[Paroxysm]

Hi guys,

As a side project I have been interested in for a LONGGGGGGG time (I'm talking at least 3 years), I am really interested in learning various styles of programming, as well as learning how to use Photoshop at a high level.

To be honest, I have little experience regarding the two areas of computing and need a small nudge in the right direction with regards to tutorials, good 'beginner' areas to start with and just general tips and hints.

I am planning to write a guide with all of my compiled information for other people who want to learn both Photoshop and computer programming (both website and program based).

Any help is greatly appreciated, and if anyone else is interested in learning to program or use photoshop like a bawss, let me know, as it would be great to have a larger learning environment.

ParO

[iMSystem]

I feel that I know quite a lot about Photoshop personally that I can help you with anything really, as for guides though, there are plenty out there. Where I learnt most of my stuff from is http://www.tutorialized.com/ they have plenty of photoshop tutorials from beginner stuff to advanced stuff.

Programming as well I can help with a few things, Java and C/C++ are my areas in that.

Quick Comments

Paroxysm:

[Paroxysm]

Thanks heaps for that link system, as for the programming, I'm not sure which style of programming I should start with

Quick Comments

mGGAequitas:

as2 is fun language :)

[mGGAequitas]

YEAH!! two of my favourite things after starcraft!
for learning photoshop i generally just use google to search for a tutorial on the effect I want to do.
www.pxleyes.com is a good site for tutorials and also some cool competitions which help with motivation and are a good way to practice. (or just some ideas)

as for programming it really depends on what language

Quick Comments

Paroxysm:

[|Erasmus|]

Python is an easy language to pick up and that is useful to code small things that are actually practical with a minimum of fuss.

It's the current language I would default to recommending as an introduction to programming.

Quick Comments

	Paroxysm:
	QEDFridge:	also, python has a bitching library for android. first thing I made was an sms spammer.

[iMSystem]

Depends on what you want to program, you should be able to program whatever you need in Java, but it is a lot less efficient than what C or C++ is.

But yea, it all depends on exactly what you want to program, if you just want to learn something, then take your pick.

Java is a little bit easier to grasp, but C is stronger

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Paroxysm:

[TheGentleman]

The most important thing when learning to program is to pick up the concepts. Once you have that down you should be able to pick up other languages with ease. Python is most certainly a user friendly language that is used in the real world and definitely one I would recommend.

Quick Comments

Paroxysm:

Thanks!

[Paroxysm]

I want to learn an array of languages, but I want a simple one to begin with

EDIT: Python seems to be an easy one to learn based on most people's opinion?

[nirvAnA]

Check out the veteris interview, its inspirational especially if u wanna learn programming.

I would suggest learning website based coding first as it will be more practical in your life (say you one day wanna have ur own site or make one for a friend) and thats just html then php/sql

Quick Comments

Paroxysm:

<3

[FSBenAD]

I know C/C++ very well, as do some of the other slugs.

C# as well

I learnt Visual Basic as my first language

[Paroxysm]

Actually, I was hoping to use these skills as a method of making money next year when I go back to university. Programming for websites, doing graphic designs for banners etc for something like ACL etc. Thanks for the heads up bryan!

[Arma]

Originally Posted by Paroxysm

Actually, I was hoping to use these skills as a method of making money next year when I go back to university. Programming for websites, doing graphic designs for banners etc for something like ACL etc. Thanks for the heads up bryan!

If you are gonna focus on programming for websites, might want to have a look at web-scripting languages such as javascript, php, asp, jsp etc. Rather than C or C++. Python is also helpful and not difficult to learn. Generally once you have a strong grasp of one language, and understand the concepts, then others become a lot easier.

I'm a software engineer, with knowledge of C, C++, Java, Ruby, Python, SQL etc. etc. But I currently do a lot of web-development at work, so I use a fair bit of Javascript, as well as deal with databases, so a lot of SQL too. It really falls down to what kind of stuff you want to be programming for in the end - but like I said, once you have a good grasp of the concepts, things become easier

Quick Comments

Paroxysm:

good advice

[foxmeep]

Originally Posted by Arma

If you are gonna focus on programming for websites, might want to have a look at web-scripting languages such as javascript, php, asp, jsp etc. Rather than C or C++. Python is also helpful and not difficult to learn. Generally once you have a strong grasp of one language, and understand the concepts, then others become a lot easier.

I'm a software engineer, with knowledge of C, C++, Java, Ruby, Python, SQL etc. etc. But I currently do a lot of web-development at work, so I use a fair bit of Javascript, as well as deal with databases, so a lot of SQL too. It really falls down to what kind of stuff you want to be programming for in the end - but like I said, once you have a good grasp of the concepts, things become easier

This is by far the best advice so far. What you want to achieve with your programming should greatly define which language/s you choose to learn. It's all good to say that it doesn't really matter which language you learn from a learning perspective, but the fact is that different languages have different applications in the real world. Learning a programming language properly is time consuming, so unless you have countless hours to spare then it's a good idea to invest your time wisely.

This site is pretty handy to see what languages are popular - http://langpop.com/

[Paroxysm]

Thanks Arma, I want to learn the majority of both anyway, so it doesnt really matter which area I focus on first, but I will definitely be looking at both!

[Meatex]

I hear that Java is best to learn first but C++ is still standard in a lot of areas
There are plenty of books on the languages, I got one for C++ written by the guy who made the language

As for photoshop I reckon best thing to do is watch a basic introduction then just try things out. If you want to achieve something specific ask someone with experience. Otherwise you tend to end up losing some of the creativeness learning everything from tutorials

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by FaDeMeatex

I hear that Java is best to learn first but C++ is still standard in a lot of areas
There are plenty of books on the languages, I got one for C++ written by the guy who made the language

Standard for hardcore software engineering... most certainly.

But for a 'casual' programmer, I definitely recommend starting with python, or a similar high level language. You don't need to go hacking around in C++ to get useful little scripts and tools to work fine.

[Zepph]

Originally Posted by |Erasmus|

Standard for hardcore software engineering... most certainly.

But for a 'casual' programmer, I definitely recommend starting with python, or a similar high level language. You don't need to go hacking around in C++ to get useful little scripts and tools to work fine.

Yeah never recommend C++ right off the bat. I know you're a python fan Erasmus but I feel there are better languages out there (dumber versions of java, java itself, c#) that are more suited to a beginner. I say this because Python has a weird flexibility that can confuse a beginner later on when suddenly they find they cant stick ints and strings in the same array :3

But! As others have said if you want some help on the programming side, let me know!

[|Erasmus|]

Originally Posted by Zepph

Yeah never recommend C++ right off the bat. I know you're a python fan Erasmus but I feel there are better languages out there (dumber versions of java, java itself, c#) that are more suited to a beginner. I say this because Python has a weird flexibility that can confuse a beginner later on when suddenly they find they cant stick ints and strings in the same array :3

But! As others have said if you want some help on the programming side, let me know!

It's also a little weird with it's variable scoping which confuses some people.

But I recommend it not because I use it a lot personally (it's a job, I don't choose which language I get to write in most of the time), but it feels (to me) like it's the closest language I've tried to just describing what you want a program to do without getting bogged down in a lot of weird syntactic stuff.

And unlike C#/Java it doesn't enforce you learning about classes at the start (biggest facepalm for me ever was my first university lecture on programming where they had to try and teach us about classes because we were doing Java... )

Plus I think it teaches good habits with it's indentation requirements

There are a lot of good guides for doing relatively simple things in Java or C# though which will teach a beginner though.

[Daboo]

^^ Agreed, c++ is a tough language. Try a memory managed language like java or c#, or maybe even vb, it's feels a little kiddish, but it's okay.

[eniram]

Learning php will open up so many doors for you in web design.

[Cordance]

Although I will echo a lot of what people have already said, getting programing concepts is most important. Your looking at small programs that have potential small profit with little knowledge look into web based and phone apps. Any other interesting project with programing that has the potential to make money is going to take a large investment of time up front before you have anything to show for it. Not saying either of the aforementioned are easy only that they tend to be small scale projects that you can get away with out qualifications to make money from doing them.

[ThatGuyDoMo]

Stat with python then move into C/C++. That is my advice.

Whatever anybody tells you start away from Visual basic.net DO NOT use it.

[Cordance]

Honestly it doesnt really matter which language you use lets face it every single language boils down to how easy it is to implement something. If someone says you cant do something in a true programing language(one you compile not a scripting language) they are lying, what they are really saying is it cant be done easy or efficiently. Lets face it all a program does is plays around with 1 and 0. Anyone who has ever written a program in machine code will tell you "DONT" but after that they will tell you at a base level programing is simple logic made complex only by its size.

There are only two important things when writing a program. Number one good logic. Number two good notes. The reason for this number one makes it easier to understand good logic when you are trying to find bugs or implement it with other parts of code. The reason for number two is because 2 hours after you are eyeball deep in code your notes at the only thing that helps you follow number 1.

An important question that no one has asked are you looking to hobby program (aka in spare time) or looking to work towards a full paying job well programing because both these goals are very different and are much better server from different paths once you get past the very basics of understanding programing. Like writing a program you really need to map it out before you start your work.

Random side note.

Originally Posted by |Erasmus|

Plus I think it teaches good habits with it's indentation requirements

Good habits will be beaten into you with in the first week of programing if you are coding with someone else. Personally I dont like any language that forces me into some structure because I like to use the same one for all my programing but thats a personal thing.

For everyone else who makes comments on some programing languages have strange quirks that can be confusing, every language does. Thats why its advised to learn one language first then spread your wings to other ones with a greater understanding of what you are trying to do. I remember the good old days of making a double with 300 digits and watching the computer blue screen as you overwrite the OS with your information ... fun with C as people use to call it, always double check double.

[Pox]

Python's definitely a good place to start. To branch out after that and get a feel for the variety of languages that are out there, I'd try C (to get familiar with low-level stuff) and Haskell (because functional programming is best programming).

For practical web dev work, PHP is certainly the most common language in use, probably followed by Perl, Python and Ruby.

[TCPGunter]

i reckon learning this stuff would be awsome ive always been interested in learning photoshop at a reasonable standard

[TABottles]

Hey man, when I fumble around on photoshop I usually like to make interesting patterns and shapes. Mainly because it's very simple to do and it's symmetrical - well this method is.

Basically what you want to do is open up a new project and set the following:



(It can be any dimension as long as they're square.)

You should have a completely square blank canvas to work on. Next thing you want to do is find your gradient tool (most likely on the left), click it and the mode of which you want to use. In my example i'm using ''difference''. I'm also using a variety of different gradients (Radial, angle and reflected gradients etc.) and my colour is from black to white. I then proceed to swipe around the screen until something like this comes up.

+ Show +

(remember yours will not look exactly like mine - that's not the intention.)

Easy enough right? It only gets easier from here. Next thing you want to do is dublicate your background layer. You can use the hotkey ctrl + J. You should now have new layer visible at the bottom right hand side of the screen. You want to tweak your layer so that it's either a ''lighten'' or ''darken''. This will make your layers show up.

Next step is to ''transform'' your newly created layer. Do this by pressing ctrl + T and a box should appear around your layer. Right click the image and choose ''Rotate 90 CW''. Here's what mine looks like after this.

+ Show +

Continue dublicating your layers and rotating them 90 degrees until you've got a completely symmetrical pattern.

You can now merge your layers by shift selecting all of them (including background) and right clicking to open a drop down box. Merge layers should be there. You now have a pattern ready to go. You can do some adjustments with the colour balance, add some filter effects. Anything!

Finshed in just over 10mins:

+ Show +

This isn't my favourite design.. but luckily you can do this as many times as you like! If you found this helpful.. or need more help just ask. Also would love to see what the community can create using this method!!

[Konayuki]

You may want to check out www.deviantart.com

Quick Comments

mGGAequitas:

not really the best for tutorials, but great site!!