(intro theme)
- [Presenter] Hello, and welcome to
this video tutorial, Gareth here
from http://www.tastytuts.com.
So now, we are getting into the
Create a Project section of this course.
In the previous 23 episodes,
I introduced you to Photoshop,
showcased some handy tips, and we practiced
some essential tools and techniques.
Now it's time to take all that we have learned
to create a project from scratch.
So this is what we are going to create
over the next seven videos, we are going to
create a book cover design in Photoshop.
If you'd like to take a closer look at
this composition, you can find it in the
Final Artwork folder, in the Project folder.
Now you can download this Project folder for free.
The link is in the description.
So, in this document, you can see we have
a lot of creative elements, all created using the
techniques demonstrated in the previous videos.
So if we look over in the Layers panel,
we can see that the entire document
is composed of just four Layer folders.
The logo, the paper birds, the header,
and the footer and type.
Over the next seven videos, I'll be
breaking each creative element down,
demonstrating how it was made, and finally,
we will bring the composition together
as a complete and finished design.
So, in this video, we are going to begin
our project by setting up a document
in Adobe Photoshop for our book cover design
ready for print.
I'll be taking you through some of the details
you need to consider as we set up a new document.
So I'll close this document, and we can make a start.
So let's begin by coming to the Brief.
Now we can find this by coming into
the Project folder, clicking in the
Create a Project folder, opening the
Project Brief folder, and opening
the Brief document inside.
So, in the dimensions specification, we can see
that we need to design the book cover
to the dimension of 150 by 230 millimeters,
with a bleed of 3 millimeters.
So back in Photoshop, let's begin.
So I come to File, and click New.
Upon click, we have the New Document menu.
So I'll start by naming the document
Paper Friends Cover.
Next, I'll set the resolution to 300.
I'll come down and click on the tab to the right,
and make sure it's set to millimeters.
Over in the width I'll type 150
and in the height I'll type 230,
and I'll make sure to set the Color Mode to CMYK.
So this is the ideal setup for our document.
We have the right dimensions,
we have the resolution set to 300,
this will ensure we have high image quality,
and we set our document to CMYK,
which is ideal for print.
Once I'm happy, I'll click OK.
So here we have the blank document ready
to start to create the design, excellent.
So before I get started with the creative stuff,
I want to set up some guides that will aid
with my design in future.
First, I'll start with the inner margin.
So before that, I come up to Photoshop,
and click Preferences, I believe this
is Edit for PC users.
I'll come to Units and Rulers,
and set the ruler units to millimeters
if it's not already set up that way,
and I'll click OK.
So I'll press Command + R to activate
the rulers around the document, if they
are not already visible.
And I'll begin by dragging a guide
out from the left, and placing it
right on the edge on the left.
So I'll press Shift on the keyboard,
and drag right slightly, as I do this
I'll snap the guide to pixels of two.
And I'll look closely at the value until I get to eight.
Upon release, I'll drag another guide, though
this time over to the far right
of the canvass area.
And again press and hold Shift and drag in slightly
into the document eight pixels.
I'll do this to the top, and to the bottom.
So now I have an inside margin
to my document of eight millimeters, great.
So I have set up this inside margin,
as in future I'm going to keep all my
creative elements inside this area.
This will guarantee a nice margin
around my artwork for a nice
clear and balanced design.
Now, if we come back to the Brief, it states
we also need to add a bleed of
three millimeters for the printers.
So, back in Photoshop, we now have the document
set to the correct dimensions,
with a nice, inside margin.
So, I'll drag a guide to the far left edge,
drag a guide to the right edge.
I'll drag a guide from the top the bottom,
and a guide from the top,
to the top of the canvass like so.
So now I have guides effectively all the way
around the outside of the document.
Now, I'm going to come up to Image,
and scroll down to Canvass Size.
Now upon click, we can see the dimensions
of the current canvas area approximately.
150 by 230, so I'll now add three millimeters
on both the width and the height.
So now it's 153 by 233,
and I click OK.
And now I have effectively increased
the size of the canvass area.
Now if we zoom in here, we can now see
that we have the bleed area.
So by creating the document to
the right size first, then add in the guides,
then adjusting the canvas size,
we quickly and accurately
set the guides to the bleed area.
Now, if some of you are wondering
what the bleed area is, and why we
created this, the bleed area is
the margin of error a printer has where they
print the design on paper and trim around it.
In this case, we are creating a book cover design,
which will be placed into a
desktop publishing program with the rest of the book.
This bleed will allow for flexibility
inside the publishing program.
Now, depending on the printer, and the requirements,
bleed can vary from three millimeters, upwards.
So next, I'll come into the layers panel.
So currently, we have this layer called
Background with a lock icon.
This is usually the default setup
when you create a new document.
So I'll double click on the layer,
and up will pop a new layer window.
So I'll type into the box, white base, and click OK.
With the new layer selected, I'll press
Command + T, by pressing this, it will create
the border box around the document area,
and we can now see the square points around.
We can also see a point in the center.
This will give us an indication
of the middle of the canvass area.
So I'll drag out another guide from the left
to the center, and simply press Enter
on the keyboard to turn off Free Transform.
So just like that, we set a center line, easy.
Now I'll quickly press Command + R,
to toggle away the rulers.
So now, we have the document perfectly set up
for us to start creating our design, nice.
So next, I'll press Command + Shift + N
to create a new layer.
I'll call this layer blue sky, and click OK.
So I'll come over to the menu, and focus
on the colors at the bottom of the menu.
I'll click the foreground color,
and set this to seven E-D
one E seven,
and that will give me a nice, dark blue color.
Now I'll click the button above
Swap Foreground and Field Color.
I'll click into the Foreground color,
and type in E nine F
six F nine, and click OK.
This will set a light blue color.
So now, I have a light blue foreground color,
and a dark blue background color.
So next, I'll come up and click and hold
on the Paint Bucket tool, and select the gradient tool.
Now I'll come into the canvass area,
about 2/3 of the way down,
and click Drag Up, like so.
Upon click, I will create a nice gradient effect,
from light to dark, bottom to top, simple.
So lastly, I'll come into the layers panel,
I'll select the top layer, press and hold Shift,
and select the bottom layer.
With them both selected, I'll press
Command + G, to place them into a folder,
and I'll name it Background.
So, that completes the set up of my document.
Once I'm happy with the set up,
I'll press Command + S to save.
I'll navigate to the Project folder,
and save the document in the My Project folder.
I'll keep the file name Paper Friends Cover,
and click save.
So there we have our new document.
Our guide set up, with a blue background.
Now we are ready to move on, and create some creative
elements to feature in the design.
In the next video, we will be creating
the paper type artwork for the heading in the book.
We will be using the type tool,
and looking at how we can create the effect.
See you in the next video.
(mellow electronic music)