T-Shirt Design Tools

Very few things hold true all the time. "You get what you pay for." and "You can't get something for nothing" are two sayings that are not always true. Point and case, Inkscape. For those of you who don't know what inkscape is, it is, as claimed by Inkscape...

"An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. "

I say Inkscape is a free graphics design application that is equally powerful and more easy to use than professional software that costs hundreds of dollars.

With Inkscape I have created every design sold in our store, every design for Nomad Advertising LLC, and others for jobs/proposals at Elance. The point is, this software has proven itself time and again as the perfect tool for creating great original designs.

Truthfully, I have never used it so I can't tell you too much about it but I'll try anyhow. The latest version of Illustrator has many new vector tools, brushes, and gradient controls. It sounds great for any professional with $599 to spend on this tool. Adobe says this...

"Adobe® Illustrator® CS4 software is a comprehensive vector graphics environment with new transparency in gradients and multiple artboards that invite you to explore more efficient ways to design."

If you want to create a line of clothes from pictures you have taken or from photos others have taken, you may need to edit, enhance, or touch up the photo. For that I suggest Gimp...

"GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages."

It is the open source equivalent of PhotoShop Elements. After using both, I strongly believe that Gimp is more User Friendly, more intuitive, and offers a richer feature set...not to mention its free!

Truthfully, I have used this application only a couple of times so I can't tell you too much about it but I'll try anyhow. The latest version of Elements has many new tools that help you organize, share, and enhance your photos. The edit tools that I think are the most intersting and useful are the photomerge cleaner and group shot. With these tools you can clean images of unwanted objects assuming you have multiple photos of the same objects from the same perspective. And the group shop tool is the similar because it allows you to merge the best shots of a group of people to make the best group photo. I can't wait to try this on our family photos of Christmas. With our 2 year old and 10 month old, it is difficult to get a shot that is half decent, forget about getting everyone to smile and look at the camera...it doesn't happen.

Adobe has this to say...

"The #1 selling consumer photo-editing software*, Adobe® Photoshop® Elements combines power and simplicity so you can make ordinary photos extraordinary; tell engaging stories in beautiful, personalized creations for print and the web; and easily find and view all your photos."