Udemy (Daniel Walter Scott)
Udemy Adobe Photoshop Essentials Review — Daniel Walter Scott's Best-Selling Course
Daniel Walter Scott's Adobe Photoshop CC Essentials Training is the beginner Photoshop course we would point a total newcomer to first on Udemy. Across 40 analysed opinions — a 4.7–4.8 verified rating from 30,000-plus students, named CourseDuck reviews averaging 4.9, and editorial top-pick status from Learnopoly — the consensus is unusually consistent: the instruction is clear, the structure is logical from easy to hard, and the project-based assignments make skills stick. The two honest caveats are that anyone with real Photoshop experience will find large parts too basic, and that recordings predate Photoshop's newest AI features (Generative Fill) and some moved panels. As a foundation course it earns its reputation; as a 2026 "everything in Photoshop" course it shows its age.
Final score
from 40 analysed opinions
Published AI-researched, editor-audited
Distribution of opinions
Per-criterion scores
The course covers the full beginner Photoshop toolkit — layers, selections, masking, retouching, blend modes, type, filters, smart objects and export across roughly 10–12 hours and around 88–93 lessons. Students consistently describe it as well-structured from easy to hard with no padding and "detailed explanations and really fun practical tasks." The ceiling is that the recordings predate Photoshop's newest AI features (Generative Fill, updated Select Subject) and some panels have moved, which is a recurrent minor frustration across reviews.
Daniel Walter Scott is an Adobe Certified Instructor and Adobe Certified Expert and an Adobe Max speaker with 15-plus years of teaching experience. He is the single most-cited reason students recommend this course — reviewers repeatedly call him clear, funny, patient and genuinely passionate. One reviewer who had taken over 50 Udemy courses called him "the best of best on my list," and Learnopoly names him "one of the best Photoshop tutors out there." The instructor dimension is the strongest asset of the course.
The effective Udemy sale price of roughly $15–19 (the list price of $100+ is rarely paid) gives learners 10-plus hours of video, around 20 guided projects, downloadable exercise files, lifetime access and free updates. At that price it is among the strongest value-per-hour beginner design courses on any platform. The same content is also available on Skillshare and CreativeLive under different pricing models, giving flexibility on cost.
Multiple reviewers note that Daniel Walter Scott responds to Q&A questions within a day and "obviously cares about what his students think." Students describe the Udemy Q&A section as active and useful for resolving confusion around panel changes between Photoshop versions. The main limitation is that support is asynchronous Q&A only — there is no live cohort, office hours or community forum beyond Udemy's native Q&A system.
The course teaches the everyday Photoshop workflow a junior designer or photo editor actually uses — non-destructive masking, layer discipline, retouching, export for web and print. Reviewers who came in with zero experience describe finishing with "a solid start to building a portfolio." The ceiling is scope: this is a foundations course, not advanced compositing, colour grading or production-pipeline depth, and newer generative AI tooling is absent.
What learners said
What people loved
5- Daniel Walter Scott is repeatedly cited as the reason to buy — Adobe Certified Instructor credentials combined with a clear, funny and patient teaching style that makes every lesson accessible×24
- Logical structure from easy to hard with no padding — reviewers call it the best-organised Photoshop course they have taken online×16
- Project- and assignment-driven throughout; the "fun practical tasks" make techniques stick and give beginners a start on a real portfolio×13
- Genuinely beginner-friendly — many reviewers came in with zero Photoshop experience and finished confident manipulating images professionally×12
- Exceptional Udemy sale value (~$15–19 effective) for 10-plus hours, lifetime access, downloadable exercise files and free future updates×9
What frustrated learners
4- Designed for true beginners — students with existing Photoshop knowledge will find large sections too simple; one reviewer bluntly called it "for noobs" and several editorial sources echo the same caveat×8
- Recordings predate Photoshop's newest AI tools (Generative Fill, updated selection AI) and some panels and menus have moved since filming×6
- Essentials scope only — no advanced compositing, colour grading or production-pipeline depth; graduates need to move to the Advanced course×5
- Long runtime can feel slow for fast learners who already grasp layers and selections and want to cover remaining gaps more quickly×3
Real quotes from real users
“I just finished the Adobe Photoshop Essentials Training Course and I want to say I totally loved it! For me, a person who had zero experience in using Photoshop this course was very helpful to get into the graphic design area with a lot of interest and fun. This course is very good structured — from easy to hard topics. Also it has a lot of detailed explanations and really fun practical tasks.”
“This is the best course I have done so far on Udemy for many reasons. Dan is an incredible and engaging teacher. You can really tell that Dan is passionate about what he does.”
“I went into this course with zero prior experience using Photoshop, and now I have a good grasp on how to manipulate images in multiple ways. The assignments in this course have also given me a solid start to building a portfolio if I want to start looking into graphic design work.”
“This course is very good — it helps to build your base in Photoshop. The instructor is amazing. Should consider buying this course. Only problem is this course is for noobs.”
“Daniel Walter Scott is one of the best Photoshop tutors out there. This is our top recommendation — the tutor is well-regarded as one of the best, it is affordable and flexible in terms of payment options.”
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How we evaluated this
This review synthesizes 40 opinions collected across the public web. Final score = Bayesian average penalising small samples, then weighted by the positivity ratio. No paid placements, no hidden agenda.
- 4 from Forums
- 22 from Official course platform
- 14 from Blogs