What Photoshop Skills Do Graphic Designers Need?
For graphic designers, mastering Photoshop is a must. Both beginner and advanced designers use Photoshop to bring their ideas to life, but what really sets them apart?
In this article, let's explore the Photoshop skills needed for designers at different levels. We hope this sparks some inspiration for your design journey.
In this article, you will learn:
- Essential Photoshop Skills for Beginner Graphic Designers
- Photoshop Skills for Intermediate Graphic Designers
- Advanced Photoshop Skills for Senior Graphic Designers
- Final Thoughts
Essential Photoshop Skills for Beginner Graphic Designers
If you're new to graphic design or just want to use Photoshop to solve everyday problems, these Photoshop skills are a great starting point.
Even though these skills seem basic, once you learn them, you can pick up simple freelance jobs on sites like Fiverr.
You might get gigs like basic product photo edits (such as cropping or simple color fixes) or simple flyer designs. The pay may be low, but it's a good way to build your skills.
1. Getting Comfortable with Tools
Selection Tools:
Learn to use tools like the Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee tools to pick parts of an image accurately.
For example, you can crop a product photo to the right size for an online store. Imagine selecting the main part of a jewelry photo and cropping it to an 800x800 pixel square. This is a common size for online product images.
Further Reading:
Move Tool:
Be sure you know how to use the move tool. It lets you easily drag elements between layers or different files.
For example, when making a poster, you can drag your logo from one document to the poster and place it just right.
Text Tool:
Get comfortable with adding clear and attractive text. This means setting the right font, size, color, and layout. For instance, you might add a catchy headline and detailed event info to a flyer.
2. Understanding and Using Layers
Layer Basics:
Know how to create, copy, hide, and delete layers. Layers let you combine images easily. For example, you can cut out a person from one photo and place them on a beach background on a new layer. Adjust the opacity of the person's layer to help blend them with the background.
Layer Styles:
Understand simple layer styles like drop shadows and strokes to boost your designs. For example, adding a drop shadow to text can make it pop, which is great for simple ad signs.
3. Mastering Basic Color Adjustments
Learn how to use simple color tools like Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, and Color Balance.
Further Reading:
These tools let you make basic color corrections. For example, if a product photo is too dark because of bad lighting, you can adjust the brightness and contrast to make it brighter and clearer, helping the product stand out.
Photoshop Skills for Intermediate Graphic Designers
A true graphic designer must master the following Photoshop skills.
At this level, you can apply for full-time graphic design jobs and also take on freelance gigs. These might include designing commercial posters or retouching e-commerce product photos (which can involve complex cutouts and detailed adjustments).
1. Excellent Cutout Skills
Learn several methods for cutting out images. These include the Quick Selection tool, the Pen tool, Channel, and Layer Masks.
For example, you can use Channels to accurately cut out objects with hair. For objects with complex edges (like irregularly shaped products), the Pen tool lets you draw precise paths.
Further Reading:
As a good graphic designer, you need to quickly cut out complex images while keeping their quality. Your cutouts should blend naturally into other backgrounds or designs.
2. Strong Image Compositing Skills
You should be able to combine images from different sources in a natural, believable way.
For example, this sci-fi poster below was made by blending images of a spaceship, starry sky, and alien creatures. By adjusting the lighting, color, and perspective, the final image looks real.
Let's take a look at the video below to see a simple breakdown of how this poster was put together.
Additionally, you need to learn perspective transformation. You should adjust image elements to match the scene's perspective. For example, when creating interior design visuals, place furniture models into a room background so they fit the room's perspective.
3. Advanced Color Management and Toning Techniques
Learn to use the Curves tool to adjust brightness, contrast, and color balance with precision. By tweaking the curves, you can create different moods, like a vintage or cinematic feel.
Also, understand basic color theory, such as complementary and analogous colors. Use this knowledge to add creative color grading.
For example, you might create a unified cool tone for a series of fashion photos by adjusting hue, saturation, and brightness. This gives the entire series a polished and consistent look.
Advanced Photoshop Skills for Senior Graphic Designers
At this level, you are an experienced senior designer. Your needs go beyond just using Photoshop.
Now, you must learn more than the software itself. You should also pick up creative design skills, image design knowledge, marketing strategies, and design psychology. You may even need to learn other tools like Adobe Illustrator.
Let's look at the Photoshop skills you need as a senior designer.
1. Creative Design and Concept Realization
You should be able to take a project from idea to final design based on the client's needs and brand values. For example, you might design a full visual identity for a new brand. This could include a logo, brand colors, fonts, and designs for packaging, ads, or websites.
You also need to spot design trends quickly. This means blending the latest ideas into your work and using Photoshop to create unique effects. You might combine 3D elements or add motion effects using the timeline.
2. Professional Retouching and Special Effects
For portraits, you must master advanced skin smoothing, liquifying, and detailed facial retouching to achieve magazine-cover quality. For product photography, you should recreate realistic textures, like the shine of metal or the feel of leather, and create natural light and shadow effects, such as reflections and shadows.
You should also be skilled at making complex effects. This includes light and shadow effects (like the Tyndall effect) and particle effects (like fireworks or starry skies). These techniques are useful in movie posters, game ads, and other high-end projects.
3. Automation and Scripting
Learn how to use Photoshop's actions and scripting features to boost your efficiency. For example, you can record actions to batch process images, like resizing or adding watermarks, saving you a lot of time.
But is that really necessary? After all, not every graphic designer can code. Still, boosting your design and work efficiency is very important.
That's why we recommend TourBox, a creative console loved by many designers and digital artists.
With TourBox, you can map common Photoshop tools and actions to its buttons and knobs. It's like using a game controller for your work. This way, you can finish tedious tasks faster and more easily.
Need to use scripts for batch actions? That's too much hassle. You can set up macros on TourBox to automate your work. They are very simple to learn, just 5 minutes and you're set. Then, let your creativity take off!
If you prefer designing on your iPad, TourBox Elite Plus might be your perfect solution.
Final Thoughts
No matter where you start, Photoshop opens a door to creativity and business success. Don't be afraid of the learning journey ahead, each new skill is a step in your growth.
If you want to be a great graphic designer, take your first step now. Use your passion and hard work to refine every image and light up every design with creativity.
Thanks for reading. We hope this article on the Photoshop skills every graphic designer needs has been helpful to you.
