Stepping into a whole new world with Photoshop
Using Photoshop to create 'Bottle Island' - water part of the image taken from Tim Marshall's Unsplash
For many of us, our computer literacy does not extend beyond Microsoft Word and Google Docs, but there is a wide world out there withso many possibilities. Photoshop, or animation, or game development software are some of these. While many softwareare difficult to master, especially if it’s not in your field, Photoshop is one that anyone with a bit of hard work and determination can get a grasp of.
Why learn Photoshop?
Need a flier for a birthday party, a custom-made card for your mom’s 50th birthday or you have a couple of pictures that you want to edit? Or do you want to design a logo for your business or a cover for the book you’re writing? Learning Photoshop will be the answer. In addition, Photoshop can be viewed as a gateway to learning other software that you may be interested in.
Start off by getting rid of any negative thoughts
Many of us who aren’t in any design orcomputer related professions, look at Photoshop and design software as something strange and difficult. That’s definitely how I felt before I started to learn how to use it. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not impossible and that you can do it. You just have to be willing to take it one step at a time, and not get overwhelmed.
Download Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop has a 30-day free trial period, so you could have a go before you decide to buy it. In addition,it also offers a 60% discount for students enrolled in university.
The internet is your friend
So now you have Photoshop installed. Open it up, then minimize it, go to YouTube and follow a basic tutorial. It is important to do that so you can see how the tools are used. Once it’s demonstrated you can replicate it and learn how it works. A tutorial that I found useful is Adobe Photoshop Tutorial : The Basics for Beginners:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/200405/. This teaches you how to use adjustment layers and special effects on texts and images, as well as other basic and easy features which are very useful. I also started watching a video that went through each tool on the tool bar and demonstrated how to use it. Although I did learn a few new tools and the cool things I can do with them, I don’t recommend watching those videos because you don’t really get to apply the skills in a systematic way and like me you will most likely forget what you learnt.
Udemy is a great tool
While YouTube is a useful guru, one of the best ways to increase your Photoshop capabilities is to follow an Udemy Photoshop introductory course. In addition to YouTube you can also buy a course on Udemy, which teaches you step-by-step how to use Photoshop. The course that I followed was Adobe Photoshop CC – Essentials Training Course created and taught by Daniel Walter Scott, costing a little under 11 USD. The tutorial teaches you things like how to work with texts, adjust colours on images, distort a logo to bend around real life photographs, to wrap images and much much more. What’s really great about the course is that it comes with downloadable images, so you can exactly replicate what the instructor does, which really helps you learn. You can follow the tutorial here: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/200405/
Tip: Write stuff down
In Photoshop command keys are an important element in learning to master it. For beginners the number of keys and shortcuts that you need to know can become quite daunting. Thus, it is important to write the keys you do know on a piece of paper so that you can refer up when you need to. Otherwise you may easily forget the keys you’ve learnt and have to spend time looking for them. For example, ctrl and T held together, transform the image.
Put it into practice
Practise what you know and keep it simple. There is so much you can do with Photoshop that you may get s bit lost and confused. So my tip isthat with each new tool you learn, become familiar with it before learning more. When I learnt how to add images from Google into Photoshop and transform the size of it, I practised that a few times until I locked it into my memory. Even with knowing a few tools you can create something, so just keep experimenting and putting what you learn into practice.
Think about what you want to and learn how to search for it
For example, if you want to remove a person from a picture, search for that–you can find a tutorial on YouTube on how to do that specific move. So, whatever the product you want to make is right there, all you have to do is search correctly and watch the video. I wanted to add Sakura flurry animation to an image and I didn’t think it would be possible, but I searched how to do it on YouTube and followed a tutorial. In less than 10 minutes I was able to create that effect.
Find a friend who knows how to use Photoshop
Sometimes you will feel frustrated or confused, and during those times the best course of action might be to message a friend who knows how to use Photoshop and ask for help. Or else Photoshop Google is a great resource.
Keep at it
Photoshop is a versatile tool, and it is one that anyone can learn how to use. For someone like me, who did not knowmuch beyondusing Word, Google documents and commonly used social media platforms, I now can picture myself taking on great mountains of technological challenges that I never thought I could hike.
The greatest thing is if I can, so can you!