10 tips for improving Photoshop skills

1. Set the appropriate resolution

In the digital age, pixels are the most fundamental elements of an image, like the canvas of an art painter or the fabric of a tailor's hand. And they'll tell you that saving canvas or cloth is an inappropriate choice, and it's also true for image design. Images in the hands of the designer will be stretched, twisted and other operations, if not set pixels may be difficult to design or even catastrophic reconstruction.

So how big is the pixel? It is recommended to use the last work pixel amplification 150%~200%, and then the final release when the pixel is adjusted to the appropriate size. Now display images of a variety of carriers, such as print resolution is best set to 300PDI, screen display set to 72pdi can be. It is conceivable how important it is to set the appropriate pixel and resolution.

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The risk of not applying high resolution is that some material may be distorted, distorted, or blurred. But in fact this is a complex problem, when you have to use different sources of material, it is best to ensure that their resolution is similar, because if the material resolution is different, it must be low and high, so as to maintain the consistency of the overall resolution, to avoid "accidental" mosaic.

The following design uses eight different image composition, all the resolution is very good control, so the final seagull fuzzy effect looks very natural.

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2. Set a reasonable lighting effect

In the design of Photoshop synthesis scene, it is very important to make the illumination direction consistent with the light source setting. If each element of the scene has a different lighting source, a different shadow effect will be formed. When we see TV and movies, we also see actors and synthetic backgrounds with different lighting effects, which is "green screen effect."

The best way to solve the problem is to have a deep understanding of the light and shadow in the real world. Light has its own three-dimensional properties and forms a shadow in three-dimensional space.

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If you set the main light source in the scene, you can analyze the surface of each element or the back of the lighting effect, and then the elements of the scene are designed according to this law. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not that hard. Once you have mastered the geometric principles behind the visual effects, you will have a sense of what is going on.

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3. Perspective Geometry Effect

In addition to the light and Shadow effect, the destruction of the image lifelike effect of the proportion of inappropriate settings. Although some times are intended for the design effect, but often only a small part. If the proportions of the images are inconsistent with the proportions of our consciousness, we will have an unreal feeling.

It is appropriate to ensure that the proportions of each image in the scene are set to a certain geometric proportional rule, set the horizon and vanishing point in the scene, and then make sure that each element is in accordance with this rule. The effect of this treatment is very obvious.

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　4. Use Dodge to deepen the effect

A good picture design does not imply copying the actual picture effect. When a picture has a certain style, such as a particularly vibrant color, a particularly bright area, or a particularly deep shadow, it can be a good piece of work if it feels different.

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A dodge-and-burn effect is one of the ways to add personalization. Each designer has its own recipe, and a 50% gray overlay is one of the most popular effects. This layer of gray is completely invisible, but the resulting thinning effect is visible.

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　　5. Apply Real Material

Adding real texture footage is a great way to quickly create lifelike effects and deep details. And it's the quickest way to get a real piece of material straight. But when trying to portray the material carefully, the actual material will appear to be persuasive.

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The following figure is the use of high-quality texture material, showing the design of the required details of the effect, so that the synthetic effect is very realistic.

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　　6. Use custom brushes

As a realistic texture effect, the application of strokes can quickly achieve a realistic effect. But at the same time it will limit their use and hand-painted effects. And a custom brush is a good addition, you can create a brush effect, design a special rust or scratch effect, make metal objects more authentic.

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　7. Consider using PS action

The Photoshop action function can greatly speed up the design progress, and make the repetitive and time-consuming work automation complete. PS action can also create very complex effects, far more than the effect of manual creation, the use of accurate filter layer operation records, reproduce the effect of the action, which eliminates a lot of manual operation.

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　　8. Familiar with the freedom of change and distortion of the options

The warp operation makes the image different. There are several ways to manipulate Photoshop, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. If you can master enough methods, you can make the right choice according to the design needs. Change the basic shape of an element with free transformation, distortion, or liquefaction.

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　　9. Learn to use a number of drawing board

Are you still using your mouse or trackpad to paint in Photoshop? Have you ever thought about getting a better device, like a digital drawing board.

In general, digital painting is useful for image processing. You can see that the brush tools (Dodge tools, burn tools, stamp tools, and so on) in Photoshop provide the pressure input options.

The mouse has a precise level two pressure, press and release, this is completely binary input mode. Good quality of the number of panels have 2048-level pressure sensitivity, you can add to the pen tool angle, speed and even rotation rate of sensitivity, which will make you want to mouse to eat the cat.

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　　10. Keep inspiration and keep practicing

As with all worthwhile things, practicing Photoshop regularly can accumulate experience and improve skills. One way to stick to practice is to collect interesting pictures, keep your inspiration and design impulses, and push you to design good work.

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