Watch the video above then read the instruction below which document the actions taken in the video. The video above is intended as a visual indicator of where to go next, the detail of the tutorial is contained within the textual content of the page below:

Creating a New File within Photoshop may seem like a very simple action but selecting the correct options for your image will save you time and un-necessary effort further down the line. There is little point designing an image at 3000px wide and 300dpi if the image is to be delivered via a 1 inch screen.

To start select: File - New.

In the dialogue box that appears you will able to assign your new file a name (although this isn't required and you can always name your file when you save or export it). The Preset will default to either Custom or Clipboard, clipboard will read the dimensions of any image that is currently on your clipboard, this is very useful for quickly copying files from other applications and circumstances where you may not be aware of the image dimensions. If your clipboard is empty the dialogue box will default to custom which will allow you to enter you own image criteria.

Image size allows you to enter numeric values for Width and Height with the option to select either Pixels (excellent for web designers), Inches, Centimetres CM, Millimetres MM, Points, Picas or Columns.

Resolution will default to 72 which is excellent for keeping screen graphics to a low file size but is far too low for printed material. A rough guide for printed material is to not drop below 300dpi (options are stated as Pixels per Inch or per CM, read as "Dots" per inch).

Colour Mode defaults to RGB Colour and 8 Bit colour depth which in most circumstances will be perfectly adequate for most images, higher specifications are available but will lead to higher files size, not such an issue for none digital media.

Background allows you to specify if you would like a White document, the background colour from you colour palette on the toolbar or a transparent background. A Transparent background will be indicated but a grey checkerboard effect.

On the bottom left of the dialogue box you will get an indication of the images size (file size), this is only an indication of the image size at the time of creation and cannot be read as an indication of file size once your image is completed.

Once you have defined the specifications of you image simply click the OK button and you will be presented with a new workspace that meets your criteria. All these options are still available for adjustment under Image on the header tools but they may lead to distortion of you image so getting a good starting point is always advisable.

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