Step 01: Getting Started

Before we begin, let's take a moment to examine the Photoshop interface. Below is a screenshot of one possible set-up, though a variety of other options are possible. The tiny windows on the right are very important - these are the palettes and they contain all sorts of very useful stuff. It is a good idea to always have lots of room for the Layers palette, and always have the History palette visible for correcting mistakes. You can rearrange these palettes by dragging their tabs (the blue bars at the top) around. As you use Photoshop, you'll discover what palettes are most important to you, and you can place them accordingly.

OK, let's get started! For this tutorial we will be taking a sketch of a cartoon character and using Photoshop to turn it into a full-color cartoon image. Along the way you will learn how to use the various tool in Photoshop and get really, really good at it. That is, if you actually read and follow the directions. Once you have learned how to create a cartoon from a sketch we will create one from a photograph (in other words, you will be turning yourself into a cartoon character - I know, cool, huh?).

Since this is not a traditional art class, we are not going to be covering how to create a sketch. There are plenty of tutorials online to help you with that if you are interested. Also, many of the concepts and tools used by artists will not be covered here - remember that this class is Digital Graphics and Animation, not Art Foundations (though we will touch on some topics that apply to both DGA and Art).

We need to begin by getting the image to the right in your DGA folder...

1. Click the image on the right
2. The Full-sized version should load in a new browser window - you should have to scroll down to see her legs. If you can see all of her, point at her and pause for a second and you should see an orange colored box with blue arrows on each corner appear near the bottom of the image - click the box and she will grow to full size
3. Right-click the full-sized version
4. Choose Save Picture As...
5. Surf to your folder on the X Drive and go into the Cartoon folder in your DGA folder.
6. Name the file Cartoon
7. Click Save

Be sure you are putting her in the sub-folder within your main folder, as this will make it easier to find her and work with her later when you have more files in your folder.

You should have noticed that the full-sized version of her is large. It is good practice to work with an image that is larger than you need. The tiny errors that inevitably occur will be easier to correct in the higher resolution, and those small ones that do slip by are less visible when you shrink the image down.

After finishing this tutorial (and this course) you will be able to work with a variety of images that come from a variety of sources. One of the best ways to work with sketches is to transfer them to your computer using a scanner. We won't actually mess with scanning at this point, just keep in mind that any image, from a sketch to a drawing to a photograph, can be digitized and manipulated in Photoshop. If fact, all kinds of strange images are possible by messing with graphics, as the graphic below demonstrates...

Don't worry, the guy on the ladder didn't get eaten. The image was created by joining a photo of an Air Force helicopter during a water rescue training mission in San Francisco with a photo of a shark jumping out of the water off the coast of Africa.

Or how about this one...

Don't believe everything you see!

Remember that after you make ANY changes to save your Catgirl!
It is very frustrating to redo steps because your computer blew up and you lost your work!

Remember also, as you work through these tutorials, be sure you are taking notes on anything new you learn -
it will make passing quizzes and test much easier!

Alright, now that we have her saved in our folder, let's start working with Catgirl...