Photoshop CC: Essential Skills

New to Photoshop? Looking to unlock the impressive power of Photoshop CC? Want to master image editing techniques and achieve professional-level results?

Then Photoshop CC: Essential Skills is the resource you need. This book and companion website’s proven combination of real world image editing examples, step-by-step projects, and professional advice from two internationally recognized authors and Adobe Photoshop Ambassadors delivers an essential learning experience for beginner to intermediate Photoshop users.

This self-study guide to Photoshop CC covers the foundational skills for photographers and image editors to get started before moving onto more advanced image editing and photomontage techniques. A complete section of step-by-step imaging projects and 10+ hours of video tutorials on the companion website hone image editing skills to yield expert-quality results.

Most important skills to learn : photoshop

What are THE most important photoshop skills to learn, if one wants to become more proficient in photoshop quickly. Basically I want to apply the 80/20 rule to mastering photoshop. Master the 20% of skills that do 80% of the heavy lifting. And of course build up from there.

I know that part of MY journey needs to include mastering selections and layers masks. I'd also want to master the the pen tool (not sure how critical that is though) The pen tool has always been tough for me to wrap my brain around.

Thanks for your input.

7 Websites for Learning Adobe Illustrator [List]

The art of illustrating is an innate talent, but talent alone is not enough. If you want to be remarkable, you need to have the right mix of creativity, inspiration, and technical know-how. In this day and age, it’s easier for you to do exactly that. Thanks to the Internet, tutorials and learning tools are easily accessible with a click.

Adobe Illustrator is the most common platform that illustrators and artists use to deliver work and showcase their talent. If you want to create output that can wow, you need to learn the ropes of this software.

Master Adobe Illustrator and gain a competitive edge with the help of these seven websites.

What better way to learn the software than from its developer? features content that teaches the ins and outs of the software. So whether you’re a beginner or a veteran graphic artist who just wants to brush up on existing skills, Adobe’s tutorials and exercises can help you.

Layers claims to be the “How-To Magazine for Everything Adobe”. True enough, they have an extensive library of tutorials for different Adobe software, including Illustrator.

Tuts+ features very specific Illustrator tutorials like “How to Create Animated Vector Icons in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop” or “How to Create a Moldovan Chibi Character in Adobe Illustrator”. If you’re looking for a more focused guide to help you achieve a particular treatment for an illustration, Tuts+ is a good place to go. Basically, you can access Tuts+ tutorials for free, but you can take a paid subscription to get dibs on additional perks like downloadable videos, e-books, and credits to Envato studio.

Vectips offers tutorials on how to create Vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator, as well as tips and tricks on graphic design in general. There’s also an interview and inspiration section, and you can go to these pages if you want to gain more insight into the design industry or you're just looking for something that can help get your creative juices flowing.

Since 1995, has been offering tutorials taught by the experts. Their lessons range from business and creative skills to the necessary software needed in different markets. Today, they have a vast selection of tutorials for Adobe Illustrator that is accessible to desktop and mobile devices, allowing you to learn about the software anywhere and anytime you want. offers free trials, but you need a paid subscription if you want to access their entire library.

Creative Bloq is a website dedicated to artists, designers, illustrators, and animators. It has a section for Adobe Illustrator tutorials and other resources on Web and graphic design, 3D animation, and a whole lot more.

Chris Spooner is the man behind Blog.Spoon Graphics. His goal for creating this website is to have a digital playground and an avenue for providing tips and tutorials to beginners and veteran designers alike. Aside from tutorials, you can also access free elements and tools that you can use for your projects. Some of the content can be accessed for free while a more extensive library and set of tools are available through a paid subscription.

Which of these websites do you find the most helpful? Please let us know why. Meanwhile, if you know of other Adobe Illustrator sources not mentioned in this list, feel free to share them with us in the comments.