How do you do digital art? Any software you recommend to get started?

Question: How do you do digital art!? Any software you recommend to get started!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

You can get started with a software you may already have in your computer!. Most systems are sold with some kind of paint program included, such as Paint or something similar!. Dig around your accessories folder or directory and you should find it!.

Play with it and try to learn as much as you can about its features and tools!.

If you are still intersted and have outgrown it, I recommend you take smaller steps instead of plunging into the hundreds of dollars worth of software that some have recommended!. I have heard much about the free download application called GIMP!. Most of what I have heard is good, but, please remember that many of the sites that offer free downloads may also add some bits of malware in the downloads, such as viruses, trojan horses and other code that you may not want in your system!.

A better, low cost alternative is Adobe Photoshop Elements!. I call it "Photoshop Lite!." Elements contains the most popular functions of the full-featured Photoshop, but it retails for about $100!. The price may still seem high to a begining designer, but don't sell it short!. Elements is an extremely powerful tool and is very similar to what the full-version Photoshop had about 10 years ago!. Some pros I know still use it as their primary image editing program!.

When and if you take the plunge into real, professional level applications, then you should look into the Adobe suite of design tools, which include Photshop, Illustrator and InDesign as the core applications!. While these may share some similar tools and functions, each has very distinct and criticaly different uses in the design industry!. Adobe also has other, specially funtioned programs, as do other manufacturers, such as Streamline, Flash, Dimensions, Corel, Painter, Dreamweaver, and many others!.

I am a freelance designer and my software apps run into the thousands of dollars, PLUS the cost of my systems and peripherals!. And, for all the money I have invested in my studio, my operation is STILL small potatoes, compared to other freelancers I know!.

My advice is start small, and build your way up to the point you have the tools you need to do what you want!. A small, cheap graphics tablet (around $50) is a good addition to what you may already have!. An inexpensive (under $75) flatbed scanner can be very useful!. A CD or DVD burner can be handy, if you don't already have one!. Digital graphics take a LOT of storage space on your hard drive and you will find that archiving onto disk will be very handy!.

Then, do your upgrades as you need them!. I know WAY to many people spending hundreds of dollars who only use a tiny fraction of what they have!.

Good luck and have fun!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I am a graphic designer and I recommend "Adobe Creative Suite" for general Digital art and graphic design!. However, If you want to get into 3d design / art I like "Autodesk Maya"!. Digital art is a broad field, but Adobe products are your best option!. (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, Indesign, Imageready, etc!.)Www@QuestionHome@Com

Go into google and type in Photoshop trial, or Paintshop trial, or Corel Painter trial!. You can download these programs and try them out for about a month!.

It's pretty simple!. Select the painting tool, fiddle around with the opacity and paint away!. You learn your own method to paint!. :]Www@QuestionHome@Com

adobe creative suite
and quarkWww@QuestionHome@Com

Photoshop or Gimp are two programs that are well knownWww@QuestionHome@Com