Although Photoshop is widely recognized as the preferred tool for retouching photos, this powerful application offers many additional capabilities. The Portfolio Series helps build readers’ confidence by allowing them to complete realistic projects presented in the context of a professional workflow. For all readers — from first-time Photoshop users to those upgrading from previous versions — the projects in this book foster proficiency in a wide variety of skills that are critical for a career in graphic design.

As you work through the projects in this book, you will:

• Build your knowledge of Photoshop’s evolving user interface functions
• Learn free-canvas rotation – new to CS4, this advanced technology assists artists using pressure-sensitive styluses in ways never before imagined
• Import multiple digital originals, create silhouettes, and use layers to build composite images such as a full-color magazine advertisement
• Combine images using filters, adjustments, and patterns
• Manipulate masks and channels to create artistic effects for a series of art-quality posters
• Produce text-based effects with special layers, masking, and selection techniques while developing a visually appealing and effective book cover
• Retouch photos to correct physical damage, lighting problems, and color errors; use dozens of special filters and targeted skills to control every aspect of image repair
• Create and composite complex selections and work with spot channels to build an attractive catalog cover
• Learn new and improved features of Photoshop CS4 including content-aware scaling, greatly improved zooming and panning, 3-dimensional functions (in the expanded version), and many more
• Transform original photos to remove background elements, warp images to provide 3-dimensional perspective, and apply sophisticated lighting effects to unify composite images for advertisements and any campaign-related assignment
• Render life-like paintings from line-art originals using Photoshop’s remarkable combination of brushes, transparencies, and blending modes
• Design, generate, and publish complete, industry-compliant Web pages that incorporate interactive buttons, animated images, and sliced artwork; generate finished files that are ready for site-development technicians
• Boost efficiency by continuously customizing your workspace, using shortcuts where appropriate and automating repetitive tasks whenever possible

By completing the real-world projects in this Against The Clock Professional Portfolio Series book, readers master the broad scope of Photoshop CS4 core functions while developing a robust portfolio that’s certain to impress potential employers.