Simple and Easy Poster Edit With Adobe Photoshop Tutorial (Grades 9-12)

Do you have a favorite professional sports athlete and want to make a neat background or poster design of them? Follow this tutorial if that's you!

This tutorial will teach you quick and efficient ways to utilize Adobe Photoshop while being able to create your own unique poster design. By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to create a template, insert photos, crop photos, use the magnetic lasso tool, positioning, using transparent images, insert text, and exporting files correctly. You may follow along exactly with the tutorial, or you may use the tutorial as a reference and use your own images.

Learning Objectives:

Standard- Design in Technology and Engineering Education

This project utilizes technology and engineering education through Adobe Photoshop to create your own personal image. This tutorial will help you understand the process of design, and how simple and/or difficult it can be at times. Understanding the principles of design and learning how to use the interface is the best way to retain and learn information when it comes to technology.

Practices- Creativity

Your use of creativity will be put to the test if you decide to use your own references and images throughout this tutorial. This tutorial can be used for many different backgrounds and images so there is many possible outcomes depending on your selection and tweaking of settings. Creativity is a very important part design in technology and engineering education, and without it there would be no original work. Be a leader, not a follower and come up with your own ideas and designs. The world is in your hands.

Contexts- Information and Communication

The two most important things when it comes to education are information and communication. This tutorial is full of information on how to complete the poster design and your job is to communicate with me that you understand how to do this tutorial with the finished product that you made. Information and communication go hand in hand with each other. Without information, communication would not exist. Information and communication will always be in our lives until the day we are gone.

Materials

• Computer with Adobe Photoshop- ($20/month) OR use public computers (library)
• A Supporting Internet Browser
• Mouse

To start out with, select a landscape template if available, otherwise use a custom template and change the settings on the right side of the screen to match mine. Once this is done, select create and it will take you to that blank template.

After you've created your template, select a background that you would prefer to use for your athlete or person. This can be any image as long as it is a .PNG or .JPEG file. Once saved as one of the two file types, go to File>Place Embedded and browse for the image you saved on your computer. Then crop your image to fit the white background area. Make sure that the image is clear and isn't burry. If it is blurry you may want to try a different image.

The next step is finding a photo of the person you want to use to crop them out of the picture. Here, it is easiest to use a photo that has a white background or has very distinguished colors. This makes one of the upcoming steps much easier to complete if this is already done. Once you have your image, use the same method as in step 2, go to File>Place Embedded and insert your picture into a new tab. This will prepare us for the next step and make it much easier.

This is the most difficult part of the tutorial. Here, you will right-click on the lasso tool along the toolbar on the left side of your screen and select the magnetic lasso tool. This allows you to trace the person you want in the image and completely cuts them out of the picture. You can start at any point around your person. Click once and begin following the outline of your character all the way around back to the beginning point where you clicked. If the outline cuts into the person or bows out away from the person, it is okay we will fix that by clicking on the square in the top left toolbar that says, "add selection" or "subtract selection". You can go back over the part you want to include or delete.

After you have the cut out the person you want, the outline should be flowing around the person in a black and white dotted line. You will use the command "Control+C" to copy this outline. You will then go back to the page with you background and then use the command "Control+V" to paste your outline onto the background. You can use the four arrows on the left side toolbar to position the cut out wherever you'd like. Make sure to leave enough room for text and another possible (optional) addition.

After getting your cutout positioned to your liking, you will then add text to your image. This can simply state their name or be a catchphrase related to the person. Remember it's your own design, make it how you like! To insert text, use the box on the left side toolbar with a letter "T" inside of it. You can then select and drag on the image you create the textbox to a size of your liking. Simply click on the box after it has been created and type your text into it. You can edit the font, size, and positioning of the text within the box with the help of the properties box in the text layer tab located on the right side of your screen.

This is an optional step if you selected an athlete who plays for a team. For this step, you can search transparent logos up on the internet, which are typically .PNG files. These photos do not have backgrounds, and this is easier than having to use the magnetic lasso tool to cut out the logo. Use the embed feature (as mentioned in steps 2 & 3) to insert the logo. Position and resize the logo to your liking.

The last and final step in this tutorial is to export your image. You must print this poster out after completion, and this can be done by selecting File>Print all the way at the bottom of the dialog box. Print to your local computer. After you have printed your image, if you would like to use in on other pieces of technology such as a background for your smartphone, you can select File>Export to export the image as a .PNG file. This file can be sent via email to any other device you'd like for your own personal use. Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Adobe Photoshop Poster Tutorial. Feel free to try it on your own and make your own design if you followed the tutorial design step for step.