Well..ummm..
If you want to do print, you will need InDesign or Quark, and Illustrator or another powerful vector app.
Photoshop is a raster image editor, not a page layout program, not a vector app.
I can’t help you with tutes, all I can say is work on building a portfolio…without a degree it better be kick-ass.
While yes you could get hired based on talent and your portfolio, most places want you to have a degree.
most places want you to have a degree.
I would have to disagree, I guess that depends where you live and work. As far as my experience goes and of those i know, A degree isnt worth the paper its designed on, experience and a good portfolio is what matters. the problem with grads is they can design, but they have no concept of the working world, and dont relasie you should be knocking out a logo in a couple of hours not days blhaa blhaa blhaa!!!
Create mock jobs for your self, just experement and play. andre, get your self a good portfolio together, a web site would help, if you can, take on some design jobs from friends even doing them for free, to show you have actualy done some work in the real world, then cold letter as many people you can, expect to work from the bottem up, it worked for me, good luck.
First you say…
I want to get into Madison avenue advertising & print design
Then you say…
please don’t recommend indesign or anything like that cause im in love with photo shop
With comments like this, we must assume that you truly are not committed to graphic design as professional designers must not be limited to one tool. While another tool does not have to be InDesign, Photoshop skills alone will rarely get you a design job.
Likewise, learning from a DVD or a book alone is not enough to get into the business.
School offers the regimen of assignments and deadlines. Without demonstrating your ability to meet a deadline, no employer will be interested in you. The difference between a professional designer and a hobbyist is that one knows how to make a deadline.
School also offers interactive guidance and critique on your progress that you will never get from a DVD.
Finally, and most important, school often offers a foundation of contacts in the design business as instructors can help you network and get work.
But don’t be confused on options, an art school is not necessary. Community colleges offer very affordable and (most often) competent training.
There is a lot of tremendous instruction to be had in subscribing to professional periodicals in the field and doing the assignments they describe. The key part is doing the applications, just reading the article won’t be sufficient.
Good luck.
Just from experience here: The only "formal" training I have as far as design goes, are a few courses through my local community college. I already had the ideas, I just needed to learn the programs. Once I got that, I’ve taken off in my particular job. Now I’m working on a degree in Marketing through an online university. Might be something to look for.
But I’d dro the attitude about other programs. Adobe makes all of them because they all somehow work together. If you want to do web work, you need PS, IR, GoLive, etc. Page Layout – PS, ID, Acrobat, etc. Just using PhotoShop to design page layout will end up making you one of the most hated people at a print shop – next to MS Word and Excel users!
Good luck!
I apparently know little to nothing about the industry but I want to do some of the highest profile stuff out there and I dont want to go to school to learn how to do any of it and I dont want to learn all the tools needed to do it.
My friend, youre going to need a lot more than a DVD and luck to realize your dream.
Taking a few classes, even if at a local JC might be a good idea just to see if this is something you even really want to do because it is pretty clear from your post that you dont at this point understand that using Photoshop for Fun and for Profit while not mutually exclusive, are often miles apart.
It can be a personally rewarding business but you need to understand up front that it is a business and if you want to be a professional and get hired for professional high end jobs, you need to act like one. Up front that means learning everything including the stuff you dont consider fun even if it is software like Illustrator or Indesign because you will *need* to know these tools, even if you don’t want to learn them.