Trusted Adobe Tutorials for Designing Beginners

This is a guest post compiled by Natalie Bracco. 

Today's graphic designers rely on Adobe Photoshop and a handful of other programs. Without access to reliable Photoshop tutorials, chances are that you will quickly fall behind other professionals in your industry. It takes more than just finding a couple tutorials. To stay at the top of your game, find communities and websites that can give you access to the latest, best tutorials that will help you keep up with the latest trends.

Keep It Fresh with Outlaw Design

Outlaw Design is a great place for any graphics artist to visit regularly. They have daily blog posts (some of which make sense and of which are just off-the-wall laughs), articles that can get burgeoning artists off the ground with some innovative ideas, and, yes, plenty of tutorials that meet the needs of beginners and advanced users.

Perhaps the coolest thing about Outlaw Design is that it operates as a community. It's almost like that basement room at the community center where weirdos hang out and show each other how to overexpose gelatin film... except it's a 2012 version that happens online. If the site doesn't already have the resources that you need, someone will point you in the right direction.

Explore the Latest Photoshop Tools with Digital Arts

Digital Arts has the appearance and structure of a magazine. That might seem a little odd at first, but the site is actually quite easy to navigate. Digital Arts offers a ton of Photoshop tutorials. The list seems to grow daily as more artists add to the library.

Even cooler, though, is that contributors often submit tutorials for related programs. Once you become a whiz with Adobe's design programs, you might want to start incorporating elements from other software into your work. Learning from multiple sources on Digital Arts could, for instance, teach you how to add Adobe Audition music files to your graphic arts. It's not something a beginner can do, but it's a thought that can keep you excited as you develop your basic design skills and start exploring more complicated materials.

Infinite Skills Visual Software Training

Infinite Skills feels more like a library than a community of freaks. Daily posts at Infinite Skills delve into specific areas of design. You can also find a large collection of Photoshop Tutorials. Want to know how to warp text, organize layers on a screen, or use filters to create fog and les flairs? Infinite Skills gives you step-by-step tutorials that make these tasks easy.

Many of the tutorials are free, especially to beginners who just need to learn basic skills. You can use your Multimedia Android Tablet to briefly go over interest tutorials or follow them step-by-step to master new techniques. Once you become more advance, though, you can sign up for their Adobe Photoshop Training Series. You get a free month of the service if you would like to check it out first.

As with many types of art, you need to meet people and you need to learn from them. Outlaw Design, Digital Arts, and Infinite Skills are three of the coolest places for you to get started. Most of the people there will help you find the sources you need and encourage you to take steps towards becoming a better artist.

This post was written by Natalie Bracco. She is a freelance writer and an amateur baker. When she's not busy in the kitchen, you can find her writing about technology, travel, food and finance. Follow her on Twitter @nataliebracco.