12 Photoshop Tutorial Sites You Should Have Bookmarked
12 Photoshop Tutorial Sites You Should Have Bookmarked
Because there's so much to learn from Photoshop, having a decent and dependable online resource to show you the ropes is a must. Yet with the thousands of tutorial Web sites available on the web, finding a really reliable one can seem like a daunting task. Which ones have all the information you need to help you master the basics? Which ones can keep you abreast of all the hottest trends and techniques? And which ones, more importantly, offer tutorials that are genuinely unique and expand your skills in meaningful ways, rather than just teach you frivolous eye candy?
If you're currently looking for a good resource but are feeling overwhelmed by the process of wading through scores of Web sites to find the right one, you're in luck. Below is a list of 12 of the most helpful Photoshop tutorial sites and resources on the web. Not only do they offer a wide variety of tutorials geared towards everyone from beginners to experts, a few specialize in a few areas, such as illustration and template design. So whether you want to design web templates in Photoshop, fix image flaws, create cool artwork, or just learn the basics of working in this program, these sites on this list will give you all you could ever want and need-- and more.
THE LIST
1. BIORUST- Level: Beginner
User friendly and geared towards beginning Photoshoppers, this site has a great collection of easy to follow and fun tutorials in categories such as interface concepts, special effects, textures and backgrounds, digital artwork, and photographic FX. If you're just starting out in Photoshop, I highly recommend going to this site first and doing the tutorials in the basic principles section. If you do, you'll get a good head start in learning the basics.
2. TUTORIAL WIZ- Level: Beginner
With tutorials in categories such as text effects, photo effects, special effects, user interface and a few others, Tutorial Wiz is a great resource for beginning Photoshop users to cut their teeth on. What's especially great about this site is that although most of the tutorials are indeed basic, many of the graphics and image effects you'll be asked to create are amazingly high end, such as this realistic tap water and exploding planet tutorial. So not only will you be learning some basic techniques from this site, you'll also be learning how to do some great artwork in the process.
3. RNEL.NET- Level: Beginner
Rnel.net is a database of numerous Photoshop tutorials culled from across the web. Many of the tutorials are geared towards beginners, and unlike other sites quite a few deal with the art of drawing and illustration. This means that if you're a beginner who's more interested in how to paint things from scratch and less interested in photo manipulation and editing, this is a good place to check out.
4. PHOTOSHOP ROADMAP- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Similar to Rnel.net, Photoshop Roadmap is a database of tutorials submitted by various web sites that is updated on a frequent basis. There are many types of tutorials here; however the emphasis is on photo manipulation and image enhancing techniques. So if you're looking for how to create simple, yet useful and effective enhancement tricks (such as whitening teeth or fixing skin), this is the site for you. As a bonus, Photoshop Roadmap also offers free handy downloads for Photoshop users, such as patterns and plug-ins.
5. GOOD-TUTORIALS- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Probably one of the most comprehensive of its kind, this hugely popular database has thousands of user-submitted Photoshop tutorials in such categories as animation, basics, textures, web graphics, and many others. Countless tutorials are added daily, not only making this site fresh, but filled to the brim with content.
6. PIXEL 2 LIFE- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Pixel 2 Life is yet another Photoshop database of tutorials ranging in a wide variety of categories and geared towards everyone from beginners to intermediates wanting to know all the latest text effect, web layout, special effects, and photo manipulation techniques. It, much like Good-Tutorials.com is huge, so you'll never be for want of new tutorials to discover and try out.
7. PHOTOSHOP ESSENTIALS- Level: Intermediate
Photo editing, text effects, and basics are a few of the categories that this site offers in terms of tutorials. The "special effects" tutorials leave much to be desired; however, the more practical ones (such as in the basics and photo editing sections) are excellent ways of expanding your skills beyond the fundamentals.
8. ABSOLUTE CROSS- Level: Intermediate
If you've ever wanted to create web interfaces, buttons, orbs, and lettering, you can do no better than visit this site, which is one of the few to focus on creating cool web graphics, especially in a 3 dimensional and sci-fi style.
9. TALK MANIA- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Although it has tutorials in many categories, Talk Mania's best tutorials are in its web layouts section. In this section, you'll learn how to create templates based on a wide variety of themes such as gaming, business, portfolio and ecommerce, making it the perfect resource if you're the type that wants to make templates in Photoshop.
10. HV DESIGNS- Level: Intermediate to Expert
When it comes to tutorials about web template creation, HV Designs is bar none the best resource you can turn to. Visit this site to learn how to create many high end business, Wordpress, and portfolio web sites in the currently popular Web 2.0 style! As an added bonus, some tutorials will teach you how to convert the finished designs into CSS.
11. ABUZEEDO- Level: Intermediate to Expert
If you're more about image editing and photo manipulation, you might want to pass on Abuzeedo, but if you're an aspiring graphic artist who's a fan of the type of art as seen in magazines like Computer Arts this web site will be right up your alley. Here you will learn the art of creating glowing lines, grungy posters, retro graphics, and interesting artistic effects that are currently hip in the graphic design and illustration world.
12. PSD TUTS+- Level: Intermediate to Expert
With an emphasis on graphic design and illustration, this blog is the ultimate resource for burgeoning artists and illustrators who want to learn how to create all types of professional, high end artwork in Photoshop. Although some tutorials require a paid membership, most are free. Even if they weren't, in my opinion the fee is worth it as the lessons here are top of the line, on par with what you'd get in a college course.