Photoshop Vocabulary
EPS file format
"Encapsulated PostScript." ___ is a PostScript image file format that is compatible with PostScript printers and is often used for transferring files between various graphics applications. ___ files will print identically on all PostScript-compatible printers and will appear the same in all applications that can read the PostScript format. PostScript is used for storing font and vector image information.
GIF
"Graphics Interchange Format," ___ images use a compression formula originally developed by CompuServe (which is why you see the term "CompuServe GIF" in Photoshop) and are based on indexed colors, which is a palette of at most 256 colors. ___ files are great for small icons and animated images, but they lack the color range to be used for high-quality photos
saturation
(aka "chroma") the strength or purity of the color, representing the amount of gray in proportion to hue; is measured in a percentage from 0% (gray) to 100% (fully saturated)
bitmap
(also called raster graphics) as very sophisticated mosaics. Instead of using colored tiles, bitmap graphics use pixels—colored squares that are so small that your eye perceives only the whole image, not the pixels themselves. All digital photographs are bitmap graphics, and all Photoshop images are bitmap graphics.
filter
- a built in tool or plug-in that produces a special effect. The type of effects you can get with plug-in ______ can range from something as simple as a blurred or softened image to wild, psychedelic patterns, distortions, and artistic effects
histogram
- is a graph that depicts the tonal range of an image. The far left column represents 100% black pixels and the far right represents 100% white pixels, with all other tones spread in between. Most scanning software, photo editing software, and some digital cameras allow you to view an image's _______
TIFF
-"Tagged Image File Format." A graphics file format created in the 1980's to be the standard image format across multiple computer platforms. The ____ format can handle color depths ranging from 1-bit to 24-bit. However, not much compression occurs with this format so file sizes tend to stay large. This format supports layers, alpha channels, and file compression. Commonly used in the printing industry.
Canvas
...The bed of pixels that make up an image.
gradient
A ________, or graduated fill, is a color fill that gradually blends from one color to another. A ______ can contain more than two colors, all fading smoothly from one to another. ______ are very useful for creating shading for three-dimensional and metallic effects. Most graphics software allows you to create a variety of ________ effects such as linear, radial, reflected, diamond, conical, and angle.
paths or bezier curves (vector)
A _________ is a curved line or path defined by mathematical equations. It was named after Pierre ________, a French mathematician and engineer. Most graphics software includes a pen tool for drawing paths with ______ curves. The most basic ________ is made up of two end points, called "anchor points", and control handles attached to each node.
Color Mode
A color mode determines the color model used to display and print images. Photoshop based its color modes on established models for describing and reproducing color.Common models, includes HSB (hue,saturation,brightness); RGB (red,green,blue );and CMYK (cyan,magenta,yellow,black).Photoshop includes modes for specialized color output,such as Indexed color and Duotone.Image ready uses RGB mode to work with images.
Color Profile
A group of preset settings for controlling how color will appear on your monitor and in a printed document.
background color
Color that is revealed by the Eraser Tool when it is used on a layer that has transparency locked; It is white by default and is use to make gradient fills and fill in areas of an image that have been erased
adjustments layer
Create this on an image in the layers panel to make visual changes such as making a photo lighter or darker, sharpening or adjusting the color balance or hue.
Flatten
Merge all layers in an image using a single command.
Layers
Parts of Photoshop file that keeps different parts of the design separate from each other.
PSD
Photoshop document. These files contain all the layers an artist creates so that each layer can be changed or edited later.
Unsharp mask
Photoshop effect that helps to sharpen a blurry image by masking the unsharp part. It is in the Filter menu.
Panels
Small windows that contain a variety of related settings. Main ones used include: Layers, Channels, and History.
Layer Styles
Special effects such as drop shadows, beveled edges, and colorful outlines that can quickly be applied to an entire layer.
Crop
To cut off
pantone
a color-matching system that is used to standardize colors used in digital and printed images.
stroke
emphasizing an image by placing a border around its edges
tracking
evenly adding or subtracting space between letters in a word or group of words
Feathering
A fading-out effect created at the edges of a selection.
history
The _______ palette displays a list of the most recent states (or changes) that were applied to an image, with the bottomomost state being the most recent. Clicking on a prior state restores the image to that stage of the editing process.
Scale
To make larger or smaller.
blending mode
allow you to adjust how one layer or color mixes with the colors in the layers below. _________ are most often used with layers in your graphics software, but they can also come into play with painting tools where the blending mode of the painting tool affects how the colors mix with the existing colors on the same layer where you are painting.
RAW file format
an image format containing unprocessed data. Think of RAW as the digital equivalent to a photo negative. RAW files are usually proprietary to the camera manufacturer and sometimes a specific camera model. That means that only the camera that captures the picture can understand the information collected on the sensors. The settings associated with them, such as the aperture, shutter speed, white balance, contrast, sharpening, and saturation values are not applied; they are stored for later use. RAW images are primarily used by professional photographers who require complete control over their image. This format doesn't support photoshop layers.
page guides
invisible lines that can be dragged from the edge of the rulers (horizontal or vertical) to use for alignment or margins. You can also convert lines in Illustrator to become guides.
filters
photoshop commands that can significantly alter an image's appearance
Quick selection
selects portions of an image based on similarity of textures or solid blocks of similar color.
History panel
shows you all the moves you have done in the current session of Photoshop. It takes the multiple-undo system and puts it in a list you can pick from.
burn
use these to darken parts of your image where you click and drag this tool. You can set the exposure amount and choose highlights, midtones or shadows in the options bar.
dodge
use this tool to lighten parts of your image where you click and drag this tool. You can set the exposure amount and choose highlights, midtones or shadows in the options bar.
opacity
A layer's overall opacity determines to what degree it obscures or reveals the layer beneath it. A layer with 1% opacity appears nearly transparent, whereas one with 100% opacity appears completely opaque.
Resolution
A measure of the sharpness of an image or of the fineness with which a device (as a video display, printer, or scanner) can produce or record such an image usually expressed as the total number or density of pixels in the image. Measured in pixels per inch (ppi) or dots per inch (dpi)
Font
A named set of text and numeric characters that share the same look and feel.
Icon
A picture or symbol that represents the selected tool.
Clone Stamp tool
A retouching tool that allows a user to copy a selected area and paste it over another area to cover blemishes or other problems in the photo.
magnetic lasso
A selection tool that creates selections automatically by clinging to edges of contrasting objects as you click the edges
polygonal lasso
A selection tool useful for creating a selection that is made up of straight lines
Styles
A variety of effects, such as drop shadows and beveled edges, applied to text or shapes.
inverse selection
An option in the Select menu that allows the user to select the background of an image, then use that selection to create a new selection with the inverse portion of the image (the part not originally selected
layer mask
An overlay of a layer that allows you to make visual changes to the layer without actually changing the layer itself. While in this, you can paint white to reveal additional parts of the layer or paint black to conceal.
Vector Graphic
Artwork that is composed of mathematical descriptions of a series of lines and geometric shapes. Usually have a series of "anchor points" that are then connected with lines called "Paths." They are resolution independent; they can be freely scaled and are automatically output at the resolution of the output device. Vector-based programs are called draw programs, because vector graphics are created by drawing lines, creating objects, and filling them with color. Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based program.
graphics program
Falls into three basic categories: bitmap, vector, and animation.
File Format
File formats are specific types of computer code that you use to save an image for various types of output or use with other applications.
File Size
File size refers to how big the file is in computer memory—how much storage space it takes up on your computer. To find this, multiply width in pixels by height in pixels.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or .jpg) is an image file format that supports millions of colors and works best for photographs and other images with continuous tones. JPEG uses lossy compression, meaning that some image data is lost when the file is compressed. Commonly used for web graphics.
Transform
Operations that change the location of pixels; Photoshop transformations include scaling, rotating, skewing, and distorting pixels.
Fastening Points
Points created by the Magnetic Lasso Tool that hold the selection border to the edges in the image.
Portable Document File enables the printing and viewing of documents. The document appears the same regardless of which operating system or computer is used.
Interpolation
Process used when an image is enlarged in which new pixels are created based on color information from existing pixels.
Image Size
Refers to the physical dimensions of the image.
Resampling
Resampling means changing the total pixel count of an image.
Marquee Tool
The Marquee tools are the most basic tools available for making selections in Photoshop. The Rectangular Marquee tool is used for making rectangular or square selections and the Elliptical Marquee tool is used for making oval or circular selections.
foreground color
The color applied by painting tools in Photoshop; Black by default and is used to paint, fill, and apply a border to a selection;
Menu Bar
The menu bar contains many of the commands and options you'll make use of in Photoshop. It is the bar at the top of the workspace that contains Photoshop's menus and several other commonly-used tools to help you manage your workspace.
Options Bar
The options bar contains the various settings that relate to the current tool.
pixels
The pixel (derived from the words picture and element) is the basic unit of programmable color on a computer display or in a computer image. The specific color that a pixel describes is some blend of three components of the color spectrum - RGB.
layers
The positioning of a stack of images relative to other stacks of images. ______ are like clear acetate sheets; opaque where there is imagery and transparent where there is no imagery
channels
The primary component of Photoshop that use a special system to store the color information of an image and the data location of spot colors. _______ are created automatically when a new image is opened. There are 5 types: Color, Mask, Quick Mask, Layer Mask and Alpha ________
rasterize
The process of converting a vector image into a bitmap image.
Workspace
The workspace consists of the Menu bar at the top of the screen, the Options bar below the Menu bar, the Tools panel on the left of the screen, and the dock of panels on the right of the screen.
Lasso Tool
There are three types of Lasso tools in Photoshop: Lasso, Polygonal Lasso, and Magnetic Lasso. Lasso tools are also used for making free-form selections.
gradient
a blend of colors used to fill a selection of a layer or an entire layer (same as gradient fill)
duotone
a color mode that uses two colors, combining highlights and midtones to a black & white image while allowing the user to choose the second color, so that it is the chosen color and white
color picker
a feature that lets you choose a color from a color spectrum or numerically to define a custom color
raster image
a grid of individual pixels (rasters or bits) in rows and columns (called a bitmap). _____ files are resolution dependent which is usually determined when you scan, photograph or create the file originally.
Red eye tool
a retouching tool in Photoshop that allows a user to neutralize red tones by blending them with the eye color of a person in an image.
healing brush
a retouching tool that allows a user to copy an area and drag it across another area of an image to mix pixels and blend color tones to cover blemishes.
magic wand
a selection tool that selects an area based on similarly colored pixels, and may be adjusted for color tolerance.
grayscale mode
a specialized color mode that uses up to 256 shades of gray, assigning a brightness from 0 (black) to 255 (white) to each pixel
swatches panel
a visual display of colors that you can choose from
mask
a way of protecting specific areas of your image, just as you would use masking tape when painting your house. A _____ consists of a grayscale channel, called an alpha channel and is often displayed as a ruby overlay so the underlying image can be seen through the ____. The darkest areas of a ____ are the areas most protected and the white areas are unprotected. Shades of gray represent areas of partial protection that corresponds with the level of gray.
grayscale images
can contain up to 256 shades of gray, assigning brightness value from 0 (black) to 255 (white) to each pixels (2 words)
smart object
completely preserves the image data so that all editing is nondestructive
additive color
created by mixing a number of different light colors, with Red, green, and blue being the primary colors normally used in additive color system
subtractive color
cyan, magenta, yellow or black—which, in the form of dyes or pigments, are the standard primary colors in subtractive color systems.
Sharpen filter
increases the contrast of adjacent pixels and can focus a blurry image
plug-in
is a software module that can be added to a program to extend its functionality. It's a bit like a program inside a program.
Posterize
is a special effect that is created by reducing the number of colors available for the image.
alpha channel
is a special type of channel used in graphics software for saving selections. Most bitmap editing software allows you to save multiple ____ channels with an image when it is saved in the program's native file format. Any of the ____ channels can be reloaded as a selection or mask at any time, even after closing and reopening the image.
anti-aliasing
is a technique of blending bitmap-based images and text to reduce the stair-stepping or jagged appearance. In areas of transition, the edge pixels are blended to give a smoother appearance.
smart object
is an object that is imported into your working file and retains the connection to the original file. For example, if you brought a illustrator file into photoshop, you could double click on the imported file (in photoshop) and then it would launch illustrator to allow editing. Once it was saved (in illustrator), it would be updated back in photoshop.
dots per inch (dpi)
is the number of dots produced by an output device (ie. laser printer) in a single line of output. Dots per inch is sometimes used interchangeably (although incorrectly) with pixels per inch.
pixels per inch (ppi)
is the number of pixels in one horizontal or vertical inch of a digital raster file. PPI is a way of measuring the resolution of a digital photo/image or digital device, including digital cameras and printers. The higher the number, the greater the resolution.
compositing
is the process of combining any two or more objects (images, text, illustrations, etc) into an overall design.
halftone image
is the result of converting an image into a set of different-sized dots that fool the eye into believing that it sees a continuous tone for use in offset printing.
clone
the ____ tool is a tool that is used to take a section of an image and apply it onto another
color balance
the adjustment of the intensity of the colors in an image.
CMYK color mode
the color "mode" or document type which is based on the absorption and reflection of light. Usually this process is used mostly in printing such as printing presses or tshirt printing. Four "process" inks - cyan (close to blue), magenta (close to red), yellow and black (called the "subtractive primaries") are used in varying combinations and percentages to produce a range of printable colors in most commercial printing. A CMYK file has four color "channels" one for each of the subtractive primary. Why is the letter "k" used for black? So that it is not confused with the name "Blue" which is not used in this mode. If you mixed all the colors you would get black.
RGB color mode
the color "mode" or document type which is defined by three channels of red, green and blue produced by the color monitor. It is created by combining different intensities of each of the three colors. This type of color producing is called "additive primaries" because the light of the monitor display is added together to make the color you need. Most monitors have a "gamut", or range, of 16.7 million colors. If you mix the colors you'd get white.
grayscale
the color "space" or document type which is defined by black and white plus all of the gray tones as well. This has one "channel" or level of color information.
hue
the color reflected from or transmitted through an object, expressed as a degree (betw. 0 and 360) and identified by a color name
luminosity
the light and dark values within an image when you convert it from color to grayscale
brightness
the measurement of a relative lightness or darkness of a color; measured in a percentage from 0% (black) to 100% (white)
kerning
the space between each letter
leading
the space between the lines of text.
