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Georgias Gifts
02-19-2012, 03:11 PM
I want to start making my own graphics for web banners, ads and logos, etc., instead of hiring someone. I am looking at Photoshop Elements 10 right now.
I realize there will be a learning curve, but I hate waiting for a graphics person to finish the work. Any comments on this program, or an easier one I might be missing?

lucas.bowser
02-20-2012, 09:18 AM
It kind of depends on what type of graphics work you will be doing, the quality you need and the eye you have for that type of work.

If you just need basic manipulation capabilities (i.e. cropping, color adjustment, fixing red-eye, image layers, etc...) I have used the free tool at Photo editor online - Pixlr.com edit image (http://www.pixlr.com) in the past. If you are going to be doing complicated stuff, then i would consider something better. It kind of depends on your needs. So that said, can you give us a little more about what type of work you're going to be doing with it?

vangogh
02-20-2012, 10:58 AM
It really depends on what you want to be able to do. Like Lucas said Elements is for basic photo manipulation. You should be able to download it for a 30 day trial to see if it does what you need. The same for most other programs you might try. I'll echo the question about what kind of graphics you want to be creating and also ask what operating system your computer runs?

One thing I would add is that having a graphics program doesn't make someone a professional at creating graphics. Many of the best tools could take years to learn well and there's a lot beyond the tools that go into creating effective graphics.

jamestl2
02-20-2012, 05:17 PM
I use PS Elements too, it's OK (version 7), but like what was said, it's just for basic image manipulation, and I'm not a expert graphic designer by any means. I only use it for touching up images, creating gradients, etc.

However if I was looking into designing graphics at a full-time professional, I'd probably look into the complete Photoshop Creative Suite, which greatly expands on what Elements offers.

Georgias Gifts
02-21-2012, 10:13 PM
Thanks for the replys. I mainly want to be able to make ads for advertising on certain sites. Plus banners. I want to be able to combine and/or manipulate photos, add text and borders, that type of thing. Nothing professional.

I did buy it (on sale for $60 at Staples). Haven't opened the box yet.

vangogh
02-21-2012, 11:40 PM
It'll probably do what you need then. And on the bright side it isn't too much money and it'll be tax deductible.

henryz
03-01-2012, 04:47 PM
You might want to look into Corel Draw X5, one of the programs I use and I'm pretty sure you can do most of the stuff you are trying to do without the large investment. It included font navigator, photo paint to do all your picture editing and r.a.ve. which you can do animated designs as well.

lilo
04-12-2012, 01:46 PM
Photoshop is good for photo manipulation (although depending on how much color correction work you do you may want to look into Lightroom). Photoshop can also do basic text and banners, but if you get more into graphics and this you may want to consider Illustrator. I only use the professional versions, so cannot speak to how basic Photoshop Elements may be, but I'm guessing its a good starting point.

While there are plenty of free tutorials online, you may want to do a 1 month subscription to Software training online-tutorials for Adobe, Microsoft, Apple & more (http://www.lynda.com) They have very good easy to understand tutorials, and last time I was on there it was about $25/month, and you could do a month to month subscription.

Creative Pile
06-28-2012, 01:52 AM
Photoshop and Illustrator are our favorite programs to creat web graphics.

Harold Mansfield
06-28-2012, 12:45 PM
The biggest draw back on any program is knowing how to use it. I've purchased or tried a few over the years and the limitations weren't with the programs themselves, but with my lack of graphic art skills and knowledge of how all of the program worked.

Lately I've settled on using GIMP for basic manipulations. I probably know how to use 20% of everything it actually does.
But I started with The Ad Creator by Laughingbird Software (http://www.flashadcreator.com/). And I still use it to this day for some things. It's simple and easy to use and made for novices.

HireLogoDesign
08-02-2012, 03:49 PM
If you are going to be doing logo design it needs to be done in vector format so a program that fits that will work. An example is illustrator as I believe was stated before. If you're just looking for a free choice to get what you need done take a look at inkscape.

websonalized
08-30-2012, 04:13 PM
One thing I would add is that having a graphics program doesn't make someone a professional at creating graphics. Many of the best tools could take years to learn well and there's a lot beyond the tools that go into creating effective graphics.

Totally agree here, I use photoshop CS3 and its taken me about 4 yrs of using it to understand it fully. With that said I still feel that i'm no expert at it, as there is still much to learn within the tool alone.

To me a designer can not only use the tools but is able to think creatively. Graphic Design is a long road and it cant be rushed..

nealrm
08-31-2012, 12:47 AM
OK guys - Photoshop is for editing photos and images. If you want to create good banners, you Adobe indesign. It is designed to handle the text and graphics better than Photoshop. Also, you don't need the entire suit, just Indesign and maybe Photoshop if you what to touch-up a background image.

tylerherman
09-02-2012, 02:13 AM
OK guys - Photoshop is for editing photos and images. If you want to create good banners, you Adobe indesign. It is designed to handle the text and graphics better than Photoshop. Also, you don't need the entire suit, just Indesign and maybe Photoshop if you what to touch-up a background image.

Op was talking about web banners. Photoshop or Photoshop or maybe Photoshop, those are the best three choices...

nealrm
09-02-2012, 05:07 PM
I know that Op was talking about web banners. Photoshop is a great program, I use it every single day. But it is not the best program for making banners, Indesign is better for banners.

Banners deal with text, graphic and some images. Indesign ability to handle text far exceeds that of Photoshop. It is as far ahead of Photoshop in text and graphic editing as Photoshop in in front of Indesign in editing images.

If you are doing the occasional banner and already have Photoshop, it will work. You can even make great looking banners in Photoshop. However, if banner creation is a major portion of your business, you should pickup Indesign.

Wozcreative
09-03-2012, 12:05 PM
I personally use Photoshop and Illustrator. For the most part Illustrator is the best way to design text based things, photoshop just to edit some photos and add some effects.

The other option is if you are really willing to sacrifice your own time, and quality? Will it really be much quicker if you yourself do it? For small projects, it can often take 24 hours for a designer to put something together like a banner. You would need to hire the right designer for these quick jobs you have.

vangogh
09-06-2012, 01:38 AM
Will it really be much quicker if you yourself do it?

Sometimes I think people only see the cost and don't consider the value. Often the price of something like this is less than the value of the time saved. No offense to DIYers, but it's often going to be of better quality when you hire someone who spends their day designing these things. That better quality usually means the banner is going to be more effective and result in more business. Unfortunately those results aren't right there in front of you, only the price of the banner, so people only see the cost of the banner and not the cost of producing the less effective banner.

foidesigns
10-17-2012, 09:45 PM
Photoshop is good for photo manipulation (although depending on how much color correction work you do you may want to look into Lightroom). Photoshop can also do basic text and banners, but if you get more into graphics and this you may want to consider Illustrator. I only use the professional versions, so cannot speak to how basic Photoshop Elements may be, but I'm guessing its a good starting point.

While there are plenty of free tutorials online, you may want to do a 1 month subscription to Software training online-tutorials for Adobe, Microsoft, Apple & more (http://www.lynda.com) They have very good easy to understand tutorials, and last time I was on there it was about $25/month, and you could do a month to month subscription.

I learned a lot with Lynda.com as well! Highly recommend it!

foidesigns
10-17-2012, 09:47 PM
Photoshop and Illustrator are our favorite programs to creat web graphics. Yes, My favorite 2 programs as well. Although, I use Illustrator more often than photoshop.

foidesigns
10-17-2012, 09:50 PM
I personally use Photoshop and Illustrator. For the most part Illustrator is the best way to design text based things, photoshop just to edit some photos and add some effects.

The other option is if you are really willing to sacrifice your own time, and quality? Will it really be much quicker if you yourself do it? For small projects, it can often take 24 hours for a designer to put something together like a banner. You would need to hire the right designer for these quick jobs you have. Well Said Woz

Gabe
10-18-2012, 06:46 AM
As Harold mentioned, you could try GIMP…I'm pretty sure it's still free. I have Photoshop and Fireworks, but don't use them except for major stuff...Photoshop seems so much more complicated than it did 10 years ago. I hate to admit it, but I actually use Microsoft's Expression Design for most of the stuff I do that's pretty basic. I got the whole Expression Web suite for about $40 a few years back before they upgraded to v4. Not sure how much it runs nowadays.

Gabe
10-18-2012, 06:48 AM
For you web design folks, what do you think of Adobe Fireworks? I understand it's supposed to be Photoshop for web graphics, essentially.

Contrary to what I mentioned above, at heart I'm really a MS Paint guy...vectors shmectors...

fayt
10-18-2012, 08:06 AM
I have always been a big fan of Corel Draw. It's very easy to learn, it's an industry standard and it's very low cost. You can get the new Corel Draw X6 (16) for $179.99 brand new.

billbenson
10-18-2012, 11:28 PM
As Harold mentioned, you could try GIMP…I'm pretty sure it's still free. I have Photoshop and Fireworks, but don't use them except for major stuff...Photoshop seems so much more complicated than it did 10 years ago. I hate to admit it, but I actually use Microsoft's Expression Design for most of the stuff I do that's pretty basic. I got the whole Expression Web suite for about $40 a few years back before they upgraded to v4. Not sure how much it runs nowadays.

I've been using Gimp for quite a while but don't like the user interface. Might be in part because I haven't sat down and tried to learn it. It will definitely do what I need it to do though. The stuff I need to do is really pretty basic.

vangogh
10-19-2012, 01:50 AM
For you web design folks, what do you think of Adobe Fireworks?

I had a copy of it years and years ago when it was still Macromedia. I''m sure it's changed a lot since then. I no longer design in graphics programs like Photoshop of Fireworks. I create wireframes in Apple's Keynote (Apple's version of Power Point) and then move right to code. Where possible I prefer code to using an image since the image will slow down the site more. Not that I won't use images, but for so many things I used to use them css is now capable and getting more capable all the time.

I still use Photoshop when it comes to work with images, though I recently purchased Pixelmator (Apple only). I think it's $50, though I got it when it was on sale. It's not nearly as feature rich as Photoshop, but it does many of the basics and is being continually developed and improved.