Complete Guide to Adobe Photoshop

We introduce Photoshop's interface: document window, options bar, menu bar, status bar, toolbar on the left, and panels on the right (layers, adjustments, colour). You'll learn to switch workspaces, create new documents with presets for different sizes and colour modes, and navigate using zoom and pan shortcuts.

The Layers panel explained: layer hierarchy, blending mode dropdown, opacity slider, lock options, and fill percentage. You'll create, delete, and duplicate layers, arrange layer order by dragging, and unlock the background layer to make it editable.

Move tool for repositioning layers, plus the full selection toolkit: rectangular and elliptical marquee, single row and single column marquee. We demonstrate modifier keys to constrain proportions or draw from centre, then cover lasso tool, polygonal lasso for straight edges, and magnetic lasso that snaps to contrast edges.

Brush tool with foreground/background colour control. The options bar covers brush presets, size, hardness, blending mode, opacity, flow, and smoothing. Learn how to create custom brushes that stamp graphics—like trees—onto your plan drawings, turning hours of manual work into quick clicks.

Shape tools: rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, triangle, polygon, line, and custom shapes. Modifier keys constrain proportions or draw from centre. Fill and stroke options include solid colour, gradient, and pattern fills. You'll also learn gradient tool basics for creating smooth colour transitions.

File > Open versus Place Embedded versus Place Linked—and when to use each. Smart objects keep your original image intact so you can transform, filter, and adjust non-destructively. Learn how to relink a smart object when the source file changes, keeping your Photoshop file automatically updated.

Adjustment layers for non-destructive editing: brightness/contrast, levels, curves, exposure, hue/saturation, and black and white. Each adjustment layer comes with a mask—paint black to hide the effect, white to reveal it. Layer masks and vector masks work the same way, letting you isolate edits to specific areas.

Type tool for horizontal and vertical text, plus the type mask tool that creates selections in the shape of your text. The Character panel controls typeface, font style, size, leading, tracking, and colour. The Paragraph panel handles alignment and justification. Warp text bends your type along arcs and waves.

Opacity versus Fill—fill affects only the layer contents, not strokes or effects. Blending modes (multiply, screen, overlay, etc.) control how layers interact with those below. Layer styles via the FX button add bevel/emboss, stroke, inner/drop shadow, inner/outer glow, satin, and colour/gradient/pattern overlays.

Save as PSD to preserve layers and editability. Save As exports to JPEG (with quality slider), PNG, TIFF, and more. Export > Save for Web (Legacy) optimises for screen with precise control over format, quality, and file size. You can also save directly to PDF or use Print for physical output.

Stacking render elements: denoised beauty pass, diffuse (base colour/texture), shadow, raw shadow, reflection, specular, lighting, and global illumination. Using multiply blend mode for shadows, screen for lighting passes, and opacity adjustments to balance them. Grouping layers keeps your file organised as complexity grows.

Cutting out figures using object selection tool, polygonal lasso, and magnetic lasso. Refining edges for clean hair selection. Scaling people to match the scene's perspective, then adding cast shadows and adjusting colour/brightness so they sit naturally in the render rather than looking pasted on.

Sourcing cutout trees from online libraries and previewing PSD files in Adobe Bridge. Placing trees at correct scale, masking them behind objects (like the house) using magic wand or select by colour range. Creating ground shadows with the brush tool and adjusting tree lighting with adjustment layers clipped to each tree layer.

Applying texture overlays using multiply blend mode for simple surfaces like concrete. For directional textures (wood planks), the perspective warp tool (Edit > Perspective Warp) maps textures onto angled surfaces accurately. Replacing the sky or background entirely using masks and blending to match the scene's lighting mood.

Adding contact shadows where objects meet surfaces—a subtle dark line that grounds elements. Photo filter adjustment layers add warm or cool tints to match lighting direction. The Camera Raw filter applies final colour grading: exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, vibrance, and tone curves for a polished, client-ready result.