Until one has tried PI, it's really futile to make any assumptions. I have nothing against the other programs(tried them all as well)...just found out PI can do more of the same in a shorter amount of time with it's unique features. Later, I will post a pic of one of the features that is unique in PI only. :) ----------------------- bonni...I'm a Sprite girl, myself. ;)

...and there are a few things that PI can do in a snap, where you have to write an action in Photoshop. An example is creating a gel plastic material for text or some other object.

Here is a pic of PI's "Easy Palette". A place where one can store things one creates in PI and with just a click of the mouse, can plop them into a layer or graphic at will. :) The ability of PI to do various animations from the EP is astounding as well. But that's a whole other unique feature.

I think that some of it is just finding what works for YOU. The same is apparently true of modelling programs, from what I hear.

An example is creating a gel plastic material for text or some other object.

Layer styles, baby. I've got several plastic, gel, and gemlike layer styles that I use regularly. Layer styles are incredibly, unbelievably useful for a huge variety of purposes.

Ohhh, that's a good one, let's argue over which modelling program is best! Or which OS! Coolness! ;-)

bonni

Message edited on: 07/31/2005 20:58

LOL@bonni! Gotta love ya,gal! ;)

Attached Link: http://pirc-bw.com/

Thanks, but no time. Photoshop loves me, and I love it, and while a little extra pixel pushing on the side might be nice, I don't want to take away from the time I have to spend with my real love. ;-) Besides, Photoshop can be jealous.... bonni

LOL!! I hear ya! ;)

GIMP is very good for the price (free), however I remember having problems with jaggies that I could never resolve even by switching on every "anti-aliasing" switch I could find. When I left GIMP for PI, it became insanely jealous.

Attached Link: http://www.compusa.com/adproducts/product_info.asp?product_code=315330&pfp=ADPRODUCTS

Attached Link: http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/

I love and use PI10, the only downside is you can't use PS brushes so I miss out on a lot of fine products out there. The huge plus side is not working in layers but objects, soooooo much easier to manipulate your images. Plus you can use PSD's, tubes and tons of free filters from PS.

monkeyking13 - I hope you hav'nt purchased anythiong yet. $ for $ you ca'nt get around Adobe Photoshop, the learning curve is just too steep! If you want to save $$ you could purchase a version as far back as version 4, I'd say, without missing any major functions. Then in time(Years form now...) think about purchasing cheap upgrades.

The Serif stuff is not all that good. I tried them. :(

Purchase version 4 and not missing any major features? I wonder why Adobe took the effort to bring out new versions then. Getting version 4 is a very bad idea imo, you may as well get the other good alternatives and get all the newest (and other non photoshop features too!) major features photoshop now has. Don't miss out on anything by buying older versions. Adobe is just a brand name, nothing sacred about it. Others are at least just as good, some even better. Well at least much easier to learn and use, less memory and system demanding and a lot lot faster.

Ardiva, if you don't mind me asking, which application and what version did you try?

I do own a number of Serif applications (PagePlus, DrawPlus & PhotoPlus), all newer version and all of them are excellent. Easy to use, lot's of excellent features and it seamlessly integrates with my home printer and the outdoor professional printers. By the way, I don't own a normal every day home printer, but a professional very high quality printer (cost me lot's of money). The quality comes close to the stuff they print at the printers (with a printing press) and looks very different from what I do output on my regular laser and inkjet. It's rather picky, so it need a better quality application, which can handle PDF/X-1a for example and most of the other same priced desktop publisher couldn't handle it, nor had all of the features that Serif PagePlus does offer. And so is PhotoPlus imo an excellent application.

Message edited on: 08/01/2005 17:48

Monkeyking13 asked for an affordable 2d program, so photoshop doesn`t fit that requirement.

Quote - Monkeyking13 asked for an affordable 2d program, so photoshop doesn`t fit that requirement.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adobe Photoshop, the learning curve is just too steep Not for everyone, apparently. Monkeyking13 asked for an affordable 2d program, so photoshop doesn`t fit that requirement. Adobe Elements fits the price limit given. bonni

Adobe Elements fits the price limit given. True, except that the Elements version is quite cut down, and for the same price as PSP, which has 90% of Photoshop's features. Don't get me wrong, Photoshop Elements has its uses, but given the choice between: 30%-45% of Photoshop for $90 or 75%-90% of Photoshop for $90 it's fairly obvious which one to get. Aside from which, any decent scanner comes with Photoshop Elements for free, so why not have your cake and a slice of pie :)

Well, I recommended Paint Shop Pro in my very first post. I was just being thorough, and providing as many viable choices as I could think of. bonni

I would like to thank everyone for their help. Here's where I'm at: Photoshop CS2 (Amazon $559) is the industry standard, however Paint Shop Pro (Amazon $84) can perform 90 percent of Photoshop's actions. PSP is also compatible with most but not all of Photoshop's plug ins. PhotoShop Elements 3.0 plus Premiere Elements (Amazon $129) is an affordable introduction to Photoshop, but it's not as powerful as Paint Shop Pro. Some people prefer PhotoImpact, but theyre a minority. I assume people use the free programs because there free, not because their better If thats right I'll go with PSP and spend the rest on Poser 6 add-ons. Thanks again. Bonni: Coke is, without a doubt, the best. I can't even drink pepsi anymore, always tasted generic IMO.

"If thats right I'll go with PSP and spend the rest on Poser 6 add-ons. Thanks again." Even though I don't use PSP myself, you reasoning sounds good. This way, you can get a lot of great Poser stuff for $400 or more and still have a great paint application too.

I think PSP is a good way to go. You can always consider changing to something else at some point if you really feel you want to, but for most folks, PSP does the job admirably. hands you a Coke bonni

One thing that I will say against PSP is that's rubbish at resizing pictures - they often get pixellated (i.e. when making them smaller)

If you use smart resize in psp it should help to reduce pixellation.

Attached Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/Adobe-Photoshop-7-0-w-Image-Ready_W0QQitemZ7173706016QQcategoryZ86732QQrdZ1QQcm

Just checked that e-bay link and the description says the CD you get is not original. Sounds fishy to me.

OEM?

Attached Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ADOBE-PHOTOSHOP-7-0-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ7173618532QQcategoryZ41877QQrdZ1QQcm

I don't use Poser 6, still a die hard Poser 4 user. But I had good luck with an older program called Picture Publisher from Micrografx (still use it)..I think Corel bought them out and dumped the whole program. Hmm, makes you wonder about PSP's fate too, huh? :o)