Loy Krathong Festival

I've finally settled down to do Thailand's 'Loy Krathong' Festival for my wallpaper after much research and thinking. There are so many festivals around the world but why did I choose this? Well, it first caught my attention when I read about Buddhist Festivals and Special Days on the net.

Loy Krathong Festival or Festival of Floating Bowls
At the end of the Kathin Festival season, when the rivers and canals are full of water, the Loy Krathong Festival takes place in all parts of Thailand on the full moon night of the Twelfth Lunar month. People bring bowls made of leaves (which contain flowers) candles and incense sticks, and float them in the water mainly in rivers, canals, ponds and the sea. As they go, all bad luck is suppose to disappear. The traditional practice of Loy Krathong was meant to pay homage to the holy footprint of the Buddha on the beach of the Namada River in India.


Below are pictures of Loy Krathong Festival celebrated in Thailand:

This is not done by me.

Floating candle bowls on the river.

Lotus flower makes it even more beautiful.

Candle-lit lanterns in the water. BIG ONES!

Intricately folded banana leaves, in the shape of lotus petals.
So pretty and colourful!

There is a meaning of lotus flower in Buddhism.

In Buddhism, lotus flowers mean purity of speech, mind and body rising above the waters of desire and attachment. The lotus is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. Different colours of lotus are symbolically used to represent aspects of perfection. There are four colours , which are pink, blue, red and white.

• Red represents the heart; it's purity, original nature, compassion, passion, love and other qualities.
• White symbolizes spiritual perfection and complete mental purity.
• Pink represents the Buddha and it's supreme lotus.
• Blue means wisdom, knowledge and victory over senses.

So, this is what I'm going to do for my assignment 1 - festival wallpaper.
I'm still new to Photoshop but I will try and give my best shot.


Information source: http://www.buddhanet.net/festival.htm

Working with layers

Introduction:

Layers are the substance of Photoshop. All image modification in Photoshop are done with layers. All image pixel information resides on at least one layer. Images can be constructed on multiple layers with great effect. The ability to stack image elements to achieve a final result is what layers are designed for. Yet, this is only part of the story. Understanding and using layers to their full ability will be the difference between producing good work and producing great work.


To create a layer,

FIRST,

I choose an image from the web.

I've selected this image as my background.


SECONDLY,

To open an image, click on File > New to select the image you want.

A layer is formed when you open an image.

To create a text, click on the 'T' from the toolbox

A new layer is formed from the text.

You can also change the layer visibility.

You can also select the opacity on the top right corner.

The type of layer of can be changed.

Layers can also be locked.

and it's DONE!

Now, it can be saved.



Select the type of file you want to save as.

Creating Workspace

At first, we need to open Photoshop to create a workspace.
Below are images from Photoshop CS5 Extended Version.

After opening Photoshop,

This is how it looks like inside.

To create workspace, first click on File > New
Shortcut: Ctrl + N

After that,

We can change the name.

Select the width and height you want.

Select the resolution you want.

You can also change the background contents.

Once everything is done, click OK.

and here is your workspace.

You can now start creating your masterpieces.

Selection Tools

Q: Now, what are selection tools?

A: Selection tools allow you to select a portion or a subset of an image to work on. Most of Photoshop’s other tools and filters can then be applied to this selected area, altering its color, shape, texture, position and/or other attributes, while leaving the rest of the image untouched.

Photoshop has 3 types of selction tools:
a) The Marquee Tools

b) The Lasso Tools

c) The magic Wand

Photoshop tools

Selection tools - one on the top left corner and two at the bottom.

The function of selection tools:

Marquee tools are used to select a specific regularly shaped area.

Marquee Tools include:

- Rectangular Marquee Tool

- Elliptical Marquee Tool

- Single Row Marquee Tool

- Single Column Marquee Tool

Lasso Tools are used to select irregular area.

Lasso Tools include:

- Lasso Tool

- Polygonal Lasso Tool

- Magnetic Lasso Tool

Magic Wand tools are used to select areas of an image based upon colour. Tools include:
- Magic Wand Tool
- Quick Selection Tool

Here's a link on how to use selection tools:http://iit.bloomu.edu/vthc/photoshop/blending/selectiontools.htm

Hello Photoshop!

A print screen of Photoshop workspace.

Well, I'm pretty much a newbie in Photoshop.

I've tried learning it by myself but eventually gave up on it.

My PC lags and it kept restarting itself whenever I try using it.

All that I know is how to crop images from it's background.

Nothing more, nothing less.

I think everyone should know that also.

So, ya, I am a beginner in Photoshop.

I do hope that I can learn more things about it.

That's what every student wants.