Becoming A Digital Artist On A Budget

So, you want to become a digital artist but paying several hundred dollars for Photoshop seems too much. Don't worry, there are dozens of very inexpensive tools you can use available on the Internet.

Icon Constructor

Icon Constructor converts BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PSD, TGA and TIFF formats into Windows icons. You can find many images on the Internet and convert them to icons for use on your Windows desktop, in applications and much more. The program supports Windows XP icons in 32-bit color depth with an alpha channel; now you can create semi-transparent XP icons easily. With just a few clicks, any image you find on the Internet or create in a paint program can be turned into an icon. Plus, proprietary FriendlyLINK technology allows creating icons using pictures of your friends and family.

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/iconconstructor.htm

Pics Print

Pics Print has a built-in photo editor that lets you crop, resize, rotate, and color-correct images. Users who enjoy adding artistic effects to their photos can blur, emboss, and sharpen the images, add borders, and produce an unlimited variety of creative touches. There is even a red-eye remover that takes out the red circles that the camera's flash often adds to portraits.

You can create instant greeting cards with Pics Print's card wizard. Simply select an image, add text, and print. Using the built-in templates, or templates which you create yourself, you can create family album pages, sales sheets, and any kind of printed pages in just a few minutes. In addition to that, Pics Print lets you create huge posters that are up to 20 sheets tall and 20 sheets wide.

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/picsprint.htm

Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker

Why let the record studio artists have all the fun? Create your own CD/DVD labels and jewel cases with the ultimate in ease and flexibility. If you have CDs or DVDs with no cover and are sick of guessing what songs are on what CD, get the label maker that automatically puts your track list on your CD/DVD label.

Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker comes with a chock full of custom art for holidays and special occasions like Christmas, Valentines, birthdays, vacations, weddings and more. You don't need to be a real artist or designer to user the software.

The software automatically imports your track information from Acoustica MP3 CD Burner, iTunes, WinAmp, Easy CD Creator or any other popular play list or previously burnt CD. Print the cover on standard paper or stock sticker labels and jewel case templates for more professinal-looking results.

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/acousticacddvdlabelmaker.htm

John Deprice maintains a vast collection of software for amateur digital artists and designers. All software is available for free download at http://www.deprice.com/design.htm

---

The Truth About Pixels - Part I: Digital Cameras

Most digital cameras today boast of greater resolution and picture quality. What does that mean to the amateur or occasional photographer? You hear of cameras with 3 megapixals up to 6 or 7... Read More

Taking Professional Quality Pictures

By now I'm sure you've used Either a digital or film camera. You've taken pictures and had them developed and just weren't satisfied with the Quality. You don't need to be a professional... Read More

Digicam File Formats

Looking at the digital camera, a person can visualize it as a combination of a camera along with a miniature computer system that stores the images as files or sets of bits, rather... Read More

Review of the Photek Product Shooting Tent

Here's the challenge. You have to photograph small items for Ebay or for clients' brochures. Lighting them can be challenging. Small reflective items usually exhibit specular highlights that must be controlled. If you... Read More

Cropping Digital Photos Into Shape

Did you know that in many cases digital photos are cropped by the time they reach paper? If you have never "cropped" your photos manually, you may not be aware that it is... Read More

The Mysterious Powerful Element of a Picture That Sells

A photo buyer calls for a picture of pigs. It could be about anything. A hundred responses go online and one lucky so-and-so gets the sale. That's 99 pictures deemed to be second,... Read More

The Primer on Digital Camera Printers

Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then the next step is to turn these 'virtual' images into real photos. One way is to send the memory card to a digital... Read More

Getting Rid of Red Eye

The photos you took of the party are really great - except for one thing: "red eye" makes everyone look like extras from a low budget horror movie! Red eye can be a... Read More

What Should You Look for in a New Camera?

These parameters are discussed at 2 levels: -Based on degree of functional use of available features -Based on the type of photography you want to attempt -->Based on degree of... Read More

Digital Imaging Explained

Digital Imaging is a process where an electronic photograph, scanned document, or image is converted into a series of electronic dots called pixels. Pixels is an acronym for "picture elements".After the image is... Read More

Digital RAW Workflow for Beginners

Having an efficient work flow is essential for photographers. In the days of film, many of the tasks in the film work flow were handled by the lab. Now, more and more photographers... Read More

Keep a Digital Photos Diary

Digital Photo Diary - memories that last a life timeThe best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories.A digital photo diary keeps some of the big and little memories... Read More

Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your thinking about it. And perhaps you may be wondering how many pictures will your computer hold? First you need to answer a few... Read More

Digital SLR Camera versus a Compact Digital Camera

Digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are excellent cameras that produce clearer, sharper and more colourful images than most point and shoot digital cameras available. With prices falling rapidly, they are now more... Read More

Start a Photography Business from Home

Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills can set up a home business, marketing photography. You need only to convert a room of your house into an office, and then... Read More

How to Shoot Video of Your Kids Sports Team So That Anyone Else Will Watch It!

Break out that video camera, there is a game this weekend! 1. You bought a video camera 2. You want to shoot sports of your kid 3. Here is how to do it... Read More

Memories That Get Lost

How many people have pictures in a shoe box? In a drawer? Inside a book? Sitting in the garage?Imagine 40 years from now. Someone will get those pictures and they will say: Who... Read More

Nikon Digital Cameras - Cool(pix) and Functional

Even though Nikon entered the camera world by 1948, today its digital cameras are well known everywhere. The company started small but always dreamed big. Here is a historical review of Nikon.Nikon was... Read More

Photo Equipment Lists

You arrive at your photo shoot excited about the images you are about to take ? that is, until you realize that you have left an important piece of equipment at home. You... Read More

Photography Business: Taking Baby Photos - for Professionals & Families

Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph. They are the best for two reasons, people are more tolerant at looking at baby photos, as well as the fact that babies... Read More

Making Money With Digital Photography And Live Events

A few years ago I became interested in digital photography, mainly for web publishing and personal reasons. You know, how nice is it now to NOT have to deal with film, scanning pictures,... Read More

Canon-Powershot-A80 Review

Last month we bought the Canon Powershot A80 online for about $325 including shipping after looking at digital cameras for about a month. It had all the features we were looking for in... Read More

Camcorder Techniques: How To Make Home Movies Your Family And Friends Will Be Excited To Watch

Pre-Production:It's all got to start somewhere, so before you even charge your batteries, rewind those tapes or pack the car, take a seat and have a good think about what you are planning... Read More

Extreme Digital Photography: Beyond Point-and-shoot

When my old Olympus digital camera got broke while caving during a family camping trip, I had mixed feelings. For quite some time I had felt that the quality of some of my... Read More

Should You Print Your Digital Photos at Home or Use a Photo Printing Service?

There are lots of options available for getting your digital photos printed, but which method is the best and most economical choice for you? Let's look at some of the options and the... Read More

Get Closer to Your Subject

Almost any shot will look better if you take two or three steps closer to your subject. Filling the frame entirely with your subject will make a terrific difference to your photos.Alternatively, instead... Read More

Panasonic Digital Cameras - The History Behind Their Cameras

Panasonic is a world-renowned consumer electronics company today. Its digital cameras have recently entered the market. In this article, we will view the story of Panasonic and some of the latest cameras which... Read More

Digital Camera Disc Formats

As it is a fact that digital cameras are comprised of miniature computers that have storage discs for retrieving the images as digital information, so a certain amount of knowledge is necessary regarding... Read More

Digital Cameras Demystified

Demystifying Digital Camera JargonWant to buy a digital camera but confused by the sales jargon? Talk of pixels, LCDs and ELVs, digital zoom verses optical zoom driving you crazy? Then stress no more,... Read More