To start the tutorial, please open Adobe Photoshop CS3 and click (File, New…) as the illustration shows.
Now you have to name the project we’re working on and set the Width and Height to something at 550×450 or higher. Please use a resolution higher than 90% or the output will not look as smooth as it could be. Keep the background white.
Now you can see our background layer and what we’ll be working with. However, we will not be working on the background layer itself. We will create a new layer by selecting the icon in the lower right corner of the screen that creates new layers.
Now you can see the new layer we created.
We will now make the background non-displayable so we can focus on Layer 1.
Now you can select a file Custom shape tool from the selection toolbar on the left side of the screen.
I created an arrow with a black base so it’s easy to see the difference when changing the smoothness.
Now we will select a file Vector mask image. You can do this by Control-Left-click the thumbnail.
With the Vector Mask Thumbnail selected, we can go to the bottom right toolbar and select File Add a layer mask button. This will add a layer mask to the object we created.
Now we can select a file layer mask thumbnail So we can distinguish them from any changes. You can then select Control-D to deselect the layer.
Now we can go to the top toolbar and select (Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur…). Select a ratio of 4.0 pixels to make it blur.
Now you will see that the Layer Mask has been blurred by the filter we just applied.
Now you can select Layer Mask Thumbnail. You can do this by Alt-Left Click for the available layer mask.
After selecting the thumbnail, select (Image, Adjustments, Levels…).
You will now see a graph with three pyramids on the edges from 0-255. The closer you get the three triangles to the center, the smoother the object will appear. This is where you can manipulate the way your object will look with tonal contrasts. If you have something special in mind, you can modify it any way you like. I brought my pyramids close to the middle. It seems if you bring them too close the texture becomes almost too smooth to use in a photo.
Here you can see the selection you made and how it looks on screen.
Click OK and you will end up on this screen.
Now you should select Layer Mask Thumbnail. Use right-click to bring up a menu
The menu you see when you right-click the Layer Mask Thumbnail will appear like the illustration below. Please specify Add a layer mask to the selection option.
You will now see that there is now a dotted line around the layer mask object.
Now you will press Alt-Left click on the Layer Mask Thumbnail to complete the implementation of the layer mask for the object.
Now I select Control-D to get rid of the dotted lines and deselect the Layer Mask Thumbnail.
Now you can make the background visible again and look at how smooth it appears against a white background after smoothing it out.
This process of smoothing the edges of objects is a great tool that anyone with a little patience can use to improve the appearance of their objects. It doesn’t matter whether you use it for photos or web content. I hope this tutorial has taught you some of the features that Adobe Photoshop CS3 is capable of.
