0197 - Intermediate Photoshop CS5

Course Description

Course Details If you're already using the basic tools in Adobe Photoshop CS5, take your photo-editing skills to a new level! In this course, you'll become an expert at using layers, layer masks, and other advanced features that let you change images easily long after you create them (and long after the Photoshop "undo" command expires). Non-destructive editing lets you work faster and reuse parts of images over and over. In these lessons, you'll learn how to save every single pixel in your original image so you never have to say, "I'm sorry—I tossed that information." In addition, you'll discover how to use Smart Objects so you can crop or resize an image and return it to its original size months afterward. (You'll even learn some clever tricks for warping Smart Objects!) After that, you'll find out how to add shadows or embossing non-destructively. And if you want to design page layouts you can fill with different images, you'll learn how to create templates you can reuse. Whether you use Photoshop to edit photos, make scrapbook pages, or design original artwork, this course will give you all the skills you need to let your creativity shine. Once you see what non-destructive editing can do for your projects, you'll never look back! How It Works This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time. In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning. Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam. The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later. Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED. Requirements You will need Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Windows or Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Macintosh. This can be part of the Creative Suite in Standard or Extended editions or it can be a standalone version of either Standard or Extended. However, no features from the Extended version will be taught. Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. If you want to use the 30-day free trial software provided by Adobe, you will need to wait until the third week of the course to install it and actually begin working through the course. Otherwise, your trial will end before the last four lessons are released. You can also obtain a one- or two-month subscription for the product at a cost of $49.00 per month. This allows you to use the demo for one month if you like and then buy a one-month subscription so you can take the course for its full length. This course can be taken on a PC or a Mac. On the PC platform, any of the following are acceptable: Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 3; Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (Service Pack 2 recommended); or Windows 7. On the Mac platform, you will need Mac OS X v10.5.8 or v10.6. You will need to have a working knowledge of the basic tools in Photoshop and be able to make selections, use the Clone Stamp tool and Healing brushes, and do elementary color correction. If you are new to Photoshop, you should start with Introduction to Photoshop CS5. In addition, you will need to have a program that extracts the example files from the Zip file provided with each lesson. You also will need to know how to create a new file folder and locate files on your hard drive.