by Lucas Heijn

When you first start to use a new software product the hardest part is knowing where to start. You get someone to show you and they go Click, click, click, and you are no wiser than before. If anything you feel more frustrated and stupid. The fact is that once you understand something it is easy, but it takes real effort to get to that stage. That’s the purpose of this article. To give you a kick-start in 4 easy steps.

Step 1. Begin

After opening up Photoshop click on “File” and then “New”. Now choose the size of the new graphic. Usually this is determined by what you plan to do, what is the purpose of the graphic. In this case we are going to create a web page header. Header sizes are determined by the size of the page they are to be applied to. In this case we are creating a header for a sales page. These are usually about 700 pixels by 120 pixels.

Second Step: Decide On A Background.

In choosing a background we have 3 options. We can choose a solid color, a gradient, or a picture as the background.

If we decided on a solid color, here’s how to go about it. On the left hand side of the page there is a floating tool box. Towards the bottom of this box are two color boxes, one on top of the other. Click on the top box and a new window will appear. Choose the color you want by clicking the mouse on the color and click OK. Then choose the Bucket tool. If you cannot find a bucket tool, move your mouse over each of the tools till you find the gradient tool. Right click and it will reveal 2 tools, choose the bucket tool.

Once you have chosen the bucket tool, move your mouse over the new graphic you are creating. You will see the mouse pointer turn into the bucket tool. Just one click and you have your chosen color as your background.

To fill this with a gradient, change the bucket toll into the gradient tool. Once again you need to choose a color. This time you will need to choose 2 colors. The top square is your starting color and the bottom square is the finish color of the gradient.

Having chosen the gradient tool you will notice on the top of the work area new choices have appeared. This will allow you to choose the style of the gradient.

Importing a picture into your graphic as a background is easy. All you need to do is open a file with the picture you want to use. Make sure that the picture is larger or equal in size to the graphic you are creating. With your mouse just drag and drop the picture into your new graphic. Now just move it around to where you want it. That’s it.

This works with JPEG Files but does not work with Gif files.

Step 3: Import more images.

In Photoshop you work with layers. Each time you add something new you create a new layer. On the right-hand side of your work area you will see “Layers”. When you open this you will see all the layers. You can click on any of these layers and make them the active layer and the edit that layer.

To import a picture is exactly the same as what you did in dragging and dropping the background into the graphic. When you drag in a picture you always have some background with the picture. If the background is mostly one color you can easily remove the background and thus expose the background you want seen. To do this you will need to use the eraser.

If your background is all one color, let’s say white, you can use the magic eraser. Right click on the eraser. Three options will appear. Choose “Magic Eraser”. Move your mouse to the part of the picture you want to get rid of and click. In one click it will remove the unwanted background of the picture you dragged in. While you are in that layer you can move this picture to where you want it by picking it up with your mouse.

Fourth Step: Text

Each time you start new text you create a new layer. This means that the text can be moved into any position just as any layer. Photoshop does not always space the lines of text as I like. I overcome this by making each line a new layer and them I can move them where I want them.

On the left hand tool box click the “T”. Move the mouse to the area where the text is to go. Click the mouse and start typing. You can choose the font, size and style as in any other Windows program.

Now that your text is in place it can be enhanced and made to stand out. Make sure the text you want to work with is the active layer. On the top bar of the work area is “Layer”. Click it and choose “Layer Style”. This will open up numerous options. To get an idea of what each of these does just play and experiment with it. As you choose an option it will instantly be seen before you commit it.

You have now created a simple but professional looking graphic you can use on a web page.

There is only one thing left to do. Save it. First save it in Photoshop PSD as this will allow you to come back and edit it. Next if you wish to use it as a web graphic you can “Save it for Web and Devices”. This will create a smaller faster loading file for web pages.

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See how easy it is to create web graphics with Photoshop Action Scripts

Source: Web Design