How The PFM Happens At The Funcave
Talking with a friend today, who was asking about graphic editing tools. Thought this might be helpful to a few other folks.
All the graphical magic here at the Funcave happens using Adobe’s hideously affordable Photoshop Elements AKA PSE.
Here are some recent gems that were created using PSE:
PSE is an important tool for my business, since it allows me to open .EPS files and other high-resolution finished graphics I receive from our designer, so I can resize and save them in other formats if needed, without having to bug him for those mods.
If you’re not taking something to press, PSE’s a steal at $80–90. Watch for decent rebates that get offered every now and then to make it an even sweeter deal.
The only thing about PSE is that, since it’s sold to the home market, the good stuff is kinda buried by default. Make sure you’re digging into the best features by doing this:
On the opening splash menu, click Edit and Enhance Photos
When the Editor opens, be sure you are using the Full Edit interface.
That way you get access to all the controls and editing tools available in PSE.
Otherwise, you’ll get the Quick Fix editing interface, which is the uber-dumbed-down interface. Honestly, they should call this one Welcome to the Bedwetter Edition.
You still need to invest some time in learning PSE to get the most out of it. PSE includes a handy link to online tutorials and videos on its opening splash menu…
Adobe has tons of tutorials and information on their website. The larger community of Photoshop users offers a lot of info as well. Thankfully, most techniques work the same in both full-blown PS and PSE.
If you are creating something that you plan to take to press, PSE won’t do color separations, and some other uber-advanced stuff. You’ll have to either pony for the full version of Photoshop, which is hella expensive, or find someone who has it to generate your color sep. But that’s not really the kind of situation we’re talking about here.
If you’re a super cheapskate, you can always use GIMP, the open source wonder. Personally, I could never get into a groove with GIMP’s interface. The time it took me to create a given chop was cut by 80% once I had Magnetic Lasso and the Wonder Twins (Magic Lasso and Magic Eraser) in PSE at my disposal.
|| posted by chris under media, tech hand, utility belt || || ||
