Good Morning, I was going to purchase Photoshop so I'd like to know which one is best for apparel design if you had to choose? What programs would you install if you had to do it today. Also I have a PC and a Mac so which way would you set up for best performance. Last should I wait for the new release? Thanks
Should I wait for new release of Photoshop
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Start with Adobe Illustrator (vector software) if you're new to graphic software. Photoshop (raster program, is less forgiving).
If you can buy an older version then just make sure it's compatible with your Mac since Macs are notoriously not backwards compatible. For PC you should be fine. I don't think you should wait for a new release of Photoshop but you might want to look into the new Adobe Creative Cloud system of leasing software. It might suit you or not.
I think that the majority of t-shirt designers with some years experience are using a vector program plus a raster program. For raster, there's pretty much Photoshop and a bunch of other crap. For vectors, there's room for a lot of debate about which program to use. Obviously, Adobe has the lions share, but a lot of people swear by CorelDraw. Corel also has Photo-paint, a Photoshop like application that I wouldn't smile and give to an enemy. LOL
Less experienced t-shirt designers focus on vectors and stay clear of Photoshop.
Then some of us add some one trick ponies to the mix. I use Serif DrawPlus strictly for drawing. It's a dirt cheap program with a 25 year history and some very powerful brush/drawing tools. That's all I use it for.
I also use a few other programs like ArtRage, Microsoft Expression Design, and Manga Studio. They all have something to offer, but none of them are the total solution offered by Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Manga Studio is a comic book software that happens to have excellent sketching tools and is capable of working with high resolutions and print quality.
If you can buy an older version then just make sure it's compatible with your Mac since Macs are notoriously not backwards compatible. For PC you should be fine. I don't think you should wait for a new release of Photoshop but you might want to look into the new Adobe Creative Cloud system of leasing software. It might suit you or not.
I think that the majority of t-shirt designers with some years experience are using a vector program plus a raster program. For raster, there's pretty much Photoshop and a bunch of other crap. For vectors, there's room for a lot of debate about which program to use. Obviously, Adobe has the lions share, but a lot of people swear by CorelDraw. Corel also has Photo-paint, a Photoshop like application that I wouldn't smile and give to an enemy. LOL
Less experienced t-shirt designers focus on vectors and stay clear of Photoshop.
Then some of us add some one trick ponies to the mix. I use Serif DrawPlus strictly for drawing. It's a dirt cheap program with a 25 year history and some very powerful brush/drawing tools. That's all I use it for.
I also use a few other programs like ArtRage, Microsoft Expression Design, and Manga Studio. They all have something to offer, but none of them are the total solution offered by Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Manga Studio is a comic book software that happens to have excellent sketching tools and is capable of working with high resolutions and print quality.
I would go with Corel, or even try Inkscape and GimPhoto/GimPad before dropping a lot of money on Adobe. Or take a class, in which case you could get the Student edition for less, but you cannot legally use it for commercial work. You wouldn't want to spend the full price only to find out you don't like doing it!
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I choose the right tool for the job. That could be one or the other. If I only had Photoshop though, I could do more than if I only had Illustrator.
You can get a 30 day trial of Photoshop and Illustrator.
I'd wait for CS6, it should be out this month. Illustrator CS6 has some nice new features with gradients along strokes.
I started with an educational version, that gives you the upgrade price from then on. It's 3-400 every 2 years to keep up with the latest versions.
Best regards
Gary
I'd wait for CS6, it should be out this month. Illustrator CS6 has some nice new features with gradients along strokes.
I started with an educational version, that gives you the upgrade price from then on. It's 3-400 every 2 years to keep up with the latest versions.
Best regards
Gary
hey man i'm new to the clothing industry but I have been graphic designing for years I'd honeslty prefer Adobe over anything you should wait for the new adobe and use the trail of cs5 to harness your skill. I seen the preview of the new one and the speed is unbeatable along with the friendly user interface.
Having seen some fantastic vector work in Illustrator and Corel Draw, I suspect there is very little you can not do in a vector program....
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You can't edit raster art in a vector program. Even the most expensive vector programs only have a smattering of options dealing with raster art. Because of that, there are probably hundreds of things that are exclusive to Photohsop just in that area.
Then you have advanced color separations of raster art which is not possible in a vector program.
Photoshop has advanced warping, tools for photographers, advanced 3d tools, frame by frame animation, etc.
I'm only barely scratching the surface of Photoshop power. Vector and raster are not interchangeable. It's folly to think that you could pretty much replace mighty Photoshop with a vector program. What you'd be doing is severely limiting the art you could create.
Additionally there are raster programs like Painter and ArtRage that are even deeper with digital painting than Photoshop. Vector programs dabble with painting but this is the natural domain of raster programs.
Then you have advanced color separations of raster art which is not possible in a vector program.
Photoshop has advanced warping, tools for photographers, advanced 3d tools, frame by frame animation, etc.
I'm only barely scratching the surface of Photoshop power. Vector and raster are not interchangeable. It's folly to think that you could pretty much replace mighty Photoshop with a vector program. What you'd be doing is severely limiting the art you could create.
Additionally there are raster programs like Painter and ArtRage that are even deeper with digital painting than Photoshop. Vector programs dabble with painting but this is the natural domain of raster programs.
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I'm talking about all the above. Creating art and editing it.
Now you both have lost me... Stone if I get the CS6 with Photoshop and all that is included should that be all I need? Say I have a vintage tee and I want to do my own spin on it and get it ready to make a transfer or screen print can I do that from a photo of the old tee that I would take from a camera. Will I be able to do all of this with what comes with CS6? Thanks Joe
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Absolutely. The two main programs you are going to use for t-shirt work will be Illustrator and Photoshop. The rest of the stuff in the suite will handle any other graphic need you can think of, but for t-shirt work just focus on Illustrator and Photoshop. Don't be confused by our little debate about whether or not Illustrator can match Photoshop where art creation is concerned.
I just downloaded and installed cs6.
There is finally a 64 bit version of Illustrator. It's a lot faster than cs5, so far I love it!
Raster and vector work are 2 different animals, some jobs need photoshop, some need illustrator, there's no right or wrong.
I haven't used photoshop cs6 yet.
Gary
There is finally a 64 bit version of Illustrator. It's a lot faster than cs5, so far I love it!
Raster and vector work are 2 different animals, some jobs need photoshop, some need illustrator, there's no right or wrong.
I haven't used photoshop cs6 yet.
Gary
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