Basic Computer art tips

does anyone know a good resource for basic image handling concepts?

I'd like to be able to take scanned printed media and clean it up and do what I want with it. Like clean up paper grain, get rid of filth and abstracts, make my own backgrounds and stuff.

I want to be able to take manga, magazines and art books and stuff and make my own stuff with it. Like walpaper's and custom posters and stuff.

I figure that there must be sites for this by now as there are 14 year olds who spend all their free time doing this for various shows. Anyone know of a couple online guides?

Well, as much as I want to pick on the 14 year old thing, I do like it when people decide to learn new things, so I'm-a help you out.

Best starter I can offer you is: go to your local discount bookseller, like a Book Warehouse or some such? Any place that sells overprinted books for cheap. Go to one of these, and just fuckin' LOAD UP on $1-$3 "Learning Photoshop CS" or "Photoshop 8" books. You're not going to find the latest version's books, but that doesn't matter. The basic shit never, ever changes, even if you start using GIMP or some such. A lot of these books were originally $40+, so you're saving a bunch of time and money by getting them on the cheap.

Get about $30 worth of books for a couple bucks a pop.

Go home. Open up the book with the clearest pictures, read it, do every walkthrough exercise, even if they seem basic.

Bam.

You just saved a few hundred bucks off against taking the "Photoshop Basics" course at your local Community College.

You're welcome.

This will only lead to Cheeks making his own Kim Possible porn.

I figure, best case he gets interested and turns it into an internship down the line, what the hell.

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Originally Posted by Cowutopia

This will only lead to Cheeks making his own Kim Possible porn.

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har har har Cow is so funny >: I

actually I was going to do it to make posters to sell to college kids for some extra scratch and if I get good with it I can use it to flesh out my ideas at work. You know, it is one thing to tell a suit about your idea, it is another thing to bring in a picture. People like pictures. Even more than powerpoint

Here are some of my basic guitar ideas.

Lynda.com will learn ya everything... FOR A PRICE. like $25 a month, but if you're cheap or poor you can cheat the system by repeatedly signing up for free week trials under different emails. I'm going to ask for a subscription for my birthday.

Other things, just figure out exactly what you want to do and look for how to do it. You can figure out everything yourself if you go through the help file on just about any program.

One thing to keep in mind, unless you have access to some special printer or something, posters are very cost prohibitive. It was like $60+ to print an image at your typical poster size at Kinko's. If you have an on-campus resource, you can probably do it for less, but I doubt they'd let you use it for free, as the big plotters and whatever else departments use are expensive to fill and maintain. College kids might drop $20 max for a sweet custom poster, I'm guessing.

As for your actual concern, also try torrenting some tutorials. I think I got one called Adobe Photoshop Killer Tips that has like 40 little quicktimes that demonstrate common tasks.

It depends if it's huge or not huge. You can go 11x17 for prints and that won't cost you a huge amount. Also, there's the option of using DeviantArt, where you don't have to worry about your printing costs at all. I'm sure there are other options on the internet.

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Originally Posted by Finch

Also, there's the option of using DeviantArt, where you don't have to worry about your printing costs at all.

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wait what?

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Originally Posted by FuryFox

One thing to keep in mind, unless you have access to some special printer or something, posters are very cost prohibitive.

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or the internet

http://www.psprint.com/printing_prod...r_printing.asp

if you get like 300 of them, you can get them $2 each

other resources

http://www.printplace.com/printing/p...FQH1PAod52gsZw

What are you going to do with 300 posters?

wallpaper my house

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Originally Posted by YellerDog

What are you going to do with 300 posters?

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You weren't paying attention.

"I saw pop for a dollar a six pack. That price fucks with you man, cuz then you think you're gonna start to sell pop.
Hey man. Want some pop? It's fifty cents a can. It's not refigerated cuz this is a halfassed commitment."

http://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Ado.../dp/0321334116

Real World Photoshop is one of the best, if not the best photoshop books I've ever come across. That link goes to a previous version of the book, but it doesn't matter because the basic theory never really changes, plus it is cheaper than buying the cs3 version. This thing is the size of a phone book and breaks down just about everything photoshop does into easy to understand instructions. It doesn't just tell you what something does, it will also tell you why it does what it does. Understanding the theory behind these things will make you a better photoshop user. This book is essentially a text book, but I read through this thing like it was a novel. I can't recommend it enough.

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Originally Posted by Dyne

wait what?

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DeviantArt. You submit the print, people order it. You have to make sure it's at a high resolution and all, but Deviant takes its bit from the price they charge, you get your bit after that.