1. Follow Tutorials

PSDTUTS is obviously focused on providing excellent quality tutorials for readers. Like PSDTUTS, there are a growing number of other websites and blogs that regularly publish Photoshop tutorials. All of these sites are valuable resources for improving your skills, whether you're looking to develop specific skills or just looking to improve in general.

In order to take advantage of the tutorial sites that are available, subscribe to a few that you like the most so you don't miss out on new posts (you may also want to bookmark other tutorial sites in case you want to find them in the future). With the amount of content that is published, you'll never be able to work through each tutorial, and you're unlikely to have an interest in all of them anyway.

Try to get in the habit of picking one or two per week to attempt on your own. For most of us, learning is much easier when we're actually doing something ourselves, so working through the tutorials is essential rather than just browsing through them. If you use Google Reader you can star the tutorials that interest you the most so you'll be able to easily find them when you have some spare time.

About six months ago Collis published a list of his favorite tutorial sites, which included: Tutorial9, PS Hero, Tutzor, PhotoshopStar, Tutorial Dog, Abduzeedo, PhotoshopGUIDesign, Worth1000, Digital Grin, and Photoshop Support. In addition to Collis' list, PSD Learning, PSDFAN, PhotoshopTutorials.ws, and Photoshop Essentials are also good resources.

2. Experiment

The best way to learn anything new is to experience it for yourself. While following tutorials can be incredibly helpful, you should also take some time to just experiment on your own to see what you can create. You can try to apply things you have learned from tutorials, or just experiment with things you're not familiar with. Photoshop has so many different functions, features and settings that you'll really need to become familiar with them in order to understand their potential.

Free form experimentation can open up your creativity and help you to get more comfortable with Photoshop. In order to ever be able to put the lessons you learn from others into practice in real world scenarios, you'll need to be able to do some experimentation and adaptation. There may be some tutorials that teach you exactly what you need to do, but more likely they'll teach you a skill or technique that can be used on your own projects, but you'll need to adjust it to fit with your particular needs.

When working with experimentation, find something that works best for you in terms of learning new things. I like to work with large images by experimenting with wallpaper design because the large canvas size opens up all kinds of opportunities and you can take it in just about any direction that you want.

3. Start with the Fundamentals

There's so much to learn with Photoshop and so many possibilities that it is essential to get a firm grasp of the basics and fundamentals before attempting to move too far along. Like anything else, the foundation of your Photoshop knowledge is critical to the end result. If you're new, rather than trying to follow along with advanced tutorials, take some time to get familiar with the basics before anything else.

Elite by Design published an excellent three-part series a few months ago on How to Master Photoshop in Just One Week. Part one of that series starts with some tutorials on all of the basics of Photoshop, including the interface, the tools, shortcuts and more. Having a solid working knowledge of these items will make it much easier when you want to work on something more complex later. Part two of the series covers such topics as typography, web components and photo manipulation. Part three covers more advanced tutorials.

On the subject of fundamentals, PSDTUTS has some resources including: A Comprehensive Introduction to Photoshop Selection Techniques, Tools & Tips: Photoshop Actions, Tools & Tips, Smart Objects and Smart Filters, Tools & Tips, Photoshop Brushes, and 30+ Useful Resources for Improving Your Photoshop Efficiency.

4. Participate in Groups and Get Feedback

After you've learned by following tutorials and you've done some experimentation on your own, it can be helpful to get feedback and constructive criticism from other designers. There are groups of graphic designers all over the place that can be excellent sources of feedback. PSDTUTS has its own Flickr group for this purpose and a number of other design blogs have their own groups as well. Additionally, there are hundreds of Flickr groups for designers that are not associated with a specific blog or website.

The PSDTUTS Flickr group is very active with over 11,000 items and 4,000 members. Groups like this are great places to share your work with other designers who are also interested in improving their own skills. You can get involved by providing feedback to others on their work, and you'll likely get more of a response on your own work. If you're interested in a place where you can comfortably share your experimental work to continue the learning process, try some Flickr groups.

Other Flickr groups worth checking out include Abduzeedo, Go Media, Fuel Your Creativity, My Ink Blog, and Design Shard.

5. Blog about Photoshop or Design

If you're attempting to improve your abilities with Photoshop, blogging on the subject will help you to stay active in your pursuits and it will force you to keep learning. Working on the content for your blog will be an excellent educational experience. Not all blogs are run by experts on the subject, in fact most probably are not. Many blog readers enjoy following a blogger who is truly developing along the way, and many of your readers will be going through similar situations in their own learning.

Once your skills have developed to a certain point you may also want to look into the opportunities available to write for other design blogs. Many of the larger blogs pay writers for their work, and blogs of all sizes are open to free guest posts in exchange for a link back to your own blog. While writing for your own blog will allow you the freedom to work on developing any skills that you like, writing for others will push you in other ways. In most cases, if you're being paid for your posts, it is going to have to be quality work in order to get published. This means that you'll need to keep stretching yourself and learning new things in order to develop the content. It can be difficult to write for other blogs, but it's a tremendous growth opportunity if you're willing to put in the work.

PSDTUTS accepts unsolicited article/tutorial submissions, and a number of other sites are also actively looking for writers. Other websites and blogs that are looking for graphic design content include GoMediaZine, CreativePro, and SitePoint.

6. Subscribe to Online Galleries

Online galleries that display exceptional work by various artists are an excellent source of design inspiration. This inspiration will come in handy when you're looking to experiment on your own and create impressive results. Galleries are great because you can quickly browse through a large amount of items, plus you can subscribe to get constant updates and you'll never lack inspiration.

There are galleries for all different kinds of purposes. If your work in Photoshop is primarily related to web design, you may want to subscribe to a few web design or CSS galleries. Some of the top web design galleries include Best Web Gallery, CSS Mania, CSS Drive, and CSS Elite. If you're focused on other types of design you may want to look for galleries that specialize in that particular aspect. Some good examples are Design Flavr, UCreative, FAVEUP, Logo Pond and Design Snips.

In addition to online galleries, social networking sites that allow members to post a portfolio can also be outstanding sources of inspiration. They can be a resource for posting your own work in addition to viewing the work of others. Top sites in this category include Behance, Carbonmade, and deviantART.

7. Find an Expert to Follow

Regardless of what field you're in, following and learning from an expert can be incredibly beneficial, and graphic design is no different. If you hope to become a standout designer, why not find someone that you admire and pay close attention to their career and their work? Fortunately, being in a field that is often closely related to technology, it's easy to find experts online and get exposure to their work, read their blog, and read interviews with them.

PSDTUTS frequently publishes informative interviews with accomplished designers. These interviews provide insight into their lives and their careers that may help you some way in your own work. If you already have someone in particular that you admire, subscribe to their blog if they have one, find them on social networking sites, keep and eye on their portfolio, and just generally keep tabs on their career.

If you don't have anyone in mind at this point, pay attention to work that you like in Flickr groups that you visit, see what stands out to you at design galleries, or find a particular tutorial writer that has a style which you appreciate. In some cases you may be able to get in touch with this person through their site or through profiles on networking sites, or you may choose to just quietly watch and learn from a distance.

8. Read Design Magazines

One of the downfalls of being in a field that has so many resources available online is that it's easy to forget about all of the great offline resources at your disposal. While browsing through designer portfolios and subscribing to online galleries are great sources of inspiration, you may be missing out by not reading any traditional print magazines.

In addition to the inspirational aspect, articles in design magazines will often be a little bit different than the type of content you'll typically find on blogs. If you want a well-rounded educational experience, find a few design magazines and see what appeals to you. Of course, each magazine will have a slightly different focus or approach, so look around a little bit to find a good match for your interests.

Just a few months ago You the Designer published a list 10 Amazing Graphic Design Magazines over a two-part series (see parts one and two) of magazines that are worth a look.

9. Try to Replicate the Work of Others

One proven way to learn is to attempt to replicate the work of other designers. I'm not suggesting that you rip off other designers by selling this work or taking credit for it as your own (which unfortunately is all too common, especially online). What I am suggesting is that in your own experimental work that is meant just for learning purposes, take an exemplary piece from another designer and do your best to duplicate it. If it's just used for your own educational purposes and not sold or re-distributed it is perfectly acceptable. Also, unless you change and personalize this design dramatically, do avoid placing it in your portfolio.

In my own effort to learn web design I used to start with a finished product from another designer and attempt to achieve the same layout or some other aspect of the design. This was a valuable learning experience that helped to see how I could accomplish things that worked in real world scenarios. The same thing can be done regardless of what kind of design you're working on. For example, find a few album cover designs that you like and attempt to re-create them.

By doing this you're working towards the goal of creating a design that already has proven to be successful as a finished product. In addition to hopefully learning some new techniques in Photoshop, you'll also pick up some general principles of good design that can be carried over to any work that you do.

10. Participate in Design Competitions

Once you've become pretty comfortable with your own progress in learning Photoshop, you may want to challenge yourself and have some fun at the same time by entering a design competition. In most cases there will be some potential prizes and you'll be motivated to push yourself towards your true potential. Plus, you'll often be able to see the work of other designers in the competition, which can provide you with some inspiration, and can give you a way to gauge your own skills and progress.

While the goal of entering a contest may be to win something, you'll still benefit just by participating. It will give you the opportunity to create something specific for the purpose of being judged by others. In some cases you may receive some valuable feedback and you may get to see where you stand in comparison with some other designers.

PSDTUTS has run several contests in the past, including the solving poverty button design contest, the AudioJungle wallpaper contest, and the Flickr group contest. Other blogs such as You the Designer have had design contests as well.

In this tutorial, we will create this effect using very basic Photoshop tools and layering effects. This tutorial is simple enough for a beginner to understand, but I should warn you that in this tutorial there ends up being over 60 active text layers, which will require a heavy use of your computer's memory. Let's jump into this tutorial and layer some glowing text.

Step 1

Make a new document that is 2000px by 1200px. Then make a new Gradient Adjustment Layer with a linear gradient that goes from a dark gray (#464646) at the bottom to black (#000000) at the top. This will be our background base.

Step 2

Make another linear Gradient Adjustment Layer above the previous one, and make it a rainbow of colors of your choice. There are some colorful presets that you can choose from in the gradient palette, or create your own. Set the layer's Fill down to 25%. Then set the layer's blending mode to Color.

Tip: When you set the blending mode to color it makes it so the layer only affects the color of everything below it, while leaving the lightness/darkness alone.

Step 3

Finally make another Gradient Adjustment Layer above the previous two. This one will be a radial gradient. Set this one up so that the only 2 colors in the gradient are black and then make the transparency go from 100% at one end and 0% at the other end.

If you see that black is covering the center of the image, check the Reverse box. Then make it so the black goes around the edges of the canvas. Set the layer opacity to 65%. I moved the transparency handles around a little to get the exact effect that I wanted.

Step 4

Now lets begin with the text treatment. Hit (T) for the type tool, and make a (single click) on the canvas. Then type your letter, in my case a P. Then grab the Move tool and (Hit CTRL+T) and transform the letter, adjust it until it's the size that you want it. Hit (T) again for the type tool, and if it's not already, make the letter black by clicking the text color box in the property bar. Set the letter layer's blending mode to Screen. The letter will disappear.

Step 5

(Double click) to the right of the letter layer's name in the layer palette to bring up the layer styles palette. Put an Outer Glow and a Stroke on the layer with the exact settings that you see below. You will see a very faint image of the letter now.

Let's use this first letter as a starting point for all the text in the image. Once we layer several different letters on top of each other, our effect will come to life.

Step 6

Duplicate the letter layer by dragging it down to the New Layer button at the bottom of the layer palette. Select the type tool (T) and then change the font on the new layer. If the new font doesn't line up how you want to hit (CTRL+T) to free transform the new letter. Make sure that you always line up the baseline of the letters. You can move the anchor point to the base line when you are transforming to keep it lined up correctly.

Now do this step 20 times, each time using a different font. I chose to use all different fonts that have serifs. You can use all fonts that are sans-serif if you like, but I wouldn't mix the two.

Step 7

Select all the text layers that you have. Then hit (CTRL+G) to group them. With the group selected in the layer palette, hit (V) for the move tool. Then (while holding ALT), click and drag on the letters on the canvas to duplicate them. Drag them to the right where you want the next letter to be. Now there should be 2 groups of text in the layer palette. Turn off all the letter layers in the new group (except the bottom one) by clicking in the little 'eye' icon next to each one.

Now select the text tool (T), and highlight the single letter. Then change it to the next letter that you want, in my case an S. Finally, turn the S layer off. Then turn on the next one and do the same. Repeat this until all the letters in your new group are changed. Turn all the layers back on.

Repeat this step for each new letter you need.

Step 8

Select the elliptical marquee tool and make a very thin ellipse at the base of your letters. Then Feather the selection about 20px. Enter quickmask mode (Q). Then go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Make the angle 0 and the length 700px and hit OK. This gives us a nice fade out to the left and right sides. Then exit quickmask mode (Q).

Now make a curves adjustment layer above the gradients, but below the letter groups. Then apply a curve that looks like the one below. This just gives our letters something to sit on.

Step 9

Make a new document that is 300px by 300px. Double click on the background layer to make it an active layer. (Double click) to the right of the layer name to open the layer styles palette. Apply a color overlay to make the layer black. Then add an inner stroke that is white to make a border. You can see my settings below.

Go to Layer>Flatten Image to flatten the image. Hit CTRL+A to select all and then go Edit>Define Pattern.

Step 10

Go back to your other document. Make a new blank layer just above your curves layer by hitting the New Layer button at the bottom of the layer palette. Not go to Edit>Fill and select Pattern for the Contents. Then select your black box that should be at the end of the list, and hit OK.

Now Hit (CTRL+T) to transform the layer so that it fits in the foreground space. Then (right/control+click) anywhere in the transform box and select perspective. Drag the bottom right handle way out so you get a nice perspective on the pattern layer. Set the layer's blending mode to screen and the opacity to 15%.

Step 11

There is one last step to add a finishing touch. Select the type layers and duplicate them by dragging them down to the New Layer button. With the new groups selected hit (CMD+T) then (right/control+click) in the transform box and select Flip Vertical. Move them down so they look like a reflection.

With all the reflection groups selected hit (CTRL+G) to put them into another group. Set that group's opacity to 25%. Add a mask to the group by clicking on the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the layer palette. With the mask selected hit (G) for the gradient tool and apply a linear gradient from black to white, so the reflection fades out as it goes down to the edge of the image.

Conclusion

This tutorial covered some simple steps and effects to achieve stylish results. The final image is below. If there are any questions, put them in the comments section. I will answer them as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy this tut!

Sourse: www.psdtuts.com

Reading this Photoshop tutorial you will learn how to create a sphere using Photoshop effects.

1. Create a new document (Ctrl+N) with a white background. Create new layer (Layer/New/Layer). Make a circle selection.

2. Using Paint Bucket Tool fill it with color #001122. Name this layer "gradient".

3. Go to Filter/Render/Lightning effects/Flashlight.

4. Deselect (Ctrl+D).

5. Using Dodge and Blur Tool make a glow inside our sphere. You can use also Image/Adjustments/Brightness and contrast.

6. Draw an ellipse.

7. Add Vector mask . And fill it with black and white gradient in Linear gradient mode .

8. Using ellipse tool draw a circle and cut it with elliptical selection. Add Vector mask. Fill your line with Radial gradient tool.

9. Dublicate the line. Go to Edit/Transform/Rotate (Ctrl+T) and rotate it.

10. You can add some elements and it's done.

Light of future effect using Photoshop filters.

Step 1.

Create a new 300x300 px document with the transparent background. Create a new layer ("Layer 1") and fill it by the black color. Apply Filter > Render > Lens Flare and use the settings like shown in the pic.1.(Place the dagger in the center).

Then apply Filter > Render > Lens Flare again and choose Lens Type : 50-300mm Zoom, Brightness : 120%, and move the dagger in the lower right corner. Repeat this operation but make the brightness bigger and move the dagger in the upper right corner. You can also add flashes in the left corners.

Step 2.

Now apply Filter > Distort > Wave and use the settings like shown in the pic.2.

Create a new layer ("Layer 2") and fill it by the black color (Apply Edit > Fill ). Apply Filter > Render > Lens Flare and use the settings like shown in the pic.3.(Place the dagger in the center).

Now apply Filter > Distort > Pinch with the following settings: Amount ->-100%. And then press Ctrl+F (to repeat the operation). Set the Blending Mode for the layer as " Hard Light ".

Step 3.

Create a new layer ("Layer 3") and fill it by the black color. Then make " Lens Flare " procedure like shown in the pic.4.

Now draw two thick (15 pix) lines and apply Lens Flare filter (Place the dagger in the center) like shown in the pic.5.

Apply Filter > Brush Strokes > Accented Edges with the following settings: Edge Width->6; Edge Brightness->38; Smoothness->5 . Apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur ( Radius ->2 pixels) and then apply Filter > Sketch > Chrome with the following settings: Detail->10; Smooth->0 . Now apply Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation with the following settings: Colorize->ON; Hue->0; Saturation->70; Lightness->-26 . Set the Blending Mode for the layer as "Soft Light".

Step 4.

Duplicate "Layer1 " and drag it on the top of the layers. Apply Filter > Distort > Spherize with the following setting: Amount->-100 . Press Ctrl+F two times. Then apply Image > Adjustments > Levels and use the settings like shown in the pic.6.

Press Ctrl+M and use the settings like shown in the pic.7.

Step 5.

Now duplicate "Layer 1 copy 1" two times and transform each layer on 90 (apply Edit > Transform ). Set the Blending Mode for the " Layer 1 copy 1 " as " Exclusion ", for the " Layer 1 copy 2 " as " Soft Light ", for "Layer 1 copy 3" as "Screen". And that's it.

Source: www.psd-tutorials.com

Welcome back to another one of my blog posts. In this tutorial i show you how to make the hyped up, multi coloured overlay effect.

Ok so you open a brand new image, yep brand new, spanking new in fact, and make the dimensions whatever tickles your pickle… in other words any you like. You then make the background colour black.

We now make a new layer, which will be called “layer 1″ and choose a good sized brush in my example 300 diameter is good, and always use 0% hardness.

You then start colouring in the layer 1, and as many colours as you like, but don’t be dull use bright exciting colours.

We now change the blend mode of layer 1 to overlay. The layer should turn black, well we think its black, but wait for later on.

We now click on the background layer which is the black one, and press new layer. We will have a new layer between the background layer and layer 1.

Now choose a brush you like, change the colour to white, NOTE !!! COLOUR HAS TO BE WHITE OTHERWISE IT WONT WORK, and then you just start brushing away on layer 2. You will get something like what i have but of course yours will be different as we’re using different brushes. If you need good brushes go to : http://www.brusheezy.com/

Source: www.cimg.co.uk

In one of my Google surfing days I came across this beautiful design and i fell in love with the 'simple yet beautiful' concept suddenly. I am a novice in Photoshop and the question in my mind was “can i ever make such a design using Photoshop?”. This tutorial is my attempt to recreate the design using Photoshop.

Preview of Final Results

Avian Studios Logo Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1 – Create a new document

Let us start our tutorial with a new document. Set the width to 540 pixels and height to 340 pixels. Change the name to 'avain studios'. Click on OK to create a new file.

Double click on the 'background layer' to Unlock it.

Step 2 – Create the background

In every design a good background strengthens the foreground elements to a great extent. But always keep the background simple and clean. Ok now let us create a simple background. Select the Paint bucket tool from the tool-box . You can also use the keyboard shortcut 'g'.

Then Click on the Set Foreground Colour.

Which will open the Colour-Picker window. In that window set the 'RGB' values as R-215,G-204,B-179. Then Click on Ok and apply the tool.