Adobe Photoshop Tutorials - Best Of - Smashing Magazine

Adobe Photoshop Tutorials - Best Of - Smashing Magazine

6:36 PM

When it comes to graphic design, Adobe Photoshop is usually the first option to consider. However, the software itself is a quite tough nut to crack and definitely extremely hard to master. For instance, the concepts are not always intuitive and its not always clear when to use what tool and how to use it effectively. In fact, in Photoshop it usually takes pretty much time to achieve something you have never done before.

However, you dont need to muddle through numerous Photoshop features and extensions for every design problem. You can use professional suggestions instead, e.g. professional step-by-step tutorials which provide excellent results and thus can save you a lot of time.

One year ago weve presented a hand-picked collection of Photoshop tutorials1. Now its time for a fresh portion of healthy Photoshop learning material. This article provides professional Adobe Photoshop tutorials which can enrich your design skills and improve the quality of your works. Although the authors of the tutorials rarely provide the information about the used version, we tried to pick only those tutorials that can be used with both CS 3 and older versions of Adobe Photoshop.

Photo- and Picture Editing and Processing

  • MP3 Player Design2
    In this tutorial you will learn how to design a product in Photoshop. The product is a RCA Lyra X3030 portable media player. Although the chances are, you are thinking why would I need to make it?, the reason for this tutorial is to teach people the techniques used for mocking up a product design

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot3

  • Magic Lighting Effect4
    How to create a nice light and magic effect

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot5

  • Selecting & Extracting Hair Masking Tutorial Extraction Tips6
    One of the most challenging montage or masking jobs in the profession of post-production editing is the hair lift. When the model has long flowing hair and the subject needs to change location many post-production artists call in sick

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot7

  • Add a Dreamy or Misty Effect To Your Photos8
    This quick tutorial will show how to add a really cool dreamy or misty effect to your photos. This tutorial works best with nature related images

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot9

  • Improving the Quality of Photos10
    Improve the look of your photos by playing with some simple Photoshop techniques

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot11

  • Fake Model Photography12
    With a very little effort, you can take existing photographs of everyday scenes and make it look like theyre actually of miniature models

    .Screenshot13

  • Displacement Water14
    Creating a realistic water surface in Photoshop is quite a challenge because it is the distorted reflection of the surroundings that makes the water look liquid. The displace filter is an excellent tool for making this distortion

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot15

  • Photoshop tutorial and Post-producted glasses16
    To save your time think to photo retouch especially frosted glasses

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot17

  • Professional glamour style photo retouch18
    This is the first chapter of a main tutorial divided in six parts. In this one you will learn how to photo retouch the skin of a model in a few steps. Better results can be obtained by using a graphic tablet instead of a mouse

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot19

  • Give Your Photos a Retro Comic Book Effect20
    How about a fun effect for your incredibly boring photo albums? Creating a old comic book effect for your photos is easy and the results are visually appealing. More fun is achieved when adding captions to your photos using comic book fonts and design elements

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot21

  • Space and Planet Tutorial22
    The techniques below will show you how to create an image similar to the final result I have obtained below although the image below took 3 hours to paint with alot of fine detail work, you will still get the idea

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot23

  • Faking HDR in Adobe Photoshop24
    This HDR tutorial shows quite easy way to fake HDR foto in Photoshop. You dont need to shoot into RAW or take photos with different exposure one JPEG is enough. If you can work with masks in Photoshop, you have an advantage. Part of tutorial is HDR action for download

    .Screenshot25

  • 11 Super Awesome Photoshop Movie Effects26
    11 most-favorite movie-effect tutorials. From Scarface to Sin City to Pirates of the Carribean to 300, weve got 11 great ways to go Hollywood on your photos

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot27

  • A movie-effect with Photoshop28
    This tutorial explains how to turn your photo into the movie-like image using Adobe Photoshop

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot29

  • Visual effects in the style of 30030
    Heres a little Photoshop guide to mimic the 300 style. The effects could also be applied to video in After Effects with a similar setup

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot31

  • Bringing a Stone Statue to Life32
    Learn how to take a stone statue and alter it to look life-like

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot33

  • 4 Easy Photoshop Techniques to Make Your Pictures Pop34
    In this tutorial I will be demonstrating some quick, easy methods for adding drama and/or interest to your shots. As far as I know, these methods should work for both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot35
  • Devils Eye36
    Some eyes are just too pretty, but I bet some of you would change that if you could. I am going to try to explain how to make eyes look more sinister, And remember this is coming from a begginer,so bare with me. Photoshop CS2

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot37

  • Beautiful lighting FX effect in Photoshop38
    This tutorial will show you how to make a beautiful lighting effect on scatters by using Photoshop. Keep in mind that I only provide the basic guidelines to creating this type of effect. There are tons of possibilities if you spend time to play with the settings and keep your creativity wide open

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot39

  • Water Drops40
    So simple, and realistic, these water drops (and optional ice drops) are also simple to do anywhere, anytime

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot41

  • 3D Ice Cube42
    In this tutorial well try to build a realistic 3D ice cube. Usually this kind of stuff is done with the help of some 3D software like Maya or 3DMax, still well try to use Photoshop tools to do the work

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot43

  • Alienize: Transform a person into an alien44
    In this tutorial is written how to create a very cool looking alien using Adobe Photoshop. Grab a picture of someone and get ready to alienize it

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot45

  • Water Spirit Drawing Fire46
    This tutorial will show You how to place a fire on someones hands

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot47

  • Creating a 3D effect with image editing software48
    Heres how to make a neat effect to make it look like the subject of a photo is popping out of the background. This can be done with GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) or Photoshop

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot49

  • How to use Photoshop to create Product Box?50
    How many times you wanted to create cool product box for some of your products? Sure, there are many ways, and with new Photoshop you have even more options to create boxes

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot51

  • Super Fly Box Maker52
    These boxes can be used to advertise almost anything (not just software). This is great if you want to catch a viewers attention, and it also gives your product display a more professional look and feel

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot53

  • Flaming Hair54
    Tutorial with some simple brushing techniques, and a bit of color tweaking, you can spice up your photo

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot55

  • Create a Realistic Torn Paper Effect56
    Torn paper is one of the key elements to achieving the distressed / collage look. This tutorial covers a few simple steps in Adobe Photoshop to create a realistic looking torn paper effect taking you on your way to Destroying the Web 2.0 Look

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot57

  • Creating a Mac-Type Background in Photoshop58
    This tutorial is about making a mac style background. You can use these in all sorts of situations, including the obvious your desktop as well as part of your designs or for corporate work (powerpoint presentations, flash work etc). Naturally you wouldnt want to use this exact set of steps, but following them will give you a good idea of the technique. Good luck!Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot59

Drawings, Paintings, Cartoons

  • Skin Painting Tutorial60
    Learn how to paint a realistically looking skin with Photoshop

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot61

  • Making of The Blues Singer Leaves Town62
    This picture was done in a hot summer day, in the memory of an old anime series I used to watch as a kid, about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Historically, its off from that period, but its the feeling of summer, childhood fascination and nature that I wanted to re-create. Its also a tribute to music. 4 pages

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot63

  • Fox Fire Tutorial64
    Converting from hand-sketched picture to a digital masterpiece

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot65

  • Easy Watercolor Painting Effect66
    In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, were going to learn how to easily make a photo look more like a watercolor painting. This photo effect works best on images where maintaining rich colors and strong contrast is more important than keeping any fine details, since youll be losing a lot of detail with this effect

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot67

  • Soft Cell Shading68
    Learn how to paint softlry, as a variation of cell shading, eventually going through a total of seven stages

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot69

  • Sketch to Paint70
    Digital artist David Cousens reveals how to develop a sci-fi art sketch in Adobe Photoshop using the airbrush and a few nifty tricks

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot71

  • Portrait Painting72
    Learn how to draw a portrait from a hand-drawn sketch

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot73

  • Drawing from a reference photo74
    The original photo: I locate it on the bottom layer to use for some initial tracing, primarily to save time and get the perspective correct. Some people prefer not to trace

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot75

Texteffects

Buttons, Logos & Menus

Adobe Photoshop Techniques

  • Color adjustment tutorial110
    This tutorial shows how to get more mood into your pictures via Adjustment Layers and some other effects

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot111

  • Vector Polishing Techniques112
    This tutorial includes 9 Photoshop techniques that will show you how to add more depth, color, contrast, and texture into your vector art

    .Screenshot113

  • Advanced Black and White Conversion114
    In this tutorial, we will convert an RGB image to Black and White using Photoshop CS3s new improved Black and White features

    .Photoshop Tutorial Screenshot115

  • Actions Tutorial 116
    Toning With Duotones, Tritones And Quadtones
  • 101 Hidden Tips & Secrets117
    An overview of professional suggestions, tips and tricks for Adobe Photoshop users.
  • Using Actions to Automate Tasks118
    While Adobe Photoshop has a host of automation tools, one of the most versatile and powerful of them is called an action. In fact, some of the other automation commands, such as batches and droplets, derive their functionality from actions.

Further Resources

You can find even more Adobe Photoshop tutorials in the articles and resouces weve listed below.

Footnotes

  1. 1 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/01/12/hand-picked-photoshop-tutorials/
  2. 2 http://www.zymic.com/tutorials/photoshop/mp3-player-design/
  3. 3 http://www.zymic.com/tutorials/photoshop/mp3-player-design/
  4. 4 http://abduzeedo.com/magic-lighting-effect-photoshop
  5. 5 http://abduzeedo.com/magic-lighting-effect-photoshop
  6. 6 http://www.photoshopsupport.com/elements/tutorials/extract-hair/masking-tutorial.html
  7. 7 http://www.photoshopsupport.com/elements/tutorials/extract-hair/masking-tutorial.html
  8. 8 http://niftytutorials.com/photo-effects/add-a-dreamy-or-misty-effect-to-your-photos/#more-80
  9. 9 http://niftytutorials.com/photo-effects/add-a-dreamy-or-misty-effect-to-your-photos/#more-80
  10. 10 http://flickr.com/photos/soffia/505766043/
  11. 11 http://flickr.com/photos/soffia/505766043/
  12. 12 http://recedinghairline.co.uk/tutorials/fakemodel/
  13. 13 http://recedinghairline.co.uk/tutorials/fakemodel/
  14. 14 http://photoshopcontest.com/tutorials/26/displacement-water.html
  15. 15 http://photoshopcontest.com/tutorials/26/displacement-water.html
  16. 16 http://www.grafica3dblog.it/photoshop_tutorial_glass.htm
  17. 17 http://www.grafica3dblog.it/photoshop_tutorial_glass.htm
  18. 18 http://www.adobesoftwares.com/eng-photoshop-tutorials-english/1794-professional-photoretouch.html
  19. 19 http://www.adobesoftwares.com/eng-photoshop-tutorials-english/1794-professional-photoretouch.html
  20. 20 http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-blog/2007/09/13/give-your-photos-a-retro-comic-book-effect/
  21. 21 http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-blog/2007/09/13/give-your-photos-a-retro-comic-book-effect/
  22. 22 http://www.freephotoshop.ca/tutorials/effects/photoshop-space-and-planet-tutorial
  23. 23 http://www.freephotoshop.ca/tutorials/effects/photoshop-space-and-planet-tutorial
  24. 24 http://www.nill.cz/index.php?set=tu1
  25. 25 http://www.nill.cz/index.php?set=tu1
  26. 26 http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/best-movie-effect-photo-tutorials-photoshop/
  27. 27 http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/best-movie-effect-photo-tutorials-photoshop/
  28. 28 http://ebin.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/how-to-turn-your-photo-into-movie-like-effect-using-photoshop/
  29. 29 http://ebin.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/how-to-turn-your-photo-into-movie-like-effect-using-photoshop/
  30. 30 http://www.rickdavidson.com/2007/04/30/visual-effects-in-the-style-of-300/
  31. 31 http://www.rickdavidson.com/2007/04/30/visual-effects-in-the-style-of-300/
  32. 32 http://www.worth1000.com/tutorial.asp?sid=161354
  33. 33 http://www.worth1000.com/tutorial.asp?sid=161354
  34. 34 http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/4-easy-photoshop-techniques-to-make-your-pictures-pop
  35. 35 http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/4-easy-photoshop-techniques-to-make-your-pictures-pop
  36. 36 http://www.worth1000.com/tutorial.asp?sid=161299
  37. 37 http://www.worth1000.com/tutorial.asp?sid=161299
  38. 38 http://9tutorials.com/2007/09/05/beautiful-lighting-fx-effect-in-photoshop.html
  39. 39 http://9tutorials.com/2007/09/05/beautiful-lighting-fx-effect-in-photoshop.html
  40. 40 http://www.n-sane.net/effects/water-drops/index.php
  41. 41 http://www.n-sane.net/effects/water-drops/index.php
  42. 42 http://www.3datadesign.com/gallery/eng/tutorial_3dcube.php
  43. 43 http://www.3datadesign.com/gallery/eng/tutorial_3dcube.php
  44. 44 http://www.marcofolio.net/photoshop/alienize_transform_a_person_into_an_alien.html
  45. 45 http://www.marcofolio.net/photoshop/alienize_transform_a_person_into_an_alien.html
  46. 46 http://bwebi.com/water-spirit-drawing-fire.html
  47. 47 http://bwebi.com/water-spirit-drawing-fire.html
  48. 48 http://www.instructables.com/id/Creating-a-3D-effect-with-image-editing--software-/
  49. 49 http://www.instructables.com/id/Creating-a-3D-effect-with-image-editing--software-/
  50. 50 http://www.emanuelblagonic.com/2007/07/19/how-to-use-photoshop-to-create-product-box/
  51. 51 http://www.emanuelblagonic.com/2007/07/19/how-to-use-photoshop-to-create-product-box/
  52. 52 http://pixelmana.com/?p=31
  53. 53 http://pixelmana.com/?p=31
  54. 54 http://luxa.org/tutorial_phoenix_hair_effect.php
  55. 55 http://luxa.org/tutorial_phoenix_hair_effect.php
  56. 56 http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/create-a-realistic-torn-paper-effect-in-photoshop
  57. 57 http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/create-a-realistic-torn-paper-effect-in-photoshop
  58. 58 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials-effects/creating-a-mac-type-background-in-photoshop/
  59. 59 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials-effects/creating-a-mac-type-background-in-photoshop/
  60. 60 http://crazydwarf.deviantart.com/art/SKIN-PAINTING-TUTORIAL-23525496
  61. 61 http://crazydwarf.deviantart.com/art/SKIN-PAINTING-TUTORIAL-23525496
  62. 62 http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/photoshop/bluesinger/index.html
  63. 63 http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/photoshop/bluesinger/index.html
  64. 64 http://ashwings.deviantart.com/art/Fox-Fire-Tutorial-18131848
  65. 65 http://ashwings.deviantart.com/art/Fox-Fire-Tutorial-18131848
  66. 66 http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/watercolor-painting/
  67. 67 http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/watercolor-painting/
  68. 68 http://getty.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-for-soft-cell-shading-27544088
  69. 69 http://getty.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-for-soft-cell-shading-27544088
  70. 70 http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=1625
  71. 71 http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=1625
  72. 72 http://acidlullaby.deviantart.com/art/Portrait-Painting-Tutorial-22707443
  73. 73 http://acidlullaby.deviantart.com/art/Portrait-Painting-Tutorial-22707443
  74. 74 http://gas13.ru/v3/tutorials/painting_candle_tutorial.php
  75. 75 http://gas13.ru/v3/tutorials/painting_candle_tutorial.php
  76. 76 http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/index.cfm?featureID=1617
  77. 77 http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/index.cfm?featureID=1617
  78. 78 http://www.shotgunmag.co.uk/?p=33
  79. 79 http://www.shotgunmag.co.uk/?p=33
  80. 80 http://psdtuts.com/text-effects-tutorials/create-a-spectacular-flaming-meteor-effect-on-text/
  81. 81 http://psdtuts.com/text-effects-tutorials/create-a-spectacular-flaming-meteor-effect-on-text/
  82. 82 http://luxa.org/tutorial_smooth_glass_type.php
  83. 83 http://luxa.org/tutorial_smooth_glass_type.php
  84. 84 http://www.photoshopstar.com/text/recreate-the-bee-movie-text-effect/
  85. 85 http://www.photoshopstar.com/text/recreate-the-bee-movie-text-effect/
  86. 86 http://psdtuts.com/text-effects-tutorials/plastic-jelly-styles/
  87. 87 http://psdtuts.com/text-effects-tutorials/plastic-jelly-styles/
  88. 88 http://www.talk-mania.com/showthread.php?t=13295
  89. 89 http://www.talk-mania.com/showthread.php?t=13295
  90. 90 http://boonage.pjss2.net/2007/05/20/orb-button-effect-photoshop-part/
  91. 91 http://boonage.pjss2.net/2007/05/20/orb-button-effect-photoshop-part/
  92. 92 http://www.muymono.com/tutorials/37/
  93. 93 http://www.muymono.com/tutorials/37/
  94. 94 http://psdtuts.com/photo-effects-tutorials/photoshop-button-maker/
  95. 95 http://psdtuts.com/photo-effects-tutorials/photoshop-button-maker/
  96. 96 http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/design-watercolor-effect-menu/
  97. 97 http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/design-watercolor-effect-menu/
  98. 98 http://www.photoshopstar.com/web-graphics/satisfaction-guaranteed-seal-or-badge/
  99. 99 http://www.photoshopstar.com/web-graphics/satisfaction-guaranteed-seal-or-badge/
  100. 100 http://www.empiredezign.com/version2/portfolio/pages/tutorials/window.htm
  101. 101 http://www.empiredezign.com/version2/portfolio/pages/tutorials/window.htm
  102. 102 http://www.photoshopstar.com/web-graphics/glossy-style-carbon-fibre-navigation-set/
  103. 103 http://www.photoshopstar.com/web-graphics/glossy-style-carbon-fibre-navigation-set/
  104. 104 http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/how-to-design-mini-icons/
  105. 105 http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/how-to-design-mini-icons/
  106. 106 http://www.pstut.info/?p=89
  107. 107 http://www.pstut.info/?p=89
  108. 108 http://nobstutorials.com/tutorials/20071010/banner-ad-tutorial/
  109. 109 http://nobstutorials.com/tutorials/20071010/banner-ad-tutorial/
  110. 110 http://abuze.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Color-Adjust-25721834
  111. 111 http://abuze.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Color-Adjust-25721834
  112. 112 http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/vector-polishing-techniques/
  113. 113 http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/vector-polishing-techniques/
  114. 114 http://www.muymono.com/tutorials/p26/
  115. 115 http://www.muymono.com/tutorials/p26/
  116. 116 http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tools/actions-tutorials/duotone-tritone-quadtone-actions-tutorial.html
  117. 117 http://www.11amdesign.com/faq/index.php?sid=308&lang=en&action=artikel&cat=1&id=343&artlang=en
  118. 118 http://morris-photographics.com/photoshop/tutorials/actions.html
  119. 119 http://www.noupe.com/photoshop/1000-free-high-resolution-photoshop-brush-sets.html
  120. 120 http://psdtuts.com/
  121. 121 http://www.tutorialfeed.com
  122. 122 http://www.designvitality.com/blog/2007/09/photoshop-text-effect-tutorial/
  123. 123 http://www.designvitality.com/blog/2007/10/photoshop-button-tutorials/
  124. 124 http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-5-photoshop-tutorials
  125. 125 http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-blog/2007/07/22/the-best-80-photoshop-text-effects-on-the-web/
  126. 126 http://www.emmaalvarez.com/2008/01/top-best-55-photoshop-tutorials-for.html

Back to topTweet itShare on Facebook

About

Travelling is my life

Next
« Prev Post
Previous
Next Post »
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)