Tools for Graphic Artists

[GSeybold]

Hey Guys and Gals,
Can ya'll tell me what the best tools are to have for doing graphics? I have photoshop elements 5.0 and it doesn't seem to have the same stuff as everyone else. I try to do some graphic stuff that I find online and here but when I read the directions I can't find the tools they are talking about. My editor and dropdowns seem different and I have to find things in different locations than are explained in directions.

Here is a screenshot of my photoshop. Can anyone advise?

Thanks so much.

Gabby

[Shelley_c]

I reverted back to cs2 (I don't like the later versions) Photoshop Elements certainly differs in areas but the tools are the same. I posted a screen shot of the photoshop tools for cs2 in the articles area followed by a brief explanation that may help you figure out what the tools do and what functions you can perform. I've never used elements so I'm not sure whether the link will be useful.

Probably best having this moved to the graphic discussions area for better support. I'm sure someone will come along soon to move this for you.

[GSeybold]

thank you very much Shelley. I'll look up cs2. I hope it's easier to understand, and I hope it's cheaper to buy the photoshop which cost me an arm and a leg.

P.S. I'm sorry about the spammers on your site.

[UKBusinessLive]

Originally Posted by GSeybold

thank you very much Shelley. I'll look up cs2. I hope it's easier to understand, and I hope it's cheaper to buy the photoshop which cost me an arm and a leg.

P.S. I'm sorry about the spammers on your site.

Hi Gabby,

Shelly will hate me for saying this but have you used the latest Paint.net ??? Its Free and has quite a few options that photoshop has without all the complications.

I've had it for years on my pc and you learn something new every day with it

http://www.getpaint.net/index.html

another one is Gimp, http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ thats a free Photoshop lookalike but unless you know photoshop you can quickly become lost in it

The Good thing i guess with photshop is that there are a lot of tutorials out there, its just a case of finding one that your happy with and use that.

Have a great weekend

[Magnumutz]

Thanks for the link UKBL, i'll try paint.net to see what's it capable.
I'll let you know how it feels like.

Edit: Looks like it requires .Net framework in able to run... that's a con.

[UKBusinessLive]

Originally Posted by Magnumutz

Thanks for the link UKBL, i'll try paint.net to see what's it capable.
I'll let you know how it feels like.

Edit: Looks like it requires .Net framework in able to run... that's a con.

Why is it a con ???

[Shelley_c]

Originally Posted by UKBusinessLive

Hi Gabby,

Shelly will hate me for saying this but have you used the latest Paint.net ??? Its Free and has quite a few options that photoshop has without all the complications.

I've had it for years on my pc and you learn something new every day with it

http://www.getpaint.net/index.html

another one is Gimp, http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ thats a free Photoshop lookalike but unless you know photoshop you can quickly become lost in it

The Good thing i guess with photshop is that there are a lot of tutorials out there, its just a case of finding one that your happy with and use that.

Have a great weekend

I don't hate anyone that recommends another software. I encourage and have always done and stated that the software is only as good as the person behind the wheel that uses it. It's what they feel comfortable using. UK put you onto a nice free package with thegimp. Another nice program (which is free) is a software called Inkscape.

With regards to tutorials, I never use them. never have, never will. Experimenting and perseverance prevails rather on relying on following tutorials all the time. You never learn, Study the tools of the software, learn how to use them inside out (sure you'll make mistakes) you'll make many but the end result will be more rewarding when you start a project and know what tools you will use before hand and what methods you'll tackle the problem without the reliance of tutorials.

Give inkscape a go if you fancy dipping your toes in vectored design.

Edit: UKLIVE - What's paint.net like? I've heard good things about it but with me being stuck in my ways I find it hard to migrate to other programs when one does all.

[UKBusinessLive]

Hi Shelley

paint.net is a great little package, does everything i've ever wanted and is great for converting and saving files in different formats.

Imagine Photoshop, with all the tools your never likely going to use, taken off, your wallet with loads of cash in, and thats what paint.net is, has the same type of tools as photoshop, you can add layers, animate, loads of options, but its totally FREE and a great package, Try it and see

I've installed Inkscape Thanks so much for that. I think with one or two of the free programs you could basically do everything that you can in photoshop, and at no costs at all.

Like you i like to learn hands on, I can pick things up very quickly and once i've done it once its in my mind for ever. But like everyone else i make mistakes, like spending 3 hours coding up some CSS yesterday and then clicked on the wrong button and lost it all,

Oh well thats life

[Shelley_c]

Yeah, if your using photoshop as hobby it's probably not worth the money when there's plenty of free alternatives that will do the job just fine. I recuperated my money on my first project so I'm not to fussed on costs.

I think you'll like Inkscape, It's a very good alternative to adobe illustrator. Infact, alot of people using illustrator have turned to inkscape.

Let me know how you get on with inkscape, I'm betting before long the results will be greater than you expected. I'll def give that paint.net package a try out.

Originally Posted by uklive

like spending 3 hours coding up some CSS yesterday and then clicked on the wrong button and lost it all,

And updating the header on your live site when it was meant for your test site.

[UKBusinessLive]

Shelley,

Have you tried a great little tool called Pixie, When you enable it it follows your cursor with a small box showing the color, The location of the Pixel, The HEx number, HTML Number, RGB, CMYK and HSV

Its great if you want to match a template or graphic with the same color as the original.

See the Screenshot below



Best thing about it is its completely FREE