Beginners' Guide to Adobe Photoshop
Ever wanted to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop, but had no idea where to start? The wall of icons and menus can be intimidating.Most Photoshop tutorials for beginners are really for people who are already familiar with the program. This tutorial goes right back to the DAWN OF TIME! :) ...and is designed to help people who are absolute Photoshop beginners.
This basic, thirty-minute tutorial is not a comprehensive instruction manual. It only teaches you the few simple features you need to know, to start using Adobe Photoshop. From there, you'll quickly discover most of the other features of the program yourself.
The images in this tutorial are from Adobe Photoshop 7.0, but they're very similar to those from newer versions, like Photoshop CS4.
Bookmark this page, load up Photoshop, and we'll begin the tutorial.
1 – Creating a New Image, and Setting Adobe Photoshop's Undo Option
Click File > New, and create a new image of any size you desire.Press Ctrl+K to bring up the Preferences window.
Change your "Redo Key" to Ctrl+Shift+Z. This enables you to press Ctrl+Z at any time, to undo the last thing(s) you did. Remember this.
2 – Using Adobe Photoshop's Layers window
The Layers window shows the various layers that your image is made up of.
To make a new layer, click the New Layer button, as shown by the red arrow.To work on a different layer, click on that layer. The eyeball will apear next to that layer.
You can drag layers up and down the list.
Remember – create a new layer for each part of your image. This allows you to go back and edit the layers individually. Every Adobe Photoshop beginner at some time makes a masterpiece, only to find out that they did it all on one layer, and now they can't remove those pink clouds they put on it. :)
3 – Learning about Selection
One of the most important concepts in Adobe Photoshop is Selection.
This is the Rectangular Selection Tool.Use this tool on your image to select an area of the image. This lets Photoshop know that that's the area you want to work on.
4 – Adding to a Selection and making a square
To add to a selection, hold Shift before dragging.Tomake the selection exactly square, start dragging, then hold Shift.
You can press Ctrl+D to "deselect" and remove the selection at any time.
5 – Elliptical Selections and subtracting Selections
Hold down on the Selection Tool on the Toolbar, and choose the Ellipse.To move the selection, just click inside it and drag.
Holding Alt while selecting subtracts that area from the selection. I've done that with the Ellipse Selection Tool.
6 – A Selection exercise
If you're following this tutorial in Adobe Photoshop, see if you can make these shapes.Other relevant Adobe Photoshop tools
Lasso Tool – Allows you to draw a selection area with the cursor.
Magic Wand – Summons elves. (Also believed to select an area of one colour.) :P
7 – Choosing a colour
Now that you know how to select an area in Adobe Photoshop, we can look at some tools that can do something with that area.Before we get started on colouring your selection, you'll need to pick a colour.
This part of the Toolbox is where you select your colours.
The top square is the foreground colour. If you use a brush or paint bucket, it will apply this colour.
The bottom square is the background colour. It has various purposes, but it's also a good place to store a second colour that you're using.
Click on either square to change its colour.
Click the arrow to swap the two colours.
Click the little squares to reset the colours to black and white.
8 – The Paint Bucket and Gradient tools
These two tools share a button on the toolbar. To select one, click and hold.
On a new layer, just click the Paint Bucket tool inside the area of your selection to fill it with the colour you've selected.
Click and drag from one area to another to fill the area. The point where you started to click will be the colour of your foreground colour, and the point where you took your finger off the mouse button will be the colour of your background colour. The area in between will gradually change from one colour to the other.In this case, I went from corner to corner, with the default white and black selected.
9 – A colour exercise
With what you've learned so far, you should be able to recreate this piece of hippy history. :)Remember to create each step on a new layer.
Other Adobe Photoshop tools of interest include
The Text Tool – Just click it wherever you want text to appear. Choose a font, colour, and size, and start typing.
The Move Tool – Use this tool to drag things around. If you have a selection, it will drag the contents of the selection. If not, it will drag the contents of the layer you're on.
10 – Adding Effects
Now that you know the basics, it's time to start adding some easy special effects.To demonstrate Adobe Photoshop's special effects, here's an unembellished button for a website.
Each part of this image is on a separate layer.
11 – Key Adobe Photoshop Blending Options
In the Layers list, right-click on a layer, and select Blending Options.This is a picture of the left-hand portion of the Blending Options window that will appear. (This image is from an older version of Photoshop, but it looks very similar in newer versions.)
Drop Shadow - Selecting this option will make your layer cast a shadow on layers below it.
Bevel and Emboss - Makes the layer like a block of gold bullion - raised in the centre, with edges that slope down. (This is a good effect for creating buttons.)
Texture - Makes the surface of the layer look like it's made of wood, stone etc. Use the "Overlay" setting.
Stroke - Stroke is just another word for "outline". A Stroke is useful to make an object stand out from its background.
12 – The end result
Other than using some of the Blending Options, nothing else has been done to this button.It's really that easy.
A final few Adobe Photoshop features
Zoom: Press (Ctrl and +) to zoom in. Press (Ctrl and -) to zoom out. This is very useful if you're a bit of a pixel pirate :)Transformation: To Transform (resize/rotate/distort) an object, press Ctrl+T. To Transform a selection, click Select > Transform Selection. Use the Shift key while transforming to stop the image distorting.
"Special Message"
I hope this tutorial has helped you get the idea of Adobe Photoshop. You can now face the "wall of random icons and palettes" with confidence. :)Happy Photoshopping!
Cool Photoshop Tutorials for Beginners
Dec 11, 10 
Adobe Photoshop, an essential to any designer’s toolkit is probably the most popular graphics editing program out there. Photoshop is easy to learn and offers an extensive array of advanced tools to create some impressive and realistic compositions. All of these are free resources for budding graphics designers to learn basic to intermediate manipulations with this powerful graphics editing software. This article is a collection of some high quality Photoshop tutorials for beginners – this is a place to start. How to Create a Nuclear Disaster Landscape
Recreating Bar Code By Using Photoshop
Create A Slow Motion Bullet Shot Effect
Making A Book Of Magical Playground Scene
Magnifying Glass In Photoshop
Create A Distressed Vector Typographic Poster Design
Create a Magical Flaming Heart Illustration in Photoshop
The Ultimate Wood Texture Tutorial
Create a Cool Wet Ink Typography Effect in Photoshop
Create A Spectacular Flaming Meteor Effect On Text
Text Inside Text Effect
Give Your Photos a Retro Comic Book Effect
Canvas texture imitation
Glass Ball Tutorial
Papercraft Text Effect
How to Create a Highly Detailed Hi-Tech Power Button
Vintage Polaroid Effect
Realistic wrinkled paper
Create A Surrealistic City Scene From Drawings And Photos
Create a Sleek, High-End Web Designfrom Scratch
Create 3D Typography effect in Photoshop
How To Create Bamboo In Adobe Photoshop
Making A Print Ready Business Card Using Only Photoshop
3D Grass Text Effect
Create a Shiny Earth with Photoshop 3D Layers
Realistic denim texture
Realistic View Tears On Face
Create Eroded Metal Textwith Photoshop
Applying Design Engineering Skills in Photoshop
Magic lighting effect in Photoshop
A Photo Manipulator's Guide to Blending
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The Babel Tower Photo Manipulation
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How to Create a Flaming Manipulation in Photoshop
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Render a High Detail Leica M8 Camera with Photoshop
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How to Paint a Surreal Scene in Photoshop
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Army Squirrel Photo Manipulation
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How to Render a Professional Audi R8 in Photoshop
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Create this “City to Country” Photo Manipulation with Photoshop
![thumbnail[4]](http://photoshoptutorials.ws/images/stories/0db07a3c41ef_DECA/thumbnail4.jpg "thumbnail[4]")
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How to Draw a Steaming Hot Chili Pepper in Photoshop
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Create this 2010 Typographic Wallpaper in Photoshop
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How to use “Call to Action” to Make Your Website More Successful
To maximize the success of your website(s), a clearly defined "call to action" is necessary. A call to action is the art of intriguing your visitors to either click a button, fill out a form, or any other interaction between themselves and your website. Below we will take a look at 10 examples and outline Photoshop tips for increasing the effectiveness of your call to action.
How to Create a Comic Book Styled Photo Manipulation
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A Guide to Painting “The Clever Cat”
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How to Draw an Adidas Sneaker from Scratch in Photoshop
Learn how to draw this Adidas sneaker in Photoshop. You’ll learn how to create the shape with the Pen tool and use different techniques for coloring and shading.
Learn how to create a coffee shop advertisement using Photoshop and iClone4. The first part of this tutorial will show you how to create a swirling milky coffee. The second part will show you how to use iClone to put a 3D model in the coffee. You’ll finish the artwork in Photoshop where you’ll combine the 3D model and coffee together and apply the finishing touches.
How to Create an Amazing Apocalyptic Photo Manipulation in Photoshop
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How to Create a Stormy Fantasy Scene in Photoshop
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Create a Rainbow Text Wallpaper in Photoshop
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How to Draw a Photorealistic iPhone 4 in Photoshop
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12 Picture Frame Graphics
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12 Picture Framing Mat Graphics
Download these twelve picture framing mats to use as borders to your photos or artwork. These high resolution captures of real framing mats can enhance the look of your photos. Great for scrapbooking, displaying photos on the web, or as clip arts for your artwork. For the full results, use them with our Picture Frame clip arts.
Create a Floating Island Scene Similar to James Cameron’s Avatar
In this photo manipulation tutorial, you will learn how to create a realistic composition of a sunset in a world with floating islands! We will cover professional-level Photoshop tricks such as adding accurate shadows and highlights, various blending techniques such as giving the image a soft focus effect and altering luminosity and shadows of the scene, adding haziness, and much more!
32 Creative Uses of Reflections in Photography
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Surrealistic Room Photo Manipulation
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Terrifying Horror Photo Manipulation
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Design Showcase: “avantgarde”
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Watercolor Splatters Photoshop Brushes
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Ray of Light
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Polarizing Filter
Follow this newly discovered method of simulating a polarizing filter with Adobe Photoshop that's faster, easier, and more effective. Considered the most useful filter in Photography, a polarizing filter makes almost any image look better by absorbing glare to reduce or eliminate reflections and darken skies.
Circuit Board
Transform a regular photo into a high-tech artwork made up of blocks and connectors resembling a circuit board.
50 Great Photoshop Tutorials for Clever Beginners
1. Manipulating a WW2 Fighter Aircraft
2. 6 Quick ‘n Dirty Text Effects From Scratch
4. Make a Turn of the Century Vaudeville Poster
5. Miodern Art
6. Idiots Guide to Small Planets
7. 10 Step Lighting Effect
8. 3D Transform a Colorful Cube Design
9. Silhouettes and Gradients
10. Pencil It In
11. Dramatic Wrinkles
12. Craft a Vintage Fifties Letter
13. Text In Stitches
14. 3D Pixel Stretch Effects
15. How to Make Eyes Pop
16. Watercolor Effect
17. Create a Basic Vexel Image
18. Complex Repeating Patterns Part I
19. Christmas Tree
20. How to create a T-shirt from scratch tutorial
21. Retro Colors
22. Design a Glossy Download Icon
23. Wood Inlay Text
24. Add Visual texture in 3 Easy Steps
25. CD Burner
26. Smoke Type in Photoshop in 10 Easy Steps
27. Wicked Worn Vintage Poster
28. Design a Vista Styled Wallpaper
29. Vintage Photo Corners
30. Mysterious Lighting Effect Tutorial for Photoshop
31. Typography Wallpaper in Photoshop
32. The Out of Bounds Photoshop Effect
33. Faking miniature photographs with photoshop
34. Fashion Shot
35. Dramatic Text on Fire Effect in Photoshop
36. Creating Custom Patterns
37. Create the Glass Shelf Dock from Leopard OS in Photoshop
38. Really Cool Digital Make up in Photoshop in 10 min
39. Create a Wavy Blackberry Style Wallpaper Design
40. Vanity License Plate
41. Easily Create a Beautiful, Unique Website Header
42. Awesome digital bokeh effect in Photoshop
43. Orange Porsche. Fruit Skin
44. Wrinkled Photo
45. Frayed Denim Patch With Stitches
46. Enhance Graphics with Easy Depth of Field
47. Colorful Glowing Text
48. Mix Cool Retro Curves Into Your Photographs
49. Create an amazing Ad in Photoshop
50. Create an Awesome Music Poster
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