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I want to learn photoshop.

puqdew

puqdew

Banned
Hey all. I have a deep hidden secret that I am very ashamed with...I have no clue how to use photoshop.

I got myself a copy of CS4. Where do I start?
 
goto the same place you "got" your copy and 'get' yourself a copy of a photoshop book.

Photoshop CS4 For Dummies

I dont know how to use it either, but dont have a desire to learn.
 
If you really want to learn, I'd suggest night school. The cost of the course would probably be about half the cost of the software, and it would be very helpful. Though I'm sure the "Dummies" books and online tutorials are more than adequate.
 
Get started reading some of the thousands of tutorials online. Note your best friend in the world in photoshop, and any image editor nowadays, is the layers panel. You can do amazingly powerful shit with the proper use of layers.

Start with "you suck at photoshop" as jaedaliu mentions, light hearted funny and helpful. Then read shit loads of tutorials. Yes many of them suck but if you complete several hundred tutorials on a wide variety of topics you will get the hang of it!

Edit If you don't know any of the basic concepts of layering, and the like though you might want to pick up a dummies type book first.
 
Oh and you didn't need to get photochop really. GIMP offers just about the same functionality and similar layout and it's free.
 
Get yourself a drawing tablet. Seriously. Even for just photo editing work they will save you time and improve your work.

Locut0s said:
GIMP offers just about the same functionality and similar layout and it's free.
Click to expand...
Negative. GIMP is impressive but it's not even close to having the functionality of PS.
 
Man... you bought a copy of CS4 just to learn how to use it? I congratulate you on taking such a plunge, I don't have the nerves to do that.

Learning to do basic stuff is easy. Play with all of the tools in the normal toolbox to see what they do, and then Google them for examples of what can be done. For example, load up a personal photo an experiment with touching it up. Use the dodge tool (mid tones, 5-10% effect) to whiten teeth. Use the spot healing brush to remove scars or blemishes. Use the burn tool to give yourself a tan, etc. Obviously it won't come out very good, but it gives you some concept of what they're used for.

Experiment by creating embossed buttons, such as for a website. You can find tons of great guides out there that will tell you how, and most are very easy to follow step by step.

Practice using keyboard shortcuts to select, deselect, zoom, etc. Once you get used to some of them (I'm still learning myself), it'll make life easier.

Realize that saving a compressed or final image (JPG, GIF, PNG, etc.) is completely different from saving a PSD. PSDs aren't designed for normal viewing; they're meant to be a workable product that will retain layers, guidelines, cuts and other information that would normally be discarded. So, saving your work as a PSD will allow you to go back and keep going from where you left off.
 
Locut0s said:
What exactly is it lacking?
Click to expand...
For my workflow (doing web stuff) the biggest thing GIMP is lacking is vector shape layers. My understanding is that the GIMP devs have no interest in adding them because GIMP is a "raster tool, not a vector tool".

Layer effects too, but there's a GIMP plugin for that now.
 
Goto Border or Barnes and Nobles bookstore and buy a ton of books you want to learn Photoshop....Do you have art skills? If so you should know how to use it
 
Start with the Photoshop Help files. Start with simple tasks; cropping, resizing, adjustments to brightness and contrast, sharpen filter and saving as a web image file. When you get stuck; use the Help function or Google your problem. I've found that looking through a 500 page Photoshop "bible" takes a lot more time than searching the web.
Photoshop is a journey; not a destination. I use it every day since Win98 and I still don't know enough to call myself an "expert".
 
For beginners I like this book: http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Anthology-Design-Tricks-Techniques/dp/0975841920
Also this one from adobe's classroom in a book series: http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photosh...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263921071&sr=1-2

Nothinman said:
Odd, it seems to be perfectly usable by me...
Click to expand...
Usability is not a boolean value. And it typically refers to the human interface of a system.

GIMP isn't unusable, but its GUI is less user friendly than Photoshop's. The buttons aren't as well organized, and a lot of things take more clicks. So my choice to use Photoshop over GIMP is all about workflow and productivity.

However, if you're not or ever hope to be in an environment where your graphic manipulation productivity needs to be maximised, and you can't get Photoshop on a special purchase program or have money to burn, then... I think I'd rather use Pixlr.com, or maybe Paint.net rather than GIMP. GIMP's interface is that bad IMHO.
 
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GaryJohnson said:
Usability is not a boolean value. And it typically refers to the human interface of a system.

GIMP isn't unusable, but its GUI is less user friendly than Photoshop's. The buttons aren't as well organized, and a lot of things take more clicks. So my choice to use Photoshop over GIMP is all about workflow and productivity.

However, if you're not or ever hope to be in an environment where your graphic manipulation productivity needs to be maximised, and you can't get Photoshop on a special purchase program or have money to burn, then... I think I'd rather use Pixlr.com, or maybe Paint.net rather than GIMP. GIMP's interface is that bad IMHO.
Click to expand...

I understand that and for the little bit of work that I need it for, I find GIMP to be perfectly usable. I've never used Pixlr but I can't stand Paint.Net. The one or two times I tried to use it for something I poked around confounded for a few minutes and just gave up and used GIMP to take care of it.
 
I am not sure about it in your case, but I often look at the Extension center of the local university, sometimes JC. They will often have classes on these kinds of things. I tend to put optional projects and hobby things aside if I just feel tired or lazy that day, and my timelines slide a little. When I take the class, it forces me into a time line to get the basics. Then when I am done with that, if I like it I pursue it, if not, then I just leave it there. It worked reasonbly well for Adobe InDesign (fun, but dropped it afterwards), welding (not so fun), woodworking (fun and still hobby), and a bunch of other little things. Since they are pretty topical (no real cool items, but usually the daily grind stuff), I got a good picture of what it was to see if there was potential for me or if it was just a personal enrichment thing.
It also gets me a student ID, so I can often buy some of these packages from educational sites or the Universities actual store for less.
 
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