Joined: Feb '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 1886
Hi. I know there's some members here who are very handy with photoshop so I was looking to get some advice.
I'm looking to get some free graphic design software. There seem to be loads out there, which is a bit of a problem cos I don't want to trail through all the options, downloading, installing, uninstalling...
I'm not after anything great but I just want to be able to create pictures, draw my own logos, headers, backgrounds for my business website and possibly edit photos though I'm not photoshop gifted. I did use something when I was in university doing a module in digital publishing but I've completely forgotten everything so beginners stuff is good.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
You should create a poll to see what people think
Seriously though, when B1gfoot used to frequent BRM we discussed this one time and he was using Gimp for his creations. I downloaded it but never had enough time to play with it. Hope that helps.
Joined: Feb '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 1886
Thank you both. I'm gonna go ahead and try it. I'm a little hesitant because after downloading my mac seems to be blocking it but I guess that's because it's open source and not apple approved. i.e no money for them. I got it from gimp.org, which seems to be an official site.
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
paint.net easier for begginers to learn, gimp is great, but a bit steeper learning curve. if in need for a quick fix you can try online editors: picmonkey, aviary, pixlr and even photoshop.
Joined: Feb '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 1886
Well I installed Gimp and had a go but I've got to say I'm finding it really stressing. I'm normally pretty good at these things but I'm having trouble just moving one part of the image to the other side. I can rotate the bit I want to move but I can't move it and it's driving me mad. It's probably very complicated for the simple images I'm trying to create. I'm confident I'll get the best of it once I've read all the guides but usually I figure these things out as I go along and I can't see me doing that here. Or I might take a look at pochui's suggestions before I start pulling hair out.
Joined: Mar '14
Location: Slovenia
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 255
Posted by awood88: Well I installed Gimp and had a go but I've got to say I'm finding it really stressing. I'm normally pretty good at these things but I'm having trouble just moving one part of the image to the other side. I can rotate the bit I want to move but I can't move it and it's driving me mad. It's probably very complicated for the simple images I'm trying to create. I'm confident I'll get the best of it once I've read all the guides but usually I figure these things out as I go along and I can't see me doing that here. Or I might take a look at pochui's suggestions before I start pulling hair out.
gimp is higly valued by alot of designers for years now, did try it out when i was doing something but as u said its rly not that simple, i guess u were using corel draw in school as we did
Dont know what kind of logos u need or how unique u want them to be, but there are thousands of sites with premade stuff u can just edit a bit and have your own, pay a little for some better ones, if you aint much into graphic design maybe check that out.
P.S.S. There are videos on youtube for every kind of program HowTo step by step if you wanna learn its the best way to watch a video. Learned all i needed for Photoshop there.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
Posted by awood88: Well I installed Gimp and had a go but I've got to say I'm finding it really stressing. I'm normally pretty good at these things but I'm having trouble just moving one part of the image to the other side. I can rotate the bit I want to move but I can't move it and it's driving me mad. It's probably very complicated for the simple images I'm trying to create. I'm confident I'll get the best of it once I've read all the guides but usually I figure these things out as I go along and I can't see me doing that here. Or I might take a look at pochui's suggestions before I start pulling hair out.
When I installed Gimp several years ago and tried to play around with it, I didn't find it very simple or straightforward either. I looked at some of the tutorials that are on Youtube, however in the end I didn't feel that the investment in time that it required was worth it for my uses. I get by okay with MS Paint for most of what I need. If you only plan to do graphic work on rare occasions then you are probably better off using something more basic.
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 2219
Photoshop is everything you need and once you have learnt to use it properly you can do anything with it. It's not free but it's well worth the price. I hear it's un-crackable now so it's probably out of your price range if it's still in the $400 region. It depends on whether you will always want to create graphics or just a once in a blue moon thing.
Last time I used it I was 17 and just picked up the basics from tutorials and such, but its been over 10 years since I last used it. I miss creating things from scratch like this:
You should just check google and see what the best free one is as I have no clue other than PS.
Joined: Feb '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 1886
Been playing with Gimp for a few days and seem to be getting the hang of it now. Haven't checked for tutorials though I expect some may be of help. I just like to figure things out myself and after a baffling start I did manage to figure out how it works. Still seems very complicated though and I could do what I'm doing now on paint easier but I figure it will come in handy if I get practice in.
I'm designing a christmas scene on it now though it will probably look like a child's drawing. Was wondering though what's the best page size for an A3 print? I think I got the ratio of length to width right but how many pixels is best for a simple drawing. There's nothing photographic in it so it doesn't need hi def but surely there's got to be a minimum for printing.
