I asked a friend for a list of crucial tools to learn in photoshop, here is a list to start.... some of this will be a refresher, some of this will be new to me. I’m going to watch tutorials and make notes through Tumblr for my reference later, I’ve found this to be the most effective way of learning for me.
1 - Learn every adjustment layer
2 - Learn every blend mode, how it works
3 - Learn how to smooth skin using masking and bluring
4 - Remove blemishes
5 - Content aware fill, content aware rotation
6 - Perspective tool
7 - Puppet warp tool
8 - Liquify tool (good for making someone more muscular, or trimming some fat)
9 - Learn how to make a perfect mask, the latest version of photoshop has a brand new mask tool, so I would recommend getting good at that. Learn how to mask around complicated things like hair etc
10 - Learn how to enhance shadows, midtones and highlights in isolation
11 - Download a poster design off the internet, find a tutorial that will show you how to put it on a shirt, or a wall, seamlessly
12 - Learn how to selectively change the colour of an object
13 - Learn about vignettes
14 - Practice that thing I showed you, how you can change the blending areas of a specific layer
15 - learn the different modes for layer folders "pass through etc"
16 - Learn the keyboard shortcuts for changing a brush, it's softness, its size etc
17 - Learn how to seamlessly swap someone's face for another person
18 - Learn how to process RAW files, and create specific, moody or stylised effects. this is a pretty big area, but learning the basics will be pretty valuable
19 - Learn how to 'define brush preset' to make your own brushes. Make some grungy, splattery, cloud brushes
20 - Find a tutorial that talks about how to properly soften an image. another that tells you how to sharpenoh, and 21 - learn the difference between 8 bit and 16 bit mode and why it matters
another good one 22 - how to enhance the quality of upscaled or shitty resolution art