Need a little guidance. I am looking for a user friendly graphics program to make my own decal designs. I have searched the forum and picked up on the Gimp program. I must say very comprehensive for a shareware program but not user friendly at all. I am somewhat computer literate (autocad user) but can't get my head around the Gimp. Is there any other - low cost - software any of you might suggest i try. I mainly want to add a logo and the rod specs, maybe a picture, etc. -i will use Decal Connection for complicated stuff - How about Microsoft Publisher?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

J Scott
Englewood, Fl

Try ulead photo impact, correl baught them a while back but if you can get it do so. It works in vector which is good to scale your images. Correl draw is good aswell along with indesign from adobe. There is great training available for adobe and correl available at lynda.com they do a 1 week free trial and everything is done by video so you can follow along. If you need more than a week to get your head around it they offer a subscription service monthly for about $25 from memory just cancel after you have learnt what you need.

Cheers
Mark Newcombe
Old Bar NSW
Australia

Thanks Mark. I looked at indesign-i think its too much for what i need and out of my budget. Photo impact is affordable but will it do text with font outlining? i will look at a little closer. Corel draw is also out of my price range.
More suggestions appreciated.

J Scott
Englewood, Fl

You can use which graphic program you want!
You have to learn it to get good results!

You've learned AutoCAD too!

Good point Mark U.
i just don't want invest the time it takes to learn a complicated program just to add my logo and some custom text to a build.
I am downloading the free trail for the program Mark N suggested, will see if i can get my head around it and if it will do what i want.

Keep ideas coming please,

J Scott
Englewood, Fl



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2012 10:32AM by Jim Scott.

Google paint.net. Full featured, good online support and free.

Jim Scott Wrote:
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> Corel draw is also out of my price range.

You can buy a older Version of it (in my country CorelDraw X5 cost under 100€).
You don't need the newest version of any program!
And invest time to learn it... every program needs invested time.

I use Corel Draw and recommend it.
Its a little expensive but it have answer to all the needs you may have.

Abraço

Nuno

Picasa is another free program; I haven't tried it yet, but it comes highly recommended

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
John in Wethersfield, CT

Just a few days ago a fellow from this forum (thanks Mick Danek!) told me about a decal media company (Papilio). When I visited their website I found that they have a free program for designing decals. I have poked around just a little, have not really tried it 'in action' but it seems pretty straightforward. They also have some short videos which teach you the basics. Give it a try. Link is below.

John

[www.papilio.com]

If you have a student aged person in your life you should be able to get an accademic version of correl or adobe stuff fairly cheaply.

G'Day Jim I'm a complete boofhead when it comes to graphics but I have found 2 programs to do it 1 Is paint .net a freebie from Microsoft & no.2 is called "Photo POS Pro. also free just Google for the websites

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

Thank you everyone for the response.
I will look into all of the items mentioned.
Nuno, thanks for your response also, i was wondering what you used to do your stuff. The mechanical fish graphic in Rodmaker was amazing. I can only wish to do something like that.
I will check to see what the student version of corel costs, i have a daughter who is a senior in HS.

Time to pick up the yard so Isaac doesn't turn my lawn chairs into airborne debris. We are just out of the cone of death but it looks like the middle Keys and Louisiana are in for it.
Good Luck to everyone facing the storm.

J Scott
Englewood, Fl

Mark Newcombe Wrote:
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> If you have a student aged person in your life you
> should be able to get an accademic version of
> correl or adobe stuff fairly cheaply.

Attetion!
Student Versions are only for the person who is the student (buyer)!
A friend (student) can't buy it for you.

But you have a daughter... ;-)
Have Fun. :-)

Downloaded the Corel Draw trial and played with all day. it will do what i want and i found a discount copy of an unregistered older version on Amazon.
Thanks for all of the input. As always this forum is a valuable tool.

js

The two "industry standards" are Photoshop and Illustrator and I believe both are available in "limited" versions where some of the pro features are disabled. You will never need those features, they are color profiles and sophisticated masking tools and things that a decal maker would never have occasion to use. The learning curve is a little steep but ALL other paint and vector apps have been spawned by these two apps so if you learn these two you can usually navigate around in others. Plus, if someone sends you a piece of art done in another app, Adobe is so robust the chances are good you can open or import it and still be able to see and/or manipulate it.

You need both these apps because one is vector (Illustrator) and one is raster (Photoshop). Raster art is "pixel pushing" and vector art is math generated shapes (including text). You need both because raster will allow photos and effects and vector will provide huge scaling latitude and incredible detail in shapes.

The other issue you always face is resolution. It will kill you in a raster app but it's a non-issue in vector art.

I have "lived' in these two apps almost everyday for 20 years. Stick with them and you will be amazed what you can do. Tom, if you would like and explanation of all this for a future RodMaker article (including photo resolution) or an overview for the Library, let me know (probably one in there already, just thought I would offer)

Thanks for the response Jim,

I know what you mean about industry standard, i use autocad on a daily basis but hate how complicated the program is. There are so many other softwares that are more user friendly. Autocad is the one everyone uses and if you want to share files easily you have to use it also.

I also think an aritcle in RodMaker describing the basics and defining the process of decal design would be great.

I spent 8 hours yesterday at the laptop to make two decal designs which i will probably redesign tonight when i get home. But i learned so much i can do a new one in about an hour or so now, and will be able to spit out custom stuff in a few minutes when i get the hang of the software. My new copy of CorelDRAW x5 should be here by Friday.

A good vector freeware software is INKSCAPE, try it ! (inkscape.org)
it have answer to all the needs you may have.

Ciao
Marco

Look at @#$%& for any version of Paint Shop Pro. You can get the X4 version for less than $30, and if you handle CAD, you should be able to handle PSP. All graphics programs are a little "strange," and take some getting used to. With PSP you can do any graphics design for decals and also fix your fishing photos in a snap. Have trouble with off-level horizons on fishing photos taken in a boat? Of course, everyone does. Fix it in 10 seconds. And while you're at it, optimize all the other settings of the photo in less than a minute. Add dates or other text. Obsolete versions will do the rod graphics no sweat, but the newer versions have better photo fix features. Jim Scott's comments on the learning curve are probably accurate for any graphics design software. It probably takes me 10 minutes to get the basic design done, then I fool around with it as long as I want. One thing about using a program like PSP is that it is easy to add photos to your decals. If I can help more, just email me.