40 Best Photoshop Tutorials From 2011

• December 5th, 2011
• Photoshop

This is a collection of my personal favourite Photoshop tutorials created throughout 2011 which have the best final outcome. Their is a lot of ways to learn photoshop, by far the best way to improve your photoshop skills is by doiing tutorial, i’m certain that any tutorial on this list will help teach you some new skills.

1. Create “Cool” Typography Using Paths in Photoshop

In this tutorial you will demonstrate how to create some “cool” custom typography.

2. Creating an Expressive Painting Using a Freestyle Method in Photoshop

In this tutorial It will share the process for what Is called Freestyle Expressive Painting in Photoshop. My goal is not too teach any new mind blowing techniques here, but to explore my process for creating a piece of art through a rough idea or loose concept. The process is very open, and involves a bit of trial and error, but what makes it a lot of fun is the experimentation involved.

3. How to Make  a Car Advertisement Poster Design

In this graphic design tutorial, you’ll cover the essential advertising workflow.  By following along with this Photoshop ad tutorial, you’ll see how to take just a simple stock image and build a pixel perfect artwork around it, while also communicating valuable information about the brand to viewers.

4. Flaming Car in Photoshop by Lincoln Soares

It will show you how to create a flaming car. We saw this effect before and it’s quite simple but it’s a good exercise and the result is quite good. You can also apply this effect on other images.

5. Colorful Retro Text Effect

This tutorial will show you how to use Photoshop brushes and layer styles to create an awesome colorful retro text effect.

6. Create a Sweet Donut Icon in Photoshop from Scratch

In this icon design tutorial you will learn how to make a sweet and tasty donut icon from an initial sketch. So let’s begin, and remember: don’t try to bite the screen!

7. How To Draw a Vintage Polaroid Camera Icon

In this tutorial, you will create a Polaroid camera icon. You will use lots of layer styles and draw manually with the brush tool to achieve a realistic appearance.

8. Yummy Cookies Typography in Photoshop

So in this tutorial It will show you how to create a really nice text effect playing with cookies texture and layer styles. The technique is super simple and the whole process won’t take more than 30 minutes.

8. Yummy Cookies Typography in Photoshop

So in this tutorial It will show you how to create a really nice text effect playing with cookies texture and layer styles. The technique is super simple and the whole process won’t take more than 30 minutes.

9. Captain America Shield in Photoshop

So in this tutorial It will show you how to create the Captain America shield using Photoshop. The whole process is quite simple and won’t take you more than 45 minutes.

10. Create a surreal desert scene in photoshop

In this photo manipulation tutorial, you will create a surreal desert scene with everything turning into sand. We will start with simple techniques, such as replacing the sky and adding a focus effect to the landscape. Then I will show you how to mask areas of the model’s hands, dress and other elements of the scene and replace those areas with sand using a custom particles brush.

11. Create an Exploding Light Text Effect in Photoshop

In this tutorial It will take a look at a couple of techniques for an exploding text effect. I knew going into this tutorial that I wanted a thick heavy font with portions that are corroding and breaking apart with various explosions, and I want some dramatic lighting to punch it up a bit.

12. How to Create a Location Map Icon in Photoshop

In this tutorial we will be using Adobe Photoshop to create a modern map with dropped pin icon. This tutorial assumes familiarity with Adobe Photoshop at an intermediate level, for example you should understand the basics of layer styles and how perform most basic functions, this covers lighting and vector drawing techniques, and will teach you the fundamentals of icon design in Photoshop, including using basic shapes, masks and effects to create an attractive, sleek result that is scalable for different sizes and devices.

13. How to Create a Location Map Icon in Photoshop 

In this tutorial we will be using Adobe Photoshop to create a modern map with dropped pin icon. This tutorial assumes familiarity with Adobe Photoshop at an intermediate level, for example you should understand the basics of layer styles and how perform most basic functions, this covers lighting and vector drawing

14. Trap Your Friends in a Jar Using Photoshop

Have you ever had a friend who was so great that you wanted to put them in a jar and save them for later? Ok, that might not be possible and may be a bit creepy but in Photoshop you can do anything right? In this tutorial we will learn how to take photos of your friends and place them into jars. This tutorial is a lot of fun and is something that you can do with practically any digital camera and Photoshop.

15. Create a Detailed Vintage TV from Scratch in Photoshop

In today’s tutorial, It will show you how to create a detailed vintage TV from scratch using Photoshop’s vector editing capabilities. The detailed step by step guide will help you to understand the process of its creation.

16. Create a 3D text effect in Photoshop

Friends, today’s Photoshop tutorial is about how to create 3D text effect in Photoshop using editable text and layer styles.

17. Create a Plaid Pattern in Photoshop

Patterns can be extremely useful for quickly creating backgrounds for your work. Having a diverse catalog of Photoshop pattern sets at your disposal will make it easy to try a variety of different patterns. In this tutorial we’ll walk through the process of creating a plaid pattern, which you can then duplicate with other color combinations to compile your own set of plaid patterns.

18. Create a Surreal Out of Bounds Photo Manipulation in Photoshop

In this tutorial we will combine several images of water, animals, and people to create a surreal out of bounds photo manipulation in Photoshop.

19. Create a Black Swan Inspired Movie Poster

In this tutorial, you’ll look at how to create a Black Swan inspired movie poster.  You’ll see how to manipulate some stock images into a seamless design, add in elements for depth of field, and finish it all off.

20. Creating Dynamic Video Game Cover Art in Adobe Photoshop

In this tutorial you’re going to explore how to recreate an awesome video cover art with just a couple of photos and a single Photoshop brush set. The intent of this tutorial is to show you how what looks like a complex design can really be very simple when deconstructed.

21. Making a Superhero Movie Teaser Poster

In this tutorial it will give you an example of how to create a movie teaser poster. It will show you how to draw a mask for your character using the pen tool , blend modes and textures.

22. Create a Fallen, Rain-Soaked, Angel Composition in Photoshop

In today’s tutorial you will demonstrate how to create a lonely, fallen, rain-soaked, angel composition in Photoshop using photo manipulation techniques.

23. Create a surreal smoking bird composition

n this Photoshop tutorial, you will be making a monochromatic scene with the subject being a bird in flight with smoke surrounding its body. We will be using a high contrast stock image that we will manipulate and combine with smoke brushes.

24. Logo Design Process and Walkthrough for BioThemes

the BioThemes logo was build in Photoshop at super large dimensions. The whole design is based on a leaf texture file sourced from Caleb Kimbrough.

25. Tutorial: How To Design a Realistic Takeout Coffee Icon

In this tutorial you’re going to show you how to design an icon from our popular freebie, the Incredibly Detailed Drinks Icon Pack. We’ll walk you through the process of creating the takeout coffee cup from start to finish, exploring a wide variety of techniques in Photoshop that can be applied to almost any type of design and drawing.

26. Create A Mixed Media Piece Using Photoshop

In this tutorial I will be showing you how to take any drawing and turn it into a mixed media masterpiece using Photoshop. We will be combining some digital painting techniques with textures and light effects to achieve the desired result. I will be showing you how you can use these techniques for just about any type of design.

27. Create an Ice Cream Type Treatment in Photoshop

The process is simple enough for any level Photoshop lover. We will be dealing with illustration techniques, and will explore the power of layer styles applied to custom brushes.

28. Draw a Roll of Camera Film in Photoshop

Icon design can be a lot of fun. In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a roll of camera film using Photoshop.

29. How to create Abstract Starfield Background in Photoshop CS5

In the following Quick Tip tutorial you will learn how to mix different shapes, brushes and blending modes in Photoshop CS5 to create awesome space scene. Layered PSD file included.

30. Create a “Minion” Character From the Despicable Me Movie

In this tutorial, you will use Photoshop and Illustrator to create a cute minion character.

31. Meteorite Impact Photoshop tutorial

In this tutorial IT will show you how to create a building hit by a meteorite. I tried to simplify it so that less advanced users can follow it. I’ll show you how to create a realistic smoke trail and a meteorite using only Photoshop filters and custom brushes. All stock images used in this tutorial can be downloaded for free. Hope you like the final result.

32. Create a Lost Fantasy Micro World with Powerful Photo Manipulation Techniques in Photoshop

You will take a break from the ordinary stuff and go into a fantasy world. Learn how to build up your own micro society using many different pictures and some cool photo manipulation techniques.

33. Create A Spaced Themed Poster

In this graphic design tutorial, we are going to be making a dynamic digital creation using a combination of stock photos, textures and brushes. We will also incorporate blend mode techniques, coloring effects, and some cool light effects as well.

34. Create an Explosive Flaming Poker Card in Photoshop

In this tutorial I will show you how to create your own custom poker card from scratch by using the wide variety of shapes that come with Photoshop. I will also show you techniques on how to manipulate fire by using simple methods.

35. Create a 3D Text Effect Using Photoshop Layer Styles

Photoshop layer styles are the first tool beginners learn to enhance text effects. In this tutorial I’m going to show you how powerful and flexible this tool is.

36. Make A Retro Space Themed Design

In this Photoshop tutorial, we will create a retro-themed scene that utilizes different lighting effects and arrangements.

37. Design a futuristic 2011 wallpaper

You couldn’t start the new year without a Photoshop tutorial on how to realize a high-style 2011 wallpaper! Let’s create together a futuristic type treatment in 16 easy-to-follow steps. We will deal in particular with layer masks and light effects. Also I will show you the power of layer styles and how they can be used to realize awesome text effects.

38. Manipulate a Dancer Illustration in Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll see how to manipulate a single stock image in Photoshop to create a dance illustration.

39. Fluffy Clouds in Photoshop

So in this tutorial I will show you how to create an wallpaper with some very stylized and super fluffy clouds in Photoshop. We will use basic tools and Layer Styles to create the effect.

40. Create a Paint Brush in Photoshop

Creating still-life objects in Photoshop is often great practice for learning how to create other objects. In today’s tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a realistic-looking paint brush using layer styles, clipping masks, and the not-so-commonly-used blend if sliders.