What software is best for creating art through photography and digital designs?
AO099 asked:
I’m a photographer that is becoming more and more interested in combining photography and graphic design. Photoshop seems too complicated. I’d like to find something that is intuitive and can also be used to create original works.
I’m a photographer that is becoming more and more interested in combining photography and graphic design. Photoshop seems too complicated. I’d like to find something that is intuitive and can also be used to create original works.
Thank you.
Corel Painter 10 would be good for this, I think.
I’m sorry that PhotoShop is seeming too complicated for you, b/c it is a REALLY cool program, once you get the hang of it. There is so much that you can do w/ it. I thought I would never get the hang of it, but I did -w/ a lot of patience and practice, and it was so worth it to learn it. Since then, I’ve become very spoiled to it, b/c I have yet to find anything that even comes close to the features it has to offer.
The Corel programs are pretty cool, and they don’t seem nearly as complicated as PhotoShop.
Maybe you could try some free trial downloads from download.com, and see which digital photo editing software you are most comfortable w/ before buying it. -That’s just what I would do, personally.
I’m also not trying to imply anything, but the “Dummies” books and the “Idiot’s Guide to…” books are great for learning new skills fast, and I believe there is a “PhotoShop for Dummies” -if you ever decide to give PhotoShop a go. Either way, I hope you do well w/ whatever software you decide is right for you.
I use Corel 11 and Adobe InDesign . These are power easy-to-use software especially for pre-pressing and for setting up magazine covers.
Photoshop is rarely used and too complicated and has less friendly tools than Corel paint.
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 is a good choice, but you may want to look into Adobe Photoshop Elements as well.
I will admit that there are many programs available for what your looking for but I have to be honest with you. Just bite the bullet and learn photoshop. It is hands down the best program available. I admit, it can be a little overwhelming for someone just starting to learn, but this is mostly due to the fact that photoshop offers a thousand ways to work your image when only twenty of them will ever really need to be used. Your best bet is to enroll in a beginner photoshop class somewhere (they should be available anywhere from community colleges to your local whatever its called organization that offers everything from yoga, curling, and web design classes. I’m sorry I don’t know the name of the organization i’m thinking of but I get a catalog from them every six months or so. You could just try and teach yourself from a book but I wouldn’t recommend it as your likely to just get frustrated and quit. I am trying to teach myself illustrator at the moment using a book and it’s not going well. But if you can just take the first one or two photoshop classes somewhere you will learn almost everything you need to know. After that a book (i recommend the “classroom in a book” series) will be much easier to use and help you expand your knowledge of the program. But like I said earlier the only reason people think photoshop is so complicated is because it offers twenty times more things than you really ever will need. The best photoshop users are the ones who know how to use the program in its most simplistic fashion. Learning the selection tools and the proper way to use the color and exposure tools will give you 90 percent of the photoshop knowledge you will ever need. A beginners class will make this very easy, and you will be thankful that you did it. Just remember, the best way to ruin an image is to use too much photoshop. Like many things in life, the best photoshoped images are those in which you can’t tell photoshop has been used at all. Secondly, a beginners photo class will help you to learn what makes an image good and allow you to hone your eye to make these aleterations without going overboard. Like every art form there is an underlying science behind what makes an image appealing to the eye. The only thing intrinsically artistic about photography is the choice of subject, everything else, (eg. composition, exposure, color balance) is horribly scientific and eventually boils down to formulas that can’t be refuted.