How to Change Images to Black and White in Photoshop

Posted on by bernarct

Printing a color image in black and white can make it look washed out or flat on paper. Instead, use these methods to make your image black and white in Photoshop and have more control over how the final image looks!

Method #1: Use a Black and White Adjustment Layer

This method is non-destructive, meaning the layer simply covers the colors instead of removing them from the image permanently.

  1. Make a black and white adjustment layer. From the Layers Panel, click on the New Adjustment Layer icon (half black/white circle) and select Black & White.

2. Adjust the color sliders. In the Properties Panel, there are six sliders: Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, and Magentas. These sliders control the brightness of the greyscale version of each color. For example, moving the Reds slider to the right will lighten the pixels that were originally red. This can be used to create contrast and depth in the image.

Method #2: Convert Image with the Camera Raw Filter

This method is destructive, meaning that the image will be permanently changed to black and white once applied.

  1. Apply the Camera Raw Filter. Go into Filter and select Camera Raw Filter.

2. Convert image to black and white. Either click on the B&W button or select Monochrome from the Profile drop-down menu.

3. Adjust the color sliders. Under B&W Mixer, there are eight sliders: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Aquas, Blues, Purples, and Magentas. These sliders control the brightness of the greyscale version of each color. For example, moving the Reds slider to the right will lighten the pixels that were originally red. Because of the two additional sliders, you have more control over the image compared to using a black and white layer.

One Minute Tutorial! How to Turn an Image into a Vector

Posted on by Zoe Zeballos

Do you have an raster image that you want to change into a vector object in Illustrator? This Tiktok explains how to use live trace to convert an image into a vector graphic faster than manually tracing it.

@oteliacarmen

Reply to @trouxaludy Using live trace in Illustrator #designertips #learnontiktok #tiktokpartner #adobe #illustratortutorial

♬ original sound – oteliacarmen

Free Photo Resources!

Posted on by sherbul

When creating content often times it’s helpful to use photos and videos. However, many of the quality photos online are copyrighted – i.e. it’s illegal for you to use them without permission!

In order to avoid legal trouble, check out these resources for open-domain photos you can use for all of your creative projects.

  1. Flickr: great community-sourced photos, search by name, photographer, or subject
  2. Creative Commons: search by domain laws or subject
  3. Library of Congress: great for archival photos and videos
  4. Adobe Stock: available to Comm students through Adobe suite, good for basic photos

How to Screen Grab/Record on Macs

Posted on by sherbul

Follow these simple steps to screen record on your MacBook.

  1. Press and hold down the Shift, Command, and 5 buttons at the same time

2. The screen recording bar will pop up on the bottom of your screen with 5 options to choose from (left to right)

  • Capture entire screen
  • Capture selected window
  • Capture selected portion
  • Record entire screen
  • Record selected portion

3. Taking a photo

  • To take a screen grab, simply click your mouse pad. You can adjust the size of the screen grab by clicking on capture selected portion before taking the photo.

4. To take a screen recording

  • Simply hit the record button. Your laptop will automatically start recording your screen.

5. To stop recording

  • Press the stop button on the info bar at the top of your screen.

The screen grabs and recordings will appear on your desktop after you’re done.

Locking and Unlocking Layers in Adobe Applications

Posted on by stonean

All the adobe applications have a lovely feature called the layer lock. Layer locks are used to prevent working on the wrong layer. It’s frustratingly easy to work on layer thinking it’s a different one entirely. Fully locking layers or partially locking layers prevents you from making changes to the layers that are already completed.

From left to right in the Lock Options: Lock Transparent Pixels, Lock Image Pixels, Lock Position, Lock All, and Full Lock.

Fully locking your layer locks all four of the lock options available as well as preventing you from making selections. These are “Lock Transparent Pixels”, “Lock Image Pixels”, “Lock Position”, and “Lock All”.

The Lock Transparent Pixels does what the title suggests and prevents the user from changing any of the transparent pixels on your layer. A shortcut for this is the forward slash key (/).

The Lock Image Pixels prevents the user from painting or editing any of the layer. You can still move, transform, or select items on your layer.

The Lock Position prevents the user from moving or transforming anything on the layer, however it allows anything else.

The Lock All option prevents everything except making selections on the layer.

To apply a lock option to a layer of your choice, you must first make sure you’re on the layer. Select the layer you want to lock and click one or more of the lock options. If you select the Full Lock option (far right), the other four options will turn grey because they are unnecessary with the Full Lock option selected.

Animated Video Templates on Powtoon

Posted on by sherbul

Powtoon is an amazing website the offers free templates for animated videos.

Edit in-website, add your own text, and export your videos with help from easy-to-follow instructions as you go. Whether you’re creating a news briefing, an educational video, or anything else these templates are easy to use and customize.

Here’s a tutorial on how to edit a video template:

Understanding Creative Commons Licenses

Posted on by sherbul

Whether you’re creating a zine, podcast, or collage, it’s more than likely you’ll build off of an already existing idea or creation. Maybe you need a photo of someone or you need to use a particular song–whatever it is, it’s important to give credit where credit is due. In other words, it’s not super cool to steal others’ work. Ethics are important.

Thankfully, there are guidelines in place to make sure work is properly attributed while still allowing creators to create. These guidelines are widely known as Creative Commons licenses, and each one has a different meaning. Check out the info below to see what license you need to best attribute borrowed work the next time you start creating.

Types of Licenses:

  • CC BY
    • You can distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon others’ work, including commercially, as long as credit is given.
  • CC BY-SA
    • All permissions of a CC BY but you must also license your new creations under the identical terms as the original creator. 
  • CC BY-ND
    • You may reuse others’ work for any purpose, including commercially but it cannot be shared with others in adapted form, and credit must be provided to the original creator.
  • CC BY-NC
    • You may remix, adapt, and build upon others’ work non-commercially and must also acknowledge the original creator but you don’t have to license your derivative works on the same terms.
  • CC BY-NC-SA
    • You may remix, adapt, and build upon others’ work non-commercially, as long as you credit the creator and license their new creations under identical terms.
  • BY CC-NC-ND
    • You can only download others’ work and share it if you credit them. You may not change the work in any way or use it commercially.

Check out the Creative Commons website for more information on licenses and attributions for creative work!