What is photoshop

In fact, Photoshop has so many features that it may actually be too powerful for many users. It's also very expensive , so unless you need to edit photos or graphics professionally it may not be the best option for you. You may want to review our lesson on Photoshop alternatives to learn about other image editing programs you can use. Because Photoshop is primarily designed for professionals, it can be somewhat challenging to use, especially if you're learning it for the first time.

However, you don't need to understand all of Photoshop's features to use it effectively. Throughout this tutorial, we'll help you understand the most basic and essential Photoshop skills.

We'll also provide links to other tutorials if you want to learn more about advanced tools and techniques. We'll be using Photoshop CC throughout this tutorial to show you Photoshop's features.

This can be slightly overwhelming because there are a few different Creative Cloud plans to pick from according to what your area of interest is. To make things simple there are 3 different options that you will have to choose from that include Photoshop.

This is an amazing value because you get access to everything Adobe has to offer. From there you can learn and try new programs that Adobe offers to see what your favorite is.

Adobe Photoshop is available on both Mac and Windows computers, however not every computer is built the same. It is important to do your research before purchasing a computer to ensure you have the right hardware components for the computer processor and graphics cards. Adobe recommends that your computer processor should have at least 2.

The processor is essentially the brain of the computer. The processor helps the computer complete the intensive tasks that you may run with Photoshop. The faster and more updated the processor, the faster your computer will complete the task.

I recommend that you buy the best and fastest processor you can afford at the time of purchasing your computer as it is more difficult to upgrade a processor at a later time.

Nowadays Apple has made it impossible to replace the processor for most of its computers. When it comes to RAM, again, if you are able to buy more than do so. RAM is what allows your computer to handle multiple tasks at once. When working as a designer or digital artist, using multiple Adobe applications at the same time can become a very normal practice.

Adobe applications can be very taxing on any computer and more RAM helps to complete those tasks quickly. Having more RAM connected to your processor will ensure you have a highly optimized powerhouse computer to handle any and all Photoshop tasks. However, make sure to check this as again, companies like Apple have made it impossible to replace the RAM in their computers.

It is always worth double checking! Since Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe suite of applications are used to make graphics and edit images you will need to make sure you have the right graphics card. On the system requirements page that Adobe provides they state you should have a graphics card with a minimum of 2GB of GPU memory. Again, this is not something I am super familiar with so make sure to do your research before purchasing.

One last component that I want to make sure to mention is the hard drive size of your computer. Storage is important when using applications like Photoshop to create graphics as the files you create will ultimately take up space on your computer. Over time this will slow your computer down. Giving your computer enough storage space will ensure your computer stays snappy as you can continue to create.

Most of the base options for computers now come with a minimum of GB of space. This can be fine but I have found that GB of storage space can go pretty quickly and once it is filled up, you will be forced to move files onto a separate hard drive or even begin to delete files. Again, in the situation of hard drive space, more is better and I recommend GB and up. Yes you can! When you open a PDF in photoshop you will be asked to choose which page you would like to edit if there are multiple pages in your PDF.

Another thing to note is that unless the PDF was created to preserve layer functionality, you will not have the capability to edit text or objects within the PDF. You can create GIFs or short animated clips using the timeline panel.

When using the timeline, you create and modify each individual frame for your animation or movement. The level of animation you can achieve in Photoshop is great for short clips and small adjustments. If you would like more robust animation tools, you should check out and learn Adobe After Effects. This means you will not be able to individually alter any of the graphics within that AI file. If you do not have Adobe Illustrator downloaded to your computer then this will be the only way of opening the file in Adobe Photoshop.

If you do have Adobe Illustrator on your computer, a best practice is to copy your design from illustrator and paste it into your Photoshop file as a smart object. This will create a dynamic link between the two programs and all you to alter your illustrator design while retaining its layers and components. Adobe Photoshop is an amazing tool and a valuable one for creatives of all disciplines to know.

It provides a great foundation to learning how to create amazing work as a creative professional and independent artist. If you have any other questions about Adobe Photoshop you can DM me on Instagram or Twitter and I will make sure to add them to this article. Also, if you enjoyed this article, consider signing up for our email newsletter.

Every weekend we send you a roundup of our best website content just like this as well as podcast episodes when we release them. Thanks for reading! We're trying out a new site. Episodes Articles About community. Quickstart for Beginners Here are 10 of the coolest projects I have made with Adobe Photoshop and why I think every designer should learn this program first.

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