Photoshop for Architectural Rendering

Instructors: Lisa Sawin and Taze Fulford
Location: Yestermorrow campus, Warren , VT

Course Description:
Though developed to generate computer graphics in varying situations, the computer application Photoshop has found favor with architects for renderings and graphics that help convey design ideas. This course will explore the basic Photoshop tools and commands during the first day. Day two will explore importing .dwf and .pdf files into Photoshop and applying texture, material, and shadows to bring the 2D drawing to life. Students are encouraged to bring a site plan, floor plan, and elevation to work on during the class. Beginner to Intermediate .

Course Objectives:

Students will explore tools, tool palettes, and pulldown menus. Once students are comfortable with the basic feature we will explore methods of importing drawings/images from other programs such as Autocad and Sketchup. Finally, students will create renderings of their own through utilization of the techniques learned and present them to the rest of the class.

Recommended Readings:

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book, Published by Adobe Press

Tools/Materials to Bring:

Students are encouraged to bring a laptop computer with Photoshop CS2 already installed and ready to use during the class. If you are unable to bring a laptop with you, please let Yestermorrow staff know in advance and we will provide a computer for you. If you do not already own a copy of Photoshop CS2, you can download a free trial for 30 days at www.adobe.com .

Draft Schedule/Outline:

• Introduction
• Basic Menu Items
• Setting up Documents
• Sizing
• Mode
• Rulers
• Guides
• Snap
• Saving Documents
• Psd, jpg, pdf, tiff
• Layers
• How to make new layers
• Layer blends
• How to adjust opacity
• How to order layers
• How to activate layers
• How to link layers
• How to turn off layers
• How to unlock background layer
• How to lock and unlock layers
• Layer styles
• Selections
• How to make selections
• Marquee tools
• Holding Proportions
• Moving
• Cutting
• Magic Wand
• Tolerance
• Lasso Tools
• Polygonal
• Magnetic
• Inverse
• De-selection
• Select Similar/expand/contract
• Crop Tool
• View
• Window Palettes
• Palette option bar
• History Palette
• Pull down menus
• Pan Tool
• Space Bar
• Zoom Tool
• BrushTool
• Size
• Soft/hard edges
• Foreground/Background
• Color Selection
• Swatches
• Brush Presets
• Paint Bucket
• Foreground
• Pattern
• Gradient
• Text
• Font, Size, Color
• Warping
• Advanced Selections
• Masking
• Channels
• Extraction
• Making Patterns
• Paths
• Stroking
• Filling
• Loading paths as selections

•  Rendering on hand drawn plans with patterns and fills

•  Rendering with Color Palettes and Utilizing Paths

•  Rendering hand drawn Elevations

•  Rendering Perspectives

•  Rendering of Participants own 2D drawing

•  Conclusion

•  Course Evaluation