Question Time to all graphic artists : Which program did you use..

Assalamou aleikoum wa rhamatoullah wa barakatou

1) Which program did you use to make your very first graphic/blinkie/drawing etc.... ?

2) And how easy did you find it ?

3) How long did it take you roughly ?


and to finish :

4) how long do you spend (roughly) on your graphic passion design per day or weekly etc....

I am just being curious really, but I would love to know which program you first used...

Khadija

For a simple non-blinking blinkie i used the simple Paint programme that comes with the Windows programme that is found in Accessories. It was very easy to make when i realised that if you zoom to a high magnification it is much easier to make details such as flowers -in a kind of mosaic or puzzle.





A smiley I adapted to make into a Welsh lady:



For my first blinking blinkie, I think I used the PhotoShop programme and ImageReady - which comes with the photoShop programme.
After that i found the JASC programme more straightforward than photoShop.
It didn't take long as I made a very simple text and just changed the colours of the text and background.
I shall try to dig them out and edit this topic to add the blinkies inshaAllah.

As Salamu Alaikum

I always used Photoshop to do my blinkies. In the beginning I had an older version of Photoshop so it was Photoshop and ImageReady.

It took me over 4 months spending every free minute just to learn Photoshop, as I learnt this program using the online help (that comes with the program) and tutorials which I found on the internet. (self-taught )

Learning the animation part was easy….I only did two or three tutorials to get the basics. What is time consuming in blinkie making is something like this:




I also changed smilies and these are a few and it only takes a few minutes max I think 6 minutes.



I tried Jasc Animation but for me Photoshop is easier

As most people, I started off with the Paint program. But after a while got very bored, so I downloaded a Paint Pro and played around with that for a while. Then I moved onto other programs like Art Rage, and some others that I can't remember the names off, so they probably weren't for me. Then a sister introduced me to Twisted Brush and, I was hooked. I love the brushes on offer, I love the depth you can get from them. So this is what I like to use for either blinkies, digital artwork etc. I'm back using Illustrator too after a loooooooong gap. The last time I'd used that was at Uni, and it's changed considerably. I like Photoshop too, but am most at home with Illustrator.

I doodle with my mouse everyday, I can't help it. It relaxes me. I enjoy it, it keeps me smiling. It's therapy.

Blinkie making isn't hard once you get the knack, and it's easily achieved once you find a program that's good for you. I like Jasc Animation Shop. It's easy to get a grips with. I've not used Photoshop or Image Ready for animating yet, perhaps I should...

I found a site where we can upload blank blinkies, so that's what I did originally to get the hang of it. Here's the link for that if anyone's interested:

http://www.scri8e.com/bars/blinkies/blinkiesBlanksZ021-40P2.html

You right click on the blinkie you prefer, save as, then open it in Jasc Ani Pro and you can place text within the boxes, you can 'view' as you go along making sure the text isn't jerking all over the place, unless that's the effect you're after! There's a guide in Jasc which is an + shape. You can place that on your text and it will help you place your text in exactly the same place in the following box inshaAllah.

Alaykum Salam, wow I was happy to read this and hear what you all like. How much did you all spend on these programs? My husband has all the latest programs but their on his computer at work and his home one has some old photoshop that I do not like.