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Biography
65+ step-by-step instructions for perfect results
Requires... Digital camera, desktop-laptop computer, version of Photoshop Elements
Take photo of art and select best one
1. Take several photos <> try the macro setting for close-up <> try both indoor lighting and sunshine
2. Don’t fill entire digital screen with art <> Leave space around art
3. The more photos you have, the higher chance of a good one
Photo must be in focus <> blurry photo cannot be corrected <> take more photos if needed
1. To load photo, drag photo into Photoshop <> photoshop workspace opens <> photo shows in workspace
Click Edit on the menu bar, click preference from drop down menu <> select preferences such as use scroll wheel for zoom etc.
Photoshop-Elements-manual.pdf
Layers
2. From the menu bar at top of workspace, select Window <> click Layers so a checkmark shows <> layers pane appears on right side of workspace
3. Your photo will show as 'background' layer <> this layer will not be worked on
Next, create duplicate layer
4. Create a duplicate layer
of background <> from the menu bar at top of workspace,
click Layer, select Duplicate Layer <> unless titled
differently, this
is called the 'Background Copy'5. Next, create 4 transparent layers <> go to Layer at top of workspace, select New <> Layer <> repeat this step three more times <> these are called Layers 1, 2, 3, 4
7. There are 4 transparent layers on top
8. Below the transparent layers are 2 layers each showing your art
1. We want to isolate your art
2. Tip: as you are working, you can undo any step: Go to Edit at top <> select Undo <> or use Crtl+Z for shortcut
3. First, turn off visibility
of
bottom background layer by clicking
eyeball next to layer
With photoshop you can work on one layer at a time. Select the layer by clicking mouse on the layer. The layer turns blue and becomes active.
Click on Background Copy layer to activate layer.
5. Select Polygonal Lasso Tool from toolbar on left <> use lasso to trace around art.
6. Before starting, scroll in close so you can see better <> use mouse clicks to track points around the art <> complete the full lasso around your art
Tip: to move art while using lasso, hold down space bar and a hand appears <> keep holding spacebar, then hold down mouse while moving mouse to move the art up-down-sideways etc <> Release space bar <> then continue making points around art <> the lasso doesn’t have to be perfect, but make sure the lasso stays outside art
7. Now your art is outlined with series of dashes, and we want to erase everything except your art
8. Click Select on the menu bar <> choose Invert so the area outside the art is selected <> or use Ctrl+Shift+I keyboard shortcut
If the lasso accidently disappears, go to Select and try Reselect option.
9. To erase around art, select Erase Tool from left side toolbar and erase everything except art <> or simply click keyboard delete button
10. If you use eraser tool, make sure it is set to 100% <> Look at the 'opacity' slider at bottom of work area <> for ease, set the eraser size to 1000 or 2000
11. It is important to erase 100% so problems don’t happen during the ‘distort’ phase later
12. If the bottom background layer was not turned off, and is visible during erasing, it will appear as if nothing was erased <> make background layer invisible by clicking eyeball next to layer
1. Now we are going to work on the transparent layers one at a time
2. Click
Layer 4 to activate3. Select Rectangular Marquee Tool
4. Draw rectangle on the right side of art so it spans full height of screen and stops at edge of art
5. We are doing this because we want a straight line at the side so the art can be squared up accurately
6. Putting the rectangle on a separate layer will let you move the rectangle without moving art
6. No problem if the rectangle is not exact <> the result can be moved when finished...
<> or start over by drawing another one <> or go to Select at top and click Deselect.
7. After rectangle is in place, there will be dotted line around selected area
8. Select bucket or pour tool <> click into the rectangle to fill with any color <> I prefer color that contrasts with picture so it is easier to see and fine tune (see color picker below).
9. When rectangle is finished, select Move tool to position rectangle exactly
10. Repeat for layers 1-2-3 so you have a perfectly square or rectangle surrounding art.
11. Now you have 4 rectangles surrounding your art <> they should form a complete enclosure around art <> and each rectangle should be on a different layer so they can be moved separately
Note: Since each layer is separate from other layers, then each rectangle can be moved separately.
Simply click any layer to activate, so the layer becomes blue <> then use Move tool to resize, move and position rectangle.
1. Choose a color for the rectangle using color picker
2. Select color selector eyedropper and click on any color that appers in the image, and it will match..
3. Or click the color picker feature at bottom of toolbar <> use scroll and mouse to isolate the color you want....
<> then click the GREEN Checkmark to confirm choice.
4. To return to original black-white that shows as default in color picker, click the tiny black-white icon located below and to left of color picker
5. To reverse the two colors shown in the color picker, click the tiny black-white icon located above and to right of color picker
2. Click art to activate layer3. From menu bar, select Transform <> select Skew or Distort
4. With distort:
Select move tool and grab corner point of art and drag so it meets the corner point of two rectangles
5. With skew: Select move tool and grab center point along one side of art and move so corner point of art meets the rectangles.
6. When completed, click green checkmark
7. Repeat with other 4 corners of art.
8. Use the opacity slider at top of layers to make the rectangles more opague ... more transparent
1. Use
the opacity slider at top of layers to make the rectangles more opague
... more transparent2. This lets you see how straight the picture is
3. Activate each layer 1-2-3-4
4. Move opacity slider to 60% as you like for each layer as seen in B
5. In this case the art looks good because the sides are not bowed out ... each side is straight
6. The art looks too tall relative to original <> Activate art layer <> Select move tool and resize as needed.
7. If the result is good <> Select crop tool to cut away everthing except picture of art <> then save image
8. If a side is bowed out and not straight, the crop tool can resolve issue <> or Select rectangle marquee and cut off edge that sticks out
9. Always advisable to make duplicate layers of any art ... or any layer along the way so the original remains unedited and it is easy to strat over from a given point
IF the sides of picture are bowed (not straight) then:
1. It can be straightened up further using correct camera distortion
2. Click picture of art to activate layer
3. Make a duplicate layer and work on the duplicate <from the menu select layer, then dublicate
4. Activate the duplicate layer
5. From menu, select Filter, then Correct camera distortion.
6. There are no hard and fast rules for what steps will work <> so move the sliders as needed to experiment with best result
7. The objective with distortion tool is to get the sides of the art straight as possible, not perfect <> use reset and try different sliders <> working on a different layer, it is easy to make multiple versions ... same with all editing techniques on photoshop.
1. Select Crop Tool and draw a rectangle around your art
2. Zoom in close (keyboard shortcut for zoom: Ctrl + & Ctrl -) <> move the crop so it matches up with the rectangles from Layers 1-4 <> use the rectangles as a guide so you get a perfect crop <> if the crop doesn't work first time, go to Edit at top <> select Undo and then start the crop again <> final cropped picture looks like this
Tricks
1. Make duplicate leayers throughout workflow to preserve steps made before..
2. Use undo any step: Go to Edit at top <> select Undo Crtl+Z <> redo Crtl+Y
3. Usually I edit the color and lighting of the art (not covered on this page) before cropping so I have elbow room on the edges of the art
3. Sometimes when I crop, I leave a border of the rectangles so the color shows it looks like my art has a mat <> for this process, use the Grid to help with accuracy <> go to View at top <> click on Grid so a checkmark appears next to the word Grid <> to set Grid preferences <> go to Edit <> Preferences <> Grid <> up-close cropping with grid looks like this
If problems still exist, repeat some of the steps <> or select a better photo to work on
