Is Adobe Photoshop needed to make clothing

To make clothing (Or suits, avatar styles, and any other thing having to do with the shape and color of a SL avatar) do I NEED Adobe photoshop? Because I've read on a guide to making clothing that it says no software is needed (And I assume this means no adobe needed...) Is this right? And if so, how do I do it? Because I don't like the thought of buying photoshop just to make stuff for my guy if I don't need to.

There is a program affectionately (Or not) known as the Gimp. This is a free image editor thingymajiggy... quite powerful. Many people use that, since it's free. However, I've heard it's harder to learn.

At any rate, technically, any program that can make images work. To have less than the entire jacket or pants template, though, you need to be able to do alpha channels. If a program can save a .png or .tga then it's almost guaranteed to be able to do this, though methods will vary from program to program.

That's about the best answer I can currently give =/

Alright, thanks. I have gimp, but I don't know how to use the templates (Or put them in it) so that I can make something that doesn't look like a paper drawing...

I'm pretty sure you should be able to find something useful in this thread:
/109/b5/83674/1.html

That thread is the 'Great Clothing Tutorial Links and more' sticky at the top of this texturing forum

Corel's Photopaint or Core's Paintshop Pro will work for making SL clothes with transparency.

Also the free version of Serif Photoplus will work.

There's a program called AvPainter that let's you paint on a 3D avatar.

There are detailed instructions in the stickied threads in this forum on SL clothesmaking.

If you have GIMP you have everything you need to make clothing and other textures for use in SL. Yeah, GIMP is a little intimadating when you first look at it............but, no more so than Photoshop, Paintshop Pro or any other big time image editing software. But, you need to know or learn channels and layering. Once you know that you can follow the Photosshop tutorials and stickies fairly easily.

My suggestion is.........don't jump in till you learn the basics of GIMP (or any other image editing/paint program). Google "Gorking the GIMP". And good starter online book. Or go to Amazon.com and look up "Beginning GIMP From Novice to Professional" by Akkana Peck. Absolutely a great book written so even I can understand.

And you do not put the templates in GIMP. You use GIMP to open the templates so that you can use them with whatever it is you want to make for your avatar. The templates are just that........template that are not in anyway part of the final product except that they were the guides to get what you want.

Actually, if you want the simplest answer, you can make clothing in SL by using only the tools in the "Appearance" function. I think that may be what your guide meant when it said that "no software is needed." The kind of clothing you make with Appearance is actually "painted" directly on the avatar, using textures from your inventory and any colors you choose to apply. The textures may be ones you have created with an external program like Photoshop, Gimp, Paintshop Pro, or Photoshop Express, but they could just as easily be ones that came with your avatar (in the Library folders at the bottom of your inventory) or ones that you have purchased or been given.

You can also create clothing items, like skirts, that are prim attachments. Again, you do not need an external program to do this, unless you want to create and apply a new texture instead of one that you purchase or are given. Making prim clothing requires quite a bit of skill and practice, but nothing fancier than your basic SL building/editing tools (OK, unless you want to make sculpty items, but that's another story).

So, you really can create basic clothing without investing in special software. The excellent advice you are getting from other people in this thread applies when you decide that basic clothing isn't enough. Clothing that you buy in SL shops, created by designers, really IS made with Photoshop, Gimp, or whatever.

Actually, GiMP works just as well as Photoshop (although it has fewer features and a more confusing interface) and it is free.

There are a number of free tools out there. Some are more powerful than the other. Paint.Net is free, and has a simple interface. You can also do simple transparency by saving in .PNG format and not worrying about the alpha channel. For more advanced clothing with differing layers of opacity, you will need to use more powerful tools like the Gimp, Paint Shop Pro, or Photoshop.

there is also a way to use the photoshop plugins with gimp with the PSPI (photoshop plugin interface)


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Paint.net is free easier to use then Gimp.
For easier 3d drawing on the UV layer there is AVPaint.
I was little resistant at first but I am glad I got it since it helped see what I am painting and creating in 3d better.
Still need a way to do other things though in paint program if you want different type of paints or want to edit things.

As mentioned above, anything that will help you to create good looking clothing for SL requires you to learn a program. Your program, or poison of choice is entirely up to you.

If you are hesitant in forking out cash just yet, I would say give GIMP another try, you have nothing to loose as its free, but you will have a lot to learn (with any program).

The migration from GIMP to Photoshop or something similar later on won't have you thinking you've wasted your money, as the fundamentals can be moved over. I personally use both, still, even though i have the so called "high end" Photoshop CS3... there are some things I think GIMP does smarter.

Read the stickies at the top of the forum for tutorials to help get you underway. Start simple, and move one step at a time. I think you'll find you can pick it all up quick enough.