If you want a book on using Photoshop specifically for Web
graphics, you'll find it in Photoshop 6/ImageReady 3
Hands-On Training. Lynda Weinman and co-author Jan Kabili
share their favorite insider tricks on how to create
optimized Web JPEGs and GIFs, complex rollovers,
animations, buttons, backgrounds, and image maps in an
easy-to-digest tutorial style. Many readers have
discovered, to their joy, that this tutorial book is as
much about using ImageReady as it is about Photoshop, and
all agree: you'll learn about things you can do in both
programs that you've never done before. If you want to
learn how to save time while creating Web graphics, keep
your file sizes as small as possible, generate HTML pages
right out of ImageReady, use layer effects to your
advantage, or any number of other tricks — then this
is your book.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.
Note from Lynda. How This
Book Works. Exercise Files on the HOT CD-ROM. Software
Files on the CD-ROM. Troubleshooting FAQ. Skill Level. RAM,
RAM, and More RAM. System Requirements. About lynda.com.
About Me. Acknowledgements.
2. Interface. Interface Overview.
PhotoShop 5.5 and ImageReady 2.0 Toolbars. Jump to Buttons.
Exercise 1: Using Flexible Palettes and Tabs. Exercise 2:
Returning the Palettes to Default Settings. Palette
Shortcuts. Shortcuts. How to Set a Tool's Default Setting
in PhotoShop. How to View Hidden Tools in PhotoShop and
ImageReady.
3. Color Management. Exercise 1: Changing
PhotoShop Color Settings for Web Design. Exercise 2:
Changing Your PhotoShop Preferences for the Web.
4. Optimization. What Affects Speed on the
Web? GIF or JPEG? Transparency and Animation. Lossy or
Lossless? How Can You Make Small JPEGs? How Can You Make
Small GIFs? What about PNG? What Is Bit Depth Exercise 1:
Saving for Web Using JPEG. Exercise 2: Saving for Web Using
GIF. Exercise 3: Choosing the Right Palette. Exercise 4:
Reducing the Colors. Exercise 5: Previewing Gamma and
Browser Dither. Exercise 6: Changing the Dimensions of a
Graphic. Exercise 7: Previewing in a Browser. Exercise 8:
Setting Up for Optimization in ImageReady. Exercise 9:
Optimizing a JPEG. Exercise 10: Using a Matte Color on a
JPEG. Exercise 11: Previewing and Writing HTML. Exercise
12: Using LossyCompression.
5. Web Color. What Is Web-Safe Color
Anyway? Why Is Web-Safe Color So Important? What Is
Hexadecimal Color? What Happens If You Don't Use Web-Safe
Color? Exercise 1: Changing the Info Palette. Exercise 2:
Copy Color as HTML. Exercise 3: Only Web Colors. Exercise
4: Snapping to Web Colors. Exercise 5: Setting the Color
Palette to Web Colors. Exercise 6: Setting the Swatches
Palette to Web Colors. Exercise 7: Loading the lynda.com
Swatch. Exercise 8: Previewing Dither. Exercise 9: Fixing a
Non-Safe Image. Exercise 10: When Dithering Is Good.
Exercise 11: Preserve Transparency. Exercise 12: Filling
with Ditherbox. Exercise 13: Previewing Gamma.
6. Type. Differences in Type in
PhotoShop 5.5 and ImageReady 2.0. Exercise 1: Type Basics.
Exercise 2: Jump To. Exercise 3: Changing the Update
Feature. Exercise 4: Editing Type. Exercise 5: Rendering
Type. Exercise 6: Setting Up Artwork for Buttons. What Is
Preserve Transparency? Exercise 7: ImageReady Layer
Effects. Exercise 8: PhotoShop Layer Effects. Exercise 9:
The Gradient/Pattern Layer Effect. Exercise 10: Applying
Styles. Exercise 11: Making Your Own Styles. Exercise 12:
Stroked Text Using Styles and Filter Affects. Exercise 13:
Stroked Text Using Selections. Exercise 14: Clipping
Groups. Exercise 15: Painting Inside Type.
7. Background Images. What Is a Background
Image? Background Image Sizes. Exercise 1: Defining,
Editing, and Previewing a Background Image. Exercise 2:
Saving a Background Image. Exercise 3: Recoloring
Background Image Artwork. Exercise 4: Seamless Background
Tiles. Saving Options in ImageReady. Exercise 5: Copying
and Pasting with Offset. Ways to Access the Offset Filter
in ImageReady. Exercise 6: Seamless Photographic Background
Images. Which Program Is Best for Background Images?
Exercise 7: Full-Screen Background Images. Exercise 8:
Large-Screen Photographic Background Images. Exercise 9:
Directional Tiles.
8. Transparent GIFs. What Does Anti-Aliasing
Look Like? How to Recognize a Transparent Layer. Offset
Problems in Browsers. Transparency, Masks, and GIFs.
Exercise 1: Creating and Previewing GIF Transparency.
Exercise 2: Fixing Bad Images. Exercise 3: Adding a Drop
Shadow. Exercise 4: The Pitfalls of Broad Backgrounds.
Exercise 5: Saving Transparent Images. Exercise 6:
Transparency in PhotoShop. Exercise 7: Transparency Layer
versus Transparent GIF. Exercise 8: GIF 89a Export.
9. Image Maps. What Does an Image Map
Look Like? Exercise 1: Making an Image Map. Exercise 2:
Making an Invisible Layer an Image Map. Exercise 3: Jumping
to PhotoShop with an Image Map.
10. Slicing. What are Slices? Slice
Icons. GoLive or ImageReady Code? Exercise 1: Slicing and
Selecting. Exercise 2: Optimizing Slices. Exercise 3:
Previewing and Saving Slices. Exercise 4: Using the Slice
Palette. Exercise 5: Setting Auto-Slices to No Image.
Saving Slices Recap.
11. Rollovers. Exercise 1: Single-Button
Rollover with Styles. Exercise 2: Image Map-Based
Rollovers. Exercise 3: Saving a Rollover. Preferences for
Saving Rollovers. Exercise 4: Single-Button Rollover with
Layers. What JavaScript States Are Allowed? Exercise 5:
Remote Rollovers. Exercise 6: Saving Complicated Rollovers.
Exercise 7: Creating Navigation Bar Layers. Exercise 8:
Aligning Layers. Exercise 9: Adding Slices to a Navigation
Bar. Exercise 10: Adding Rollovers to a Navigation
Bar.
12. Animated GIFs. Animation Terms. Animated
GIF Format. Compression Challenges. Controlling the Timing
of Animated GIFs. Animated Aesthetics. Exercise 1:
Frame-by-Frame Animation with Layers. Exercise 2: Setting
the Speed and Looping. Exercise 3: Optimizing and Saving an
Animated GIF. Exercise 4: Making a Transparent Animated
GIF. Exercise 5: Tweening with Opacity. Exercise 6:
Selecting, Duplicating, and Reversing Frames. Exercise 7:
Tweening a Tweened Sequence. Different Ways to Duplicate
Frames. Exercise 8: Tweening with Position. Exercise 9:
Tweening with Effects. Exercise 10: Animated Slide Show.
Exercise 11: Animated GIF Rollovers. Exercise 12: Designing
Entire Interfaces.
13. Automation. What Is the Web Photo
Gallery? Actions that Ship With PhotoShop and ImageReady.
Exercise 1: Creating a Web Photo Gallery. What Do All the
Web Photo Gallery Settings Do? Exercise 2: Creating an
Action. Exercise 3: Batch Processing with an Action.
Adding, Changing, Deleting, or Pausing an Action. Exercise
4: Creating a Preview in Browser Action. Exercise 5:
Previewing Backgrounds with an Action. Exercise 6:
Automating Animation with a Droplet. More about
Droplets.
14. Importing/Exporting. Exercise 1: Update HTML.
How Does HTML Work? Exercise 2: Getting ImageReady
Rollovers into GoLive. Exercise 3: Getting ImageReady
Rollovers into Dreamweaver. Exercise 4: Exporting
Illustrator 8.0 Files. Exercise 5: Exporting from Earlier
Illustrator Versions. Exercise 6: Exporting ImageReady to
QuickTime. Exercise 7: Converting from QuickTime to
ImageReady.
15. Troubleshooting FAQ. Index.