Your Guide to Photoshop

Overview:
A complete guide from getting photoshop to adding tools, brushes, fonts, and effects to simple guides and how too's.

Table of Contents
1) Getting Started
-PhotoShop
-Downloading & Setting Up
--Adobe PhotoShop Cs3
--Adobe PhotoShop Cs4
-Basic Layout
2) Adding Extras
-Intro
-Adding Brushes
-Adding Fonts
-Adding Effects
3) Your First Image
-Intro
-Creating New Image
-Opening a Image
-Adding Effects
-Adding Brushes
-Final Product


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Chapter 1 - Getting Started

PhotoShop -
Adobe Photoshop, or simply Photoshop, is a graphics editing program (also known as a DPD, Desktop Publishing Program) developed and published by Adobe Systems. It is the current and primary market leader for commercial bitmap and image manipulation, and is the flagship product of Adobe Systems. It has been described as "an industry standard for graphics professionals" and was one of the early "killer applications" on the PC.

Due to its popularity, "photoshop" has become both a verb to refer to photo editing and a genericized trademark for graphics editing software.

-Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoshop

Downloading and Setting Up

Photoshop is rather expensive, so unless you have a lot of extra money lying around your most likely going to get a warez copy of photoshop. (Please note that this guide will be based around Adobe PhotoShop CS3)

Adobe PhotoShop CS3
Photoshop CS3 is marketed with three main components of improvement over previous versions: "Work more productively, edit with unrivalled power, and composite with breakthrough tools." New features propagating productivity include streamlined interface, improved Camera Raw, better control over print options, enhanced PDF support, and better management with Adobe Bridge. Editing tools new to CS3 are the Clone Source palette and nondestructive Smart Filters, and other features such as the Brightness/Contrast adjustment and Vanishing Point module were enhanced. The Black and White adjustment option improves users control over manual grayscale conversions with a dialog box similar to that of Channel Mixer. Compositing is assisted with Photoshop's new Quick Selection and Refine Edge tools and improved.. image stitching technology. CS3 Extended contains all features of CS3 plus tools for editing and importing some 3D graphics file formats, enhancing video, and comprehensive image analysis tools, utilizing MATLAB integration and DICOM file support. Download Link

Adobe PhotoShop CS4
Photoshop CS4 features additions such as the ability to paint directly on 3D models, wrap 2D images around 3D shapes, convert gradient maps to 3D objects, add depth to layers and text, get print-quality output with the new ray-tracing rendering engine, and enjoy exporting to supported common 3D formats; the new Adjustment and Mask Panels; Content-aware scaling (also known as seam carving); Fluid Canvas Rotation and File display options. On 30 April, Adobe released Photoshop CS4 Extended, which includes all the same features of Adobe Photoshop CS4 with the addition of capabilities for scientific imaging, 3D, and high end film and video users. The successor to Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS4, is the first 64-bit Photoshop on consumer computers. Download Link

-Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoshop

Once you have downloaded Photoshop (going to be referenced from now on as ps) You have to extract it. Once you have done that you go into the folder that you extracted to and click on the PhotoShop.exe . You have now started Ps Congrats!

Basic Layout

Ps's layout is rather basic and easy to work with once you get a hang of it.

Left Side Tool Bar -

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Chapter 2 - Adding Extras -
Intro
Adding extras into photoshop both enhances and adds more abilities to your photoshop. From adding 1 font to tons of brushes, adding in these extras helps/allows you to get better and try new things.

Adding Brushes

Brushes work pretty much the same was as renders/c4ds/stocks do. You add them to your image and effects.

To add Brushes to your photoshop you first need brushes to add. You can use my brush pack Download link here. Once you have that downloaded and unzipped you are ready to start adding them.

1)Open ps if not open
2)Click on brushes icon.
3)Click on the brush selector drop down arrow
4)Import the brushes

Adding Fonts

Fonts can make or break a graphic. Having some extra fonts can be helpful. But be careful of getting tons of them because you may forget how one looks compared to another. I use Dafont to get fonts.

On XP

1) Download font and extract it.
2) My Computer -> C:\ -> WINDOWS folder -> Fonts folder -> Move the font file you downloaded into this folder.

On Vista, Mac OS X

1) Download font and extract it.
2) Right click "Install" the font.

Now you can select your new fonts from the font selector drop down menu.

Adding Styles

Effects can be helpful at adding a quick metal look or maybe a fiery look. You can get a bunch of helpful styles by downloading my style pack Download here

1) Open ps if not open
2) Double click on the layer you would like to add the style to.
3) Click on styles on top left
4) Import the styles

Thanks, SurfersWorld