A lot of people here seem to be very good with Photoshop. I have a few questions:

1. Where did you get it?
2. How much did you pay?
3. What's the best way to learn?

Thanks!

 

If you need to ask, it is WAY too expensive.

Start with JASC Paintshop Pro. You can get it cheap. I used Macromedia Fireworks MX to do my sig.

I suggest starting with the tutorials included and some free ones on the web. Then maybe find a book with great reviews from Amazon.

They all do very similar things, you just need to learn the interface diffs between the products.

 

It is very expensive, unless you have a source to "borrow" it from. Not that I condone that sort of thing.

You might want to try Photoshop Elements...basically it's Photoshop Lite, with many of the same tools and functionality. You'd be surprised how much of the full Photoshop is in there. Probably a good place for a beginner to get started. And it only costs $99. (Full blown Photoshop is like $600 new).

For training, I'm not sure if the software comes with tutorials or not. If you buy the software new, I would bet it does. These are usually great for getting to know the programs capabilities and practicing all the tools.

 

Photoshop is expensive but try ebay and DO NOT buy the Acedemic version, that is very cheap but very illegal to own. more illegal than pirated software. Documentation is needed to buy it as well.

I found a foriegn company that sold it for 200 bux and it is 100% legal. But they went out of bussiness. I found them through ebay.

Or you could get a pirated version and buy an upgrade and it will cost you less. and never register it or you will be nailed.

To learn it just takes time. tutorials are good to learn your way around like with layers, tools and tool options. Practice practice practice is what you need to actually know what it all does.

As stated above i have 9 years with this program and could walk you through anything in photoshop without even looking at it on screen. But it took me 5 years to get to that point. Also they keep upgrading the damn thing and i haven't dealt in 7 yet. But most changes are it is expanding from just print to the web. At the rate there going adobe image ready (equvilent to fireworks but come free with PS) will no longer need to exist.

So just find a copy and start playing around.

 

a buddy burned me a copy but,

If u go to your public library and get two books
1) Adobe Image Ready 7.0
2) Adobe PhotoShop 7.0

One of them has a CD which you can burn/install into your computer.

I never used the CD since i have the real deal, but the books and CD are great study guides and CD functions as hands on experience.

That is the only way to perfect your skills in PhotoShop
The CD is a 7.0 version only i am not sure if its a shareware and designed only for exercises in the books.

Go there quick, books like these get checked out all the time for a long time so at least reserve the copies...

 

Thanks everyone!!!