December 21, 2008

Elementals...


Remember when Dorothy left Kansas in B&W and woke up in colorful Oz? Remember the feeling of... like, WOW! Well... I'm kinda going through that same sense of awe. I've been downloading and trying out new programs to take the place of comfy old favorites I've used for years and thought were "good enough." And they probably are... goodness knows I would have saved myself countless hours and aggravation had I'd simply upgraded to a new PC, shuffling the old programs onto the new hard drive... would never have known all this 'gee-whiz' the Mac has fostered.

A week or so ago I began to get annoyed with the image editing options I'd been trying out... remember the 'free and cheap' prerequisites I'd set for myself? Well, it's still a decent place to start. But nothing could match my old Paint Shop Pro, V. 7, I'd used for years. Man, this program goes back to somewhere in the 90's, passed along to several new PC's along the way, but it can't transfer to the Mac. I knew this going in, knew I'd have to find something to replace it... but didn't realize it would be this hard... or this rewarding!

Okay... state of the art is Photoshop... way more than I need at this stage of the game. Had heard about PS Elements, paid little attention as I'd tried it out a few years back and couldn't see what the fuss was all about. Today I sat through a few tutorials, then went to my free trial version and immediately felt that colorful Oz sensation! Can't believe how they've improved, the things that can be done so easily... I can remember trying to outline figures as in the above flower photo... and how it took hours to get it right. With the right tutorial, and that's key!... I might like the new way of doing things.

9 comments:

CMC said...

Hey Karen...is the real Photoshop or the Elements version, If Elements, which edition?

BTW...been trying to comment on several blogs today and internet going out at the exact wrong moment it seems.

On your previous post with granddaughter....looks like granddaughter taught by example like we are all supposed to do. Of course Gram led her the right way at the outset.

Have a wonderful Christmas just in case I go offline again.

CMC said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Karen Jacobs said...

;-) I can see your problem with connections... I deleted the double post but the tracks are still there.

No, I'm not about to pay those big bucks for the 'real' Photoshop... I'm talking about the PS Elements which is still pricey but much more realistic. I can't imagine needing more than this offers, it will take me a lifetime to get it figured out. The joy of PSP was that I knew by instinct what to do and how to do it. I hate having to do homework before making a simple move. But with time, that will fix itself... hopefully!

The story with the g-kid illustrates how easily directed they are... we must be careful not to be too suggestive!

Karen Jacobs said...

Forgot to mention... the Mac version of PS Elements only goes to 6 at this point... version 7 is out for PC's but not yet for Macs.

Anonymous said...

welcome to the wonderful world of PS Elements! I have so much fun messing with my reference photos, (& reliving my adventures taking them), it's sometimes hard to drag myself back to the easel.....!

Karen Jacobs said...

Hi, Jan... glad to know someone I can call on down the road with 'elemental' problems ;-) I have a feeling that a helpful source of experience will be needed!

Anonymous said...

Flowers give us pleasures.

Unknown said...

Karen, I saw your post on Linda Blondheim about setting up web sites and blogs for artists and galleries. I set up a blog for one of the top three Oil Painters of America winners from last year and they haven't used it much at all since then.
Your work is amazing. PS Elements is wonderful, I think I'll be buying the PS Elements for Dummies book soon, tho!
good luck with the retrospective show!

Zafran ali said...

Flowers are the best any occasion..........
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