Transform tools in Adobe Photoshop Class - 11 [Adobe Photoshop for Beginners]

 Transform tools in Adobe Photoshop Class - 11 [Adobe Photoshop for Beginners]:

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welcome to Tech Learning 4U

As you create in Photoshop,

there will be occasions where you will want

to change the size, shape, and form

of creative objects in your composition

to meet your design and imagination.

In this tutorial I'm going

to discuss and demonstrate how to

manipulate creative elements in our canvas area

by using the transform tools.

By the end of this tutorial

you will feel comfortable transforming

and manipulating creative elements in Photoshop.

So here we have the document opened and if we look

in the layers panel, we can see this document

consists of multiple layers.

Here we have a blue background layer

and some Origami birds each on their individual layers.

Now, in Photoshop there are lots of ways

to transform your creative.

So let's say we want to flip the entire canvas.

This can be done easily by coming up to the top menu

and clicking on Image.

If I scroll down there is an option

here called, Image Rotate.

If I place my mouse cursor over this

we can see a few options.

I can flip the canvas in various degrees.

I can flip vertically or horizontally.

On this occasion, I'm going to select, Flip Horizontal.

So upon click, the entire document has flipped horizontal.

So this can be useful if I have a photo

I would like to flip.

Now, as you just saw, there are other options there

in the Image Rotate menu.

Be sure to experiment with those.

So I'll press Command-Zed to undo that.

Now, what if I want to flip a particular layer

in my composition horizontally?

Now this can be done easily,

but we need to follow a different path.

So first I need to select the

particular layer I wish to transform.

So I'll select the red bird layer.

This time, instead of coming to Image, I'll come to Edit.

If I scroll down, and come to Transform,

you will see a number of transform options.

On this occasion, I will select, Flip Horizontal.

Upon click, we will see the layer flip horizontal.

So remember, to flip the entire document

we need to go to Image, Image Rotate,

and to flip a layer we must first select a layer

and go to Edit, Transform.

So, with the move tool, I'll just move my red bird

up a little like so.

So next, I want to introduce you

to the Free Transform tool.

The Free Transform tool in Photoshop will allow you

to edit in multiple ways.

I find this tool to be one of the most common

transform tasks used in Photoshop.

So, for example, I'm going to focus on the blue bird here.

So to use the Free Transform

we must first select the layer we wish to edit.

In the layers panel I will select the blue bird layer.

With the blue bird layer selected, I will come up to edit,

scroll down and select, Free Transform.

Now upon click, we will see a square bounding box

around the contents of the layer.

Now since this layer only consists of the blue bird,

it's put square bounding box around the blue bird.

Okay, so for now I will just press enter.

Upon pressing enter, the Free Transform will be turned off

and we will go back to normal.

This time, I'm going to use the keyboard shortcut.

To quickly activate the Free Transform tool,

we can press Command-T on the keyboard.

Upon pressing Command-T, we will activate the free

transform, and just like before, we can see

the square bounding box appear around the item on the layer.

So what do we have here?

So upon activating Free Transform,

we now have an outline around the object.

This bounding box.

If we look closely, we can see a number of details.

We can see we have eight mini squares

around the outline around the bounding box.

Now these are points that we can use

to manipulate this object in various ways.

So as I move my mouse cursor over anyone of these points,

you will notice the mouse cursor change.

This is Photoshop indicating what task

this point will perform.

So the points on the top and bottom give us the ability

to transform the image vertically.

For example, I'll place my mouse cursor over the top handle

and pull down and up like so.

If I place my mouse cursor over the bottom point

and pull up and down you can see I can edit this, too.

Now, as you have probably already guessed

we can do the same to the sides, as well.

If I move my mouse cursor over to the right point

I can drag it in and out and likewise

with the point on the left.

Now, you can also click and drag on the corner points

by clicking and dragging

on any one of the corner points we can alter the scale.

Now, if you move your mouse cursor

just off the corner point, and float the mouse

near the corner, you will notice the mouse cursor

change to a curve with arrows on each end.

Well, this is Photoshop communicating

you can now click and rotate.

So if I click and drag I can rotate.

So with the Free Transform active on our layer,

we can change the height, width and rotation very easily.

So I'll just play with the Free Transform tool

on this blue bird to make it change of it like so.

Once I'm happy with the change, I'll simply press enter

and the transform will be applied.

Simple.

So I'm gonna press Command-Zed to undo that

and go back to what I had, previously.

So now I want to demonstrate some useful tips you need

to be aware of when using the Free Transform tool.

So I'll activate Free Transform again

on this layer by pressing Command-T.

Upon click, we will have the bounding box back.

Now, there are a number of buttons you can press

on the keyboard to control how you make transformations

as you apply them.

For example, if I press and hold shift on the keyboard

and click and drag in and out on one of the corner points

you will notice you can increase

or decrease the object to scale.

So without shift held down, you can increase

and decrease freely, but with shift

held down, you can increase and decrease to scale.

Convenient.

Now, here is another interesting one.

This time I will click and hold alt on the keyboard.

By pressing and holding alt on the keyboard

and dragging in and out this time we will increase

and decrease from the center of the image.

As we drag we can do this quite freely.

Now, with alt held down, this time I will also press

and hold shift.

So with shift and alt held down

on the keyboard, this time if I click and drag

in and out I can increase and decrease

from the center but to scale.

This is really useful to increase

or decrease a creative element really fast.

Now, another important tip you should be aware of

with Free Transform active on the layer, this time I'm going

to move my mouse cursor up to the corner.

Instead of putting my mouse cursor on the cursor point,

I'll move it just off to get the rotate arrows.

So instead of clicking and dragging freely like before,

this time I will press and hold shift on the keyboard.

With shift held down on the keyboard, as I click

to rotate, you will notice the bounding box snap

to small increments.

This can help if you want to rotate accurately

to degrees of 90.

One last tip you should keep in mind

when using Free Transform is the distort

and perspective transform.

With the bounding box around your creative object, this time

instead of pressing alt or shift, this time I'm going

to press and hold command.

By pressing and holding command on the keyboard,

if I move my mouse over a point,

you will notice it turn white.

Now, if I click on a corner point and drag out,

I can distort the image by clicking and dragging

on other points I can alter the perspective

and make some quite drastic changes.

Once I am happy I'll press enter to commit.

Though on this occasion, I'll press Comman-Zed to undo.

So those are some techniques you can use

with the Free Transform tool.

Be sure to practice with those techniques to get a good grip

of them as you will be using those techniques

a lot in future.

Now, you can also transform multiple layers

in one go.

So I'll come over to the layers panel.

I'll select the top layer by pressing and holding shift

on the keyboard,

I'll then select the blue background layer.

Upon click, I will select all the layers

in the layers panel, bar the bottom point base layer.

So, with all the layers above selected,

I will press Command-T to activate Free Transform.

Notice, upon click, the bounding box is now

around the biggest element in the selection

and here, the bounding box is around the outside

of the canvas area.

So with the bounding box active, I can attempt

to make any of the transforms you saw

in the previous demonstrations.

For example, if I wish for all these creative elements

to be smaller, I can hold alt and shift on the keyboard,

click and drag on the top right point

and drag in like so.

So that's how we can apply modifications

to multiple layers at the same time.

So I'll just press Command-Zed to undo that

and go back to what I had previous.

Now, there are various other transform tools

you can explore.

This time, I'll select the purple bird,

I'll come to Edit,

scroll down to Transform, and this time I'll select, Warp.

Upon click, we will have a different kind of bounding box.

With this active, I can click and drag

on the corners like with the Free Transform

and also on parts of the grid to create a warp effect.

I'll press enter to apply, and Command-Zed to undo.

Next, I'll come to Edit, Transform,

and select, Perspective.

And this time I can click and drag the points

to alter the perspective.

So that is how to manipulate your creative elements

in Adobe Photoshop using the transform tools.

In the next Blog we will be looking

at one of the most significant tools

in Photoshop, the brush tool.

I will be discussing and demonstrating brushes

and how we can use them in our compositions.

See you in the next Blog.