beginner needs help to learn cool stuff on PS

Z
Posted By
zbaranne
Feb 11, 2004
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305
Replies
5
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Closed
Hi everyone,

I am learning photoshop by using the program itself and studying some online tutorials. I realize there are some really cheesy examples. I need help to protect myself learning junk and do some really cool stuff, both clever and artsy. I want to make a distunguis portfolio also. Is there anybody who can help me and give me some directions? I am sorry for both my english and my question if it is asked or discused before. Thank you very much. Zeynep =)
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J
john
Feb 11, 2004
In article ,
(zeynep) wrote:

I am learning photoshop by using the program itself and studying some online tutorials. I realize there are some really cheesy examples. I need help to protect myself learning junk and do some really cool stuff, both clever and artsy. I want to make a distunguis portfolio also. Is there anybody who can help me and give me some directions? I am sorry for both my english and my question if it is asked or discused before. Thank you very much. Zeynep =)

Your English is just fine but your attitude concerns me. If I make a recommendation and you come back and say it’s uncool or not distinguished, then expect a virtual asskicking. Okay?

A used copy of Scott Kelby’s "Down and dirty tricks" realy kickstarted my students’ Photoshop experience. It touches on a number of different things you can do right away. They took the tips and went right on with some nice work of their own.

Now for professional applications, there are other books but you don’t seem too interested in photographic applications or pre-press work. Hey, you might not even need Photoshop. How about Elements? Save a buck.
Z
zbaranne
Feb 12, 2004
Thank you for your recommendation. I didn’t want to offend anyone or put anybody in a spot for their preferences. I am aware that being cool is very subjective and changes from person to person. I want decent ideas for starting with so I can decide over time what’s cool for me, and how good I am by doing it.

I probably need to learn how to use the tools other than follow the examples directly. Some turotials are not even talking about why they do particular things. they just do it. Those are the ones that I want to be avoid because I can’t play with it after the specific tutorials. As I said before, i am a beginner and don’t have strong arguments about it yet.

any ideas? Thanks Zeynep=)
J
JJS
Feb 12, 2004
"zeynep" wrote in message

any ideas? Thanks Zeynep=)

Take what I offered and try it. The tutorial can be applied to _any_ image. It’s not a canned thing. If those don’t help you, then there is no help. We can’t teach you esthetics.
D
dglaser
Feb 13, 2004
I wanted to respond to your comment about wanting to know the WHY of what you are doing and not just follow some tutorial instructions. I also share that desire and have been frustrated at times.

I find there are seveal types of PhotoShop books out there. Some like the incredible WOW! book shows you the result using all kinds of techniques and then steps you through how to do it. (That book was what actually got me motivated to learn PS). Other books just try to be an expanded or replacement manual explaining what PhotoShop can do. Others like Down and Dirty Tricks by Kelby teach you ways to accomplish certain tasks efficiently. Others focus in on certain techniques: text effects, art effects, etc.

But there aren’t too many books that I have found that provide more in-depth understanding into the WHY of the various capabilities. One particularly good WHY book I have found is Ben Wilmore’s PhotoShop CS (or 7, etc.) Studio Techniques. He tends to go more indepth into the why of PhotoShop. You might find it useful.

I myself have just had to do a lot of "grunt work" sometimes by studying and experimenting on a given topic using several of my PS books to try and figure out the underlying principles and the WHY of a certain tool or technique.

I have been taking a computer graphics class, and found that I wanted to document everything I do or discover as at least a first pass on the ultimate goal of figuring out the why of PhotoShop. For example, I got interested in how to create spheres, and how to work with the Lighting Effects filter, or how to convert images to grayscale… I found there many great helper tutorials out there on the web, but not always a lot of the why included. So I started collecting links on these and other topics so that, at least, when I had the chance to take on exploring the WHY of that topic, I would have a lot of examples for exploring the underlying principles.

And I have put all of my collecting of info on PhotoShop up on my web site. So you might or might not find useful what I have done re: why.

http://www.pacificsites.net/~dglaser/art

Good luck with learning PhotoShop. It is an awesome tool.

Dale
J
JJS
Feb 13, 2004
"Dale Glaser" wrote in message
[…]
But there aren’t too many books that I have found that provide more in-depth understanding into the WHY of the various capabilities.
[…]

There are many ways one tries to express the language of visual imagery, and I am guessing that your WHY is a plea for some kind of vocabulary of visual characteristics. No? I mean, there really is no ‘why’ of effects – they have no discursive meaning. On the other hand if you are doing pre-press work, there are definite rationalizations, perfect answers to a ‘why’.

Not to fan the frustration, but why ask why?

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

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