HELP!

[vikkijo]

Is there anybody here that can possible help me learn Photo Shop and/or Illustrator?

Maybe a tutorial on your Blog? Or one here in Resources.... teach us how to make our own sketches to share!

I can't even seem to figure out how to put text on a page, let alone add a picture or shape.

Feeling hopeless here, someone please help me!

I'd be Oh So Appreciative!

[UnderstandBlue]

I have a bunch free tutorial sites for illustrator and photoshop I will post shortly

[armadillo]

That would be cool, thanks in advance.

[UnderstandBlue]

Okay -

This family of sites is wonderful. If you are on Twitter, they tweet tips and they're very nice and helpful if you have a specific question. They've gotten me out of trouble in Illustrator often!

Photoshop — Gurus Unleashed

I get this newsletter and it has great quick tips

Digital Photography Tips: Digital Photography School

Here are some great tips for editing and fun special effects

Psdtuts+ | Adobe Photoshop tutorials, from beginner to advanced.

This one has fun effects too - a little more advanced (scroll down past the ads at the top to get to the site content)

Photoshop Tutorials

Here's a site with a ton of photoshop tutorials and their beginner ones are great

Photoshop Tutorials - Basics - pslover.com

I love the Adobe Design suite so I have a million sites I use. If you ever have a specific question, just PM me and I bet one of my fave sites has the answer

[vikkijo]

Oh Lydia you are an amazing woman! thank you so much for this. i know what I will be doing after work tonight!

[vikkijo]

I am finding Illustrator to be so over my head!

Do they have classes for a Kindergarten in this??

[UnderstandBlue]

Illustrator is tough. I basically learned it from just searching the internet when I stumbled. But I also used this site in the beginning...

Illustration Info � Illustrator Beginner’s Series

[Cook22]

If you're serious about learning it, you could consider investing in a book. I know there is so much stuff online, but for me nothing beats a book that you can read a couple of times and then refer to. DH did a course, but he still sometimes needs to get his book out to check something in. I think there's a Dummies one, but for his course he had to get the Adobe one.

[armadillo]

the photoshop elements 8 book for digital photographers by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski is very good.

[Schweeda]

I took classes for both through work. They are tough to learn, especially Illustrator. Good luck!

I know Scott Kelby has a company (Kelby Training, I think) that holds classes all around the country. I got a flier for on in Boston just yesterday.

[Julia S]

jessicasprague.com has some AMAZING classes on Photoshop and Illustrator. Worth every penny!

[imthenoni]

thanks for asking the question. I'm subbing so I can come back & read more when I have more time.

[vikkijo]

Oh I never thought about a Dummies Book! Great idea!!

Thank you all, this has to help me....

My boss gave me a DVD tutorial, you can not skip or Fast Forward... I was bored to tears the first 10 minutes, so I paused and came back. 30 minutes later it's still just on all the drop down menu's at the top! OMG boring!!!
the persons voice is something else too!

[Cindy H.]

I'm subbing and will be watching this thread with interest I don't have Photoshop or Illustrator but I'm hoping to get Photoshop when I get my next computer.

Thanks to vikkijo for asking the question and Lydia for providing all those wonderful sites for learning

[Barbara Jay]

THANKS for the links . I would love to get and learn to use Photoshop. I just got a digital camera and need to learn to use that too. My kids bought it for me . My camera worked fine , but finding 35 mm film was getting to be a problem :(

[SuzyQue]

Count me in. I think if we really learn to understandblue we find
Wonder Woman! ;)
Thank you Lydia!

[cat_woman]

If you want to use a graphics program for just basic photo editing or you're going to do a little bit of digital scrapbooking/stamping, then you perhaps should use a simpler program. Photoshop & Illustrator are not for the faint of heart. These are hard core graphics programs and they take a lot of stamina to learn. I would suggest either PaintShop Pro by Corel or Photoshop Elements. These are very robust graphics programs, but are much more user friendly for the not so computer saavy types. Just my 2 cents....

[armadillo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cat_woman

...I would suggest either PaintShop Pro by Corel or Photoshop Elements. These are very robust graphics programs, but are much more user friendly for the not so computer saavy types. Just my 2 cents....

I bought Corel Paintshop Pro and never could learn it. I have been able to do more in a VERY short time with Photoshop Elements 8 than I ever could do in PaintShop Pro x2 or x3

[Cindy H.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by armadillo

I bought Corel Paintshop Pro and never could learn it. I have been able to do more in a VERY short time with Photoshop Elements 8 than I ever could do in PaintShop Pro x2 or x3

Oh, I so agree with you about Paint Shop Pro! I have Paint Shop Pro and could never learn to use it. I bought several books that I thought would help - they didn't. I noticed in the bookstore there were several magazines that supported Photoshop that showed tips and tricks on how to use it but couldn't find any for PSP. I gave up trying to learn PSP. I do have several simple software programs for processing my photos that work adequately but I'd like to do more. I'm looking forward to trying again but this time with Photoshop

[armadillo]

AND Photoshop offer classes periodically, though expensive. I'm currently am taking a 2 hr/ class once a week for 6 weeks at one of the community colleges for $99.

Cindy H. this is a very good book- the photoshop elements 8 book for digital photographers by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski. I was able to teach myself a few things (watermark, HDR, squishing images in a photo) before starting this 6 week class

[Cindy H.]

Ooooh, thank you Armadillo. That book is going right on my list

[Barbara Jay]

It looks like PhotoShop Illustrator is above my needs and comprehension level LOL :shock:
I need to study the manual to program the cordless phone :oops:

Does anyone have links to tutorials for PhotoShop Elements ??

Thanks
Barbara

[armadillo]

If you type Photoshop Elements in Google you should find tutorials and info.

[imthenoni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vikkijo

Oh I never thought about a Dummies Book! Great idea!!

Thank you all, this has to help me....

My boss gave me a DVD tutorial, you can not skip or Fast Forward... I was bored to tears the first 10 minutes, so I paused and came back. 30 minutes later it's still just on all the drop down menu's at the top! OMG boring!!!
the persons voice is something else too!

Sad to say, I'm afraid I'm too dumb for the Dummies books. I've tried to use them before with poor success.

[cat_woman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by armadillo

I bought Corel Paintshop Pro and never could learn it. I have been able to do more in a VERY short time with Photoshop Elements 8 than I ever could do in PaintShop Pro x2 or x3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindy H.

Oh, I so agree with you about Paint Shop Pro! I have Paint Shop Pro and could never learn to use it. I bought several books that I thought would help - they didn't. I noticed in the bookstore there were several magazines that supported Photoshop that showed tips and tricks on how to use it but couldn't find any for PSP. I gave up trying to learn PSP. I do have several simple software programs for processing my photos that work adequately but I'd like to do more. I'm looking forward to trying again but this time with Photoshop

That's too bad. I started with PSP7 and now use PSPX and found it much easier to use than PSE. I even used it for years to design digital scrapbooking kits and digital brushes/stamps. Its more powerful than PSE, but not as unwieldy as Photoshop. At least I found.

[JoyceL]

subbing. I am using photoshop element 8 but not familiar with all the functions available.

[itzann]

Someone else mentioned Jessica Sprague. I see where she has a special for today 10/10/10..... 10 Photoshop Friday Episodes for $10. I like these because they are "bite-size chunks of learning" and the included papers and elements are great. The episodes are for scrapbook layouts, but the same techniques can be applied to cards as well. Definitely worth the money. Not affiliated in any way, just very satisfied with all the classes and tutorials I have purchased from Jessica. JessicaSprague.com. Grow Your Skills.

-Ann

[Tashak]

I have a few Jessica Sprague videos bookmarked.

Creating a photo template

Journal box with brush

Those are a couple, they don't teach you how to make a sketch, but there are lots of useful tips for all kinds of things.

[shazsilverwolf]

Photoshop is probably the most complicated thing to learn, but when you remember that most of the CGI for films like Lord Of The Rings was done with it, you can understand why.However, the best thing to remember is that nothing is permanent, unless you choose to make it so. If you start with a COPY of a picture you want to use, every time you do something to it, you have the option to 'Undo' or 'Step backwards', which are the top options on the 'EDIT' dropdown. So if you don't like it, you aren't stuck with it. Also, on the 'LAYERS' dropdown tab, you have the option to create 'New Adjustment Layer'. Think of this like creating a stamped scene by stamping each individual part of the image onto acetate. Lets say you have a rocks stamp, a tree stamp, a water stamp and a bird stamp. Stamp each one onto a different piece of acetate. Now you can move each part of the finished scene around until you like the look of your picture.You can try it with the tree in front of the rock, then behind it- you can have the bird on the tree, on the rock, in front of the rock- even in the water. You can add or change colours too-if you don't like a colour, just wipe it off (undo). When you have your scene the way you want it to look, you stick them all together onto your 'card'. (Layers; Flatten image). Now you can save it as either a psd( photoshop Document) which will only open in Photoshop, or you can pick to save it as a jpeg (the commonest type) which works with everything. The best way to learn photoshop is to play with it- it won't bite, honest!lol. Also the thing to remember is that unless you are a graphic designer, you will probably never use a fraction of the things that it can do.:rolleyes: So just play & have fun, you never know what you might find. As long as you remember always to make a copy of any picture or photo, and work on that, you can't harm anything precious.

[shazsilverwolf]

Something else too, play with an image, and when you get something you like, save the image, and make notes as to how you got there- lots of the tools don't really mean anything in terms of description,i.e. doge, burn and so on. But if you have an image you have used the tool on, you can see what it does.;) I was forever getting something I wanted, then next time I wanted to do it, I couldn't remember how. Also remember, when you get your image the way you want it, print out a small thumbnail sized image before committing yourself to your card or whatever- what you see on the screen will differ to what prints out- due to monitor display, type of printer & ink etc.

[UnderstandBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shazsilverwolf

Also, on the 'LAYERS' dropdown tab, you have the option to create 'New Adjustment Layer'. Think of this like creating a stamped scene by stamping each individual part of the image onto acetate. Lets say you have a rocks stamp, a tree stamp, a water stamp and a bird stamp. Stamp each one onto a different piece of acetate. Now you can move each part of the finished scene around until you like the look of your picture.You can try it with the tree in front of the rock, then behind it- you can have the bird on the tree, on the rock, in front of the rock- even in the water. You can add or change colours too-if you don't like a colour, just wipe it off (undo). When you have your scene the way you want it to look, you stick them all together onto your 'card'.

Beautiful explanation of layers!

[armadillo]

Also do a save as then you know you'll always have the original.

[shazsilverwolf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Understandblue

Beautiful explanation of layers!

Thanks- it was the only way I could get my head round it. Its also something I actually do when building scenes with scenic stamps- stamp them all onto acetate, then I can play around till it looks right.;)
Regarding the photoshop, I should also have said that if you 'flatten' your finished image & save as a jpeg, you will not be able to make any changes to it. However, if you save as a psd without flattening, then you can always go back and make alterations to any layer. You can also print without 'flattening' so you can see what you are going to get, but still make changes if you don't like it.

[SuG]

I am so glad this thread is here, I have a bit of a different question after reading all this. I was thinking of getting photoshop to do the Jessica Sprague tutorials, but it sounds way over my head, and possibly more than I want right now. Would it be better to get a program like SU's MDS to start with and then if I master that move up a notch. Are they two extremely different results? Are there any similarities?

:oops:

[shazsilverwolf]

I know what you mean- every now & then I click on something and think Wow- I didn't know it could do that! It does seem like there isn't anything that Photoshop CAN'T do to be honest, and having looked at some of the u-tube vids for the newest version, it's almost scary! It really depends what you want to do with it, and whether you want to be able to do more stuff as you learn more. You can just simply fix red-eye in PS, just like any other graphics prog- the difference is that with PS, as you progress, you will be able to change eye colour, make them a different shape, replace the eye with something else and blend it so you can't tell!;) Almost every visual image you see today in magazines etc has been created with PS- look how weird and wonderful some of them are. Its a fab programme, just don't be scared of it. It can't do anything you don't tell it to, and even if you do something wrong- so what? Its only pixels on a screen. As long as you always remember to do your stuff on a COPY of your original, nothing you do can do any harm. And its true that we learn more from the mistakes we make, than we ever learn from the things we do right.
I don't know anything about the SU MDS, but I'm sure there are a lot of ladies on here who can advise you on that.Like I said, you can still do the basic stuff in PS, it just means you won't need to upgrade to a more advanced product ( and learn a whole new set of tools etc) at a later date. Just because you buy a Ferrari that will do 180mph, doesn't mean you can't drive it at 20mph till you get confident!:p

[RIRed2]

This is great..

[kkaisu]

There are some good tutorials of Photoshop Elements on Two Peas in a Bucket. I used them and found them extremely helpful. They also have some Illustrator ones, but I have not tried them.

[vdoyle8]

subbing -- my new year's resolution this year was to learn how to use Photoshop Elements, which I've owned for two years but still don't know how to use. Oh yeah, there's that weight loss resolution also...hmmmm, I'm 0 for 2.

[vikkijo]

WOW this is so helpful!
You ladies here on SCS always amaze me!~

i did go buy Dummies..... OMG I am so lost now!

I learn better with someone telling me step by step how to do some things. LOL

[cat_woman]

You may also want to check out other digital scrapbooking sites (like Jessica Sprague's) for tutorials. That's how I learned to use PSP & Photoshop. There are some good one's that have a lot of free tutorials and one's you will have to pay for that are more involved/technical. My favourites are scrapbook-bytes, digitalscrapbookplace, & scrapgirls.