Updates and a new blog

Sorry no new updates yet, but I will be posting some entries in the future.

The things you will see in the future are

*A Chegg review (Expect this one to be up in a week or so.)
*Getting music for cheap/free
*What to do when a class textbook is late in the mail.

I've also started a horror blog with a few of my friends. If you are interested in horror films, literature, and other okky spooky tidbits check it out. http://dreadfuldreary.blogspot.com/

Free/Cheap Creative Arts Software

We all have our creative side and the computer is a great tool for personal, business, and school projects. Most computers come with the extra ordinary paint program that allows users to perform simple creative tasks, but the common user wants to do more without shelling out the extra cash to do so.


Free Photo shop Alternatives

You don't need photo-shop for photo editing you can download many programs off the internet that can produce many of the same results photo-shop can deliver. My advice would be to test out each program and see which one works best for you.

Gimp: 

This program is probably to closest to photoshop. It might not be able to do all the things photoshop can, but it comes pretty close. The program can be a tad bit complicated at times, but once you get the hang of it things aren't that difficult.
http://www.gimp.org/

Gimp Tutorials:
http://gimpology.com/

http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

http://gimp-tutorials.net/

Aviary:

Another image editing program that I honestly don't know much about,but I've heared good things  about it.

http://www.aviary.com/

Tutorials:
http://www.aviary.com/tutorials

flaunr R:

A simple photo editing program that is probably best used for personal projects than scholarly ones.

http://www.flauntr.com/

Pixlr:

This program is supposed to the mist popular editing program on the web.

Tutorials:

https://sites.google.com/site/pixlrgrabber/pixlr-tutorials

 Picasa

http://picasa.google.com/
A much more simple editing tool, but is great for photo touch ups.

Other:
A list of even more editing programs not listed. There are many out there so find which one is best for you.

http://www.guidetoartschools.com/tips-and-tools/free-photo-editing

http://www.snap2objects.com/2007/07/20/45-best-freeware-design-programs/

Illustrator Alternatives

Illustrator is an amazing program that allows you to create spectacularworks of art that you can't always produce by hand. Unfortunantly the program is really expensive, but there is good news! There are now several sites that allow you to download their creative drawing software for free.

InkScape

Inkscape is a vector graphic editor that is kown for it's great uder interface. It's basicly the GIMP of Illustrator.

http://inkscape.org/download/?lang=en

SmoothDraw

SmoothDraw is another great program that allows you to create works of art onyour very own computer screen.

http://www.smoothdraw.com/product/freeware.htm

Serif

Another great illustrator like program. This program makes it easy for you to create the quality type of work you'd find on other Adobe Programs.

http://www.serif.com/free-graphic-design-software/

Still want Adobe Software?

All of the programs listed above are descent or excellent subsitutions for the Adobe programs, but they still can't replace them 100%. There are loads of ways you can save money when puchasing these programs. Check out the student discounts that Adobe offers on their website.
http://www.adobe.com/education/students/

Check with your school as well and see if your school can offer you an even better discount than the Adobbe website provides. If you are an art student make sure to check with your school because many times the schools offer spectacular deals on Adobe software.  Also feel free to check out http://www.academicsuperstore.com/ and http://www.gradware.com/

I bought my creative suite from http://www.journeyed.com/ for only $200. That's five programs for under the price it would cost to puschase one program.

If you are not currently a college student chek out http://www.buycheapsoftware.com/ and purchase most of the Adobe aftware at a discounted price.

Like all things it's best to shop around and compare prices. Always check out RetailMeNot.com to see what coupons are available for online purchasing.  You can purchase last years edition for a fraction of a price and many times the programs are just as good as the brand spanking new edition.

Try Corel

Corel is another software company renound for their creative software. It might not be just like the Adobe programs, but they are most likely just as good and not as costly. http://store1.corel.com/corel/?storekey=us

Good Luck!