Photoshop - Graphic Design

The four projects I created in Photoshop.

Using Photoshop

After just completing numerous projects in Illustrator, Photoshop was a big change.  Although the overall template design is the same, the tools are different. It was a challenge to find the tools needed to complete certain actions in Photoshop. Overall, I think that Photoshop was much more difficult to use and navigate than Illustrator.

The Transition from Illustrator to Photoshop

Like I said before, I thought Photoshop was much harder to use than Illustrator. Although there were some similarities between the two programs, the various tools in Photoshop were much more difficult to find.

First Project: ONW + Compass

The first project we did in Photoshop was not that difficult, although it did take some time to find some of the tools needed in the program. I used the opacity to make sort of a watermark over the picture with the "ONW" letters and the compass.

Second Project: Butterfly

The second project was really the same story for me. Although I had some trouble finding specific tools, the process was very simple once I had located them. I used the magic wand to select parts of the butterfly and change the colors. Then, I used the clone stamp tool to make the wings appear to be fluttering.

Third Project: Northwest

Although the first two projects were pretty easy for me, this one proved to be a challenge. It took me a while to find out how to use the Layer Mask tool, which allowed me to add the interesting effects on the design. Every step had to be perfect, and if you made just one mistake, you either had to back up multiple steps or completely start over, which happened quite often.

Fourth Project: Collage

This project was by far the most difficult out of the four. It involved adding several layers, cropping pictures, experimenting with the opacity, using the Magnetic Lasso tool to cut out part of a picture, and using the clone stamp tool to get rid of the light poles. The part of the project I struggled the most with was finding the tools needed to complete the steps. Some of the steps were very vague, for example, the directions would tell me what tool to use, however, it didn't tell me where I had to go to find the tool. This caused wasted time throughout the project.

Which Do I Prefer?

I personally enjoy Illustrator more than Photoshop. The interface was more user-friendly, especially the fact that it was easier to undo steps you did in the project. I felt like we had more freedom in the projects we created in Illustrator rather than its counterpart.