Confused about Photoshop

I'm ready to start learning how to make my own clothes and what not but I'm confused about the different versions of Photoshop. The new CS3 version is WAYYY out of my price range. I would be comfortable with $200 or less if possible. Any suggestions?

Download GIMP?

It's free, after all...

Paint Shop Pro is a good alternative if you want to reach beyond Gimp but don't want to shell out the bucks for Pshop. The plus side to PSP is that you can utilize a ton of the same filters that were designed for Photoshop.

Cheers


CC

Ah yes...but word of warning about Gimp....once you download it...you're stuck with it. I tried it and suddenly all my files were formatted to GIMP and couldn't be opened any other way or sent to anyone who didn't have it.
Then I found there was no way to uninstall the dam thing. I found Adobe Elements 5.0 and it's great...all the bells & whistles you need and you can try tons of free or trial plug-ins from Falmingpear.com.

CS3 is the most current version of Photoshop.

Photoshop 1.0 - 8.0, then CS2 and CS3, if memory serves.

You might be able to get a cheaper, older copy on eBay or elsewhere. likewise, there are many low or no cost alternatives out there -- Photoshop Elements, GraphicConverter, GIMP, and PaintShop Pro for example.

Mari

This is not true.

I have read in other posts that version 7 is good enough. Version 8 (also known as CS) is good. PaintShopPro seems popular. I use GIMP (be sure to get version 2.4.x).

I am still new at creating but I use Gimp to enhance my photos and I have the option to use Gimp or another program each time I open anything. I like it and find it easy to use.

Not true.

Gimp uses his own format like Photoshop does as well. And you can export gimp file to psd, targa, jpg, bmp, gif or whatever.

Get the GIMP.

www.gimp.org

/109/d0/237090/1.html

Check out this thread. I'm not sure if I copied it correctly, but it's in the textures forum. I asked about Gimp and got some great responses and learned quite a bit. Perhaps reading the thread would be helpful to you, although some of the posts were a bit long.

I started out making clothing with PaintShopPro 8--I found a used copy for about $40. A new PSP X2 is available for less than $100 US. I was going to use PSP 8 to decide whether I liked making clothing in SL (take a wild guess if I did ), but frankly it was powerful enough that I really didn't feel the need to get Photoshop until recently.

That said, you can find older versions of Photoshop out there--I bought an unopened copy of CS2 for under $300. And it IS more powerful and easy to use. Plus, you suddenly have access to about a million and one tutorials on the web.

In the end, it's up to your budget. If you are planning on around $200 I would start with an older version of Photoshop (read the thread Sunni linked to, btw). But if you aren't sure if SL graphic design is for you, or you just want to make a few basic outfits, just download GIMP or get PaintShopPro. Personally, I've never used GIMP, but I've seen some nice outfits made with it. And if you don't like GIMP, you haven't lost anything but time!

Check out Paint.Net http://www.getpaint.net/ It's free. I'm sure clothing can be done on that. It's like a watered down version of Photoshop.

"I tried it and suddenly all my files were formatted to GIMP and couldn't be opened any other way or sent to anyone who didn't have it.
Then I found there was no way to uninstall the dam thing."

Bull Fn shite. I've installed and uninstalled gimp a few times. It is not taking over your textures/pictures, there are iconed with what you have on your comp to open them, it does not change your files, they are still jpeg, bmp, tga or what have you. If you double click on them of coarse that is what windows is going to open them with. Have you actually tried to open them with anything else; right click on the file and select another app to open them with. If you use it and just save they will be in .gimp, you have to tell it what you want it saved as, it is not a mind reader.
The only problem I have had with Gimp is it's bizarre interface. And it uninstalls as easy as going to windows add/remove programs in your control panel, and selecting it to uninstall.

I use Paint Shop Pro for preference, although I have Photoshop CS 2. I even tried the Gimp, all of them will do the job.

I would recommend PSP personally, but the Gimp is obviously cheapest (free).

On the subject of Photoshop. I would very strongly recommend anyone to go to the YouTube site and search for You Suck at Photoshop.

Even if you don't actually own or use photoshop these, (curently 6) tutorials are hilarious, better to start at #1 and work your way through them - they are almost safe for work as well.

If your budget is only $200, then as others have stated, your best bet is Paintshop Pro. It's only $99, and it's very powerful. It's more than capable of doing what you need for SL clothing.

GIMP, which is free, is a little more powerful, but it suffers greatly from cancer of the GUI. Most people find GIMP to be very difficult to learn (including me, and I practically eat graphics software for breakfast). The relative few who do like GIMP will swear with their dying breath that it's the greatest thing the universe has seen since the big bang, and that it's no harder than any other program. But the vast majority of people have trouble reaching that same conclusion. Most agree that GIMP is hard to learn. Its die hard supporters tend to be programmer types, to whom its logic inherently makes more sense than to the rest of us.

Steer clear of Photoshop Elements. Contrary to what was said earlier in this thread, it does not have "all the bells and whistles". It's missing a great many of the most important features that make a graphics program worth having. Don't fall into the trap of thinking it's the amateur version of Photoshop. It's not. It's a separate program with a separate development history. I don't recommend it ever for anyone, not when PSP is so much more powerful for the same price.

And whatever you do, do NOT use Photoshop 7.0. That version was riddled with flaws, some of which will hinder greatly your ability to make textures properly for SL. That said, if you can find a cheap copy of PS 7 somewhere, you can then download the 7.0.1 upgrade for free, and fix the problems. Just don't use it until you've patched it. Unpatched, the image files it creates are prone to sudden, irreversible data corruption. Not good. Once patched, it works just fine. And, of course, newer versions of Photoshop are great. The current version is 10, otherwise known as CS3.

Once you've picked a program, which I'm assuming will be PSP, you'll very likely have lots of questions about the process of making textures. Head on over to the texturing forum and ask away. You'll find there's tons of good stuff over there, plus lots of knowledgeable friendly folks to provide answers.

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I'm an absolute beginner in creating but I really want to learn. I've found a lot of PSP available at Ebay so I will give that a try before spending money on Photshop.

The very best of luck to you Diana......though once you get started, you may not be able to stop..lol

There is a tutorial on creating clothing with Gimp by 'Natalia Zelmanov' and it's easy to follow.

http://www.mermaiddiaries.com/2007/03/day-181-creating-clothes-with-gimp.html

I think you've picked the wisest course for your needs. Don't forget to pick up an appropriate "For Dummies" book for the version you get. The PSP help isn't too awful, but at least for PSP8 seemed more akin to a string of tutorials (e.g. How to remove red eye, how to put text on a vector, etc) than a broad overview.

Just be sure that the version you get isn't too old. PSP really started getting good with version 9. Prior to that, if memory serves, it was fairly underpowered, and had some interface issues. If I remember correctly, version 9 was when they began a concerted effort to make PSP a more Photoshopesque (if that's a word) than it previously had been. I'd recommend you try to get version 10 or higher.



Yes, PSE is cheaper than PS. But it also happens to be the same price as PSP. With PSP being the more powerful program for the same money, it's really not much of a contest between the two. The only plus you get with PSE is a little bit nicer interface (borrowed from Photoshop). Other than that, it's underpowered compared to PSP.

As I said earlier, I never recommend PSE to anyone. I wish I could, since I'm such a huge Adobe fan, but I can't.