Help with Photoshop?

[Xazor Elessar]

Heya everyone! I just got Photoshop 6.0 and I need to learn how to use it.....I know, this sounds stupid, but some help would be much appreciated. I had someone who was going to teach me, but he hasn't been on recently.....anyone want to give me a run through?? :)

[Sejah Haversh]

I cna give you a hand with most stuff, I've finally become proficcient with 6.0, so ask away, and I'll see if I can help.

But, if you want a little more help, there is one book I highly reccoment, and it is called <u>Inside Photoshop 6.0 Limited Edition</u>. It's over a thousand pages, and also comes with a few plug-ins for filters and stuff. But it runs about $65 in the USA.

Just ask what you'd liek to know, and I'll see if I can help.

[Xazor Elessar]

Well......tell me everything you know! :lol How do I get started?? I put an image on it and played with something that made it look dusty! :lol :lol :lol I have no idea what I am doing!!!

[ChildOfTheForce]

I have photoshop 5.5, i dont know if 6.0 is any different in set up, but i may be able to help, i just need to know what you want to do.

[Xazor Elessar]

I want to learn how to use it....I know, that is very vague. :lol But, I want to know what to do to start out...

[Marcus Telcontar]

I'm getting to be a reasonable hand with Photoshop 6.0 and it's taken me months! Definantly not a caual program to just pick up and learn.

The best way I found so far is to do the following...

1) (wipes sneeze of keyboard) Do something simple first. Play around with text.

2) Learn Layers - more precisely Blending options.

3) Pick random filters and see what they do. render filers are cool to try out

4) Get a book. I use Photoshop 6.0 Bible, which was a bit hard to understand but now I've got my round graphics, it rules. And it's got some humour in it, which makes it a good read.

5) Find online resources. My favored starting place is http://www.photoshopcafe.com/ which has online tutorials. There are some easy and not so easy tutorials. Some are a lot of fun.

6) Do something to please yourself. I do graphics that I like and I know others dont. Stuff em. DONT do things to please others. If you can look at your graphic and feel good, then you did well

[Sejah Haversh]

Sadly, Photshop does so much that I really wouldn't know where to begin! What are you trying to do with it? If you give me a few instances, perhaps I can be of better help. And the page www.polykarbon.com is a good oen for a few tutorials, thoguh I'm not sure what kinds of beginning ones he has, most are slightly advanced.

Sorry, Xazor, but it's nearly impossible to describe all of Photoshop here. I mena, my book is a frikkin thousand pages thick...

If you've got AIM, i'm Sejah Haversh, on MSN I'm tevit_ramadon.

If you want live help through PS6, drop me a line,and I'll see what I can do.

[Xazor Elessar]

:lol Wow, thanks for the info guys. I guess I'll just have to play around with it and see where I go! :D I'll do those tutorials and stuffs.

Sejah-I don't know what I want to do....I haven't done much except for highlight people's faces and erase bodies!!!! :lol I really don't know what I'm doing or anything. I tried to work with the layering option, but it never did much. :lol So, I guess I will read through those tutorials and stuffs! Oh, and I don't have any messangers. :( I know, that sounds strange.....but my comp won't allow it, besides the fact that my ex-boyfriend stalks me on each one I get! :(

[Morgan Evanar]

Layers are absolutely critical. Most of my sigs have anywhere from 5 layers, to 30 at some point, but usually end up around 10.

If you want, and you're on broadband, I can send you some of my .psd's so you get an idea of how to do what. I'm using Photoshop 7.

[Sage Hazzard]

I use Paint Shop. It's easier to understand, and cheap.

Best advice for any program, just play around. A rat can figure out a maze after several tries. When he finally gets the cheese he remembers that path. When he gets and electric shock, he knows that's the wrong way. Just fiddle around. If it looks bad, then you know that's not the right way. Trail and error. Soon enough, you'll have tricks memorized where you know EXACTLY what to do, to get a desired effect.

I cannot stress how important layers are. I use multiple layers. If I have one line of text I'll first save the selection. Then I'll make a new layer and put that selection in. Then I'll fill it and bevel it or something. Then, a new layer for color. That way I can easily change the color and it's shading, without losing the original color. Then I create a new layer for a text outline. I load the selection, expand it by one pixel and fill with black. Then load the selection again and press delete. That way I get a one pixel black outline for my text. Then I'll create a layer beneath all the other text layers and load the selection again. Fill the selection with a new color and gaussion blur it or use just use "Eye Candy"'s Gradient Glow. Then I'll probably duplicate the layer so the glow's brighter. Then, I'm done with the text but have a lot of other stuff to do. So you see, layers are VERY helpful.

BTW, to see what all that works get you, look at this board:

http://pub95.ezboard.com/bgallidorn

See the banner. The text was done with this bethod. Except for the beveling I used Flaming Pear's Super Blade Pro. I did all the graphics on that board actually, plus the HTML jazz. :)

[Xazor Elessar]

WOW! Thankies guys! :) All that info is really helpful, so I'll play around and look for you, Morg, if I can't do anything. :lol Thankies bunches!!

[Morgan Evanar]

Fortunately, you can do a lot of things to text in photoshop without creating a new layer =]

[Sejah Haversh]

Actually, Morgan, every time you add text in a new area, it automatically makes a new layer for it...

Unless you were talkign about the layer effects tools, in which case you're absolutely right.

[Shawn]

Sejah: Love the new sig. Absolutely badass. :)

Xazor: IMHO, Photoshop 5.5 is much better than 6.0; I haven't had the chance to try 7.0 yet.

[Verse Dawnstrider]

Sejah, where did you get the pick for your char? The charachter you are using is , like shawn said, badass

[Marcus Telcontar]

Verse : Sejah drew it himself. F'ing badass it is

I personally found the change to PS 6 bewildering at first, but now I would not step back, there's just those small touches that make PS 6 a better program and now I have the performance tuning right, it's noticably quicker too

[Ryla Relvinian]

I just got Photoshop 7 and DAMN is it tasty and delicious. You can do custom brushes, honest-to-gosh seamless tiling patterns and loads of fun stuff.

Xaz, the best advice I can offer you is to play around. A lot. Find a picture of a person and give them 23 eyes or something... Just experiment and have fun. Actually, I got started on image editing after my mom and I took a class at the local community college for Photoshop 5... have been hooked ever since.

[Verse Dawnstrider]

He drew it? Now it is omega badass.

[Xazor Elessar]

:lol You didn't know that he has to draw all of those?? :lol

Thanks for all the info and help guys...hopefully I will be able to play with it yet today... :D

[Helenias Evenstar]

Sejah... DREW his signature graphic?

How do you geeks put it... pwnd? I like to draw but that is way over my ability. I have to say no one has ever had a signature praphic better.