Ultimate Graphic Design Training Library

This unique library of 12 comprehensive titles provides a solid foundation of software knowledge and skills you will need to pursue a career in Graphic Design. It includes training on Adobe creative software programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Fireworks, including a course that will prepare you to take the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop CC Exam -- the highest official certification available.

More in-depth courses provide a strong grasp of essential topics for every designer. They include sophisticated topics such as masking, working with images in InDesign, mastering the elusive pen tool, working with type like a professional, and making intricate selections of people.The Following Courses are included in this bundle:

The Following Courses are included in the Bundle:

1. The Ultimate Guide on How to Become a Designer
2. Essential Skills for Designers – Masking
3. Essential Skills for Designers – Images in InDesign
4. Essential Skills for Designers – Mastering the Pen Tool
5. Essential Skills for Designers – Working with Type
6. Essential Skills for Designers – Making Selections of People
7. Prepare for the Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop CC exam
8. Photoshop CS6
9. Illustrator CS6
10. Illustrator CC
11. Fireworks CS6
12. InDesign CS6
13. InDesign CC (Available December)

The Ultimate Guide on How to Become a Designer



This is a unique and comprehensive video tutorial guide on how to become a designer. Learn about the creative industry and the best way to start your career in design. You'll benefit from Martin's years of creative experience as a successful industry professional. This course provides a well-structured and to-the-point guide for anyone who is considering a career in the creative industry.

The course covers many questions and topics including:
– Is creativity all it takes?
– Is it better to be a freelancer or work full time?
– How much can you expect to earn as a designer?
– How can you find jobs in the creative industry?
– Which areas of design are recommend for you?
– How to enter and win design contests
…and so much more!


Essential Skills for Designers – Masking



Masking, put simply, is the art of isolating an element in an image from its background. It is one of the most essential concepts in graphic design and is the foundation for working with layers non-destructively. Although simple in concept, masking can be difficult to do well–but once you understand some essential concepts, this indispensable skill will open the door to many design options.

More of what you will learn from this course:
1) It is possible to use gradients in Pixel Masks for fading images out similarly to Feather effects in InDesign.
2) The best combination for selecting hair in Photoshop is Color Range with Refine Edge with the Smart Radius option enabled.
3) Masking can be used for creative compositional effects too. Try using a pixel mask on a Black and White adjustment layer and assign a stroke and drop shadow on it to create an interesting image in an image effect.
4) A good example of using clipping masks in Photoshop is when you clip an image layer onto a text layer. This way the image will be only visible inside the text.
5) There are two types of masks in Illustrator: Clipping mask and Opacity Mask. The main difference between them is that you can only create transitional or feathering effects with Opacity Masks.


Essential Skills for Designers – Images in InDesign



If you want to make a living as a designer, whether working for an employer or freelancing, you'll need to know how to work with images in InDesign. Take your skills to the next level and become an expert with images in this powerful content-publishing tool.

Five Lessons Learned:
1) Pressing the arrow keys on the keyboard while creating an image or text frame can divide the frame up into a grid of columns and rows thanks to the Gridify feature.
2) The Gap tool works best if you use Auto Fit on image frames. Using these two features in combination will allow you to change images around in InDesign much more efficiently.
3) There are 3 types of feathering that you can use on images. All of them can be added as effects onto image or text frames and they can be used in combination, too.
4) InDesign doesn’t use masks, instead it has frames. You can easily crop images by adjusting their frames. When you double click on any of the image frame corner points they will quickly revert back to show all the content in them.
5) Bridge is a great application for file management, especially used together with InDesign. It not only makes placing images into your InDesign documents easier but also provides some invaluable information of your projects, that no other file management applications would be able to show.


Essential Skills for Designers – Mastering the Pen Tool



Most of the tools of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign are easy to learn and understand, but there is one major exception: the Pen tool. In this course you'll become a Vector Master by following along and practicing the many exercises presented. You'll be amazed at your new skills and abilities using this comprehensive and versatile tool.

More of what you will learn from this course:
1) You can draw horizontal or vertical straight lines with the Pen tool if you hold down Shift while creating anchor points.
2) You can combine paths into one Vector Mask in Photoshop and also choose how these paths should interact with each other.
3) The Smooth tool and the Simplify feature can greatly improve the quality of your paths in Illustrator.
4) You can align text along a path and you can also control where you want it to start and end.
5) There are several ways to draw symmetrical shapes with the Pen Tool in Illustrator, but probably the most effective is to use a guide for the center of symmetry and then duplicate and reflect half of the shape with the Reflect tool. Make sure to hold down Alt and Shift together while dragging the first half onto the other side.


Essential Skills for Designers – Working with Type



Understanding type is an essential, often-overlooked component of successful graphic design. Effective visual communication relies on the combination of images and text, and in a good design, typography can be the most important part of the whole composition. In fact, it is not uncommon for an entire design to consist of the creative use of type.

In this course you’ll learn to work with type in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Lessons begin with a primer on typography theory, then shift focus to practical applications, including how to manage and organize fonts, using the type tools, formatting type using keyboard shortcuts, and advanced techniques such as wrapping text, type on a path, styles, custom fonts and more.


Essential Skills for Designers – Making Selections of People



Photoshop professionals agree: Selecting people can be tricky, complicated by lighting, hair, focus and environmental issues. In this series, learn the tools and techniques the pros use when making “people selections” in Adobe Photoshop.

More of what you will learn from this course:
1) It is possible to use gradients in Pixel Masks for fading images out similarly to Feather effects in InDesign.
2) The best combination for selecting hair in Photoshop is Color Range with Refine Edge with the Smart Radius option enabled.
3) Masking can be used for creative compositional effects too. Try using a pixel mask on a Black and White adjustment layer and assign a stroke and drop shadow on it to create an interesting image in an image effect.
4) A good example of using clipping masks in Photoshop is when you clip an image layer onto a text layer. This way the image will be only visible inside the text.
5) There are two types of masks in Illustrator: Clipping mask and Opacity Mask. The main difference between them is that you can only create transitional or feathering effects with Opacity Masks.


Prepare for the Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop CC exam


This course will help you prepare for the Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop CC Exam. Otherwise known as ACE, this exam is the highest official certification you can get, proving your skills in Photoshop and helping to further your career in the creative industry.

The ACE exam is made up of 10 main topics, which are all covered in great detail. Practice tests are also available for download, to help you to prepare for the real exam and summarize what you have learned.

It is recommended that you spend time practicing your new Photoshop skills, so to prepare thoroughly you should expect to take 1-2 weeks to finish this course, depending on your Photoshop skill level. Currently this is the only online course available which offers a complete preparation guide for the Photoshop CC – Adobe Certified Expert Exam.


Adobe PhotoShop CS6 Training



This series will help you get started using the world's leading image editing software. Adobe Education Leader Debbie Keller will provide you with an overview of the interface, the tools, panels and options you'll need as a foundation for using Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Debbie will review the key new features in this version and teach you about the tools, palettes, and menu bars, as well as the major features such as layers, selections, image editing, compositing, Adobe Bridge, type design, drawing and painting, and creating a web photo gallery.

With Total Training for Adobe Photoshop CS6 Essentials, you will learn Photoshop skills that will allow you to create professional looking images that you can be proud of. By the time you have completed this course you will be prepared to take your ACA Visual Communication exam and you will have excellent beginner to intermediate skills using Photoshop CS6.


Adobe Illustrator CS6 Training



With Total Training for Adobe Illustrator CS6 Essentials, host Brian Maffitt delivers a definitive introduction to Adobe's venerable graphics workhorse. Discover the essential tools and powerful features that make Illustrator a favorite among design professionals. You'll learn essential keyboard shortcuts, techniques for streamlining your workflow, and tips that Brian has learned after decades of working with the program.

By the time you are done watching this Illustrator CS6: Essentials series, you will have a deep understanding of the fundamental functionality of Illustrator, especially with features (such as the pen tool and Adobe’s Type Engine) that are universal to other Adobe applications. In addition, you will understand WHY you would use Illustrator, instead of Photoshop or InDesign, to solve specific design problems.


Adobe Illustrator CC Training



Adobe Illustrator Creative Cloud is the world’s best drawing program, and the best way to get up to speed and use it like an expert is with Total Training for Adobe Illustrator CC.

Bob Flisser will take you step-by-step through the program, showing you how to draw basic shapes, custom curves, text effects and color gradients, as well as techniques for combining shapes, creating re-usable styles, modifying existing artwork, working with color, printing and creating PDFs, and a lot more.

After completing this course, you will know how to draw and format a wide variety of shapes and objects, how to bend, stretch, warp, combine and split objects, how to apply colors, patterns and gradients to fills and strokes, how to create special effects, how to use the new cloud-based features, as well as tips and shortcuts to streamline your work.


Adobe Fireworks CS6 Training



Total Training for Adobe Fireworks CS6 will give you a solid grip on the primary tools used to create compelling, interactive screen designs. Ideal for webpages, mobile applications and anything that uses a touchscreen, Fireworks CS6 has amazing new tools and features that make whatever you need to design a snap to create.

With new support for CSS3 and the jQuery Mobile Framework, Fireworks makes it easy to repurpose your design for multiple platforms. This Fireworks CS6 training shows you that combining these new features with Fireworks’ robust toolset will make your skills that much more valuable in today’s competitive market.


Adobe InDesign CS6 Training



Total Training for Adobe InDesign CS6 Essentials offers a comprehensive foundation for working with this versatile desktop publishing application. This course will teach you how to efficiently design page layouts for print or screen, starting with the basics of the program and interface, then moving into more advanced topics.

In this InDesign CS6: Essentials series, Adobe Certified Expert, Randy Hagen shows you how to set up custom InDesign workspaces, the basics of layouts, how to build, quality check and package your InDesign projects, and how to use InDesign’s formatting tools to quickly and efficiently produce quality, consistent documents. You’ll also learn to work with InDesign’s long document production functions, how to create and work with templates, and how to design interactive digital forms and PDFs.


Adobe InDesign CC Training
(Coming Soon)