Photoshop Tutorial
Learning the Basics
By Chelsea Stulen
So, you want to learn
Photoshop?
Many people have come to me,
claiming that they want to learn Photoshop. Some say that they just don’t know
where to start, while others say it’s like a foreign language and are “afraid”
of it.
I’ve been Adobe certified for
several years, so I guess it would be appropriate for me to make some tutorials
for you all.
Now, onto the learning!
If
you want to learn Photoshop, I recommend first memorizing the tools:
Once you have this all down,
it's smooth sailing. Essentially, learning all of the tools gives you the
fundamentals to do the essential basics in Photoshop. Also, in order to get the
drop down menu for other tools in the same category, you must hold click. Any
icon that has a small black triangle in the corner means that there is a drop
down menu available.
To use a specific tool, either
click the tool you wish to use, or type the shortcut command for it on your
keyboard.
I highly recommend memorizing the shortcuts for each tool. It is much faster to press a quick
button instead of having to use the mouse and click the icon. I know this may
sound strange, but some users tend to use drawing tablets while working in
Photoshop. Even in Photoshop classes, it is common to have tool quizzes given
by the teacher. It definitely expedites the process by using shortcuts.
Also, whichever tool you used last in a specific category is what would appear when you
use a shortcut. For example, despite the Gradient Tool being the default tool
for its category, if you used the Paint Bucket Tool last and use the keyboard
shortcut “G,” the Paint Bucket Tool is what would pop up. To use the next tool
in the category, press Shift on your keyboard and then its given letter. Like for
this previous example to use the Gradient Tool again, press Shift G.
The following is a list of
shortcuts for the tools:
- · Move Tool: V
- · Rectangular Marquee Tool; Elliptical Marquee Tool: M
- · Lasso Tool; Polygonal Lasso Tool; Magnetic Lasso Tool: L
- · Magic Wand Tool; Quick Selection Tool: W
- · Crop Tool: C
- · Slice Tool; Slice Select Tool: K
- · Spot Healing Brush Tool; Healing Brush Tool; Patch Tool; Red Eye Tool: J
- · Brush Tool; Pencil Tool; Color Replacement Tool: B
- · Clone Stamp Tool; Pattern Stamp Tool: S
- · History Brush Tool; Art History Brush Tool: Y
- · Eraser Tool; Background Eraser Tool; Magic Eraser Tool: E
- · Gradient Tool; Paint Bucket Tool: G
- · Blur Tool; Sharpen Tool; Smudge Tool: R
- · Dodge Tool; Burn Tool; Sponge Tool: O
- · Pen Tool; Freeform Pen Tool: P
- · Horizontal Type Tool; Vertical Type Tool; Horizontal Type Mask Tool; Vertical Type Mask Tool: T
- · Path Selection Tool; Direct Selection Tool: A
- · Rectangle Tool; Rounded Rectangle Tool; Ellipse Tool; Polygon Tool; Line Tool; Custom Shape Tool: U
- · Notes Tool; Audio Annotation Tool: N
- · Eyedropper Tool; Color Sampler Tool; Measure Tool; Count Tool: I
- · Hand Tool: H; Spacebar
- · Zoom In: Control + (Macintosh OS: Command +)
- · Zoom Out: Control – (Macintosh OS: Command -)
- · Zoom Tool: Z
- · Switch Foreground and Background Colors: X
- · Edit in Quick Mask Mode: Q
- · Change Screen Mode: F
- · Select All: Control A (Macintosh OS: Command A)
- · Deselect: Control D (Macintosh OS: Command D)
- · Also use brackets to shrink or enlarge brush and eraser sizes [ ]
- · New Document: Control N (Macintosh OS: Command N)
- · Open Document: Control O (Macintosh OS: Command O)
- · Save: Control S (Macintosh OS: Command S)
- · Print: Control P (Macintosh OS: Command P)
- · Undo: Control Z (Macintosh OS: Command Z)
