Workshop

Q&A

Q1:	The Color Picker has too many buttons and numbers in it! Which ones should I use if I want to change colors?
A1:	If picking colors by numbers is difficult for you, as it is for me, use my solution. Forget the numbers and click directly on the color you like. Either click the color ramp at the bottom of the Color palette, or click a swatch to open the Color Picker.
Q2:	Is it better to use the Photoshop Color Picker instead of the Apple or Windows version?
A2:	I think so. Even though the Macintosh Color Picker gives you lots of different ways to choose colors, I think the Photoshop version is easier to understand and to use. The same is true of the Windows Color Picker.
Q3:	What happens when I have the Eyedropper set to sample a 5 x 5 pixel area, and there is more than one color there?
A3:	Photoshop takes an average of all 25 pixels in the square and makes that the selected color.
Q4:	Under the Swatches listings, I've heard of PANTONE, but what are all the others?
A4:	Like PANTONE, most of them are sets of spot color inks. Printing systems can use many brands of inks. If you are sending work to a print shop, be sure to ask what spot color system it uses.

Quiz

1:	Blending involves Taking paint and mixing it in a bucket Using home appliances Being able to blend colors in different ways in Photoshop
2:	How many active colors do you have to work with in Photoshop? 16 million 256 2
3:	How do you set black and white as the foreground and background colors? Select them from the Color Picker Press D Sample them from the image with the Eyedropper tool

Quiz Answers

A1:	c. Photoshop can blend colors much as you can on a canvas with real paint.
A2:	c. Remember, your foreground and background colors are the active colors, not the total number of colors available.
A3:	b. Actually, any of these will work, but b. is the easiest .

Exercises

To further explore this hour 's topic of picking color and blending modes, fire up your Web browser and visit the Museum of Modern Art (www.moma.org). Navigate to the painting and sculpture section and look through the collection. Pay special attention to the use of color and blending effects. (Click the small images on the index page to see larger versions.)

Compare and contrast the use of color and blending in Van Gogh's The Starry Night and Rousseau's The Dream . See whether you can duplicate Van Gogh's brush strokes. (Wet Edges are part of the secret.)