DS (11) is artistic and spends a lot of his free time drawing. He is asking for software to fix flaws, enhance, etc. his work. We are clueless about this stuff. LOL! I have briefly looked into Photo Shop and Paint Shop Pro, but both are very expensive. Are there smaller versions of either, or does anyone know of software along the same lines that isn't so costly? TIA

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 11:24 am:

Apparently Photo Shop Elements is about $70. That's much more reaonable than the one I saw that was $650! Must have been the full, professional version. LOL!

Here is DS's latest work. For a social studies project, he had to create a culture of people. He came up with and drew this tribal chief.

By Melanie on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 12:06 pm:

Wow! He is very talented!!

By Bemerry84 on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 02:26 pm:

Ditto the WOW!!! He has a bright future ahead of him. I can barely draw stick people

By Unschoolmom on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 07:50 pm:

Trina - Try GIMP. It's a very powerful open-source alternative that a lot of people in graphic arts use and many prefer to Photoshop. It has a lot of community support as well. It's what I've used when inking and fixing my own drawings. Best thing about it is that it's completely free!

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Tutorials for GIMP:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/gimptutorials/GIMP_Tutorials_Learning_The_GIMP.htm

http://gimp-savvy.com/BOOK/

http://library.n0i.net/linux-unix/applications/graphics/gimp/teach%20yourself%20gimp%20in%2024%20hours/ewtoc.html

For just inking duties (that's laying solid blsckline over a pencil drawing) there's also a very good free and open-source program called Inkscape.

http://www.inkscape.org/download/

Save the spending money part for a tablet. This is a touch sensitive surface that a person can write or draw on using a stylus and have that drawing show up on their computer screen. A good one is several hundred dollars but they make inking and retouching drawings soooo much easier. I have to work with a mouse myself and it's a real pain.

So go for the free software and save any splurges for hardware.

If he's looking for any support in his art then Drawingboard.org has lots of artists from amateurs to professionals (serious super-star comic book artists even!) who would be happy to critique a young and obviously talented artist. The only thing is that you should be with him when he's on that site as some of the boards have nudity and sexual content (the 'girls' section for instance). The people there are very welcoming and VERY supportive of young talent.

Let me know if you need any more resources!

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 08:10 pm:

Thanks, everyone.

Unschoolmom, Wow, I'm going to have to check this all out! Where do you purchase a drawing tablet? Do they sell them online? I think I've seen them at the Cartoon Academy. (Ty has taken drawing classes at Guy Gilchrist's Cartoon Academy.) DH is downloading GIMP on his PC as I type. Thank you!

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 08:20 pm:

Something like this??

http://www.imwoo.com/c-7-drawing-device.aspx?gclid=CJ2B2dbh7I8CFQlzHgodoT4mFg

By Tarable on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 09:11 pm:

DH does some of this and he says that if you are looking for a drawing table look at the pen carefully and make sure it is not too big for his hand and not weighted funny like at the wrong end. I know there are lots of reviews on these things online if you look at the customer reviews.

Good luck and your son has a great talent.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - 11:03 pm:

We got a really good price on a Wacom tablet (4x5") at Newegg.com It was considerably cheaper than Best Buy, for the same thing. She'd saved all her birthday money and even had money to pay for shipping. She REALLY wanted it.

I forgot about Gimp. We have Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, at our house already.

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - 06:27 am:

Just like that Trina. The one thing everyone I've asked seems t reccomend though is a Wacom tablet. I think because they're more sensitive then others. That's not a concern if you're just writing but certainly is for fine drawing. A cheaper one might work but it also be pretty frustrating if it's doesn't give him the control he needs.

I've been lusting over a Wacom tablet for more than a year now but it's been out of our budget. My husband just started a new job where it looks like his salary will likely almost double in the next year so I'm hoping for next christmas!!

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - 08:24 am:

WACOM CTE450B 5.8" x 3.7" Active Area USB Bamboo Fun (small, blue) - Retail is probably about the closest to the one that Emily got.