photoshop alternative

[alsih2o]

i wanna play wiht more computer grphics, but i cannot shell out $600 for photoshop. any and all recomendations are welcome.

 

[ConnorSB]

get the cheap $40 dollar Photoshop Elements. Its basically photoshop, but with less stuff. I dont know the extent of its power, but... it is cheap. And I'm pretty sure that any plugin that works with photoshop will work will elements...

 

[Erratic K]

Go open source. Especially for online only graphics (or stuff out of a digi-cam) or other not for CMYK printer stuff:

The Gimp

http://www.gimp.org

Free, powerful, cross-platform, amazing.

-E

 

[James Heard]

i wanna play wiht more computer grphics, but i cannot shell out $600 for photoshop. any and all recomendations are welcome.

This may not apply, but if you're a student or could reasonably enroll for a single credit course on the cheap at a community college to become a student you can sometimes get Photoshop for an incredible discount. Seriously, I know a lot of people who've gone back to college and taken some crappy portfolio development class just to cash in on that discount. You sometimes can ride that discount for quite a while even, while you're still having a more or less current looking student ID. You could even register for classes, purchase Photoshop with your student ID, and then quickly withdraw for your refund before classes start so that your net money spent is even less.

 

[Buttercup]

Adobe sells the current version of Photoshop Elements for $99. It would probably do most of what you want, and if you decide to upgrade later, you can get a discount, I believe.

I feel your pain, Clay. I would love to have the full version of Photoshop, along with a graphics tablet. Heck, while we're dreaming, I'd like a few million bucks so I could quit work and fiddle around w/ D&D stuff all day.

 

[Nifft]

I used to be a graphic artist, and I love the Gimp. It's a professional-quality tool.

The scripting abilities are amazing. Even if you're not that advanced, it's a great program.

-- N

 

[Malessa]

I use Paint Shop Pro........I can't afford Photoshop either....

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Go open source. Especially for online only graphics (or stuff out of a digi-cam) or other not for CMYK printer stuff:

The Gimp

http://www.gimp.org

Free, powerful, cross-platform, amazing.

GIMP!
The Gimp is great. I definitly recommend it.

As for Photoshop Elements, I have it on a few PCs at work, and most users find it to be more of a pain then they find it to be useful. If you know what Photoshop can do, using Photoshop Elements is sort of like downgrading from an Audi to a Yugo-it will do the basics but all the fun stuff is gone.

Someone mentioned getting Photoshop at a student discount. Try walking into your local college bookstore/computer store and seeing if they have Photoshop for sale. Some don't check student IDs, they just sell at the educational discount.

But really, try Gimp first. It does everything Photoshop does, and its free.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Someone mentioned getting Photoshop at a student discount. Try walking into your local college bookstore/computer store and seeing if they have Photoshop for sale. Some don't check student IDs, they just sell at the educational discount.

Just another thought on the Educational Discounts on software. You can usually get the Ed. discount if you can prove that you are in the education field in some capacity. elementary school teachers, school staff, and library staff should be able to get the discount. All staff members at UVA, regardless of what they do, qualify for ed. discounts with our IDs, and not just at UVA. I've used my discount at other universities and other places, you just need to ask if they have an educational discount. If it comes down to it, ask around, you probably know someone who would qualify for an ed. discount, see if they will buy the software for you.

 

[Scorpio]

GIMP is ok- the price is certainly attractive, but it is a system hog- moreso than Photoshop 7 for me. Of course, you might be able to pick up a copy of Photoshop (esp.5 or 6) unregistered for cheap at E-Bay- I got an unopened Illustrator 9 with a CD/Book tutorial for 75.00....