I have great news for the kids of the world. Adobe makes the computer program Photoshop, and for folks who like to play computer games, Photoshop is a fantastic alternativeto just playing around on the computer. Instead of chasing dragons, kids can really use their brains, and they can draw dragons of their own–or they can create worlds that will make their friends drool. There is a slight learning curve for getting great at Photoshop, but for today’s kids who are 1000% invested in technology, the learning curve is not great at all.

For the next few weeks, I hope to share a tip a day–tips that will help kids get up and running with Photoshop.

If you have a brand new copy of Photoshop downloaded to your computer–but not yet installed. Do the installation first. To get started for the first time, click on the tab that says something like “Create New Document.”

If you have already created documents before, click on the tab that says File – then from the drop-down menu, select New Document.

You will see the following dialog box. We’ll begin by using a standard paper size, but I click the first box that says “Custom.” That box is on the far left.

1. On the far right, select the orientation for horizontal for now.
2. Select Inches.
3. For the width, enter 11″
4. For the height, enter 8.5
5. I suggest that you work in 72 pixels per inch–at least for now.
6. Click on the Color box, and elect to work on a white background.
7. At the bottom right corner of this screen, click the word that says “Create.”

Your new workspace should look like the above. The icons on the left of the above screen are the Tool Bar. If your Tool Bar is not open, click on the word “Window”  and from the drop-down menu, select Tools.

Now, We’ll Draw A Circle with the Shapes Tool.

We’ll use the Elipse Tool, which is how we draw circles and ovals. Click on the Elipse Tool and Drag and Draw a Circle or an Oval. Either is fine today. Before you release the mouse, click in the color box at the top and select the color you want from the colors you will see. If there is a blue line circling the elipse, you will know that it is still selected.

To Draw a Rectangle, Click on the Rectangle from the Shape Tool’s Drop-Down Menu.

I am actually a children’s writer and illustrator, and I can only add a few tiny tips to this blog daily, but I am trying to provide activities for the kids while they are at home and confined because of the coronavirus. These lessons are part of a book that I hope will be published soon: I use Photoshop hours each day. It is an invaluable program for anyone who wants to do art for the 21st Century Art Market.

Kids Do Photoshop!