What do you guys use for design tools?

[abohlig]

I have been lurking for a while, but have not posted before. There is a lot of great info here!

I am impressed with the Pharao's club chips that Ten has designed and might purchase a set of those depending upon the final design.

Whether or not I buy a set of the Pharao's chips, I am interested in designing a set of clay chips for myself. I love the idea of having something that is super unique.

I have done a lot of reading on this forum and have about 15 sample sets plus many chips from real casinos. I think that I am well on my way to deciding what manufacturer I will use, however I have no idea what tools to use to do the design work.

Anyone who has gone thru this, what have you used for software to do the design work? What has worked well, what has not? Where have you had the most luck finding art work? I have looked at many free clip art sites and never have been impressed. It seems as though I never really find what I am looking for.

All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

AB

[neotope]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone who has gone thru this, what have you used for software to do the design work? What has worked well, what has not?

[/ QUOTE ]

Adobe Photoshop is a designers best friend but it will hurt your bankroll.

[Johnny5]

Personally, I'd use Photoshop, or Illustrator (or both), depending on the design type/style.

If you plan on using vector images (clipart - eps etc.), use Illustrator or another vector based program. If you are using raster images (bitmaps - jpgs etc), you can use Photoshop, or other programs like PSP etc..

Since you're asking the question, I assume you have little experience with graphical software, so be warned that there is a bit of a learning curve for either product mentioned. Depending on your abilities, I might suggest doing 'mockups' for the general design style in a program like photoshop (or one you are comfortable with), and letting the manufacturer's design team work up the actual design layout to reflect your direction.

J5

[JoshuaMayes]

[ QUOTE ]

Adobe Photoshop is a designers best friend but it will hurt your bankroll.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can buy the academic version cheaply in many university bookstores.

[wingsfan]

Buy? Photoshop? I think you've lost me. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[The Link King]

[ QUOTE ]
Buy? Photoshop? I think you've lost me. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MOCK-UPS
Software & other info (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=home&Number=1829003&Forum= ,All_Forums,&Words=&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=181 9417&Search=true&where=&Name=17031&daterange=&newe rval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Po st1829003)

Chip designing (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=home&Number=1403958&Forum= ,,All_Forums,,&Words=&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Main=1 403306&Search=true&where=&Name=17031&daterange=&ne werval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=# Post1403958)

The GIMP is for the budget conscious (http://www.wingimp.org/)... I think you can get it for free. Looks like the same as PS with regard to the learning curve.

ASM Chip Generator (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1831411&page=2&view=colla psed&sb=5&o=14&vc=1)

- TLK

[alittle]

I use Paint Shop Pro. You can get it for less than $100 and it does both vector and bitmap, which is a big plus. Photoshop is the gold standard, but at that price and then needing to get Illustrator to do vector art, you really need to be able to justify the cost.

I think that Paint Shop does just about everything you would need or want to do unless you are a professional or highly skilled hobbyist. I highly recommend it. FWIW, my daughter is way into graphic stuff and has produced some really great things with it. She also has used Photoshop at school and was able to use it easily, so the skills you learn with Photo Shop are easily transferable if you do move up.

[tubalkain]

Ever think about getting an older version of Photoshop on the cheap at eBay (http://www.bittorrent.com)?

[Fins]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever think about getting an older version of Photoshop on the cheap at bittorrent.com (http://www.bittorrent.com)?

[/ QUOTE ]
What's with the link?

- Fins

[Johnny5]

[ QUOTE ]

What's with the link?


[/ QUOTE ]

The Link King would know what's going on....

J5

[ QUOTE ]
Buy? Photoshop? I think you've lost me.

[/ QUOTE ]

[abohlig]

Ok, there is no way that I am going to pay $700 for Photoshop. That just does not make a lot of sense. I did look up Print Shop though and it looks like for around $100 I can probably do what I want.

What about art or clip art. What have others used that has worked well. I have snooped around the free sites, but it seems as though I always have a hard time finding what I want.

Is it worth paying for this or are there some sites that others have found to be good?

AB

[wabe]

The GIMP is freeware, and has similar functionality to Photoshop. I'm not sure of the learning curve if you know one and not the other, or if you;re new to graphics programs in general.

GIMP (http://www.gimp.org)

[QuadsOverQuads]

If you're looking for a cheap SVG editor, you might also want to check out the Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) project.

I haven't used it yet, but the screenshots look good and the price is right (free, open-source) /images/graemlins/smile.gif


q/q

[Leonard]

Photoshop elements 3 is 90% of photoshop for about $100, and CorelDraw Essentials 2 is pretty darned good for $69.
Elements is Photoshop with some advanced features disabled and CorelDRAW Essentials is just an older version 9 vs current 12.

Leonard