How to make Hari Raya poster using Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a graphics editing program by Adobe that is used by professionals and regular consumers. It is usable on a variety of operating systems and is available in a variety of languages. This program can be used to create images from scratch or to alter existing images. Photoshop skills are useful and can lead to gainful employment.

Start your file. Once the program has started, you will need to open a new file in order to create an image. This can be done by clicking the main menu button and selecting “New”, or pressing “control/command N”.

Now you will be presented with a variety of options. This will allow you to customize your starting canvas. Don’t worry, however, as most of these options can be changed even after you have begun working on the file. Just be aware that changing certain options after beginning work will affect the image and need to be compensated for

Choose your dimensions. The first several options are for setting the dimensions of your canvas or work area. You can use a preset size (such as 8.5x11” if you want to make something to print on normal paper), a custom size (using the height and width controls), or choose the clipboard option (which will set the canvas size to the dimensions of whatever is currently in your computer’s clipboard, useful for pasting and editing existing images).

Choose your resolution. You will want to set your resolution for the image, based on what you intend to do with it. The resolution determines how many pixels will be in one square inch of the image. The more pixels in an inch, the more detailed the image will be.

Choose your color mode. Depending on what your image is for, you will need to change the color mode. This determines how the colors will be calculated and displayed. This is one setting which can be changed after the image has been created without too much consequence

Choose your background. This will mainly determine if your starting canvas is white or transparent. A white canvas will make it easier to see what you are doing but a transparent one will make most effects easier to achieve.

Use layers. Using layers is probably the most important aspect of Photoshop. Layers allows you to separate your images and editing into pieces. The more layers you use, the greater your control will be. Edits on one layer will only affect that layer (though layer modes can affect how the layers interact). Also keep in mind that layers are stacked: upper layers will always appear above lower layers. Plan and adjust accordingly

Adjust layer opacity/fill. You can adjust the layer opacity (or how transparent everything on that layer is) with the “opacity” and “fill” drop-down menus on the Layer window. Largely these two options will achieve the same effect, so it may not matter which you choose

Lock layers.When you are done with a layer, you may want to completely or partially lock it. This will keep it from accidentally being altered. You can choose to lock it completely by selecting the layer and then pressing the lock button on the Layer window. You can lock transparent pixels, painted pixels, or position by pressing those buttons, if you would rather only partially lock the layer. They are located next to the lock button and their names should display when hovered over.