Re: Graphics Program Question

Hi Debb,

I've been watching this thread and figured I'd throw in my 10cents worth.

What's been said so far in relation to Photoshop is very true. It's very 
expensive and the learning curve is indeed steep....oh yes, and it's the 
industry standard :)

Two thoughts here. If you're going to be working for yourself and you're 
looking to web work exclusively, then IMHO, you can live without 
it...certainly at least for the time being. If you're looking at getting 
into the print side of things, you're probably going to need it at some 
point down the track.

I've used both PSP and I use Photoshop if I *have* too but as I said 
before, Photoshop only comes into play when I need to do print stuff. The 
learning curve with PSP is by no means a walk in the park either but there 
are lots of tutorials and stuff out there to help you if you decide to go 
that way.

My personal preference is Ulead's PhotoImpact. The learning curve is way 
easier than either PSP or Photoshop and the price considerably less. 
Photoshop filters will work in PhotoImpact and once you get a grip on the 
program itself,  pretty much anything that can be done in Photoshop can be 
done in PI in a lot less time. The download version is available for 
USD$89.95 and the boxed version for USD$99.95. A free trial is available 
also at http://www.ulead.com.  ...and no, I don't work for Ulead...just 
*love* the software.

You can save in .psd format which allows you to re-open the image in 
Photoshop in layers if you need too but PhotoImpact has a neat file format 
.ufo. Nah, not an unidentified flying object...although I guess it could be 
LOL.  You can create and combine shapes in either raster (solid) or vector 
(line) format with the Path Drawing Tool and save them in .ufo format which 
keeps all the pieces separate. This simply means that if you need to change 
something at a later date, you have all the separate pieces good to 
go.  Yep, you can do pretty much the same thing in Photoshop...save to .psd 
and keep all the layers in tact but it will cost you almost three times as 
much and it's pretty neat to be able to just open one canvas and easily see 
everything sitting right in front of your face ready to drag around and 
work on without having a bazillion boxes cluttering up your workspace.

In the latest version, there's a neat new feature called Z-merge. This 
allows you to create 3d shapes and merge them so that they "melt" together 
with no ugly seams and again, keeping all the pieces movable.  PI also has 
a web page building feature which allows you to create an entire page, 
slice it up, save the actual "slice lines" and then save the entire thing 
as a .ufo for ease of dragging things around later if you want. Granted, 
you don't want to be using that sliced up image for the whole page and you 
do need to edit the html in an editor of some sort, but it's mighty useful 
for the initial design process. PI also has an "EasyPallette" where all 
manner of masks, materials, textures, shapes etc., can be stored and 
dragged onto your canvas without having to actually open a file and you can 
add your own bits and pieces for convenience too.

Unfortunately PI is only available for PC users so if you're using a Mac, 
then you're out of luck.

I have both Photoshop and PSP along with a slew of other graphics goodies 
in my arsenal, but my mainstay is PI.

....and not to put the cat amongst the pigeons but, whilst Photoshop *is* 
the "industry standard" and you will hear.."you don't use Photoshop ? oh 
well, then you're not a professional - don't expect us to take you 
seriously" LOL...trust me, you *can* produce quality, professional graphics 
with other software and I defy *anyone* looking at an image to say with 
absolute certainty what piece of software was used to create it :)

That's my 10 cents worth...I think it just crept up to 20 cents... :)

Kym



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