Bringing Out my ability

[kemvette]

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Hi, as long as i've known i've always been interested in cars and drawing them.I'm at a point in my life that i really feel like a have great potential, but i'm only 13 years old so i can't really go out and buy a really nice program to design cars.I've been desiging cars for about 4-5 years with just a couple pencils and paper. It is really getting boring because i wnat to use designing software for my computer but alot of decent designing software is pretty expensive.i would really appreciate it if some of u guys (or gals) could give some inexpensive ways to getting a decent designing program.

 

[toyomatt84]

I've heard of a program called "GIMP" or "the GIMP", but I am unsure as to how good it is. They say it works well. I'm sorry I don't know more.

 

[kemvette]

Thnkx toyomatt84, I'll check it out. thnkx agaim 4 the advise.

 

[Sage]

GIMP is a Unix-based drawing application... very powerful, but if you don't know anything about Linux or the like, then it's an absolute pain in the butt to just get installed, since you have no pretty "installer" to do it for you.

I've heard that CorelDraw is a pretty good app. Also, you might want to check out Photoshop Elements, which gives you 80% of Photoshop's ability for like $99 (or maybe it's $199... sorry, my memory's going dead tonight). You might also want to see what you can get for student discounts... try the Academic Superstore. 👍

 

[CDailey]

If you want to get into 3D Modeling, you could try out Blender 3D. Completely free and look what it can do.

 

[emad]

GIMP is a Unix-based drawing application... very powerful, but if you don't know anything about Linux or the like, then it's an absolute pain in the butt to just get installed, since you have no pretty "installer" to do it for you.

Sorry sagey, but there is a VERY nice installer available for the winblows version . The Linux version is also relatively easy to install since there are only like one or two dependencies you have to install. After that, it's just a simple matter of compiling the source tarballs.

I've heard that CorelDraw is a pretty good app. Also, you might want to check out Photoshop Elements, which gives you 80% of Photoshop's ability for like $99 (or maybe it's $199... sorry, my memory's going dead tonight). You might also want to see what you can get for student discounts... try the Academic Superstore. 👍

Corel Draw is pretty much industry standard for the print industry but it's not the best choice for working with images and photos. Granted, it comes with Corel PhotoPaint but the app doesn't come halfway close to what Photoshop and The GIMP can handle.

Another option to GIMP and Photoshop is Fireworks. FW handles pretty much anything Photoshop can and even has full support for Photoshop plugins. Unfortunately, it's interface isn't as likeable as the PS one. But then again, Fireworks is a lot better when it comes to vector capabilities than Photoshop can ever hope to be.

Photoshop and Fireworks both have free demos available, download those before you put any money into the apps you plan on getting. I'm also fairly positive Corel Draw also has a demo available for you to test out

 

[Sage]

Sorry sagey, but there is a VERY nice installer available for the winblows version .

Oh, okay, I didn't even realize it was available for Windows. Good to know. 👍

The Linux version is also relatively easy to install since there are only like one or two dependencies you have to install. After that, it's just a simple matter of compiling the source tarballs.

Yeah, try telling that to somebody like me who's never used the command prompt.

Another option to GIMP and Photoshop is Fireworks. FW handles pretty much anything Photoshop can and even has full support for Photoshop plugins. Unfortunately, it's interface isn't as likeable as the PS one. But then again, Fireworks is a lot better when it comes to vector capabilities than Photoshop can ever hope to be.

Yup, I have Fireworks MX... I was going to suggest it, but it's not exactly inexpensive (which is what kemvette's looking for). However, if you buy it through Academic Superstore, you can get Fireworks 2004 alone for $96, and the entire Studio 2004 suite for $190 (which is what I did... that's an absolute bargain).

And I don't know 'bout you, but I actually much prefer the FW interface over PS's. And yes, even that aside, its vector abilities absolutely smashes Photoshop's.

 

[ALPHA]

Corel Draw is pretty much industry standard for the print industry but it's not the best choice for working with images and photos. Granted, it comes with Corel PhotoPaint but the app doesn't come halfway close to what Photoshop and The GIMP can handle.

I've been using CorelDRAW for the past few years and have discovered quite afew draw backs. In the past few releases Corel has really slacked off and not added and new features of value to Draw, and instead of focused on Photopaint which sucks like a horse. So much I chose not to install it.

Although CorelDRAW is nice and flexible to use it isn't the best program to use in conjuction with say Illustrator and Freehand. Draw has the worst of import/export things you can have. In some ways I would like to stick to Draw but I also want to move on to Illustrator or Freehand but I hate their interfaces so much.

I think Draw is slightly more expensive than Illustartor CS here but you can't really find any decent tutorials or anything to get you started with on the internet. So you'd need to fork out some money on getting a decent book written by some of the leading Draw users: Peter McCormick, Foster D. Coburn III or Carlos F. Gonzalez. Or your local Library might have something.

It really comes down to if you want a powerful vector program, 3D or raster. As previously mentioned download the demo's of what your looking at and I'm sure if you hunt around you'll find some good reviews.

 

[donbenni]

For free, i'd say GIMP. I'm running it and it's alright. I'm really used to Photoshop, so the change wasn't the nicest, but after a few hours playing i found it pleasant enough. I will always prefer Photoshop as that was "my first time" (heheh). Also, running GIMP's great because you can make lots of gimp jokes which you can't really with Photoshop.

 

[Omero]

Integra, those are freakin' awesome! Great stuff. 👍

Kemvette, if you're looking into getting into the less-detailed stuff that takes alot less of your time and learning efforts than 3D-Modelling, I'd recomend going for Adobe Photoshop Elements. It's got all the essentials of Adobe Photoshop for at most 1/6 of the price (only around $70-$90 depending on where you look). Enjoy your stay at GTP, and I look forward to seeing your work.

 

[CDailey]

Integra, those are freakin' awesome! Great stuff. 👍

Ain't it? I plan on learning how to use that program. 👍

 

[Omero]

I thought you'd made those...



Maybe I should go to bed earlier...




...and stop using these blasted "..."s...

 

[CDailey]

It's ok. Pherhaps I'll be making that Ferrari model one day?

 

[Event]

What's with the poll?

 

[kemvette]

i don't kno.

 

[Omero]

You should; you made the thing....

 

[Sharky.]

Whats the best you can do in ArcSoft PhotoStudio?

 

[cardude2004]

What does the poll have to do with the topic??

 

[toyomatt84]

What does the poll have to do with the topic??

Even more strange is why this thread has been renewed. The last post was over 2 months ago.

This is another zombie, meaning dead.

 

[cardude2004]

The thread before me was a day ago.

 

[toyomatt84]

The thread before me was a day ago.

It wasn't you, that I was referencing. The guy/gal before ya' reopened this thread, now didn't they?

 

[cardude2004]

Yes.