Best online Photoshop courses
If you are thinking of getting started in Photoshop and want to take a course that allows you to learn the basics of the program easily and quickly, you should know that not all courses to learn Photoshop from scratch are the same.
There are courses to learn Photoshop from scratch that are suitable even for people with no experience in visual arts. On the other hand, there are courses specifically designed for people who are into or have an interest in illustration, photography, concept art or web design.
In this article we have analyzed more than 25 courses and selected the best and most current ones, so you can learn Photoshop with the course that best suits your needs and interests.
The 6 best online Photoshop courses of 2024
Photoshop 2023 Essential Training
Best course to learn Photoshop from scratch
Photoshop 2023 Essential Training is intended for anyone who wants to approach Photoshop for the first time, regardless of whether they have a visual arts background or previous experience with the program.
That said, the people who will benefit most from this course are designers, creatives, photographers and students looking to refresh, reinforce or expand their basic Photoshop skills.
One advantage of LinkedIn Learning, the platform that hosts this course, is that it has a subscription model like Crehana and other similar platforms, so you can expand your Photoshop knowledge with more courses without paying more for each additional course.
LinkedIn Learning trainers are a guarantee of quality. In this case, the course teacher is Julieanne Kost, a multi-awarded Photoshop instructor and author of several Photoshop guides.
This course stands out for the quality of its curriculum over 9 h and 07 min of video and the interconnection with other Photoshop courses available on LinkedIn Learning for further learning.
Is Photoshop 2023 Essential Training worth it?
The course is intended to be useful for everyone, so the examples are very general. But at the same time, this makes it somewhat generic for those looking to get started in Photoshop for a specific specialty.
Adobe Photoshop for photographers
The best course in advertising photography
The Adobe Photoshop for photographers course is specially designed for photographers who are new to Photoshop, but especially for those who are interested in advertising photography.
The course stands out for teaching how to make realistic photomontages and how to treat images to make them look more spectacular, especially in outdoor photography, portraits and product photography.
The instructor is Oriol Segon, a multi-award winning photographer with a long experience in photography and post-production for commercial projects.
The complete training has a duration of 9h 18 min and is divided into 5 modules (or courses), grouping 47 lessons and 168 additional resources. The titles of the modules are as follows
- Introduction to Adobe Photoshop
- Adjustments, masks and Smart Raw
- On-site session: photo retouching and postproduction
- Creating an advertising portrait
- Product photography with integration of digital elements
Is Adobe Photoshop for photographers worth it?
For beginners it may be difficult to follow some points, but Oriol’s explanations are clear and his style is so enjoyable that you end up learning everything.
Adobe Photoshop for Illustration
The best digital illustration course with Photoshop
Over 6 courses or modules, Adobe Photoshop for Illustration teaches you how to set up your workspace, use the most useful tools and effects for an illustrator, and everything you need to take a project from start to finish.
What you learn about digital illustration in this course took me months, and some things even years to learn on my own, so I find it a very useful to quickly develop your skills.
The instructor is Gemma Román, a renowned Mexican illustrator who has worked with clients such as Disney, Mattel, Cerveza Indio and Claro Video, in addition to illustrating several children’s books for publishers around the world.
The training includes 43 lessons and 23 additional resources, with a duration of 7 h 56 min and the module topics are as follows
- Introduction
- Sketching, drawing and tracing tools
- Color
- The moment to paint
- Effects, finishing and extras
- Optimization, printing and other applications
You should keep in mind that you can do the practical exercises with a mouse, but if there is a course where it is highly recommended to use a pen tablet to do the practical exercises, it is this one, since it allows you to have a better control of your strokes.
Is Adobe Photoshop for Illustration worth it?
In this course you will learn from how to make the initial sketches to how to apply effects to your illustrations, so it is a very complete course and recommended for anyone interested in illustrating with Photoshop.
Introduction to Adobe Photoshop
The best course to make creative photomontages with Photoshop
As the name suggests, Introduction to Adobe Photoshop is aimed at beginners who want to be introduced to Photoshop with the intention of getting into digital image design and editing.
After learning the basics of Photoshop, the course focuses on the application of Photoshop for creative photomontages. It stands out for the practical application of the lessons and its excellent examples. All of them are explained step by step and are based on real work.
The teacher is Carles Marsal, a visual artist specialized in matte painting, contept art and digital photomontages. Carles has worked with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Beefeater, La Caixa or Sàpiens magazine.
As you will see below, the course is divided into 5 modules (or “courses”), containing 50 lessons and 6 practices, plus 84 additional resources. The main sections of the course are the following:
- First contact
- The thousand transformations
- The brush artist
- The magic of retouching
- Lights, shadows, color
If you use a mouse instead of a pen tablet there will be practices that will be more difficult to execute. However, this is not a problem for learning the course content.
Is Introduction to Adobe Photoshop worth it?
A photomontage can be approached in many ways that can make it very easy, or the opposite. With this course you learn a lot of good practices that help you to establish a good foundation from the beginning.
Adobe Photoshop for Concept Art
The best Photoshop Concept Art course
If you want to learn Photoshop to get started in the world of concept art, Adobe Photoshop for Concept Art is ideal for learning all the basics you need when starting as a concept artist.
The highlight of this course is that it not only teaches you how to use Photoshop, but also introduces you to the world of Concept Art for videogames, as well as advising you on how to present your pieces, if you are really interested in working in the industry.
The instructor is Nacho Yagüe, who is currently Studio Art Director at Gameloft. Nacho has also worked in art direction for games such as Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Watch Dogs 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion.
The course is divided into 7 modules (or courses) with 54 lessons and 42 additional resources to complement your training. In total there are 6 h and 15 min, in which you will learn
- Introduction to concept art
- Getting to know Adobe Photoshop
- Menu and more options
- The first sketches
- Layers
- Creating a professional concept art
- Saving and presenting your project
Is Adobe Photoshop for Concept Art worth it?
Let’s be honest, if you don’t already have some practice or talent in illustrating, it will be difficult to achieve results like those of the instructor. But thanks to this course, you will make a huge leap of progress very quickly.
Adobe Photoshop for Web Design
Best Web Design Course
If your intention is to learn Photoshop for website and interface design, Adobe Photoshop for Web Design will provide you with a solid foundation of theoretical and practical knowledge.
The course is distinguished by its subject matter expertise, quality content and practical approach.
The course will teach you how to design with grids for desktop and mobile, as well as how to plan the design to be responsive. You will also learn how to correctly use images and typography for web design.
The teacher is Arturo Servin, Adobe Certified Instructor and graphic and web designer with extensive professional experience.
The course is divided into 6 courses or modules with 105 additional resources, over 7 h 42 min. During this time you will learn everything you need to know about the basics of Photoshop for Web Design:
- Basic principles
- Web site layout
- Working with layers
- Typography
- Responsive design
- Generating assets
Is Adobe Photoshop for Web Design worth it?
Some people may miss that the course does not go deeper into HTML or CSS knowledge to combine it with Photoshop. But don’t worry, Domestika has specific courses on these subjects to complement your knowledge.
How to get the most of the best online Photoshop courses
All of the above courses can be learned from scratch and therefore none of them require any previous Photoshop training or knowledge. However, you can always get more out of these courses if you already have previous knowledge of design, illustration or photography, for example.
To reinforce your knowledge you can also complement your learning with our selection of the best books to learn Photoshop. Nowadays, they include online exercises, exercises and supplementary materials.
Requirements for the courses
Software
All courses can be followed through your phone or tablet, but to perform the practical exercises you will need to have Adobe Photoshop installed, which is only available for PC, Mac and iPad tablets.
Most of the courses are based on the latest version of Photoshop, so you will find it easier to recognize the interface and learn the tools and functions if you are using the same version.
You can download Photoshop from the Adobe website. There is a 7-day trial version and then you can find different subscription plans to choose from.
Equipment
Note that you will need a computer or an iPad with an internet connection and capable of running Photoshop. If you don’t already have either, our article “How to choose a laptop for Graphic Design” will help you choose the one that best suits your needs.
For some of these courses it’s also advisable to use a graphics tablet instead of a mouse.
How to choose the best courses to learn Photoshop from scratch
All of these courses will make it easy for you to learn Photoshop on a solid, structured foundation of theoretical and practical knowledge. Learning platforms like Domestika have partnered with great professionals around the world to offer excellent, well-structured and filmed courses at the best price. Check out my full review of Domestika if you want to know more.
If you already have a previous interest in some specialty (illustration, photography, concept art or web design), my recommendation is that you go directly to the courses that offer an initiation already oriented to that specialty.
The way of approaching the use of the program is totally different from one specialty to another and without a doubt, these courses will give you a competitive advantage.
Of course, these courses are just the beginning and to reach an advanced level of Photoshop you will have to continue studying and practicing. You can get an idea of how long it can take you to reach an advanced Photoshop level in my article “How long does it take to learn Photoshop“.
