From psw@wherry.comSun Jul 13 21:19:01 1997
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 1997 10:05:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: Phillip Wherry <psw@wherry.com>
To: Walter Sanford <wsanford@wsanford.com>
Subject: Re: A Couple of Questions


> No, not yet (haven't been able to find it in a bookstore). Not that you've
> ever made a bad recommendation, but I'd like to see the book before I buy
> it. A friend of mine owns four other "highly recommended" Photoshop
> books--when I examined them, not one made me think, "Wow, this is the one
> book to own!" 

Wow, that's surprising (that you couldn't find it). I know the Borders
carries it.

> Specifically, there are a few things I'd like to learn ASAP (skills that 
> I could use to work on little projects):
> 
> * How did you create the banners for the Camp T-Equity Final Report (the 
> color gradient w. text)?

There's very good online help for this. In summary: double-click the
gradient tool (just below the text tool); this brings up a dialog box
where you can set some of the gradient parameters.

Select the area you want to work with (using selection marquee or whatever
you choose). Single-click the gradient tool to select it, then draw a line
within the selection area to define the direction you'd like the gradient
to go in.

> * I want to make a graphic of radar "waves" that get progressively larger 
> from left to right in a gradient, kinda like this (((((((((( only the left 
> ones should be smaller and closer together. Is there a simple way to 
> create a banner that looks like this?

Photoshop's drawing tools are actually pretty weak (not what the tool was
intended for). I'd use Corel Draw or some other drawing tool (even the
drawing tools in PowerPoint) to do this. If you're trying to do it with
Photoshop, you might seriously consider using a bunch of parentheses at
different point sizes just as in your example above).

> * How can I take a variety of different-sized images and resize them to be
> the same size (e.g., to make a button bar)? Should I use Photoshop, LView,
> or the graphic resizing utilities on the tequity server? 

Photoshop is the best tool for this, since you can specify the exact
dimensions you're looking for. LView lets you do this too, but its image
resizing algorithm isn't as sophisticated as Photoshop's (though it's a
bit faster). The resizing utility on the server uses the sophisticated
algorithm, but wants to resize on a percentage, rather than a pixel-count,
basis.

> * Is it possible to resize text (other than by changing the point size)?

No.

> * How do I make a drop shadow (for text & graphics)?

1. Get the stuff you want shadowed onto a single layer.
2. Duplicate the layer (Layer | Duplicate Layer). Name the new layer
"shadow" or something similar.
3. Drag the original layer *above* the shadow layer in the list at the
right-hand side of the screen.
4. Click on the shadow layer in the list at the right-hand side of the
screen.
5. Select the area you want shadowed.
6. Choose "Filter | Blur | Gaussian Blur" and tune the parameters to your
choosing.
7. Choose "Filter | Other | Offset" to allow you to move the shadow with
respect to the original image.
8. If the shadow is too dark, you can tune it by moving the "opacity"
slider in the layer list back from 100%.

Phil

--
Phil Wherry - psw@wherry.com
Phone:   +1 703 242-2618; fax +1 703 242-1167