Our Technology Blog

This Blog is dedicated to my Technology students at Grover Cleveland HS. In order for you to really appreciate the advantages of utilizing this interactive, 24/7 learning experience, you must Post your class work-generated, and lesson guided comments, via email or by Posting Comments on this Blog. Always be thoughtful when you post your ideas. As in our CTQs (Critical Thinking Questions) analyze what you are learning, describe your challenges and how you overcame them, and explain how cooperative learning helped you in the process. Offer written suggestions, learned knowledge, and acquired skills in your Posts. Always attach pictures that illustrate your work. Add educational comments to our Blog. Send work via email. I look forward to Publishing your Posts to our Technology Blog.

Note: As of 1/21/15, Mr. Montante has retired from teaching HS. He is now working on various, independent projects.

Thank you,

Mr. Montante

Recent TTS11 Student Work / Do Now & CTQ

Aim: How do we crop and Callout our Speedtest.net? Steps: Go to - Insert-Shapes-Callouts. Do Now: Create a new Table. Add your home and 107 speedtest results, but this time crop the speedtest images 4 different ways – 2 rows and pics from your home results; and 2 rows and pics from 107 results. On each pic add an interesting ‘Callout’ that explains the image – see sample below. Your Callouts must be fun and educational. The left column is for explaining how and why you cropped your images. This table must have 6 rows. CTQ: Why is your teacher asking you to ‘Callout’ your pictures and what’s educational about his Callout in the sample image?

Vignettes in Photoshop

This CTQ is one of my favorite ones as it involves using a lot of techniques that we have learned and incorporate it in one picture. This picture is a vignette of a regular flower, a red custom ribbon, custom lady bugs, custom bees, and flowers that are made using adobe illustrator by only using the pencil tool and doing a lot transformations to it. So now after we get everything we need, we will open Photoshop and make a vignette of a flower garden using the Elliptical marquee tool to only select the middle part of the picture and cut of the rest of it. Then we will add some details to it so it would look more interesting. After editing the main picture, we will add the other accompaniments. All we have to do with the other pictures is to move them around and rotate some of them a bit and change the colors. Adding a shade would also be a good idea, as it will make the image look like it is separate from the background! Ahmed

Ahmed. Your analysis is very good. Remember to question why you are doing things in your CTQs.

Text Effects in Photoshop

First, I opened up a new document in Photoshop. I made the width 3 inches, and the length 3, and the resolution 300. Also, you have to name the file 05initials. I clicked on the horizontal type tool, and entered my initials of my first and last name, which are A.S. I made the font 100, and the text color to black. You might come up with a problem; the text might be out of place. So, you will have to click on the move tool and center the text. When you have finished doing that, make sure that you commit the document. Next, click on layer, scroll down to type, then click on convert to shape. After, you have finished that click on the path selection tool, while doing this hold down the shift on your initials, then click on the ellipse tool. Once, you have did all of that, click on the subtract from shape button which is located in the options bar on the upper right hand side. Your initials must look like Swiss cheese by making some holes inside of it. You can make them any size that you feel like too. Once, you have completed these steps, click on edit, and define custom shape. In the custom shape box name it your name, and click ok. Once again, click on the custom shape tool in the options bar. In the options bar, click the shape box to access the custom shape picker. Select your initials shape that you have just added to the picker. After, that click the create new shape layer button on the option bar. Finally, using your custom shape tool add your initials four more times in the document anywhere. Last but not least, click on the styles located on your right hand side, and just drag the style you prefer to any one of your initials. Avenash

Good work Avenash. Now add an analysis of what you learned.

Vignettes in Photoshop

In class we did a vignette. It is basically a picture faded inside an oval. It is very simple to use. The first thing to do is open Photoshop and than open an image. It can’t be too small or the effects won’t show. Than using the ellipse Marquee tool, select a portion of the picture. The selected part of it will be the only part that shows. Than go to Select and choose feather. Choose any number between 8-14. Than go to Select again and choose inverse. This will give you the final outcome of the vignette. You can than color the background to any color with the pain bucket tool; add shapes and pictures to make it look better. Text can be added too. I added a lot of stars to create a border around the vignette. I also added a few pictures that were taken from the internet to fill in all the empty spaces. Sylwia

Sylwia. Your work, as always, is exemplary. Remember to analyze your results.

Text Design in Photoshop

Choose File > New and in the name box, type 05initials. Put “custom” on Preset, width and height should be 3 inches both. The resolution should be 300 pixels/inch.
Select Horizontal Type Tool and type out your initials.
Then choose Layer > Type > Convert to Shape. And click the Path Selection Tool.
Hold down shift and click on both of your initials. Then click on the Ellipse Tool. Make sure the Shape layers button is selected in the options bar.
Make your initials look like a Swiss cheese with various sizes of holes through the initials.
Choose Edit > Define Custom Shape and type your initials and click OK.
Click Custom Shape Tool in the options bar.
Also click the Shape: box to access the Custom Shape Picker.
Select the initials shape you just added to the Custom Shape Picker. Click the Custom Shape Tool button in the options bar to close the Custom Shape Picker.
Click the Create new shape layer button on the options bar,
Using the Custom Shape Tool, add more images of your initials.
Using the Styles palette, add a different style to each of your custom shapes.
Save your final product. Manoj

Steps are nice Manaj but I also want you to analyze your results.

Text Design in Photoshop

OK, so let’s get started! First off, open a new document, and set it up as followed: Name: 05initials; Width: 3; Length: 3; (inches) Resolution: 300. The background should be set to white. After that, click on the horizontal type tool, and type in what you want to write. It’s easiest if you use your initials, and also use a font that is simple and thick, set the font size to 100. This works best for the effects. One the top right corner, there is a check sign, it’s the ‘Commit’ button. Click on it once you’ve entered your initials! Next go to Layer > Type > convert to shape. Next on the tool box, there is an arrow; it’s called the “Path Selection tool”. Hold down “shift” button, and click on each shape once. This selects the paths around your letters. (Make sure to only click on the letters once or else you will encounter problems later on!) Go to the tools box once again, and select the Ellipse Tool. On the top, there should be an options bar, make sure it’s set to “shape Layers” and “subtract from shape” If this is not done, you will encounter problems later on. Now, make holes around your letters, this gives the image the “Swiss Cheese” look. Your circles can vary from tiny ones to large ones. When creating your circles, the circle should appear with a black outline, if it doesn’t, go back you have done something incorrectly. Go to edit > define custom shape…a dialog box will appear, name the shape your initials and click OK. Next on the tool box, there is a custom shape tool. On the top, the options box should appear again. Click shape; scroll down to find the shape you have made. Now, look for the ‘create new shape layer’, using the custom shape tool, create more shapes of your original shape

Good description of your steps Seida. Now I want you to analyze your results.

Creating a Vignette in Photoshop

This Photoshop Vignette is easy and simple to do. I just found an image and change the background to a layer and use the Elliptical Marquee tool. Using the Elliptical Marquee tool I select the part of the image I wanted and then click the add layer mask on the layer panel. Then I went to Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur and change the radius until I like the how it looks. Then finally I add a background under the image to finish the image. For my image I took three different pictures and put it together to create a mix of images.
Yuxia Li

Creating a Vignette in Photoshop

I did the tutorial of vignette and it was hot,... at first Jose help me but then I tried to do the tutorial myself and it work. Now I know how to this tutorial.
Daisy

Our Technology Blog
This Blog is dedicated to my Technology students at Grover Cleveland HS. In order for you to really appreciate the advantages of utilizing this interactive, 24/7 learning experience, you must Post your class work-generated, and lesson guided comments, via email or by Posting Comments on this Blog. Always be thoughtful when you post your ideas. As in our CTQs (Critical Thinking Questions) analyze what you are learning, describe your challenges and how you overcame them, and explain how cooperative learning helped you in the process. Offer written suggestions, learned knowledge, and acquired skills in your Posts. Always attach pictures that illustrate your work.To send comments via email: mr.montantesblog.technology@blogger.com
I look forward to Publishing your Posts to our Technology Blog.
Thank you,
Mr. Montante