Skip to content
LA117 — Design Communication II — Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop Reference Cards

24 reference cards covering Photoshop from document setup and CAD import through compositing, rendering, Lumion post-production, and image package planning. Cards 11 and 12 (Masking) are referenced throughout the entire unit — read those before working on any compositing task.

Card reading order matters here more than in other units. The groups below follow the order skills are introduced in class and the order they depend on each other. Masking (Group 3) is referenced by nearly every card in Groups 4–6. Non-Destructive Workflow (Group 2) underpins every building and output task. Read the group introductions — they explain why the cards are ordered the way they are.
01

Foundations

Interface, document setup, file formats — plus CAD import and linework rendering, which happen on the first day of the Photoshop unit alongside interface setup.

Card 01
Vocabulary Reference
Photoshop operates on pixels. The vocabulary reflects everything that means for workflow, quality, and output.
Card 02
Document Setup and Resolution
Resolution is a decision you make once, at document creation. Make it with the output in mind, not the screen.
Card 03
Interface, Preferences, and Navigation
Photoshop's interface adapts to what you're doing. Understand what each zone does.
Card 04
File Formats — Working vs. Output
The file you work in and the file you submit are different files for good reasons.
Card 05
Exporting CAD Layers with Registration Marks
Layer-by-layer exports give you a fully controllable, independently adjustable set of linework layers — each editable on its own terms.
Card 06
Rendering Over CAD Linework
The CAD drawing is the spatial structure. Everything rendered underneath it fills that structure with material, light, and atmosphere.
02

Non-Destructive Workflow

The rules of the road for how Photoshop is used throughout this course. Layer organization, smart objects, blend modes, and adjustment layers. Learn once, apply everywhere.

Card 07
Layer Organization and Naming
A file with thirty unnamed layers is not a working file — it is a liability.
Card 08
Smart Objects and Non-Destructive Editing
Smart objects preserve the source. Not every layer needs to be one — but the ones that do, really do.
Card 09
Blend Modes, Opacity, and Overlay Workflows
Overlay layers for shadow and highlight are the professional alternative to Dodge and Burn.
Card 10
Adjustment Layers and Color Correction
Adjustment layers correct without committing. Every color decision stays reversible until you export.
03

Masking

Masking is referenced from more cards than any other topic in this unit. Read these before working on any compositing task — they are the foundation that everything else builds on.

Card 11
Selection Methods
A selection is only as good as its edges. Edge quality is what separates a composited image from a composited-looking image.
Card 12
Masking, Refine Edge, and Clipping Masks
Masking is foundational to the entire Photoshop unit. Referenced throughout — learn it before you need it in a hurry.
04

Source Material and Transformation

Before compositing, you need material to composite with — and the skills to adapt it. Sourcing and quality evaluation come first; transformation tools follow.

Card 13
Sourcing and Adapting Web Content
The web is an enormous library of reference material. Using it well means evaluating quality, understanding use rights, and transforming raw sources into compositing-ready content.
Card 14
Free Transform, Distort, Warp, and Puppet Warp
The ability to convincingly fit any image into any spatial context is one of the most practically useful skills in Photoshop.
05

Building Images

Textures, entourage, Wacom integration, shadows, and color consistency. With foundations, workflow, masking, and source material established, this is where the image is constructed.

Card 15
Textures and Material Representation
A material that tiles is a material that fails. Source well, place intentionally, and always check at output scale.
Card 16
Entourage — People, Vehicles, and Objects
Every figure you place is a spatial argument. Scale, shadow, and lighting consistency are what make it believable.
Card 17
Entourage — Vegetation and Plan Elements
Vegetation defines spatial enclosure, provides scale, and creates atmosphere — when it reads correctly.
Card 18
Wacom Tablets and Hybrid Rendering
Pressure sensitivity is about using the full expressiveness of a physical gesture to control a digital tool.
Card 19
Shadows, Lighting, and Spatial Depth
Consistent shadow direction and logical light behavior are what make a composite look like a place.
Card 20
Color Grading, Matching, and Consistency
Five images that look like they came from five different places will never read as a coherent presentation.
06

Collage and Output

The four output deliverables and the planning logic that connects them. All five images in Assignment 04 should be completed and evaluated as a set before InDesign layout begins.

Card 21
Photo-Collage Construction
The skill is in making disparate images feel like they were always in the same place.
Card 22
Section/Elevation Photo-Collage
The rendered section communicates spatial quality better than any plan or perspective alone.
Card 23
Lumion Output Post-Production
A Lumion render is a starting point. Post-production is what takes it from technically correct to visually compelling.
Card 24
Planning Your Image Package
The question is not how do I render this — it is what images does this design need to make its case.
LA117 — Design Communication II — David Barbarash — Purdue University Photoshop — 24 Reference Cards