Photoshop elements newbie/web graphics help sought

6 months LOLOLOLOLOL pardon me but I have been using Photoshop since 1996 and still learn new things every day and I am a professional retoucher. You need to ask more specific questions and tell us what you are trying to retouch, objects? people? strip out backgrounds? collages? To make buttons for the web is easy enough, use the custom shape tool and add a style to it.
If you are not an artist and don’t want to learn, you should download already made graphics. Many, many sites have templates for web designs, buttons, animations.
Make a new document, and try out all the tools and filters, see what they do. Learn about masks and selections.
Web graphics need to be in specific formats and is actually one of the more difficult things for novices to understand.

"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message

I bought Photoshop elements 2.0 a couple of years ago, but haven’t really started using it. I find it pretty complex and intricate, and simply don’t have the time or willpower to learn everything from scratch. So up to now I’ve only been playing around with it a bit.

Since I want to redesign my website, adding a fresh, modern user-interface I want to learn a few basics geared towards web images, but don’t know where to turn.
Step-by-step examples, explaining exactly which menu/keyboard combination to use etc. would be great -are there any websites for this sort of thing? I’m thinking that I can learn stuff as I go along this way, instead of spending weeks, months learning everything from scratch -possibly things that I’ll never even have the use for.

Any good suggestions for a newbie who doesn’t want to be buried in user-guides/manuals for the next 6 months?

In time I also want to learn how to manipulate photos -touching up, mixing, editing and stuff like that, but for now web images will do.

—
Hallvard

KatWoman wrote:

You need to ask more specific questions and tell us what you are trying to retouch, objects? people? strip out backgrounds? collages?

First of all I don’t understand the basics of Photoshop Elements. I’ve been able to create and edit illustrations (not photos) using programs such as "Graphic converter" on the Mac just fine, but Photoshop is very different. Just basic stuff like copying one section of an image and pasting in a specific location elsewhere is something I’m struggling with.
So that’s the first things I need to learn: the very basics.

The second thing I want to learn is how to create web graphics. I’m not quite sure yet about how I want to design the page, so I’m looking at lots of other sites to get ideas, but I assume I need buttons, logos and stuff like that.

To make buttons for the web is easy enough, use the custom shape tool and add a style to it.

I’ve played around with it a bit, and I see there’s a lot I can do by just playing around with the preset effects/styles.
I like the way that I can add a shadow to some text for example. But I miss the ability to select how much shadow I want. For example, if I enter some text, then go to the "Layer styles" window, I can select something like "high" and "low" from the "Drop shadows" section, but I would really like to fine-adjust how much shadow I want. Also, I don’t understand how I use several different drop shadows, such as "high" as well as "outline" (never mind that it doesn’t look nice in this example).

If you are not an artist and don’t want to learn, you should download already made graphics. Many, many sites have templates for web designs, buttons, animations.

Any good sites for this sort of thing?

Make a new document, and try out all the tools and filters, see what they do. Learn about masks and selections.

But where do I go to actually learn this sort of thing?
A lot of stuff in Photoshop elements doesn’t seem obvious to me, so I need some sort of tutorial.
Hopefully not the kind of tutorial where you’re stuck for months, but more the "learn as you go along" type, which is why I was asking if anyone knew of any good step-by-step tutorial websites.

—
Hallvard

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 15:08:40 +0200, Hallvard Tangeraas
wrote:

But where do I go to actually learn this sort of thing?
A lot of stuff in Photoshop elements doesn’t seem obvious to me, so I need some sort of tutorial.
Hopefully not the kind of tutorial where you’re stuck for months, but more the "learn as you go along" type, which is why I was asking if anyone knew of any good step-by-step tutorial websites.

What you need to do is go and buy a book. remember them? Lots of paper between two cardboard sheets, all with writing on them? ;-))

Seriously, if you’re needing info that is that basic, you definitely need to start with a book. I can’t recommend one, as I don’t have much to do with Elements, but go look at your local bookstore and find one that you think will help.

—

Hecate – The Real One

Fashion: Buying things you don’t need, with money
you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like…

Hecate wrote:

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 15:08:40 +0200, Hallvard Tangeraas
wrote:

But where do I go to actually learn this sort of thing?

What you need to do is go and buy a book. remember them? Lots of paper between two cardboard sheets, all with writing on them? ;-))

Vaguely 😉
Ironically the computer age has brought more paper to the office and home instead of the opposite which was claimed, but that’s another issue. I asked for websites as they’re usually free, but if this is such a complex matter which can’t be explained that way I’ll go for your suggestion.

Seriously, if you’re needing info that is that basic, you definitely need to start with a book. I can’t recommend one, as I don’t have much to do with Elements, but go look at your local bookstore and find one that you think will help.

I really need some advice here, because deciding on which book to buy for a highly technical issue like this isn’t easy. It’s probably easier for someone who’s already read a book about it, to say if it’s a good book or not.
If buying a book is the way to go I want something that:

– is easy to grasp (even for a newbie)

– isn’t too deep, dry and boring, but gets right to the point

– step by step explanations (possibly also with an accompanying CD-ROM, or links to a website with relevant files I can work on -I had the latter in a book for HTML web-design, though I can’t remember the name of it. Very good!!! It taught me a lot to be able to follow the same examples step by step myself).

– good examples (examples that are actually relevant to what you’ll be using Photoshop elements for!)

– explains how to touch up and edit photos as well as draw illustrations, web-graphics, buttons, textures, text-effects and so on

– Is easy to look up for specific jobs you want done (in other words: I’m not interested in a book where you have to read from cover to cover, and learn absolutely everything there is to know about the program before you can do the simplest of things on your own).

I understand that there’s no book which can cover all the basics as well as get into the specialized tricks and expert techniques, but I want something that will allow me to actually start using the program for something useful.
If I do get to the stage that I’m becoming an expert (quite unlikely) I’m sure there will be lots of opportunities to get a new book then.

So, any good suggestions anyone?

—
Hallvard

The manual that came with it???
The HELP up there at the top.
For BASICS that is where to start.
at the beginning.

"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message

Hecate wrote:

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 15:08:40 +0200, Hallvard Tangeraas
wrote:

But where do I go to actually learn this sort of thing?

What you need to do is go and buy a book. remember them? Lots of paper between two cardboard sheets, all with writing on them? ;-))

Vaguely 😉
Ironically the computer age has brought more paper to the office and home instead of the opposite which was claimed, but that’s another issue. I asked for websites as they’re usually free, but if this is such a complex matter which can’t be explained that way I’ll go for your suggestion.

Seriously, if you’re needing info that is that basic, you definitely need to start with a book. I can’t recommend one, as I don’t have much to do with Elements, but go look at your local bookstore and find one that you think will help.

I really need some advice here, because deciding on which book to buy for a highly technical issue like this isn’t easy. It’s probably easier for someone who’s already read a book about it, to say if it’s a good book or not.
If buying a book is the way to go I want something that:
– is easy to grasp (even for a newbie)

– isn’t too deep, dry and boring, but gets right to the point
– step by step explanations (possibly also with an accompanying CD-ROM, or links to a website with relevant files I can work on -I had the latter in a book for HTML web-design, though I can’t remember the name of it. Very good!!! It taught me a lot to be able to follow the same examples step by step myself).

– good examples (examples that are actually relevant to what you’ll be using Photoshop elements for!)

– explains how to touch up and edit photos as well as draw illustrations, web-graphics, buttons, textures, text-effects and so on

– Is easy to look up for specific jobs you want done (in other words: I’m not interested in a book where you have to read from cover to cover, and learn absolutely everything there is to know about the program before you can do the simplest of things on your own).

I understand that there’s no book which can cover all the basics as well as get into the specialized tricks and expert techniques, but I want something that will allow me to actually start using the program for something useful.
If I do get to the stage that I’m becoming an expert (quite unlikely) I’m sure there will be lots of opportunities to get a new book then.
So, any good suggestions anyone?

—
Hallvard

KatWoman wrote:

The manual that came with it???
The HELP up there at the top.
For BASICS that is where to start.
at the beginning.

Bummer…. I don’t have that within reach where I’m at now 🙁 I had a quick look through it when I bought the program, but was under the impression that it was more a reference manual rather than a "how to use/how to do.." manual.

—
Hallvard

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0596004532/102 -4562483-3889706?v=glance

"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message

KatWoman wrote:

The manual that came with it???
The HELP up there at the top.
For BASICS that is where to start.
at the beginning.

Bummer…. I don’t have that within reach where I’m at now 🙁 I had a quick look through it when I bought the program, but was under the impression that it was more a reference manual rather than a "how to use/how to do.." manual.

—
Hallvard

KatWoman wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0596004532/102 -4562483-3889706?v=glance

I don’t have version 3.
Is there a similar book for Photoshop elements 2.0?
Also, from what I’ve read about this book in the past it’s mostly about photo editing. I want to learn how to use the program to draw illustrations/web graphics as well.

—
Hallvard

OMG yes don’t you have a search in your browser? I found that in two seconds.

put these words:
" photo elements manual " in the search.

same shop has book for 2.0

are u fo real? I think this is No name
"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message

KatWoman wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0596004532/102 -4562483-3889706?v=glance

I don’t have version 3.
Is there a similar book for Photoshop elements 2.0?
Also, from what I’ve read about this book in the past it’s mostly about photo editing. I want to learn how to use the program to draw illustrations/web graphics as well.

—
Hallvard

Today I visited several bookstores, looking for a suitable Photoshop elements guide. I found several books, but the one thing in common was that they all seemed to focus on photo retouching and stuff like that. Only small sections of these books explain how to use the program as a tool in creating completely new illustrations/images.

For the time being I need to make web-graphics more than anything. Aren’t there any good books that teach this sort of thing for Photoshop elements (version 2)?

—
Hallvard

"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message
| Today I visited several bookstores, looking for a suitable Photoshop | elements guide. I found several books, but the one thing in common was | that they all seemed to focus on photo retouching and stuff like that. | Only small sections of these books explain how to use the program as a | tool in creating completely new illustrations/images.
|
| For the time being I need to make web-graphics more than anything. | Aren’t there any good books that teach this sort of thing for Photoshop | elements (version 2)?
|

Might try Illustrator

might visit www.imagine-that.ws for an idea of what can be done with Illustrator