7 replies to this topic

[MobileMania]

If i am interested to get some skills on graphic designing, from where should i start. Which application software should i choose to begin with? Either i must initiate directly with Adobe Photoshop or first mastering Corel draw and other softwares like that will be better option.

[Nahumi]

Hey MobileMania,

It depends what sort of design you want to do. I used to do a bit of website design so I used a combination of Photoshop and Fireworks for the graphics side of things and Dreamweaver to code it.

If you're wanting to do my arty stuff, look specifically at Photoshop and forget everything else. If you want to do graphics, look at using either Illustrator or Fireworks, but stay away from Corel.

If you have a tight budget, try using GIMP. It's pretty basic though. If you're looking to actually buy some software, use Adobe's trials first. I suggest downloading the Master Collection Trial, simply because it has all the applications you need. From there you can decide which package you want to buy in particular.

GIMP Download :

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Adobe Trials :

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/

Word of warning though. Graphic design is an expensive hobby. If you are a student, or have children that are eligible for student discount, take advantage of it. You will also need a fairly good machine to handle large images.

As for learning how to do graphic design, I would advise you to stay away from books. If you have a background in art it's a simple case of tinkering with an application until you understand it. From there it shouldn't be too much of a problem to start creating things. If, on the other hand, you don't really have a background in art or design, look at joining a class. That will teach you the very basics, which is what you need in any line of visual design. Also try joining up to http://www.deviantart.com/ . It's a large and friendly community of artists and designers. Receiving critique from there is far more valuable than reading any tutorial books.

I hope that helps, and good luck.

Nahumi

[MobileMania]

hey Nahumi! Thanks a million for the guidance. I have a few arts background. I have done Auto Cad already but i do not feel myself a good artist. I am planning to get some skills to awake some creative skills in me. After reading your guidance i have decided i am after adobe photoshop. Though i will be needing much more tutorials to get hand on it and i will hopefully get help from you and some others on the forum. And thanks for the community reference too

[appleoddity]

Maybe I can offer some of my limited insight into products on the "other side" of the fence. I have been user CorelDraw suite for quite a long time. It is the first product I was introduced to. It has come a long ways. CorelDraw and Corel PhotoPaint are both extremely nice products. I have also used many different version of Adobe creative suite products including photoshop, illustrator, indesign, etc. Personally, I prefer Corel photopaint over photoshop any day. Corel is a PC based program, where Adobe is an Apple based company. I've never found any of Adobe creative suite products to be intuitive in any way. Corel products seem more intuitive to me. I do like Adobe Illustrator and choose to use it quite often. However, as a technician, I have had to deal with Adobe products in many different environments. This is where Corel is a hands down winner over Adobe any day. Quite frankly, Adobe creates a low quality product and their support is horrible. Adobe products consistently cause me headaches ranging from Adobe Reader and flashplayer to illustrator, and photoshop. Their products are very buggy, poorly designed and consistently cause problems and compatibility issues with various configurations. They are slow to provide fixes, some of which they never fix. Their support is horrible and if you ever have a problem I hope you never have to call them. The first thing you will be forced to do is buy their newest product. I would say Adobe is probably the more popular product and I see more of it, but this should not be an explanation as to why there are more problems with it. In fact, it should be a reason that it is more stable and higher quality, which it is not. I'd rather not list the many problems I have had with their products but I can tell you that they still have not fixed a 3 year old problem that effects millions of people in their Adobe Reader 9 product. Version after version after version continues to have the same problem, and still no fix. Its pathetic, and the cause of the problem is by no means a "non-standard" configuration but actually the norm in corporate environments. THe reason is well known and should be easily fixed. The problem effects other Adobe products. This is typical of their products, in general. I just had to throw this out there because personally I feel Adobe is a company hardly worthy of praise without revealing an equal amount of dirt.

[MobileMania]

Maybe I can offer some of my limited insight into products on the "other side" of the fence.


Adobe products are very buggy, poorly designed and consistently cause problems and compatibility issues with various configurations. They are slow to provide fixes, some of which they never fix. Their support is horrible and if you ever have a problem I hope you never have to call them. The first thing you will be forced to do is buy their newest product. I would say Adobe is probably the more popular product and I see more of it, but this should not be an explanation as to why there are more problems with it. In fact, it should be a reason that it is more stable and higher quality, which it is not.

Ohhh.. you are scaring me this is for the fist time i heard so bad for photoshop. Okay lets say if i start off with Corel draw, does that carry so many options and services which photoshop offers.
Your post is quite confised. At one time you said all bad to a product and the other side you are telling me that you use it for your work. SO which one i should take?]
Are you trying to tell me that i should start with Corel draw and then move to Adobe photoshop?
please explain

[Nahumi]

I think it comes down to personal preference. Appleoddity may have had a particularly bad experience with Adobe. I've never come across any major bugs with any Adobe products, and I'm not sure I agree with Appleoddity when he says the interface is unintuiative. Like I said, it's personal preference. Try both Corel Draw and Adobe and see what you get in with best.

[appleoddity]

Yes Nahumi. It is a matter of personal preference. I feel certain Adobe products are unintuitive. But I also feel Apple computers are unintuitive. If you are used to the product its going to become easier to use for sure. I'm not trying to discourage you MobileMania. I just regularly have to deal with issues with Adobe products. People should know about it. I prefer Corel Photopaint any day over Photoshop. For me it is easier to use and has everything I need. I have both products though. I prefer Photopaint, or I might use Photoshop if I am looking for instructions how to do something difficult and I need a specific plug-in or instruction that only works with one product or the other. This is pretty typical of any competing product. They don't always meet everyone's needs, and they are better suited for some over others. I just think Adobe should take care of their customers better, support their product better, and fix the blatantly obvious problems that they know about but never address despite the thousands of complaints by people in their forums. There is simply no excuse. And if I pay hundreds of dollars for a product I expect that they'll support that product a couple of years later instead of telling me I have to buy the new version first.

[MobileMania]

Thanks for elaborating your point guys i think i know what i am supposed to do now