Recently I have been looking for some Internet-based graphic design work. This, of course, always leads to looking up tutorials and of course plug-in's for Photoshop and Illustrator (AI). Surprisingly, I have found quite a few different tutorials, brushes and inspirational samples from a few main sources with a retro feel. Along with this, I also know that some of the folks that read my blog have shown interest in learning Photoshop. With this in mind, I will every once in a while write a "Modern Photoshop for a Retro Look" or "Modern AI for a Retro Look" post. The idea is that it will help people to find some of these tutorials and plug-ins that I think are helpful or interesting. This, in turn, will allow people to learn how to use these programs and at the same time understand how to create retro-looking graphics.
The question that always comes up from the newbs is, "Is learning how to use PS and AI hard?" This question is double-edged. For some it is incredible hard, and for others it's really easy. However, PS and AI are just tools. The reality is, if you don't have artistic talent, no Photoshop version can help you. So, you need to be realistic. That, however, doesn't mean that Photoshop can't be useful for just about everyone.
Even though I already knew much of this, I felt this tutorial showed a fairly straight-forward and easy method of accomplishing the 40's thru late 50's colored-photo look. One thing to remember with just about any tutorial is...these folks are generally proficient at PS or AI and they take some general knowledge for granted. Also, if you choose to use a different photo than the tutorial, you WILL have a slightly larger learning curve and have to experiment more.
