I know this is a n00b question...

[Nia-chan]

But what exactly is Photoshop, why does everyone like it, and why does it cost $600?

[ShiroiHikari]

Photoshop is a rockin' imaging program. I like it cuz it's really powerful. I don't know why it's so expensive. ^_^;

[Bobtheduck]

It's expensive because you're paying for the use of the filters and features to sell for money. You're paying for the right to use their stuff to make money.

There is a cheaper version for educational use that doesn't give you the right to sell anything (by that I mean selling stuff you made with it, such as callendars or book covers or doctored photos or millions of other things... Anything you do wiht it that's part of a product that is sold)

[RefractedAhav]

If you don't like the price of photoshop you could try the GIMP. It's free, open source, and it can do a lot of the same stuff photoshop can. It runs on varius systems including mac OS, windows, and linux.

you can download it from here: http://www.gimp.org

[Lightbringer]

I think the real reason the sell it for so much is because their greedy....... but what corporation isn't

*edit* forgot to add, you dont need to worry about someone bothering you about the so called "n00bness" first time i find someone hazeing someone or being a punk i'll ban them with a vengence but again, you've seen CAA is a pretty friendly place right?

Lightbringer // Aaron

[JediSonic]

Oh how I wish I had a fast computer so that I could download and make good use of GIMP 2.0 because its probably lots better than gimp 1.0 which is what Ive got but I hate it cuz it takes forever 2 load and the second one would be even worse and its hard as heck to find the files you wanna get to quickly enough because it obviously wasnt built around windows [only] which means its not very efficient for that kinda thing but I cant live without gimp because its the only good program out there besides photoshop which costs hundreds of dollars more than my life savings which sucks oh my gosh blahblahblah...

[Daiko-chan]

to Nia-chan: instead of using Photoshop or GIMP, I suggest that you try out [~Open Canvas~] it is almost exactly like Photoshop, but MUCH cheaper- you can even get the trial version of OC for free!!

You will find it by looking around this lovely place:

(this is the happy link)[~Portal Graphics.net~]

(yes, it is REALLY good~)

****
to Jedi Sonic: about GIMP running slow on your computer, it may not be about what version of the GIMP that you are running, you may lack enough RAM to handle heavy image editing work.

-if you'd like, you could get back to me on this~


****
and there you go (now, I should get back to the oekaki board, I prefer drawing to typing any day~ ^_^)

[Mangafanatic]

It's expensive because you're paying for the use of the filters and features to sell for money. You're paying for the right to use their stuff to make money.

There is a cheaper version for educational use that doesn't give you the right to sell anything (by that I mean selling stuff you made with it, such as callendars or book covers or doctored photos or millions of other things... Anything you do wiht it that's part of a product that is sold)

and how do you get the educational version?

[AZheng]

http://www.academicsuperstore.com sells it for $280 full version, as well as almost every other conceivable type of non-game-related software. You'll need some type of proof in order to order, though, so prepared to get a transcript or something ready.

[Kireihana]

I would also suggest Paint Shop Pro, which runs for about $75-$80 but I got my Paint Shop Pro 7 off ebay for only $40. I think the current version out is 8, though. PSP does most of the things Photoshop does, but it doesn't have as many filters and can't use the pressure-sensitivity on tablets (those are like electronic drawing pads). Or at least version 8 can't; I don't know much about PSP8.

I've heard a lot of good stuff about Open Canvas (as Daiko-chan mentioned) and Corel Painter too. I've never used 'em, though.