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| Alphabet City by Abba Richman |
1: CREATE A FOLDER FOR YOUR IMAGES
On your desktop, create a folder for your Project images. Rename the images to correspond to the letter they represent.
2: OPEN ALL IMAGES IN PHOTOSHOP
In your folder, select all 26 images and drag them to the Photoshop icon on your dock at the bottom of your desktop.
3: CROP AND RESIZE IMAGES (AND CONVERT TO BLACK & WHITE)
Crop: Crop out any wasted space in the image so the implied letter fills the frame. You can use the Crop Tool or select the area with the Rectangular Marquee Tool and go to Image > Crop.
Resize: Once you have cropped all your images, you need to resize them so they have the same height. Go to Image > Image Size. Make sure that the boxes for Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are checked. Also make sure that the image resolution is 300 ppi (pixels per inch). Then select the height you want in inches. You will have to do this for all 26 images, making sure they have the same height. The height of 4.75 inches is what was used on the Alphabet City poster.
Convert to Black and White: You can keep all the images in color or you can convert them to Black and White. Black and White looks more artistic and makes the letters stand out more. It is your choice as an artist. Refer to the Convert Color to Black and White handout for the different methods for conversion in Photoshop.
4: CREATE A NEW IMAGE FOR THE BACKGROUND
Once all of your images are the same height and converted to Black and White or left in color, now you can create a new image that will serve as your background. Go to File > New. When the dialog box pops up, change to the following:
Width: 24 inches
Height: 36 inches
Resolution: 300 ppi
Color Mode: RGB Color, 8 bit
Background Contents: White or Background Color.
Click OK.
5: CREATE A BLACK BACKGROUND (OPTIONAL)
In the Tool Bar located on the left side of your workspace, click on the Paint Bucket (12th one down). Then go to the bottom of the tool bar and select the Foreground/Background Color square. A dialog box will appear and click on the color you want to set as the background. Once selected, click OK.
6: USE THE RULERS TO CREATE MARGINS ON YOUR POSTER
Go to View > Rulers and make sure there is a check mark next to the Rulers so the grid will appear. Using your mouse, click on the ruler at the top and drag down a guideline to leave an even space at the top. Then, click on the side ruler and drag a guideline to leave space for a right margin and another for the left margin. You can drag down as many guidelines as you need. On the Alphabet City Poster, there are 2 inches on the Top, 0.75 inches on the Left and Right Margins, and 0.25 inches between the rows.
7: DRAG YOUR IMAGES ONTO THE BACKGROUND IMAGE
Once the Top Margin and Side Margin Guidelines are in place, start dragging over your images. Starting with A. All of the images should still be open in Photoshop. Keep the background image on the let side of your workspace and drag the current photo, your image, on the right. Click on the A image and drag it over to the background image. Move it into place. Then return to the original A image and close the file. Then repeat the same steps with the B image and so on until you have all the letters on the background image.
8: MOVING THE LAYERS INTO PLACE
Go to Window > Layers and make sure there is a check mark next to Layers. The Layers window should appear on the right side of your workspace. Each image that you dragged over is a separate layer so you must click on that layer in order to use it. Click on the layer and click on the Move Tool (1st tool in the left side Tool Bar). Using your ruler guidelines, make sure all the images are in a nice, spaced out alignment. You should have equal space between the rows. Use the Alphabet City Poster as a layout reference.
9: CREATING ONE LAYER
Once all of the images have been dragged to the background and are in alignment, you need to merge all the layers or flatten the image. To merge the layers, go to Layers > Merge Layers. To just flatten the image, go to Layers > Flatten Image.
10: SAVING FILE
Go to File > Save As. When the dialog box appears, pick your desktop as a place to save your image. Change the name from untitled to your name and select JPEG as the Format. Click Save.
