Graphic design help?

Question

Alright so i got these programs Photoshop cs3 extended

CS4

3ds max and i know pretty much some basic stuff

and i was wondering is there any place where i can learn some of the tricks graphic designers use?

Cause I seriously want to go into something along those lines in like 2-3 years :O when i can finally take college courses

Answer 1

Tricks? We have tricks? Dang, after 18 years in this business, I wish I knew there was an easier way to go about designing. :p haha. If you want to learn technical info, how to use the softwre for instance, Lynda.com offers great tutorials. My CS3 application CDs came with great video tutorials from Lynda. Otherwise, YouTube offers some videos I've seen that are handy.

Basically, if you want to be a good, well-paid designer that gets great work, you need good ideas, not software tricks. Some of the world's most famous designers don't even know how to use the computer, they come up with concepts and work with production artists to put it all together.

Start thinking like a designer. When you see something that you like, ask yourself why. Can you see past the message? How would you improve upon it? Does the design solve the problem? Being able to vocalize why you like or dislike something and how you would change it is more important than software.