Adobe Photoshop is one of the most widely used software packages in the world. It’s hard to imagine the world without Photoshop, and its remarkable image editing tools have been used in everything from Hollywood blockbusters to Internet memes.
As powerful as Photoshop is, it can be a little intimidating. Adobe has done a great job of making the software more accessible to newcomers, but it’s still a complex program. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer or digital marketing expert to learn how to use Photoshop.
To learn Photoshop, use these six free resources to begin your journey to Photoshop mastery, brush up on the fundamentals – pun most definitely intended – and even learn advanced image manipulation techniques for free (or very cheaply). These free/cheap Photoshop tutorials include:
- Adobe
- Tuts+
- Photoshop Cafe
- Lynda
- Digital Tutors
- Udemy
Here’s a little more information on each Photoshop resource.
1. Adobe’s Learning Resources and Tutorials
Nobody knows Photoshop better than Adobe, so your first port of call should be the excellent learning resources on the Adobe site.
Adobe splits its tutorials into varying categories based on skill level. Complete beginners should begin with the overview of what Photoshop can do, before moving onto the intermediate techniques section. Here, you’ll find short video tutorials on how to use a range of Photoshop’s most commonly used features, such as masking, color correction, cropping, vector and shape tools, and working with layers and levels.
Once you’ve gotten a taste of Photoshop’s broad tool set, you can move into project-based tutorials, whic
2. Tuts+
Next on our list of places you can learn how to use Photoshop for free is the Tuts+ network of learning sites.
lthough the Tuts+ network does offer premium content for a price, its selection of free tutorials is extensive. Rather than focusing on lengthier, project-based tutorials, Tuts+ tends to offer shorter, bite-sized lessons on specific techniques.
In addition to its content on topics such as brushes, color correction, and typography, Tuts+ also offers several tutorials on the fundamentals of digital imaging, such as image file types and compression – very useful information for the Photoshop novice.
3. Photoshop Cafe
Photoshop Cafe is another excellent resource of free tutorials. Although they push their product range pretty hard throughout the site, there are still plenty of freebies you can take advantage of.
Although some of the tutorials on Photoshop Café are similar to those offered by other sites, the language used is simple enough for beginners to dive right in. Photoshop Café also offers visual guides to potentially complex topics such as alpha channels and automating common tasks using actions.
Leave a Reply