Resizing


Photoshop makes it easy to change the size of the picture or of anything in it. You have two options: resizing the image or resizing the canvas. Resizing the image makes the picture bigger or smaller. Resizing the canvas makes the picture area bigger, while leaving the image floating within it. You'd do this if you need more space around an object without shrinking the actual image.

Resizing an Image

To resize an image, choose Image Size from the Image menu; the dialog box is shown in Figure 4.1. You can see the pixel dimensions in pixels (logically) or percentages. You can also see the image print size (set in Output Size section of screen) in inches, centimeters, points, picas, or columns ; percentages can also be found using the pop-up menus .

Figure 4.1. The Image Size dialog box.


When you first open the Image Size dialog box, if you set the width and height pixel dimensions to Percent, you'll see the default setting of 100%. The easiest way to enlarge or reduce the image is to make sure that Constrain Proportions is checked at the bottom of the dialog box, and then simply enter new percentages in one of the fields and click OK. As if by magic, the other numbers will change to give you the correct percentage of enlargement or reduction. For now, ignore Resample Image. Leave it set to Bicubic. You'll get into what this means when you need to know it in Hour 23, "Printing and Publishing."

Scale Styles is a very helpful feature if you have applied a style such as a drop shadow or embossing to text or an object in your picture. Scale Styles makes sure that the size of the shadow, or the height of the embossing, remains proportional to the rest of the picture. Leave it checked.

As you make changes in the Image Size dialog box, Photoshop will automatically update the file size at the top of the dialog box.

Resizing a Canvas

Resizing the canvas to a larger size gives you extra workspace around the image; it does not change the size of the image. Because resizing uses the current background color to fill in the added space, be sure that it's a color you want. I always resize with white as the background color . Resizing the canvas to a smaller size is another way of cropping the picture by decreasing the canvas area. It's not recommended because you could accidentally lose part of the picture and not be able to recover it.

To resize the canvas, choose Image Canvas Size and specify the height and width you want the canvas to be in the dialog box (see Figure 4.2). You can specify any of the measurement systems you prefer on the pop-up menu, as you saw in the Image Size dialog box earlier. Photoshop calculates and displays the new file size as soon as you enter the numbers.

Figure 4.2. The Canvas Size dialog box.


Use the anchor proxy to determine where the image will be placed within the canvas. Click in the middle to center the image on the enlarged canvas, or in any of the other boxes to place it relative to the increased canvas area. Figure 4.3 shows the result of anchoring an image in the center-left of the canvas. The image size hasn't actually changed, but the canvas is bigger, making room for the type I've added. The final result is on the right.

Figure 4.3. Before view of canvas on the left; after view on the right.


Resizing a Selection

You can also resize a selected object. To do so, first select the object or a piece of an image to be resized. Use whichever Selection tool is most convenient . With the Selection Marquee active, choose Edit Transform Scale. This places a box that looks like the cropping box around your selected object (see Figure 4.4). Drag any of the corner "handles" on the box to change the size of the selection while holding down the Shift key to maintain its proportions. If you drag the side handles of the box, youll stretch the selection's height or width accordingly .

Figure 4.4. I drew a selection marquee around the lantern and dragged the lower-right corner to enlarge it.




Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop CS 2 In 24 Hours
Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop CS2 in 24 Hours
ISBN: 0672327554
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 241
Authors: Carla Rose

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