A basic understanding of computers is all a person needs to create their own graphics with today's design software. Even with just small amount of design understanding, people can still use simple design programs to build their own cartoons strips, holiday cards, flyers and invitations. Your business and yourself can save money on special occasions by using one of the several user friendly affordable programs that are out there.
The number one choice for design software by both professionals and amateurs is Adobe PhotoShop. By cropping, recoloring and adding special effects, PhotoShop allows users to change photos anyway they wish. Entirely new pictures can also be created by using special drawing tools, or existing pictures can be modified anyway the user desires. PhotoShop uses a system of “layers.” By using layers, separate pieces of a picture can be changed while keeping the changes separate. For example, you can change the color on the bottom layer without affecting the color on the top layer. If you wish to draw more than creating full pictures, Adobe Illustrator may be the choice for you.
PhotoShop is a pixel-based program while Adobe Illustrator is vector based. What does this mean your probably asking yourself? When you make a picture in PhotoShop, you must use a certain resolution. A computer screen displays 72 pixels per inch for a clear picture, but when you print a 72 dpi picture, it appears blocky and blurred. If you are making a picture for printing in PhotoShop, you need to use 300 pixels per inch to get a nice, sharp image. Because Illustrator is vector-based, it uses a system of paths rather than pixels. In simple terms, it uses lines rather than colors. This means that everything you create in Illustrator can be enlarged up to any size you wish without ever becoming blurry or grainy. Designers often use Illustrator software to build logos for a variety of advertisements. The same picture or logo drawing can be used on a small business card or enlarged to fill an entire billboard.
For those wishing to create simple greeting cards or party invitations, there is a variety of user friendly software programs made specifically for these purposes. Many offer templates for several print sizes and folding options. For the more experienced user, the software program Quark is an excellent print layout tool. Adobe InDesign also offers professional quality layout options along with many of the same tools used in Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator. If you are to use these two programs, you will easily be able to create professional quality materials with InDesign.
There is a wide variety of file types used in graphic software programs. Most have their own native formats that can only be read by the parent programs. PhotoShop files have a .PSD extension, and Illustrator files are AI, making them only accessible by PhotoShop. When you are working with a work in progress, it is a good idea to save files in these formats, as they offer you the greatest flexibility in altering your creation. However, once you have completed your work and are ready to print your materials, you can save them in a variety of ways. Web pictures should saved as JPEGs, GIF or TIFF files. Pictures ready for printing are best saved as EPS files, to preserve color accuracy. If you plan to send graphics via e-mail, PDF offers the greatest flexibility, as most computers have Acrobat Reader, the program needed to read the PDF file type.
No matter what software fits your needs, making digital graphics can be a enjoyable and simple hobby, or even a professional career. It can take some time to get used to the terminology, but once you learn the tools of digital art, you will be on your way to building functional and decorative graphic masterpieces to share with the electronic world.
About the author:
Sintilia Miecevole has a great deal of experience in computers and technology. Click on http://www.fmlasoftware.comto see the huge selection of software and the latest downloads available. Be sure to visit http://www.fmlasoftware.comfor your favorite software tools.
As Internet connections become more permanent with broadband access,
software will be able to evolve into a more efficient and personalized
medium. Currently, most software run from our hard drives and require
installations that alter our system configurations, many times slowing
down our computers. Because software occupies space and processing power,
there is a limited amount of software that can run in our PCs. On the
business side, current software systems require many companies to produce
a system of distribution (Compac Discs), customer support, and is usually
not compatible with all customers, thus limiting its customer base
further.
A software evolution is ocurring and it is going to benefit both
customers and businesses immensly. Software will no longer come as a
packet that needs to be installed on a PC, but rather it will be
completely Web based. Web based software will become the default way of
reaching customers. Customers will have advantages such as, using
unlimited amount of software, using applications regardless of where the
person is or which computer he/she is using, software can be personalized
and upgraded to meet specific needs to each individual. Businesses will be
able to, reduce costs, reach a larger customer pool, taylor its software
to diverse markets, repair bugs more rapidly and easily, understand its
customer and the way they use their software, etc.
In order for this software revolution to occur in whole, there needs to
be a central point. Like Miscrosoft’s DOS in the 80’s, which became the
standard choice of operating system to centralize and organize our
computer operations, there needs to be an online operating system. As of
now, Microsoft has built an empire because of its vision and their
dominance in the OS market. However, now there is a window of opportunity
to take a large chunk of that empire and possibly eliminate Microsoft’s
monopoly of the Operating System. While there are many companies and
organizations (Apple, Linux, Lindows) out there trying to take a bite out
of Microsoft by competing on the same turf, PC users are accostumed to
Windows and will most likely not switch. The opportunity to eliminate this
monopoly is to create an Online Operating System. PC users will inevitably
move completely online.
An Online Operating System will be the central point of every user in
the future. There are online companies who have an inside advantage to
this, such as Yahoo!, Google, and AOL, but it can be anyone’s medal, even
to a fairly unknown competitor, as was Microsoft when they introduced DOS
to the world. In this new concept of Operating System, there can be a
larger space of diversity and can be shared by more companies, unlike the
current status.
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