Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#31

Post by nonane » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:27 PM UTC

watty wrote: post #29

nonane wrote: post #20

Cool fact: Try searching for this in Google: How do I make X in Photoshop? X is any physical object you can think of. This will return relevant results for all valid values of X. Examples for X: 1) X=Earth: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&#3... 2) X=Sand: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&#3... 3) X=Monkey: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&#3... 4) X=Pyra…

Just because you can Google something doesn't mean you "know" it. Try the same thing with any programming language.

True. To me it was surprising to find out how many extremely specific Photoshop tutorials are out there.

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#32

Post by jaxn » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:28 PM UTC

flog wrote: post #15

Follow up question: who paid for it? (half joking)

I bought an OEM copy of CS3 for something like $200. I registered with Adobe and everything.

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#33

Post by Samuel_Michon » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:30 PM UTC

"Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?"

Can anyone ever know Photoshop? I've been a Photoshop user since version 2.5.1 (1994), and even though I use Photoshop daily, I feel I've barely scratched the surface of its power. Photoshop is the main reason why I keep my Lynda.com subscription.

Last week, Dan Benjamin and Jeffrey Zeldman interviewed Adobe's John Nack for 'The Big Web Show'. John Nack himself admitted to not knowing everything about Photoshop, even though he used to be Adobe's Photoshop Senior Product Manager.

http://5by5.tv/bigwebshow/37

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#34

Post by eftpotrm » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:30 PM UTC

Ducks, gets ready for the onslaught

Actually, for simple mockups which seem to be what most people here are talking about, I most often use PowerPoint...

Obviously it's a long way behind Photoshop for general sketching, let alone the far more sophsticated stuff Photoshop can do, but when we just need a quick overview of an interface concept, it works fine. It's relatively easy to use and the whole office already has it and largely knows the basics.

Plus, because it forces you into a very primitive sketch, no-one starts debating fonts and colourschemes, or whether things should line up slightly differently. Focus on that later, get the general concept out there and sorted first.

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#35

Post by eagleal » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:30 PM UTC

theoretical wrote: post #5

I use Fireworks. I find it so much easier for doing web design/photo editing/anything than Photoshop.

I started using Fireworks since CS4. At first I didn't understand how it was different than say Photoshop or Illustrator for web design. Then as soon as I started mocking and designing UIs for actual web applications, or applications, Fireworks showed it's strength. (Heck I sometimes use it to make logos, http://www.ptizo.com/media/preview/brand/ptizo-logo-alpha.pn...)

The number one reason I prefer Fireworks it's that the file itself can be viewed as normal PNG (and still retain editable features). The second is the mix of vector/pixel objects (all you want from vectors but as pixels).

If you have to design for the web I would recommend you to use Fireworks over Photoshop as your design tool (please stop with the shadows and gradient madness, they make the page rendering slow and scrolling crappy).

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#36

Post by Rhodee » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:32 PM UTC

153351 wrote: post #16

theoretical wrote: post #5

I use Fireworks. I find it so much easier for doing web design/photo editing/anything than Photoshop.

Fireworks continues to be underrated...

To their detriment.

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#37

Post by mconnors » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:33 PM UTC

i am 38 and remember photoshop 1. Around 5.0 I was great at it, now I don't bother to keep up. Back in the day you would keep 20 versions of one document- no layers. I wonder how many people realize how much of PS is taken from pre-press, channels and mask are essentially rubylith and overlays

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#38

Post by loire280 » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:36 PM UTC

oneplusone wrote: post #8

I have thought about making video tutorials on how to use Photoshop to create practical design elements. Ie, how to make a button or how to design a header. Something every programmer making their own webapp could use that doesn't really require much Photoshop knowledge. Would there be any interest?

Yes, Photoshop knowledge is one of the major gaps in my toolset. I'm a little ashamed that I have to go to a designer for basic interface elements.

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#39

Post by munificent » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:39 PM UTC

It's important to keep in mind that "knowing Photoshop" has little to no equivalence with "knowing how to design" anymore than "I know vi" means "I can program". Both are equally valid skills, but learning the former won't automatically address the latter too.

Re: Ask HN: Do you know Photoshop?

#40

Post by kaylarose » Fri, Feb 11, 2011, 6:40 PM UTC

statictype wrote: post #14

oneplusone wrote: post #8

I have thought about making video tutorials on how to use Photoshop to create practical design elements. Ie, how to make a button or how to design a header. Something every programmer making their own webapp could use that doesn't really require much Photoshop knowledge. Would there be any interest?

Yes please. I recently discovered that I could create reasonably decent looking UI elements using only layer styles. I assume there are better ways to do it.

Don't underestimate the value of layer styles. In fact I would say that for most UI design 80% of the "visual style" can be achieved via layer styles.

Just make sure to Name and Group your layers, otherwise you can end up with 100s of layers named Layer N with undecipherable thumbnails. Also it's nice to save your most commonly used layer styles to swatches.