I have a very barebones ability to use Photoshop that I’d like to improve upon (for a work project that truthfully doesn’t expect much, but for which I’d like to do better). The graphics I need to generate (which will ultimately involve manipulating photos + vector images) will probably be used in some form on web pages as well as in printed material.
I wandered around my neighborhood Borders yesterday and just couldn’t decide which of the numerous books would potentially be of best use for me, and which also wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg since graphics is not my main thing.
I currently have Photoshop CS2, running under Max OS X Tiger; an upgrade to Leopard will probably happen soon. Upgrading to CS3 is also possible (there’s an extra site license available at work if I want it).
Any suggestions on books and whether CS3 is a substantial enough improvement to go for (also, re performance under Leopard) are welcome.
My favorite Photoshop book is How to Use Adobe Photoshop 7 by Daniel Giordan. “7,” you say? “But that’s so old!” The majority of book applies to all versions of PS. I have 6, 7, CS2, and CS3 Extended and the book has been very useful in all of them. Obviously it doesn’t explain how to use some of the advanced features in CS2 or CS3 but most of it’s there. It’s a really well-laid-out and clearly explained manual.
I didn’t use CS2 for long before I got CS3 Extended, so I’m not sure how much more there is in the latter. There’s obviously a lot more in CS3E than in 7. I’d buy whichever of CS2/CS3/CS3E is the easiest and cheapest to get. If you can get it for free, sure why not. You can keep CS2 on your computer at the same time*, no conflicts, so you can always pop back to CS2 if you can’t figure out something in 3 that you know how to do in 2.
*On Windows, anyway; not sure how a Mac would behave.
Dude what ever you choose to get , borrow the books from the Library first. Nothing worse than buying an expensive reference/instructional manual and finding it to be a waste of money after. If its good to go , after having it for a few weeks ,then buy the personal copy at borders.
The things I suggest first is learning the hot keys. Every time you learn a new skill learn the hot key as well this will save you so much time. And you an work in full screen most of the time. It is a great habit to start with. You can also assign them as well if one is not already preset.
Back to books.
Use internet tutorials.
It does not matter what they are teaching. Learn to make a bubble letters or flaming text. Or convert to black and white even if you never think you will use it. Whatever just start doing them. The great thing about PS is the multiple uses of each tool. It is so much easier to learn PS with application. Before you know it you will be able to do better than many tutorials and you will intuitively know what tools to use. Keep at the tutorials though because you can always learn more stuff or new ways of doing things.
Get those hot keys down.
missbunny - You know, I saw a couple books for old versions of Photoshop on the shelf; I wonder if the one you mention was one of them. Interesting that a book for such an old version should still be good, but then again, I’m not ready to plunge into advanced work, anyway. I should have another look.
Declan - It’s a good idea, but I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I set foot in a public library - I seriously don’t even know where the closest one is! Plus, if they operated like Netflix I’d be fine, but chances are good that I’d be racking up some serious overdues. I’m not very good about remembering to return things timely. :o
I echo fifty-six. If you just want to know the basics and don’t want to spend much, online tutorials are your best bet. That way you could also search for specific tutorials that apply to your project, instead of buying a book that may or may not cover what you’re looking for. There are zillions of tutorials out there for photo manipulations and touch-ups. It doesn’t matter what version of Photoshop you’re using, most of the basic features remain the same, so you can use a tutorial for almost any version.
Also, I don’t know if you have the entire Adobe Creative Suite available to you, but Adobe Illustrator is specifically designed for working with vector images. If that’s a large part of what you’re doing, that program would give you a whole lot more flexibility to create the images yourself.
Not knowing specifically what your project involves, I can’t tell you much more than that.
fifty-six and amerlioration, thanks, I have seen some online tutorials. I have found some that look good, but a lot of them are lists of things to do without explaining why you’d use a certain tool… I find that a little frustrating.
I do have the whole Creative Suite and am pretty used to Illustrator. The project involves making a series of banners and such that would be carried into printed brochures. My boss has certain photo and vector images he’d like used to create them, and the vector images will be no problem.
From what you described there, it sounds like you just want to make layouts using the images then? (I don’t know how much you know about Photoshop, so forgive me if I say something you already know.)
If that’s the case, then you’ll want to know how to use the Transform tool. It allows you to resize and reshape images. You’ll probably also want to use the Layers window–keeping all of your objects on separate layers so you can freely move them around. If there’s text involved, there’s a whole lot of options with the text tool and Characters window to use. Try searching for basic tutorials on how to use those functions.
Unfortunately, if you need layout advice also, that’s more of a graphic design thing, and not so easy to point to a book or tutorial for. I imagine there are plenty of both to search for though. In that case a book might be the better option, since it would (hopefully) cover a wide variety of layout styles and go into the strengths for each one.
Books can explain what different features are and how to use them, esp. in ways that you may not have realized were possible. Of course a book does no good if you don’t know the program at all or are ONLY reading the book and don’t even know what they’re referring to when they say “layers” or “curves” or “palette.” Although still, you could sit down with a new program and a book and learn it. I’ve learned many programs that way.
I’ve been using PS for 12 years–I’d say I’m a very advanced user–and there are still things I’ve learned from books and tutorials!