Starting Photoshop.

[aki]

I now have Photoshop CS4. And am amazed by what people could do with it. I know it takes a lot of patience to learn it (I am an expert in the wiki field, I know how long it takes to even become an expert ><'). Where did you guys start to get where you are now? What would you all suggest for a new person to Photoshop to start?

Thanks. ^_^

[cypher]

Check out good-tutorials for things to practice photoshop. After a while you will have gotten the menu's down you'll be making your own work in no time.

[quicksilverhybrid]

The best advice I can give, comes from personal experience.

I've been playing with that program for almost five years now, and I'm in love with it. Everything I know is self-taught, because I took a couple hours out of the day to sit in front of the program and play with it. I had no idea what I was doing, but when I started discovering what things did, that was the most rewarding part.

Key thing is, don't be intimidated by it. It's a big program, and there's a lot of depth to it.

And like d.Safe said; tutorials, tutorials, tutorials. They're practically everywhere =]


xx

[Pritchard [Epic][Girly Boy]]

Get a tablet if you don't have one.

Learn to use the pen tool.

Learn how to gradient everything you make. Even if you won't use it, it's a good thing to be able to gradient everything.

Learn to make workpath selections.

[cypher]

OhMyGod, my tablet has made digital work a shit tons easier. and Wacom is starting to make affordable ones like the bamboo. Perfect for beginners and still useful for advancing.

[TheSixthcrusifix]

Feb 1, 2009 7:05:25 GMT @cypher said:

OhMyGod, my tablet has made digital work a shit tons easier. and Wacom is starting to make affordable ones like the bamboo. Perfect for beginners and still useful for advancing.

Hells yeah, from painting to Photo-manipulation the WACOM Graphire and Intuous have changed the way I photoshop.
You're right about the bamboo too. It's more affordable than it's predecessor (Graphire) and it actually has even more features (Same sensitivity but more buttons + it uses a standard A-B USB Cord!). The performance is more than suitable for most professional needs.

I started with Paint Shop Pro because a trial came on my mom's computer and then I got the real version when I was 15 or 16 (Well if you wanna get technical I was fascinated with MS Paint since I was 10 but we'll skip ahead). After getting used to the whole "I'm created cool stuff on a computer" concept I looked around on the internet and found out about photoshop. I figured since it was the industry standard I should try it out.

I did mostly coloring line work and making really simple, filter-driven stuff in 7. Then My aunt got CS for me because she was going to FIDM and got a student discount. I really didn't like CS that much, it was okay but it didn't run well on my computer.

The second CS2 came out I jumped on it and I loved it! Then, in '06 I believe, I took an Image Manipulation class (I'm a Media Arts Major) and I learned the principles of non-destructive editing and color correction using curves. It blew me away, I fell in love. I was also the only one who liked the teacher (and the only one who got an A without doing all the projects).

I worked with CS2 for a long time and then CS3 came out and I didn't jump on it that fast because I really liked CS2. I've done a lot of my better work on Photoshop CS2, most photo manipulations involving placing characters in a scene and blending them non-destructively. As luck would have it I fried my computer with an awesome virus (I do this once or twice a year, I used to think it was coincidence but I think I have a subconscious yearning for a clean state) and rather than re-install CS2 from the disc that I lose when I got the damn thing I installed some Thinstall version of CS3 I got from school (I don't support Warez kids, I'm just telling a story!).



I liked CS3 so I invested in it and I've been using that most of the time. When CS4 came out I got to try it at school because they always upgrade. Unfortunately it works horribly at the school (Tiny images lag and brushes crash the program) but I tried it out at home and it worked fine. I like the changes in CS4 but I still use CS3 for most things because it starts up faster.



So anyway that's the story of how I got the programs but as far as ability goes; it only took me about a year to go from mediocre to well executed. Once you learn how to use the programs features you merely have to find ways to implement them. Photoshop is really not an extremely heavy program to me, I've explored just about every option and menu it has to offer at least one time or another. Then again I'm used to using extremely heavy programs like Maya, 3DS Mac and After Effects; so it's probably just that way to me by comparison.

[ishmael]

Screw that other advice. don't use tutorials. we all make that mistake, which bounds our creativity. "i started like that, and so you should you." bullshit in my opinion.

learn the tool bar, and learn the filters.

then look off of others artwork and use their concepts and ideas as a springboard for your own ideas.

making everything yourself will teach you a much better understanding of the software. if you start with tutorials, you will be nothing but another trendwhore conformist adobe photoshop "designer" who will never grow.

once you have an intimate knowledge of photoshop, then its alright to read through tutorials, but don't start off on them, it'll hurt you in the long run. good luck.

[TheSixthcrusifix]

Feb 8, 2009 7:53:23 GMT ishmael said:

Screw that other advice. don't use tutorials. we all make that mistake, which bounds our creativity. "i started like that, and so you should you." bullshit in my opinion.

learn the tool bar, and learn the filters.

then look off of others artwork and use their concepts and ideas as a springboard for your own ideas.

making everything yourself will teach you a much better understanding of the software. if you start with tutorials, you will be nothing but another trendwhore conformist adobe photoshop "designer" who will never grow.

once you have an intimate knowledge of photoshop, then its alright to read through tutorials, but don't start off on them, it'll hurt you in the long run. good luck.

I couldn't possibly agree more; in fact I wrote an entire essay on why Tutorials are dangerous. (http://sixthcrusifix.deviantart.com/art/A-Tutorial-on-Tutorials-112475545)