Pam, I started using Photoshop when it was version 1.0....and let me tell
you, I believe there has never been a more powerful, versatile software
ever produced that the average person could purchase. I am now using
Photoshop v. 7.0. After that, they consolidated with PageMaker and Acrobat
Reader and Adobe Illustrator and that is the new 'In Design' package, in
which everything is supposedly compatible and documents, drawings, or data
from the one instantly convertible with the other. I have no plans to
"upgrade" to this however, as I am currently refusing to get off the
Windows XP DOS, because (how many times does Bill Gates think he can fool
us?) the new Windows DOS is not only not well beta-tested (whereas XP is
stable and reliable), but also the *!&!!'s have made it so my old versions
of PHotoshop cannot be loaded onto any machine that is running the new
DOS. This would force me to re-purchase software which I already own, and
I believe ladies and gentleman that that is called "a scam" or even
"fraud". Not that I think ultimately that I can avoid it; I am as much a
victim as anyone else; but I delay it because, thanks to a tight budget, I
must. I cannot justify replacing software that is not only expensive to
buy -- around two grand total -- but which would be replacing software
that works perfectly well.
Now the other thing you should realize is that, although I've been using
PHotoshop every working day for years, and took training in it to start
with and through necessity and curiosity have discovered more, still I
find that every time I meet anyone else who is an experienced user, she
will teach me something I didn't know about it, and I will do the same for
her. So there is a lot to it. I have used Adobe Illustrator but you know,
it doesn't have any functions I can't reproduce in Photoshop so that's
another reason I'm not real enthusiastic about buying the IN-Design
package....I have all I need already.
So what I'm saying Pam is, that you should certainly get some version of
PHotoshop, and if I were you I'd go the $400 or so to enroll in one of
those commercial Photoshop-get-you-started courses they offer downtown;
but after you do that, then you should write to me anytime and I'll be
happy to teach you if I can. This is the main way, in my experience, that
people get good at it. (I'd sure appreciate the same offer in return
around Microsoft XL from somebody on Zooarch list: yuck, I hate doing
morphometrics/statistics, and no blame or derisive laughter because I
can't sometimes even figure out real simple stuff. LIke I wouldn't laugh
at somebody because they THINK they can't draw).
The other warning I'll give you is -- well let me say first, if somebody
tells you about a graphics package that "automaticaly" reconstructs flesh
onto skulls or skeletons, I would sure like to look at that. But I'd also
warn you that every such program I've seen so far is crude compared to
what I can do "by hand" and what I could teach you to do.
Also let me add that if you get Photoshop -- or any other graphics program
where you are going to be inputting and/or correcting drawings on screen
or doing any kind of background-drop on screen -- you must get a
peripheral called a graphics pad. Do not waste money getting a large one;
you only need one that measures about the size of a sheet of paper. You
plug it into your laptop or mainframe with a USB plug, and then the mouse
that comes with it is in the shape of a pen and communicates with the pad
by radio signals. Google "Pen Tablet" and it's a Japanese or Korean
company, and look for model no. XP-5560C or similar.
What this allows you to do is cut your processing time by 3/4ths. Trying
to do detail work with an ordinary mouse is like trying to make chalk
drawings on a sidewalk with the end of a telephone pole. The graphics pen
is quick and precise. And if you happen to be left-handed, as I am, and
yet you learnt to mouse right-handed, even better because then you can be
ordinary-mousing or doing keyboard shortcuts with your right hand while
you use your left hand for the graphics tablet pen. And again if you need
help with this, just holler. Cheers -- Dr. Deb
> Hi All
>
> I need a decent photo/graphics package for producing publication, poster
> and other dissemination materials related to horses and 'rider'/humans of
> the project I'm working on: Horses of Men and Gods. I'm looking at getting
> photoshop but haven't done anything much with graphic packages for years
> now
> (though I used to teach DTP) and don't really know anything about
> photoshop. Can anyone offer any advice on what to buy/what I need and the
> required
> PC spec...?
>
> Further to that, does anyone know anything about any of the
> reconstruction
> packages - usually for human facial/body recons?
>
>
>
> best
> Pam
>
>
> Pamela J Cross
> PhD researcher, Bioarchaeology
> Horses of Men & Gods project
> (AHRC, NT, SHS, Bernard Cornwell & MoL)
> Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford
> BD7 1DP UK
> p.j.cross (at) student.bradford.ac.uk
> pajx (at) aol.com
> http://www.barc.brad.ac.uk/resstud_Cross.php
> _http://bradford.academia.edu/PamCross_
> (http://bradford.academia.edu/PamCross)
> _http://www.suttonhoo.org/saxon.asp_ (http://www.suttonhoo.org/saxon.asp)
> (2012, Issue 54 )
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