Can I still make it into graphic design with limited skills in using Photoshop?
March 21st, 2010 | 
Author: I аm heading towards University οr Tafe (іn Victoria, Australia) tο study graphic design аѕ I really want tο bе a graphic designer. Thе problem іѕ thаt mу skills using programs such аѕ Illustrator, Photoshop аnd InDesign аrе kind οf weak. Bυt thеn again, mу creativity, thουghtѕ, sketches, illustrations аnd anything thаt’s done using mу hands аrе really pretty ехсеllеnt. Mу qυеѕtіοn іѕ: аm I going tο learn hοw tο improve mу skills іn Uni οr Tafe аnd саn I really mаkе іt іntο graphic design?
Thanks guys.
Posted in Graphic Design
Once you initiation taking classes, you should be able to initiation picking up things quite quick. It’s all about the repetition! I entered my graphic design classes with a pretty excellent knowledge of Photoshop, but absolutely no experience in Illustrator or InDesign. That was last year, and this year I was the tech help for the freshman graphic design class. I can tell you that there were public in my class who had no experience with ANY of those programs, and by the end of the first semester, they were blazing away, so I reckon you’ll be fine. Plus, a lot of graphic design, doesn’t take place on the notebook! Many of my instructors won’t let us use the notebook for the first few steps or a project, or sometimes not at all!
I reckon you’re going to be fine.
It depends really on what you mean by sketches/illustrations done by hand. If you mean painting and so forth, and you have a passion for it, you may find a Graphics Design course is not for you. A lot of the courses in GD will teach you design specifications, how to use the programs related to publishing and marketing, and how to do logos, websites and so forth.
If what you’re interested in is CG illustration, you are better off doing an illustration/visual arts course, many of the art colleges do accept computerized entries for projects though are then less excellent at teaching you how to use the programs you want to.
The resolution to your actual question is that no, you do not need a solid grounding in these programs (though it will help you get higher marks if you are familiar with them) in order to get into Graphic Design. Remember though you will mostly be doing web-end graphics, logos, buttons, backgrounds and so forth rather than doing actual drawings/illustrations (public, animals, anime, game art).