Which Software???

[joleet]

Hi everyone..

I have been doing portrait patterns for a couple years now and I use Adobe Elements 5, Gimp and Inkscape. NOW, I am interested in doing some designing of all kinds and am wondering which software to buy. My thinking (in watching Steve Good's blog) is that maybe Corel is a good one. My question is...do I need the Paintshop x2, or maybe I need to have Corel Draw. I am quite confused right now. My Adobe serves me very well with pictures and photos, BUT, i'm not sure what I need for designing. Sometime back I watched Steve Goods tutorial and he was doing a design with a clock in it, but, that is just one of the things I want to do. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Ron T.

[Travis]

I'm pretty much of the opinion that you can do most everything you want to do with Inkscape or GIMP. These programs pretty much do the same thing as the professional graphics suites do. Pro Graphics suites might make it a bit easier and have a few more tools, but there's also a steeper learning curve. But if you really want a pro graphics suite, I would take a look at the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 Home & Student Edition (in the Village Store under Software). For $129, you can't beat the price, plus Steve Good's video tutorials will really help you learning the software for designing patterns. The only other one I'd say is Adobe CS4 (Illustrator for vector, Photoshop for bitmap). The prices are obscene, but they're awesome programs. I use Photoshop on a daily basis and Illustrator once in a great while. Both have a pretty steep learning curve, but are very powerful. I don't recommend Adobe CS4 unless you are serious hardcore graphics guru.

[joleet]

Thanks Travis.

You answered my questions. For now, I am going to stick with inkscape and gimp, then (maybe) go for the Corel Draw. My son uses Adobe Illustrator in his business and he is about ready to tear his hair out, unfortunately, his purchase, which incidently wasn't cheap, only has 1 license so I can't download in my computer. Oh well, at my age, I don't need ulcers. Thanks again Travis....Ron T.

[Christina]

I have both Corel Draw and Paint Shop Pro X2...........Travis is right, you can pretty much do the same things with Inkscape and Gimp and not have to buy the expensive programs. They all basically do the same things.

Christina

[joleet]

Thanks Christina for the reply. BOY, when two pro's like you and Travis agree then it must be so. Gonna give Inkscape and Gimp a try and see how it goes. I'm sure the learning curve is quite intense, but so is life. Thanks again...Ron T.