Software

I've been fortunate enough to have access to, and some training on, Photoshop. Ever since 1994 when I was sharing a house with someone who worked at Adobe and who had minored in graphic design, I've used some version of Photoshop. Its ability to use image layers, tweak and manipulate any aspect of the image large or small, automate and run batch jobs of certain actions, and (in later versions) group layers together like storing files in directories means that it's an excellent and powerful tool not just for image creation and manipulation, but production. What's image production, you ask? Oh...setting all of your large images to a certain size. Creating thumbnails of all of your images. Adding watermarks. Anything that's repetitive, and is done to all (or the overwhelming majority of) your images. I learned how to use Photoshop and never looked back. Photoshop Elements does much of what Photoshop will do, but doesn't have batch processing or all of the image filters - and it costs about 10% the retail price of the full version of Photoshop. (If you're wondering if Photoshop Elements is really all that great, you really should get Photoshop...I use Photoshop professionally, and have since 1996. And *I* don't know how to use all of the features. I use maybe 70% of the program's features in total, and use 40-50% of the features on a regular basis. So unless you're a seasoned graphics professional, chances are you're not going to miss out on any functionality by getting Photoshop Elements versus Photoshop.)

Looking for a graphics program, but can't afford Photoshop? Check out GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program). It runs on Windows, MAC, or Unix/Linux PCs, and has much of the same functionality that Photoshop has (you can even work with and edit Photoshop's native file format, PSD.) And unlike Photoshop's multiple-hundred-dollar price tag, GIMP is free. It's been an active program since the 1990s, so you know it isn't going anywhere And like Photoshop, there are dozens of third-party plugins and add-ons that expand the program's capabilities.

Free Graphics

Weird name, great resource. sxc.hu is now a part of Getty Images, but they still have their huge gallery of royalty-free and totally-free images and graphics. Often, you don't have to do anything to use the images but download them. Many are not barred from being used commercially, though the standard license does prohibit you downloading the images to redistribute as your own product. Images are sorted into categories, tagged by each submitter (and searchable by those tags), and there's a way to view the most recently added images for folks who prefer to browse and see what catches their eye.

It bills itself as a WordPress resource, but if you know a little bit of HTML, have your own image editing program, and can upload graphics and edit your blog's templates, then there's no reason you can't make use of some of the items on MySiteMyWay. I don't use WordPress, but I found the site while looking for icons - and their icons are free for use, no payments required. Other sections of the site include Photoshop graphical resources, "web treats", tutorials, and more.

Check out all the days' links on our advent calendar. Don't forget to go visit my co-conspirators Phyrra and Sirvinya!

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