Jump to content
Eternal Lands Official Forums
Roja

Art programs! :)

Recommended Posts

I use Blender3d, Adobe Photoshop & Corel painter(for 2d), to make stuff for Eternal Lands.

 

Here are links to free & paid for programs:

 

 

Completely Free:

 

Gimp - 2D photoshop type program

http://www.gimp.org

Download the windows version here: http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

 

Blender - 3d modeling, animation, etc.

http://www.Blender.org

 

Wings 3D - 3d modeling only program

http://www.wings3d.com

 

Daz studio - a "poser" based 3d program(Poser is a program itself, not free however).

http://www.daz3d.com/program/studio/index.php

 

Artrage - 2d, traditional media simulation paint program(also has a $20 paid version)

http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html

 

Inkscape - 2d vector drawing program

http://www.inkscape.org/

 

Dogwaffle - 2d painter type program(has both a commercial and free version 1.2)

http://www.squirreldome.com/cyberop.htm

 

BuzzMachines - a free music making program (I have not tried it out fully so I don't know how good it is, but it looks like there's a lot of player made content & plugins)

www.buzzmachines.com/

 

OpenOffice - a free word processing suite (similar to microsoft word & excell)

www.openoffice.org/

 

Height Map Editor (HME) - a free program made by entropy :P Easy to make height maps.

http://hme.sourceforge.net/

 

The Font thing - a windows font manager, really GREAT way to easily see all the fonts on your computer! Highly recommended!

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~scef/tft.html

 

----------------------

Non Free programs that I've tried, and recommend:

 

 

Pixel - a $32 Photoshop like 2d program

http://www.kanzelsberger.com/pixel/?page_id=12

 

Milkshape3D - 3d modeling/animation, only a 30day trial, but afterwards it's only like $30 to purchase, it's well worth it for the beginner. However if you want to get into more complex animations and 3d stuff, Blender's the way to go. But Milkshape is good for starters.

http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/

 

Corel Draw Suite - Contains many usefull programs(vector, paint, 2d animation) for a low price compared to the Adobe products. Full version about $400(upgrade ~$180), but you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

Contains:

-Corel Draw, a vector based drawing program which I HIGHLY recommend anyday above Adobe Illustrator! I have used Illustrator, and I find corel draw to be much easier to hand, faster to use, and over all a better program.

-Photopaint, a 2d paint program very comparable to Photoshop. It is the closest thing to photoshop you can get, and I have only found it lacking in very minor areas.

-Corel Trace, converting bitmap images into vectors.

-Corel Rave, a 2d animation program(I have never had a need to use it so i haven't tested it really).

http://www.corel.com

 

Paint Shop Pro - a 2d paint program, also comparable to Photoshop and Photopaint, however, I have found some things to be QUITE annoying, like for instance how the layers palette has to be extremely wide in order to access all of it's functions :angry:

However if you're a newbie or looking for a program relatively cheap it's not bad at all! Costs about $130 retail.

http://www.corel.com

 

Corel Painter - a 2d traditional painting simulation program. Really REALLY cool if you like to paint a lot :P Pretty expensive though.. $420 retail :/ Many of the other programs mentioned have traditional painting simulation brushes, however none are as good or really have the "feel" that Painter does...but they do their job, especially Art Rage. But if you've got the money, go for Painter!

http://www.corel.com

 

Wacom Tablets - If you want to be a digital painter artist...this is pretty much necessary! I can't recommend it highly enough, although they are expensive, they are worth every penny if you're goign to use it often. Wacom is the best when it comes to digital tablets. I've had the Intuos 1 tablet for 5 YEARS, I dropped the pen on the floor at LEAST 100 times, it never stopped working. If you're going to invest the money in a graphics tablet, save up and get a wacom.

http://www.wacom.com/

 

 

*I will add more here if I ever find more :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also just added a small list of non free art programs, that I recommend if you have the money.

 

I will probably write more reviews on the others later on. I hope this will help some people :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

he he we used corel draw in skool :P i got like 94 in that class i must rule:P

 

i need to make some money and but some good programs like photoshop ^^

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Mikeman624

And I am downloading gimp but no box is coming up that says like: 1MB Shared out of 17MB and there is those two folders and the papers keep flying, the box that says: Do you want to:

Save this file to disk

Open from currnet location. That came up though, it is weird, is it still downloading????? And i have selected the correct mirror.

Edited by Mikeman624

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Mikeman624

I have gimp now, im getting the hang of it. I have 1 problem though, if i have a backround and put a new layer on and put on writing it works but when i paste an image(s) on it only a bit shows up then i move it and nothing is there at all and i have added a new layer, what is wrong? how do i solve it?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hm....does it say "floating selection' in the layers palette?If so, click on that layer, and then make a new layer. It will "anchor" that selection to the layer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i had PSP once :P it was free(gotta love kazza lite) oops i didnt say anything *hint hint nudge nudge as i dissapear into the shadows*

 

p.s. the older paint shops were better(not in terms of more stuff but easier to use) my newer one sucked because i couldnt do anything and i couldnt find an old one

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

on another pc in my house i have adobe paintshop or photoshop, gimp works just as well except it is more annoying (the 3 diff windows) gimp is the way to go for poor kids hehe well not like i am a poor kidd but i still like it :ph34r: (just learned how to use layers, shibby!) :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Heh I know i love my wacom tablet! mine is rather small though, its only 4 by 5 inches,

smallest you can get, but I have a rather small budget, so its all good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

we have un of those upstairs, the bigger kind, the pen never worked though... but as for my pc, if u plan on using programs like gimp, don't get an opticle mouse (the one with the red laser-like beam on bottom) it is almost impossible to use paint brush wit em, i am not to big of a drawer, i use c.a.d programs for tech. ed. but dats all so my wireless keyboard/mouse combo rocks hard! :lol: but yeah tablets are wicked cool haha, they make life so much easier... :ph34r:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
but as for my pc, if u plan on using programs like gimp, don't get an opticle mouse (the one with the red laser-like beam on bottom) it is almost impossible to use paint brush wit em, i am not to big of a drawer, i use c.a.d programs for tech. ed. but dats all so my wireless keyboard/mouse combo rocks hard! :lol: but yeah tablets are wicked cool haha, they make life so much easier... :P

Optical mice don't make paintbrush drawing hard. It does, however, save you from cleaning off the rollers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Now that we are speaking of wacoms... Does anyone have both a Graphire and an Intous? Is the Intous worth the price difference (double price for the same size)?

 

I started with a PenPartner and currently have a Graphire, which has gotten wobbly, so I'm thinking about upgrading. They do get a lot of use - I can't use a mouse, so I use the Wacom for everything.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If you are an artist who uses it almost everyday and loves painting and such, go for the intuos. If however you just doodle in art and use it mainly for photo retouching or small things here and there, then a graphire is fine for you. The intuos has a more ergonomic pen(the newest one), a nicer drawing surface, more levels of pressure sensitivity and also tilt sensitivity.

 

I've never used a Graphire myself, but I've read countless reviews and posts from artists who have used either or both. Many artists use a Graphire as well. I wouldn't invest in an Intuos unless I was really big into art and going to use it a lot, because the price difference is quite dramatic.

And the small 4x5 area is more than enough space to work well. But if you like to paint with bigger strokes, then go for a bigger one if you can afford it.

 

May I ask why you can't use a mouse?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I was more interested in the quality aspects. The PenPartner lasted 8 years I think (bought it in 1995, replaced it a few years ago when I bought the Graphire), and the Graphire has already become "wobbly" (can't draw straight lines). Also, right from the start I noticed that the Graphire pen needs to be much closer to the drawing surface (vertically) before it's detected, compared the PenPartner.

 

I can't use a mouse because my hand will start hurting a lot after a few minutes. At work I have a trackball, and at home I have the Wacom.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Quality is excellent, although i've heard the same about the new graphires. I had my Intuos 1 4x5 for 5 years, I dropped that pen on the floor over 100x's (hard floor, not only carpet), and it never lost any quality. Wacom is the way to go dont waste your money on anything else.

 

I also have a problem with my hands/wrists hurting, I bought the Evoluent Vertical Mouse..it works GREAT. Check it out. Also others with CTS recommend it. I had that problem, that I could not hold a mouse anymore...but ever since i got that verticle mouse, no more wrist pains. I can't use the pen in replace of a mouse, it cramps up my hand, however I recently upgraded to the Intuos 3 tablet, the pen is much better, more ergonomic, and I got a 6x8 tablet too. Still cant use it as a mouse replacement..but it is better than their older models.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah..all the big programs have those learning additions now.

 

I've used Maya before however, as well as 3D max quite a bit, and I can honestly, and proudly say...I wouldn't trade them for Blender any day :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×