I've been observing everyone elses graphic artwork for years and have finally gotten the gumption to give it a go myself. I dont know if Im on the right site here, I dont even know where to begin asking questions. I dont have a program, I have a digital camera and the desire to learn. I admit that I am totally ignorant about everything to do with graphic art but I have an itch that needs to be scratched. Can anyone help me? What would be a good software program for beginners? Where do I start? Any kind of advice would be appreciated. I appologise for my ignorance.

Regards
Tara

Right, first off, don't be apologising for "ignorance". You're not ignorant, you just lack information. Second, what kind of artwork are you wanting to produce? You can get superb results with a good digital camera and a little imagination. Third, if you're wanting to stick with photography, there's no reason to look for other software, unless you want to play around with your images. Olympus - in fact most camera manufacturers - bundle some basic image processing software with their cameras. You could go the whole hog and buy Photoshop, which, although quite pricey, will give you more things than you can shake a stick at. Photoshop will also allow you to "paint" images on your computer but it's not the only option; a lot of people here use Paint Shop Pro, which is also very good but I personally do not like.

Attached Link: http://www.e-frontier.com/

Tara,

Welcome!

If you look at the selection bar under the "Topic Forums" you'll see that we have a Photography Forum. There are a lot of very friendly people in that forum who are both talented and willing to share their knowledge.

If you've been looking at the art with "human" figures, most of that is done here with "Poser." There is forum dedicated to that in the "Software Forums" section. It's probably the busiest forum in the site. Poser is a 3D graphics program specializing in working with human figures. It's an entry to mid level program - although it has many of the features of the extremely high end 3D applications. It's very reasonably priced considering what it can do. You can find out specifics about it via the link.

Message edited on: 08/02/2005 09:47

Attached Link: http://www.gimp.org/

"Poser is a 3D graphics program specializing in working with human figures." Important to emphasise that you can't actually *make* 3D models in Poser (in case you were thinking you might want to do that), only work with ready-made ones. You might also want to have a look at some of the work in the fractal gallery. Most of these are made with free, downloadable programs, but you'd likely need additional image-manipulation software; check out The Gimp (see link) for a good free one.

Thankyou for such a terrific response! What kind of artwork do I want to produce? That is a good question. I'm interested in anything and everything, I'd like to take a few nature shots and see what I can do with some imagination and software to spice them up. I'm also intested in creating my own 2D images from scratch. I would love to know more about animation, and this Poser program has me intrigued. I guess I just want to be creative from the ground up. I have a very basic camera, a Canon Power Shot A70, but would upgrade if my interest continues to grow. My father was an obsessive amateur photographer for many years, so I guess the bug has finally bitten me. I only informed my partner of my interest this morning and he told me he already has paint shop pro, shows how observant I am! He has so many things on this computer I wouldnt know half of what we have. I am looking into trying out the free trial of Photoshop CS2. I guess since I'm starting at the very beginning I'm more interested in any suggestions to get my toes wet. I can see I have plenty of reading to do, I'm feeling like a kid at Christmas. Thankyou again for your questions and suggestions, I appreciate every response I get. I hope this gives a little bit more of an idea of where I'm presently at. Cheers Tara

I will make some suggestions, too. First, try demos before spending more than a couple hundred dollars on any program. Price is not a factor of how good the program is. You need to know how good it is at what YOU want it to do, and how comfortable you are with its tools and interface. If you are stymied at Maya's learning curve or hate 3dSMAX, it won't matter that they are "industry standard" for various parts of certain industries... they aren't for you. Try the free programs. You'll be amazed at what is available. Have fun playing with them and getting a feel for using digital tools. Maybe you prefer entering precise numbers into a box or maybe you prefer to grab a mesh with the mouse and treat it like putty. Maybe you prefer a drafting interface with everything lined up just so (you adapt to it), or maybe you prefer a softer friendlier interface where you can change the colors and move items around to suit your work habits (it adapts to you). Maybe you prefer a package with a printed manual where you can mark pages with sticky notes and prop it open, or maybe you hate manuals and rely upon tool tips and whatever help you can find in the menus. This is the time to determine if you prefer decorating surfaces (painting, texturing, postwork) or building in 3D (moving objects around a scene, and then rendering). Check to see how well the programs play with others: what sort of import and export files are accepted, and what sort of plug-ins are available. We seldom make an image in just one program: some programs are better for figures, some for model-making, some for backgrounds, some for rendering, and some for postwork. You don't want to spend more time trying to wrestle your scene into another program than you spent setting it up! (Arguing with the computer is not making art.) And some programs are next best to impossible. Hash's AnimationMaster is a wonderful program, but it stands alone because nothing can get imported or exported. :sigh: Look to see if there is official and ongoing product support (you probably don't want a dead-end product what will never be upgraded) and also check for user support groups (like this site... you can get faster help online from other users). Finally, don't try to learn everything at once! That way lies madness (or major confusion) Carolly

Thankyou for taking the time to respond, thats very good advice and you may consider it taken. There are so many things I need to take into account. After much thought, I think my starting place will be in photography. The big issue for me has been where to begin. There is so much out there I want to learn, but I'm patient. The main thing is I feel excited about a hobby again, haven't felt this way in a long time.

GIMP is an excellent free program. After GIMP, go with Paint Shop Pro. When you feel you're ready to move on go for Photoshop. All three programs will handle images from your digital camera and allow you to manipulate them.

My most important advice, try demos before purchasing anything. The cost of software may largely exceed the costs of your computer. For photography, you could also consider Photoshop Elements, which has about 90% of the features of Photoshop for about 10% of its price. If you're interested in digital painting you should try Painter Classic, which comes free with most tablets and if you like it you can always move to the full-fledged Painter. For virtual landscapes there are Vue and Bryce, both with their pros and cons. Beware though that these are scene builders - renderers, not actual modelling programs. As for modelling there is a vast choice of freeware (Wings, Blender), shareware (Silo), entry level (Amapi, Carrara) as well as high end (Cinema, Rhino, Max, Lightwave and Maya) and even for the latter there are differences, Cinema often being considered as the poor man's Maya. Best go through the different galleries and see what people are making with their tools. And if you see something you like, try a demo. Alternatively, keep an eye on the cover CDs of Computer Arts Magazine, 3D World magazine, etc., since very often they are allowed to distribute older full versions of high end software for free. Oh, and welcome to the club :-)

DAZ|Studio is also a good starting point to find out if you like the kind of art you can make with Poser. It's free, though it requires a Platinum Club membership at www.daz3d.com ($8 per month, but you can opt to be a member for only one month). Models and texture sets developed for Poser will usually work in DAZ|Studio. And while it's not as complete or powerful as Poser 6 (hey, it's almost free!) it's possible to create some pretty amazing images. There's also an active DAZ|Studio forum here if you want to get some help.