Good and Reliable Texturers

Throughout my travels in SL, I have seen some pretty neat textures, but sadly, I have not had the skill or Applications needed. I know theres photoshop, but that costs what, $400?
So I was wondering, can any of you texturers recommend any good, yet free texturing programs that are reliable, and wont get you so confused the first time you use it you smash your computer to bits? Thanks



- Zeek

(edited)

I've never heard of BitTorrent, but GIMP is a very popular free alternative to Photoshop. www.gimp.org

You may also want to look into getting a copy of Photoshop 7. Version 8 is current, but 7 is still an excellent program. It typically sells for around $100 US these days.

I have both 7 and 8 on my machine. I actually prefer some of 7's features over those of 8, so I often switch between the two, depending on the particular project I'm working on. For SL textures, there's nothing you'll need to do that 7 can't handle.

(edited)

BitTorrent is a file sharing program. Basically nimrod is suggesting you steal bootleg software.

Try http://oem-software.biz/

You can get a copy of Photoshop 8 for $80

These are also not legal copies of software so if you buy from them don't expect to be able to register, get upgrades, or tech support.

I'm very happy with 7. . . not sure about upgrading anytime soon

Hi Chip.

Can you elaborate on the status of software bought at that 'OEM' shop ?

Steph

The first bad vibe that strikes me as scammy about that OEM site is that to my knowledge, Macromedia doesn't release software in OEM packs outside of their original bundles.

More info, as an example, can be found here, straight from the source:

http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_15280

Adobe's own is here:

http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/antipiracy/avoid.html

Depending on your needs, you can look into a specialized texture maker such as Texture Maker too:

http://www.i-tex.de/

It looks slick but I've never used it. Many other programs that fill niche targets are out there too. G'hope!

No Nimrod, what you are saying is BitTorrent isn't like Photoshop, its a program you can use to STEAL Photoshop and many other things.

If you are stealing commercial software using BitTorrent, you deserve the big ol' harddrive-wiping virus that comes along with that download.

-Ghoti

This is the useful information on this thread, as I see it - hence why the GIMP is in my sigline link (as are other, legally-free texture links).

Please don't post illegal content to this forum. There are plenty of legal and cheap (if not free) alternatives to most programs out there.

Sure Stephane As Torley said, Macromedia doesn't sell OEM copies of their software as far as I know, and neither does Adobe. They have Discreet's 3ds max listed as selling new for $284 or something which is laughable. It's sells new for around $4000 and also is not sold OEM. They have very strict rules concerning dealers of their software and licensing.

Here's a quote from their FAQ:


They're basically saying that if you buy from them you can't get upgrades or support from the developers. In other words, it's an illegal scam. I tried to find an address for them on their site or any contact info at all and there is none, so I looked up the URL through WhoIs...



It's a scam site selling pirated software.

Thanks Torley, thanks Chip.

To other readers of the thread... Before buying 'discount' at that 'OEM' web site, think twice. Are you really sure you want to trust THOSE guys with your credit card info..??? What makes you think their scam would be one level deep only.

'nuff said.

OEM copies all say "don't sell seperately. only for installation with a new computer" so that's why you can't register or get updates. you're not supposed to have it in the first place. support Adobe if you think Photoshop is worth using. yeah it's expensive but damn people it's the industry standard for professional graphics software. it's not some freeware gif animator.

So which ones can i use, that isnt considered stealing???

Hmmm that post was not intended to cause the commotion that it did. I actually got that website from the head of our IT department where I work. OEM software did not appear to be ILLEGAL to me, nor to them. If it is, thanks for warning people. But my copy is working fine and has been for several months. My credit card is fine too. Sorry for the suggestion and I hope you guys can stop being so judgmental. There was not any STEALING done on my part - I paid for a product that was advertised.

Thanks.

As I said earlier, Zeek, GIMP is completely free. You can download it from www.gimp.org. It is an open source program that is free of charge by design, so it is completely legal.

If you have a hundred bucks or so lying around though, I'd highly recommend you get yourself a copy of Photoshop 7. If you search around you can usually find it (legally) for anywhere between $100 and $400 US.

Also, you may want to check Ebay for a used copy. Lots of people are selling off their 7's now that 8 is out, and there's nothing illegal about that. The US Supreme Court ruled a couple of years ago that it is perfectly legal for a person to resell or give away a software package that he or she is no longer using (even if the EULA says otherwise) in the same way that one is free to resell any other posession. As with all things on Ebay, be careful whom you deal with, but chances are that if they are selling the CD in its original packaging then it's probably legit.

As others have stated though, I'd stay away from those "OEM" guys. Those copies are only legally sold to computer manufacturers who get a special price based on their relationship with the software companies so that they can pre-install them on new machines. Reselling them without a new computer is not kosher.

This warrants caution as well.

I doubt Adobe does this, but I know of at least one software manufacturer (Propellerhead Software, which makes the cool audio program Reason) issues only one license number per customer, no matter how many version upgrades they buy. So if you buy someone's old copy, you can't actually use it unless they don't use the product anymore (the product validates over the internet for activation).

Buying something to use in a way that is prohibited by the manufacturer -- even if the courts uphold this right -- is a dangerous endeavor, because the company might decide to take action to stop you in some technical way.

If it's legal, it's your call. But do think carefully about it.

If you can't afford a software package, look at less expensive options. For Photoshop, these include the previously mentioned free GIMP, the popular and relatively affordable Paint Shop Pro, and the scaled-down version Photoshop Elements.

For that matter, if there are OEM versions of a product bundled somewhere, instead of buying a possibly-illegal copy, you might see if you can find out what they're bundled with and buy that. For example, if you buy a low-end Wacom graphics tablet for $100 or so, you can get Photoshop Elements 2 bundled with it. If you want a tablet for doing graphic design anyway, this might be a better deal than buying Elements 3 from Adobe for the same price.

Get the gimp! It rocks, its free, and its legal too.
It's also a pretty small download, except it requires a graphics library called GTK. I already have it since I use a plethora of other open source software. Hmm, come to think of it, the only closed source software I use is SL and windows.
Now where's that Linux client

Nothing personal intended at all Jana That site just set off my scam detector and I figured people should know... and your IT person should know better. If you company is buying software that way it can land them in quite a bit of hot water. I assumed that you didn't know it was fishy, but it is definitely fishy.

Discreet software is the same way. The only way you can buy their software used and be able to register it is if it's part of a company buyout. If you buy 3ds max on ebay you won't be able to register it or upgrade it. It's not uncommon so it's always best to check with the developer before buying used software.

Well, hey, while im at it, i might as well ask.

What is a good 3D-Modeling program? and maybe an animating program as well. Hey, Im bored, i gotta do something

My post back wasn't intended to be personal Jana. I'm glad if it worked for you, but what they're doing is definitely NOT legal, and even if you were not aware of it, you were indeed stealing (and any court in the western world would agree). Some software on that list NEVER comes OEM and is actually rented, not sold, by the manufacturer.

Your IT department should know better. As Chip says, your company could get into a heap of trouble with that software. I personnally had to "let go" one of our IT guys after just that kind of behavior last year, when we received that cease and desist letter...

Best,

For big projects, word on the street is that you take original game textures from some other FPS and then mod them, you know, just to get the tiling out of the way - which is the hardest part - that the other artists you're 'lifting' from have already worked out.

Then apply - and you're done!

Of course, there is that whole nasty IP-Law thing, but hey - you are done, roll in your kudos!

I prefer making my own from scratch, of course....but I also hate being sued, so its win-win.