Few tips I'd like to share :) (mostly for beginners)

[Pokiaka]

Hey guys! noticed this forum and thought I can give out a few tricks.
If it's ok, I'd like to color each tip, so it would not look messy, and you could look at each tip as a single thread (so you won't get paranoid :P I know I will even tho it's my thread XD )

Well first of all, I want to share the shortcuts I use, this will basicaly help new photoshopers.

Ctrl + T - Transform
Ctrl + J - Duplicate current layer
Z - Zoom tool, Hold ALT to zoom-out tool
Hold Space - Move around your canvas, without de-selecting any tool!
[ and ] keys - Resizes the brush
* Keep the 3 last shortcuts by your side. when I work, I use them constantly, that it became my second nature. I don't even notice doing them that much, that when I wrote this, I had to go to photoshop to look at what keys I press :P

That's that. the rest you can learn by simply holding the mouse on tools, or in the menus, look at the right side of each command.

Another tip is: happens to you when you try to select something but noticed you didn't start at the right point, so you finish the selecting, than have to click it or click outside of it etc. with a circle selection it doesn't even matter, you can try 10 times before you get the actual spot.

What you can do is, while selecting and holding the mouse, hold down the Space key, and move your mouse. you're selection will move, so you could get the correct point within a second!

When I'm trying to cut backgrounds out, and stuff like that. To be honest, I don't do it like most people, at all. I'd be suprised if more people do this, since I never found a guide that says to do so.

What I do, is use masks. take the layer you're using. add a mask to it, using the brush tool, delete, and undelete again, use the brush wisely and you can get 100% realistic cut, within a matter of around 1 minute!!! it's a really great way!

To know more about mask, visit this thread, you'll get quite a few answers.

Well, I'll wrap this up. I have couple of more tricks, that will help also intermidate photoshopers, and not only beginners. but I will write them in another thread.

[Stric9]

[COLOR="green"]When I'm trying to cut backgrounds out, and stuff like that. To be honest, I don't do it like most people, at all. I'd be suprised if more people do this, since I never found a guide that says to do so.

What I do, is use masks. take the layer you're using. add a mask to it, using the brush tool, delete, and undelete again, use the brush wisely and you can get 100% realistic cut, within a matter of around 1 minute!!! it's a really great way!

Not to bust your bubble or anything, but when using photoshop it is very necissary to learn all the tools that are available to you. If you rely solely on one extraction method you will find many things that are out of your reach. I will post these images to enhance my point. I would like to see anyone create a mask then paint on it and get a 100 percent realistic result in 10 min, heck more like 30 min or an hour on any of these pictures without loosing tons of relevant info. Heck most of these you'll spend 3 min just resizing your brush.



Please don't rely on only one tool in the toolbox. Master all the tools and techniques available to you and you will truely be on your way to becoming a photoshop guru. Something that I am working toward myself. (and it is still a long way off)
Not to end on a sour note - painting on a mask is very useful in the right scenario.

[Pokiaka]

Oh, of course I don't rely on only one tool.
you're right, I should have mentioned it: I mean to use this technique too / mainly.
it's absurd to say to only use one technique, and breaking your head on it, instead of using a tool which provides it within a second.

Oh and about resizing your brush, I'll add another tip: use the keys [ and ] in your keyboard, resizes them fast.

[ibclare]

read it and weep Stric9

what can you say

[Paul]

We all started like this, so play nice.
Any of the shop tools can be used in any way any user sees fit, call it a learning curve (big smile), and over time or reading helpful hints like stric9 as given we all learn and improve, faster if that individual so wishes, or may prefer to bumble along like the small pebble in the river bed.

[ronlv]

Thanks for the tips.
from a happy begginer

[ilmkidunya1]

hmmm nice tips thanks for sharing with PSG

[itgrowsind]

Thanks for the tips!