Photoshop: Which version is most versatile and useful in CGI ?
Bendinggrass
Posts: 1,367
in The Commons
Hello.
I think I need to look at this approach for doing post work on CGI and any other kind of work is helpful for images.
Could you folks talk about what you use for post work and other things you use Photoshop for.
Also, which version of Photoshop, if there are different versions would you recommend.
Thanks much.
R
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I use it to correct light balance in some pictures (brightness/contrast), and to correct minor poke-throughs that can't be caught ahead of time. I also use it to make transparency maps, and alterations to textures. It pretty much has unlimited usefullness particularly in material making. I use the cc version, which is relatively inexpensive on a subscription basis. You probably could do most of what I do in Elements which is a one time charge. In either case you can download a one month free trial to play with it.
Unless you're going to try and get a used copy (which may have sopyrtight type issues) there's only one version of Photoshop to get. There are many competitors that do most of what Photoshop can do and may be more than enough for your needs.
I have been reading about these versions of Photoshop, and they seem to be used for somewhat different purposes: Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I got this information at Wikipedia. So if you could clarify some more about what you use that might help me.
Thanks.
R
Sure. Photoshop is a full fledged image creation and editing program. One can both create and edit bitmap images. It also has tools that many people use to perform various photo editing tasks.
Elements is a very simplfied and stripped down version of Photoshop.
Lightroom is another beast altogether. At its core, Lightroom is a combination of a software darkroom and an image management database (digital asset management). Lightroom can pass photos to Photoshop and similar programs for specialized editing or can edit digital / scanned photos internally. It can also prepare images for self publishing in book format.
Elements is Photshop (very) light; Lightroom is Photoshop specifically aimed at digital photography processing. I must admit, whilst I know of them I haven't used them. The last fully-fledged version of Photoshop I used was CS6, i.e. the last version before Adobe moved to the subscription model that puts it out of reach of most amateur users (good move, Adobe). I've been using that until very recently and one of the big benefits is that there are many, many plugins (brushes, filters, etc.) that can be used to apply in post-work if you're so minded. Conscious that CS6 is getting long in the tooth, however, I've been looking round for alternatives. You might consider GIMP if you want free-to-use: it's immensely powerful, can use many Photoshop plugins and is, of course, free. Downside is that it can be a bit idiosynchratic but it's got a large supportive community. Just be careful when you type 'gimp' into Google, of course... My preference, however, is for a relatively new offering from Serif called Affinity - they do Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer that effectively offer almost the same as Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, both at a fraction of the price (£50 each here in the UK). Affinity Photo also works with Photoshop brushes and some filters. Look that one up as well - it's had a lot of good reviews.
The Adobe photography plan includes photoshop CC and lightroom CC for $9.99 a month, which is not exhorbitant I dont think. The price of an MMO monthly scrip. Or Netflix.
Illustrator rather than InDesign, I think.
Yes, you're right - my mistake - Affinity Designer = Adobe Illustrator; InDesign for publishing layout is the one they haven't got an alternative for yet (but apparently they're working on).
I've got Phtoshop Elements 8 (picked it and Premeire Elements 8 bundled at a black friday sale in 2009 for $60). It has served me sufficiently for anything I've wanted to do on it.
I find the exact opposite to be true here. Photoshop used to cost between 700$ and 1000$. And a third of that for each upgrade. Thats 70 months of subscription, almost 6 years. If you factor in the occasional one year deal for 99$ it's even more. So it has become a lot more affordable. Don't get me wrong, the subscription model has serious downsides. But price is not really one of them.
Tha being said, Photoshop is a workhorse. For occasional postwork you really don't need it. There's lots of good alternatives.
I recommend the version that doesn't require a subscription. Find a used copy of CS6 Extended and you'll have 95% of what photoshop is today. Newer versions of photoshop merely add features. So, it doesn't really seem worth it to me to pay for a subscription every month, just for these added features (unless you are a professional who needs to maximize productivity, or need its 3D features). The underlying program has essentially remained the same for over a decade.
-P
Where does one find a legal used copy of CS6?
I'm not sure that Adobe still allows license transfers. Even if they do, you'd want to make sure the site you bought through offered refunds if the "used copy" turned out to be a warez copy with a keygen.
The quote above is absolutely true
I worked as professional Graphic Designer for print
for 20 years in the Washington DC market.
I have used Photoshop in professional environments since version 4.
I still use the CS 3 suite of Photoshop /Indesign /IIlustrator on my old macbook
most of the new features since they re branded it"CS"
have been pooware marketing hyperbole.
Yes mostly true. I am on CS6 and there are some features I use often that didnt exist until 6, like all the content aware functions and puppet warping. But otherwise, no, wouldnt upgrade just to access post 6 feature additions.
I use elements. I use Gimp, and I just like twistedbrush. I don't really need to pay by the month for something. My version of Elements opens files with layers Gimp won't open, so I needed it.
CC2017 currently has the latest tools and widgets. Some you'll never use, others become invaluable. The content aware healing brush is an incredible time saver and I don't , but Puppet Warp is probably one of the most useful feature for CG that most people don't know about and I think that ws introduced around CS5.
or two cups of coffee at a coffee shop.
I mainly use PS for hobby purposes, but I have done professional music album covers using PS CC (photograhy subscription). In my experience, GIMP has a horrible user-interface and is not well suited to professional level publishing. And PaintShop Pro cannot scale to large images with several layers (it eventually slows to craw). Usually whatever alternative I try has similar issues, miissing features, etc. that PS has.
Ebay is the first place I would check. To make sure its legal, you will need to check that you are buying a physical used CD with the original serial that is still active. If the person uninstalled Photoshop correctly, the serial should still be good.
-P
The still active covers making sure it wasn't used to qualify for an upgrade - those of us on CS6 did get a reduced rate for the first year offer on CC.
You guys hit the nail right on the head. I STILL use Photoshop 7 (as well as CS3 and CS4, since a software company I worked for folded and gave me the license). People are going to justify any reason to have the latest and greatest; but let me share a little observation I've noticed.
I don't know if they do it still, but graphic magazines like ImagineFX, Advanced Photoshop, 3D World, and 3D Artist use to include trail versions of software and occassionally would give a full previous version of software if they are trying to help the vendor sell the newest version (basically the same "rodents like shiny new things" mentality, if you can do all of this with a previous version, imagine what you can do with the current version).
Yet, as long as I've collected these mags, I've NEVER seen previous versions of Photoshop, 3DSMax, Cinema4D, etc given away to intice you to buy the newest version (I think e-on and reallusion may have given away early versions of VUE and iClone but they were functionally bad).
My theory? Like I said, Photoshop 7 (and in wolf359's case, Photoshop 4) literally does EVERYTHING that mostly any user would need to churn out stunning graphics. When 3DSMax was at 12, I was still using 5 because I had bought a plugin that allowed easier import of Poser files into 3DSMax. Releasing previous versions of software, even selling them at a much cheaper price (heaven's forbid giving them away), DOES NOT benefit their business model.
You really don't need the latest and greatest (or an unnecessary subscription fee) to do the things and produce the images that will stun.
A long-winded response just to say, I agree with the above posts. :)
A big thank you to whoever mentioned Abrmate
I bought Ron's Fireflies "in error" when first released - I only have Photoshop Elements and never any problems using his earlier brush sets, but this time I failed to notice that the product page specified CC and CS6 only. By the time I got round to trying them (total failure in Elements) I was too late to return them. I gave Abrmate a try and now have a set of converted brushes that I can use and a set of .png files too.
I've didn't look twice at Ron's two most recent brush sets after that experience - now I've wishlisted them waiting for his next sale