get rid of an aged yellow color and the rubber stamp tool to clone areas. The image to the right shows an original image, the same image turned to grayscale to get rid of yellow, and then the finished product, all cleaned up.
Useful Tip: Use the Erase to History option in the Eraser Options palette to replace parts of an image that you mistakenly erased.

Tape 5: Selections and Paths One
Photoshop has a variety of ways to modify selections. The image to the right was created by using selections and the inverse, feather, modify, and filter options. The background was filled with black to create the vignette effect. The starting photo is the small image on the lower left.
Useful Tip: Remember that the Magic Wand options are tied to the Eyedropper sample size options.

Tape 6: Selections and Paths Two
You can paint inside selections and apply gradients to selections. I painted in the image to the right with the Paint Bucket tool, plus the Use All Layers option in the Paint Bucket dialog box. Then I applied gradients to selections.
Useful Tip: The Color Range option under the Select menu is a powerful tool to use instead of the Magic Wand for making selections. You can also use the standard keyboard shortcuts in the Color Range dialog box to zoom in and out.

Tape 7: Selections and Paths Three
If you have ever worked with images in Photoshop and import them into other programs, you know they come in as rectangular images, as the first photo in the image to the right. To get a specific shape, you need to create a clipping path in Photoshop. You can further enhance the image by stroking the path or fill the path as in the two other images.
Useful Tip: When you create a clipping path, you select a flatness value is 3 to 6. The higher you go, the faster the image will print but you lose quality. The Flatness option simplifies the path, but you get more polygons and not as smooth a curve.

When I requested these tapes from Total Training, I was not sure how useful they would be. I had heard good reports, but was still skeptical as to their value. I have taken classes in Photoshop, tried various tutorials, read books, and used the program for years so I didn't know if all the series would be useful or if Series 1 and/or Series 2 would be too basic. I also was worried that the instructor would be too "talky" and just fill up tape minutes without giving the viewer that much information. Well, I was in for a surprise. I loved them. I started learning from the first tape and the learning kept on and on, like the Energizer Bunny. Deke is an excellent teacher and is able to digest a wealth of information about the program and spit it out in a way that it is manageable to all level users. And I wasn't sitting there with the feeling, "Just stop the prattle and give me the information." He hits a nice balance of information, chatter, tips, and humor. I started with the idea that I would just view the tapes first without following on the computer, but after a few minutes, I became so enthusiastic that I had to jump up and sit in front of the computer and follow along. I am somewhat lazy in learning keyboard shortcuts but after the first tape, Deke had won me over, and I started remembering and using them, all to my delight. It increased my efficiency with the program. Because Deke is not associated with Adobe, he is quite frank about what tools he likes or dislikes. If you want a fun way to learn Adobe Photoshop, you can't go wrong with these tapes. And you really do acquire a wealth of material on Photoshop.

All you need is a VCR to play the tapes. To get the most out of them, though, I would suggest that you already have Adobe Photoshop and work along with the tapes. Therefore below are the requirements for Adobe Photoshop 5.5. The requirements for Photoshop 5.0 are similar but you need less RAM and Hard Disk space.

Windows

Pentium or faster Intel processor
Windows 95/98/NT4.0 or later
64 MB of RAM (96 MB of RAM or more to run Photoshop & ImageReady concurrently)
125 MB of available hard disk space
256 colors (8-bit) display adapter (24-bit color recommended)
CD ROM drive
Sound card recommend for viewing interactive tutorial files

Macintosh

PowerPC based Macintosh computer
Apple System Software 7.6 or later
64 MB of RAM (96 MB of RAM or more to run Photoshop & ImageReady concurrently)
125 MB of available hard disk space
Color monitor with 256 colors (8-bit) or greater video card (24-bit color recommended)
CD ROM drive

Graphics: Extensis PhotoGraphics & Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Web Page Editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0
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