Yep, I’m still busy writing that book I told you about, TypePad for Dummies. Although I’m loving every.single.minute of it, I don’t have much time to write new content for you right now. So I’m cheating (a little) and sharing some good stuff I’ve already written.
What would the web be without freebies? If you are just starting to make your own buttons and banners and buying graphics software is too spendy, you can definitely find some free options to get you started.
(I’m going to point you to places where you can download free software; however, please understand that I am not personally endorsing any of this software–except Elements, which I own–or any of the downloads. As with anything online, please use caution when downloading.)
- About.com has a list of free graphic software that will jump-start your creative juices. They give mini reviews and screen shots of 10 free software applications.
- Gimp is a brand that I have heard of, but have not personally used.
- FreeSerifSoftware
- I think most operating systems come with some sort of Paint program. You probably have a free graphics program on your computer right now! You can definitely see what you can do with that.
As you become more comfortable making your own buttons and banners, you may want to go ahead and buy software.
- Adobe Photoshop is amazing, but unless you’re a professional graphic artist, I don’t think you need to have it. Besides, it’s very spendy at about $700.
- Adobe Photoshop Elements is the answer for those of us addicted to making our own graphics and fiddling with our photos, but want something less expensive than full-blown Photoshop. Elements retails for about $100. However, I’ve found it for less just by searching various sites online. I received Elements 4.0 (I think they’re up to 6.0 or 7.0 now) bundled with the Bamboo tablet for Christmas and I think it was about $80. As an aside, I’ve found the 4.0 version to be great for me.
- Corel PaintShop Pro is another program that is popular.
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I use Picnik for a lot of photo editing and buttons. It’s simple and most of the features are free. Plus- nothing to download.
I use Paint Shop Pro and I decided on getting version 8 via Ebay because it has Animation Shop bundled in with it. That was the last version that it came with. Now you have to purchase it separately. I then upgraded about a year later when version 10 came out, but there wasn’t much difference. So I continue to use version 8 for all my graphics and photo editing.