Someone gifted me with Photoshop 7.0. How scared should I be?

[lildreamer316]

I've never touched the program until now. I played around with PSP about two years ago ( a trial verson, of course). I have absofuckinloutely no experience in graphics. Everything I know about computers and etc. I learned on my own, around the web.
I'm a bit intimidated, but I really want to learn to use this. Advice?

[InternalDialogue]

1. Demonstration videos

There's no substitute for hands-on experience, but in lieu of an on-site tutor, check out some demonstration videos. There are a lot on YouTube, plus there are plenty of great Adobe user forums that also have tips and tricks. The thing I love about Photoshop is that it's so intuitive. If you want to learn it, you will. Play around, have fun, practice a lot.

[velvet]

2. As you said yourself

"Everything I know about computers and etc. I learned on my own, around the web." Me too, and I did the same with Photoshop. What you learned in PSP gives you some grounding, the basics aren't that different, just the tools are in different places and might have different names - and Photoshop has waaaaay more tools.

Fortunately the net is teeming with Photoshop instruction and advice. Bear in mind that Photoshop 7 is pretty old now and much of what you'll find on the net will be designed for more recent versions, CS4 and CS3. A lot of it will still be applicable to 7 and you will only be missing a few juicy tools. But to begin with, a search for "Photoshop 7 tutorials" will yield plenty of links.

You might also find this useful: http://www.tutorial9.net/school-of-photoshop/
Plus their basic tutorials : http://www.tutorial9.net/category/photoshop/photoshop-basics/

And as the poster above suggested, videos are very helpful.

[taterguy]

3. Check your library and see if they offer free classes

Mine does

[bif]

4. I took a PhotoSHop class

That's the best way to go. Fortunately, the place where i worked at the time paid for it. There are some excellent instructional books as well. I love the program.

[lunatica]

5. Photoshop makes you feel like God

So be very afraid.

[Symarip]

6. There are tons of website tutorials

Photoshop is probably the easiest to learn of all the Adobe products out there, too. It's fairly user friendly. Once you learn how to do something on a tutorial, it's fairly easy to translate that skill into something of your own.

You can have alot of fun with photoshop, even if you aren't a graphic artist. Behold:

[noamnety]

7. My best advice

Don't get sucked in by heavy-handed filter effects. You want people to react to your unique vision, not the fact that you found the "neon glow" filter.

[grace0418]

21. Yes, and the default drop shadow effect is too heavy. I think it's at 75% when 35%

is all you need.

[begin_within]

8. Just play around with it and experiment

Try all the tools, all the commands, all the filters and effects. Remember that a command, filter, tool or effect is only going to operate on the portion of the image that is selected (the area with the "marching ants" surrounding it). Sometimes you try to give a command or filter, or use a tool, and nothing happens. That means you're trying to use the tool on an area of the image that is not selected or the command, filter or effect doesn't have any effect on the pixels that are currently selected. If there is no area selected, the command or filter is applied to the entire image, or the tool can be used anywhere.

[carlyhippy]

9. just play around with it, you will be amazed at what you can do

there are also alot of tutorials out there on the web that help with tips and tricks with photoshop, believe me, you will be hooked once you start messing with it ha

[MilesColtrane]

10. It's fun.

[lildreamer316]

11. OMG

that's awesome. Thanks..

[Inchworm]

14. Bwahaha!

Was that you playing with me around here one night?!?

I woke up the next day with 6-7 Palinhead images in photobucket

:rofl:



:rofl:

[lildreamer316]

12. Thanks everyone! I'm off to listen to tuts all over...

and try to get a grasp..I need to design a club St Patty's Day flyer by the end of the night. LOL!

[Inchworm]

13. Awesome!

Want!

Have fun with it!

I'd for sure get more real stuff done quicker and omg I'd be more of a troublemaker otherwise :P

:applause:

[Forkboy]

15. I just learn what I need to learn as I go along.

And over the years I've learned enough that I'm pretty comfortable with the program now. At first it was daunting, but there's tutorials all over the web, and they help a lot. I just taught myself texture mapping a few weeks ago for a golf course design I was working on. It was fun.



The cool thing is, I still feel like I'm just scratching the surface of what the program can do. :)

[Urban Prairie]

16. Can't afford Photoshop or whatever it is called now

I bought a version of Photoshop Elements 5 years ago, but never used it much.

Now its only the free Gimp for me.

[Richardo]

17. Look at every Swamprat post you can find...

.....and do the exact opposite. :thumbsup:

[Midlodemocrat]

18. Very. You probably should send it to me.

:rofl:

[timtom]

19. Adobe "Classroom in a Book"

http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photoshop-7-0-Classroom-Book/dp/0321115627/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268679980&sr=1-1

Please note that you can buy a used copy for $6 bucks and change. Comes with a CD of practice files. Covers all the basics.

[grace0418]

20. It's been awhile since I've used that version, but Photoshop rocks. Lynda.com has

great classes online and it's $25 a MONTH! You can just pay for one month if you want, learn what you need and be done. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether they would still have classes available for such an old version of Photoshop. If they do though, go for it! Photoshop is amazing, but it does require some training.

[sakabatou]

22. It is indeed awesome