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Contributors
About the author
Gary Bradley is an award-winning designer and Adobe Certified Expert based in Sheffield, England. With over 25 years of industry experience delivering projects for clients such as Virgin Atlantic and the London Science Museum, Gary has worked across several disciplines, including illustration, 3D visualization, printing, and web design. In 2009, he launched a creativity consultancy to support design teams in nurturing their in-house capabilities and achieving Adobe Specialist status. Gary also teaches graphic design and illustration at the Sheffield College.
About the reviewers
Mayank Verma is a seasoned online graphic designer specializing in broadcast and digital media. With a distinguished career spanning over a decade, he has excelled in illustrating concepts and creating visually compelling layouts. His journey includes contributions to leading firms such as Sit-Down, Australia; NDTV;
and Republic TV. His expertise spans 3D modeling, lighting, rendering, and client relationship management. Notably, he played a key role in establishing virtual studios for live broadcasts of major events. His ability to blend technical acumen with creative ingenuity sets him apart as a dynamic professional.
Matthew Gibbon (ASCP) is an Apple Certified professional with over 33 years of experience in the advertising industry.
The Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) certification is designed for help desk professionals, technical coordinators, and power users who support macOS users, manage networks, or provide macOS technical support. ACSP certification verifies an understanding of macOS core functions and that the following functions can be carried out:
Configure key services
Perform basic troubleshooting
Support multiple Mac users
Having started as a photo-typesetter, Matthew has worked with leading global brands for South African ad agencies, corporate clients, and smaller companies.
Matthew also teaches corporates and private individuals in South Africa and offers online support to clients all over the world.
Contact him at: matthew@cardilogix.co.za.
Table of Contents
Preface
Part 1: Raising Your Photoshop Game
1 Making Photoshop Work Harder and Smarter
Technical requirements
Updates and new features
Contextual Task Bar
Adobe Firefly
The Remove tool
Adjustment presets
Creating a bespoke workspace
Modifying panels
Customizing the Tools panel
Saving a custom workspace
Modifying keyboard shortcuts and menus
Modifying preferences
Defining color settings
Quality-first approach
Image quality
Calculating PPI in Photoshop
Summary
2 Non-Destructive Healing and Retouching
Technical requirements
Cropping and straightening images and extending the canvas
Straightening a crooked image
Cropping images
Extending the canvas with contentaware cropping
Quickly cropping tips
Content-aware scale
Healing and retouching
Nondestructive workflows
Remove cables from a photo
Removing large blemishes with Content-Aware Fill
Bending subjects with Puppet Warp
Removing unwanted content with the Clone Stamp tool
Adding smiles to portraits with FaceAware Liquify
Portrait retouching
Color and tonal editing with adjustment layers
How adjustment layers work
Quick tonal editing with adjustment layers and blend modes
Removing color casts
Altering the hue of multiple subjects
The simplest method for color matching Summary 3
Masking and Cutouts
Technical requirements
Applying and editing a basic layer mask
Using masks to cut out image backgrounds
Applying masks to adjustment layers
Blending multiple images with a layer mask
Masking with Blend If
Creating distressed photo edges
Masking hair
Unlinking images and masks
Masking layer groups
Working with vector masks
Creating an editable vignette with a vector mask
Creating a typographic mask effect
Summary
Part 2: Bringing Brands Front and Center
4 Building Brand Mock-Ups and Prototypes
Technical requirements
Applying branding to perspective
Adding a logo to a bag in perspective
Creating a mural mock-up
Wrapping artwork around curved surfaces
Applying a cylinder warp
Warping artwork across book designs
Replacing device screens with your own artwork
Creating an iPad mock-up
Creating a smartphone mock-up
Adding screen reflections
Creating clothing and soft furnishing mock-ups
Applying original designs to a T-shirt
Adding pattern designs to a cushion
Summary
5 Creating Printed Marketing Collateral
Technical requirements
Creating new print projects
Color
Printers’ marks
Folds
Setting up a Photoshop grid system
Building a new A4 poster document
Creating a new business card template
Building a new z-fold brochure
Importing artwork and formatting types
Creating a business card design using only vector assets
Synchronizing fonts from Creative Cloud
Adding a type to the z-fold brochure
Creating and applying paragraph styles
Adding artwork to the brochure
Exporting documents for professional print
Exporting to Adobe PDF
Export to the Tag Image File Format
Saving as a JPG Summary
6 From Pixels to Post: Images for Social Media Technical requirements
Creating new documents for screen and web
Creating artwork for Facebook
Creating artwork for Twitter
Creating artwork for Instagram
Creating artwork for Pinterest
Creating artwork for LinkedIn
Social media sizes
Working with artboards
Adding a header image
Creating a tweet template
Adding text to the artboard
Duplicating artboards
Exporting and scheduling posts
Batch export artboards
Scheduling posts with Adobe Express
Summary
7 Creating Animated GIFs and Videos
Technical requirements
The Timeline panel
Video groups
AV file formats accepted by Photoshop
Video and GIF limitations on social media
Creating animated GIFs
Defining a new animation document
Adding brand colors, logos, and text
Creating frame animations
Creating tween animations
Working with video and audio in Photoshop
Creating a new document intended for video
Adding media to the timeline
Applying transitions to footage
Placing and animating an Adobe
Illustrator logo in the timeline
Adding a soundtrack to the timeline
Creating videos from still images and text
Setting up a duplicate document
Importing and animating an image
Copying and pasting keyframes onto the second clip
Copying and pasting keyframes onto the third clip
Adding titles to the sequence
Exporting animations and video from Photoshop
Exporting animated GIFs
Exporting video Summary
Part 3: Building Visual Components
8 Bringing Typography to Life with Effects and Styling
Technical requirements
Understanding typographic terms and principles
Synchronizing Adobe fonts
Creating cut and fold effects
Creating sliced text
Creating an embossed type
Creating cut and fold effects
Applying ink and paint effects
Creating dripping paint
Creating a graffiti typographic effect
Summary
Creating Textures, Patterns, and Backdrops
Technical requirements
Creating new textures, gradients, and patterns
Creating a texture from scratch
Creating an atmospheric gradient backdrop
Creating pop art-inspired artwork with custom patterns
Managing backdrop assets
Syncing your assets between devices
Importing and exporting assets
Simulating environments with filters and effects
Summary
10 Creating and Applying Brushes
Technical requirements
Creating and managing brush tip presets
Creating a custom bird brush
Modifying brush properties
Applying brushes for creative effect
Using brushes for retouching
Creating a snowflake brush
Creating a stubble brush Summary
Part 4: World Building
11
Blending and Collaging Images
Technical requirements
Creating seamless panoramas
Building collages with texture and paint
Posterizing the source photo
Selecting and masking posterized regions
Adding texture and paint to the posterized sections
Creating double-exposure compositions
Blending unrelated images
Blending two exposures of the same image
Working with HDR images
Advice for shooting HDR source images
Installing Adobe Bridge
Creating an HDR image with HDR Pro
Summary
12
Creating Surrealist Artwork
Technical requirements
How to approach a surrealist art project
Creating simple yet effective surrealist art
Transferring the moon artwork
Scaling and distorting the moon
Turning the pink balloon into grayscale
Replacing chair shadows
Creating moonlight effects
Creating and editing project-specific assets
Isolating the hands from the shot
Summary
Index
Other Books You May Enjoy
Preface
Mastering Adobe Photoshop 2024 will guide you step by step through the in-demand skills required by the industry. This book will build on your existing Photoshop knowledge, helping you become a more productive image editor and improve the quality of your work. It will teach you about essential resources for graphic designers or marketers looking for transformative career growth. As a digital content creator, whether you’re working on projects for print, screen, or social media, having a solid understanding of Adobe Photoshop is essential. This powerful application can take your designs to new heights, allowing you to create captivating visuals that leave a lasting impression on your audience. So, if you are ready to elevate your skills and expand your capabilities, Mastering Adobe Photoshop 2024 is the book you’ve been waiting for.
This book takes a step-by-step approach, breaking down each technique into easily understandable terms, making it accessible even to those who are new to advanced editing. The jargon-busting approach ensures that you can grasp the concepts without feeling overwhelmed. Then, through a series of hands-on exercises, you’ll
