Solved Which version of Photoshop?

[stevieray]

I'd like to get photoshop so I could make themes, icons, buttons, etc... but I have no idea what version to get. I looked at the latest one, CS4 I think, but when I saw the price, I had a heart attack and died. Yikes!

Are there any older or limited versions worth getting? (Must be compatible w/x64)

Thanks!

 

[pparks1]

Another option would be to use a tool other than photoshop. Similar things can easily be accomplished with free apps such as Paint.net and The Gimp.

There are other great paid-for products too such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop elements which provides many of the features of Photoshop for a fraction of the cost.

It's a darn shame that Adobe doesn't offer any other types of pricing for their products. I'd venture a guess that Photoshop is likely one of the most pirated software applications in existence.

 

[Mark]

You can also get the full version of CS4 Extended on a 30 day trial here.

 

[sergiogarcia9]

To make themes, icons, buttons etc isnt easy just because you got photoshop. You need to learn it, and it can take a long time to learn it all. If i were you i would at least try Paint.net or Gimp first before spending that big an amount on Photo editing software. I have had PS in a little over a half year, and i havent learnt it all yet.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Ancient versions work very well on Win 7 32 bit. I am using Photoshop 4.0 from 1998.

BUT, Photoshop 7 and earlier will NOT install on a 64 bit system because they use 16 bit installer programs. You need something from the CS series.

 

[pparks1]

To make themes, icons, buttons etc isnt easy just because you got photoshop.

You got that right. I don't have a graphic mind...period. Regardless of software, I am totally lost and cannot make anything that looks good at all.

 

[Mark]

To make themes, icons, buttons etc isnt easy just because you got photoshop. You need to learn it, and it can take a long time to learn it all. If i were you i would at least try Paint.net or Gimp first before spending that big an amount on Photo editing software. I have had PS in a little over a half year, and i havent learnt it all yet.

While I agree that just because you have great software doesn't mean you will create great art, but there are some really good online tutorials that can show you the basics all the way up to some pretty advanced stuff, if your dedicated to learning then the 30 day trial should be plenty of time to get the basic understanding to achieve the results you want for making basic things such as icons, themes and buttons.

 

[saltedm8]

photoshop is the best, but a cheaper option is paint shop pro Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 - Photo Editing .. it does almost as much just as well and has a reasonable price tag

Gimp and other free ones can sometimes seem a little limiting.

 

[stevieray]

I currently have Paint.NET, and have played around with it a bit, but it has one huge problem... little to no tutorials! With Photoshop, there are a zillion tutorials, showing a million different ways to do a million different things. But with Paint.NET those lessons don't always apply. I spend waaay too much time clicking a button, and then hunting for what that button did... If I were experienced with Photoshop, then I could probably figure out Paint.NET, but as a complete noob, its too difficult to watch a Photoshop tutorial and then try to emulate it in Paint.NET.

 

[stevieray]

How about Photoshop Elements? Is that usable for creating images from thin air, or is it only good for touching-up pre-existing images and photos? I can't tell from the product reviews...

As far as Gimp or Paint Shop... are there a lot of video tutorials for them? I assume that all of these programs can do good stuff, the problem is finding one with adequate video tutorials (well, for me it should read "massive video tutorial support").

 

[saltedm8]

As far as Gimp or Paint Shop... are there a lot of video tutorials for them?

here are loads for paint shop pro

paint shop pro tutorials - Google Search

and some for gimp too

gimp tutorials - Google Search

 

[stevieray]

Amazon has a sale on Photoshop Elements 8 for $55 (after $20 rebate, US only). That seems like a good deal if the thing can do basic graphic design stuff. I don't know how long the sale goes on for, and I don't want to miss out on the price... Is Elements worth getting? Has anybody used it? Any opinions welcome!

Off to work I go! Oh, the joys of self-employment! So if I don't answer you, I'm not ignoring you... I'll be back.