Macromedia Fireworks 8 Revealed, Deluxe Education EditionFireworks 3-1

Chapter 3

Importing, Selecting, and Modifying Graphics

Table of Contents

Chapter Objectives

File Listing

Projects to Assign

Lecture Note: Chapter Overview

Classroom Activity: Introducing Image Manipulations

Lecture Note: Work with Imported Files

Classroom Activity: Importing Images

Lecture Note: Work with Bitmap Selection Tools

Classroom Activity: Using the Bitmap Selection Tools

Lecture Note: Learn About Selection Areas

Teaching Tip: Changing a Tool Pointer

Lecture Note: Select Areas Based on Color

Classroom Activity: Understanding the Tolerance Setting

Chapter Objectives

  • Work with imported files.
  • Work with bitmap selection tools.
  • Learn about selection areas.
  • Select areas based on color.

File Listing

Location / Provided Filename / Saved Filename
Lesson 1-4
Lesson 2-4
Lesson 3-4 / fw3_1.png
rocket.gif
saucer.png
book.eps
galaxy.jpg
astrocat.jpg / horizons.png
Skills Review / fw3_2.png
smbottle.jpg
sweet.png
jelly_beans.eps
rings.png
gumballs.tif / sweet_essence.png
Project Builder 1 / button1.ai
button2.gif / mybuttons.png
Project Builder 2 / No file provided / roadtrip.png
Design Project / No file provided / mountainclimb
Portfolio Project / No file provided / mybug.png

Projects to Assign

Skills Review covers all of the objectives covered in the chapter in a step-by-step progression. Assign this exercise for extra reinforcement.

Project Builder 1asks students to apply fills, strokes,styles, or effects to images, import files into Fireworks, use the bitmap selection tools, change various properties of images, and flatten layers.

Project Builder 2 gives students further practice in importing images, using the bitmap selection tools, changing properties of images, and flattening layers and selections.

Design Project makes use of the Web and gives students experience in analyzing the layout of a Web page.

Portfolio Project gives students additional opportunities to complete a layout. Students will be importing images, using the bitmap selection tools, changing properties of images, and flattening layers and selections.

NOTES

Lecture Note: Chapter Overview

Being able to access a wide range of images is always important and, given digital media, increasingly easier. It is possible that an image that you want to use in Fireworks was created in another application. Fireworks makes it easy to access such a graphic, regardless of the program of origin. You can import several types of files, including vector and bitmap files, as well as HTML tables and images from a scanner or digital camera. The process varies slightly depending on whether the file is a vector or bitmap image.

Fireworks lets you control file size by merging and flattening objects in your document. Such a process combines pixels of different bitmap images or converts vector objects into bitmap images.

Once you import a bitmap image, you can use an assortment of tools to select the pixels on that image. You can select pixels based on an area or a color. Once you select pixels, you can manipulate them independently and refine your selection using commands on the Select menu.

Lecture Note: Work with Imported Files

See Figure 1 to show the import filetypes available in the Import dialog box.

In this lesson, students will import graphics in different file formats into a Fireworks document.

When you import several bitmap images or vector or text objects created in other programs into a Fireworks document, file size becomes an issue—the more images you import, the larger the file. While Fireworks supports a wide range of file formats, the version of the source application may determine if or how well it imports.

You have already seen how you can copy and paste or drag and drop images between applications. Drag and drop offers an advantage over copy and paste, not in ease of use, but in how each action uses system resources. When you copy and paste an image, Fireworks places it on the Clipboard, which consumes resources. When you drag and drop an image, it does not go to the Clipboard, which saves resources.

When you import a Photoshop document, you can determine layers and text options in the Import tab of the Preferences dialog box. When you import a vector object, you first select options in the Vector File Options dialog box. In this dialog box, you can resize the vector object either by a uniform scale or by adjusting the width and height individually, select anti-alias settings for paths and text, choose whether to flatten or retain layers, and determine the number of individual objects—grouped or not.

Depending on the extent of changes you have made to files in certain formats, you may be able to save those changes directly in the original file format. JPEG and GIF files easily accept relatively minor edits; for more extensive changes, Fireworks will prompt you to save in the original format or in a native PNG format. Other files formats will automatically save in native PNG format; you would need to export the changed file in the desired format.

Figure 1: Import dialog box

Lecture Note: Work with Bitmap Selection Tools

See Figure 14 to view an oval bitmap selection with a feathered edge.

In this lesson, students will use the marquee tools to select and manipulate pixels in an image.

Accurately selecting pixels in a bitmap is an important skill that is needed to effectively modify pixels or eliminate unwanted pixels in an image.

Marquee selections are temporary— they exist until you do something with them, such as copying, cutting, or recoloring them. You can copy or cut a bitmap selection to a layer using commands on the Edit menu. The marquee tools select pixels based on specific shapes.

Key Term / Marquee selection–the flashing perimeter indicating a bitmap selection, also known as “marching ants.”

The transformation tool group consists of the Scale tool, Skew tool, and Distort tool. The Scale tool resizes an object, the Skew tool slants an object along the horizontal or vertical axes, and the Distort tool alters the size and proportion of an object. You can also rotate an object using any of the transformation tools.

Teacher Notes: Selecting and moving pixels from one image to another can result in a difference in the print resolution between the source file and your Fireworks document. Before you can paste the image, Fireworks opens a Resampling dialog box, where you can resample the selection if you want to preserve its original settings, or not resample, which retains the number of pixels.

Figure 14: Oval marquee selection

Lecture Note: Learn About Selection Areas

See Figure 19 to view a marquee created with the Polygon Lasso tool.

This lesson gives students an opportunity to select pixels using the lasso tools. Students will also change the magnification of the image on the canvas.

The lasso and marquee tools select pixels by enclosing them. The Lasso tool creates marquee selections in one motion, whereas you plot the marquee with the Polygon Lasso tool by clicking the mouse. Using the tools on the same image may create different results—creating a marquee can be a frustrating process, depending on your patience and fine-motor skills.

Once you create a marquee, you can edit, add, or subtract pixels in the selection. You can also save and recall the modified bitmap selection at any time during the current editing session or after the file has been saved, closed, and reopened.

Bitmap selection commands on the Select menu consist of the following:

  • Select Similar
  • Feather
  • Expand Marquee
  • Contract Marquee
  • Border Marquee
  • Smooth Marquee
  • Save Bitmap Selection
  • Restore Bitmap Selection

In order to select just the pixels you want, you will often need to magnify the image so that you can see individual pixels. You can change canvas magnification by using the Zoom tool or by clicking a preset magnification in the Set Magnification pop-up window on the bottom of the Document window.

Changing a Tool Pointer

You can change the pointer of the lasso and marquee tools from the tool icon to a crosshair, which students may find affords them a better view of the pixels they are selecting. To change the pointer, press [Caps Lock].

Figure 19: Creating a marquee with the Lasso tool

Lecture Note: Select Areas Based on Color

See Figure 27 to view selected pixels in an image and Figure 29 to view flattened layers on the Layers panel.

This lesson shows students how to select pixels using the Magic Wand tool, and how to merge objects and flatten layers in the document.

The Magic Wand pointer selects pixels of a single color or of related colors. The tolerance setting determines the range of selected color—the larger the tolerance, the larger the color range. You can add pixels to the selection by clicking the Select Similar command on the Modify menu, which adds pixels based on the tolerance setting. You can also press and hold [Shift] and click another area of the image to add pixels to a selection.

Key Term / Tolerance - the range of colors the Magic Wand tool will select.

It is always good practice to save backups of your documentin various stages of development so that you can go back to a major point. However, once you are confident that you will not need to edit objects on one or more layers, you can merge or flatten them, although it is not necessary. Merging and flattening objects and layers helps to manage the objects and layers in your document. You can also control file size by merging and flattening objects because the process converts the original objects to bitmap graphics.

Understanding the Tolerance Setting

To better understand how the tolerance setting affects pixel selection, select and add pixels to a selection using different techniques and variables. For best results, obtain an image with many colors. Examine the pixels selected by setting low and high tolerance settings.
Compare the pixels added to a selection by setting a low tolerance setting, increasing the tolerance, and then clicking the Select Similar command on the Modify menu.
In addition, compare the pixels added to a selection by pressing and holding [Shift] and then clicking other areas of similar colors on the canvas.

Figure 27: Selected pixels

Figure 29: Flattened layers