The first thing we did upon start of class was to recap on the stuff we learn last week, and I was rather pleased to discover that I had not forgotten about all the things we learnt about the different tools. But for sure, if I am to aim for mastery of this software, I will have to practise more in the future, and get a hands-on memory of the tools. Leaving that aside, we then proceeded to try out other tools that were not taught to us last week. There were 4 different tools this time, namely Scale, Rotate, Flip and Opacity.
Scale and rotate are both rather similar in the sense that they are both used to "transform" an object. What this means is that the object retains certain aspects of its original design, but with some changes or modifications applied to it. In the case of scaling, an image may be compressed or expanded in size, but its details remain clear and in proportional to the original image. For example, a photo of a tree now has a broader trunk after scaling.
An example of scaling. In this case, notice how although the photo has "shrunk", its contents had shrunk in scale with it:
Source: http://digital-photography-school.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ps-before-after.jpg
Rotation, on the other hand, rarely changes the shape or integrity of the image at all. What it does is rotate an object on its own axis. For instance, a person facing the right may be rotated such that he or she faces somewhere else, like the sky, but all the while maintaining his or her original posture! It is rather a simple tool, and there isn't much to it.
An example of a rotated object:
Source: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/adjusting-crop-rotation-canvas/_jcr_content/main-pars/image_2.img.png/tr_02.png
To access these two tools, simple go under the "edit" tab, and scroll down to the "transform" option. From there, you will notice a selection of different options, and you can then proceed to edit at will.
Next up is the Flip tool. Flip is very similar to rotation, but instead of simply tilting the object, flipping an object completely turns it around, such that a mirror image is created. For example, a person facing the right can be flipped such that he or she faces the left, and everything including her surroundings are flipped correspondingly as well.
An example of the "Flip" effect:
Source: http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/2/29/Flip-an-Image-in-Adobe-Photoshop-Intro.jpg/670px-Flip-an-Image-in-Adobe-Photoshop-Intro.jpg
Last but not least, we have the Opacity tool. As the name suggests, you can change the transparency of objects in an image, to a point where it can be either near translucent or opaque. To change the opacity, one has to work carefully with the image's layers. You must first select a layer, then in the layers panel, enter a value for opacity, between 0 and 100. Its that easy!
An example of combining two images together through different opacity:
Source: http://www.techf5.com/pic/opacity-change-photoshop-2.jpg
The past few lessons had really opened my eyes to the world of professional graphics design. Be it the Illustrator or Photoshop software, they are each so unique and vital to my potential job in the future. Learning about them has always been fun as well, just like this week's tutorial, where once again we explored so many new options and tools, and can immediately put what we have learnt to use, via experimenting with our own pictures! Yes, I had a great time indeed!
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