The general questions about Graphic Design

[ice4sugar]

Hello. It's my first post here and I would like to ask few questions about Graphic Design/Digital Art. While I'm aware of that there are other topic like it, I still weren't able to find answer to my questions.

I wasn't thinking about becoming Graphic Designer until recent. While I'm aware it might be just temporally thing, also could I just find the part of me (I always wanted to be good at drawing and creating things ("things" because I'm generally interested in creating many things)). Because I'm quite new to it, I have some questions to you.

1. With tools expect Photoshop I should learn? In other forum's I read that Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign are must, but what are others?

2. Sadly, because my Country doesn't have great school for graphic design, i'm *forced* into home studying. Could you recommend good tutorials I could use in order to become better? For now I have found 2 well-written tutorials about PS and basics of Digital Art, but I will need more tutorials.

3. Because I'm not were good at drawing with mouse, I would like to ask about with tablet I should get. Because I'm new and honestly I didn't did much for now, I consider getting "Bamboo Pen&Touch", but if there are better tablets for similar price, I would like to know.

4. There are other things I need to learn? While I'm aware of that to be very creative and to practice are the most important things, the more information I will have, the better I will become and I will have easier time with that.

I know I ask much of you people, but I hope for good reply. Thank you for reading this post .

[PAH]

Hi Ice4sugar. Your statement in (4.) about practice, is partly the answer to all your questions. It may not be what you want to hear, but you already know that. I have spent hundreds of hours on Photoshop ed-5.0, mspaint, windows picture it!, and others, and I am still learning. I've had people see my art and ask me what software I used, and when I tell them I use a 10 year old program, they say: "I didn't know that old program could that!" It's is like playing chess, there are several moves but thousand of combinations. Practice, and more importantly, experimentation is the key to learning and understanding how to get your desired effects.
Experiment with what you already have, persist and be persistent. Experimentation and improvisation will bring fun into your work and at the same time it will provide you with patience.
I have seen some great creations by tablet and pen. Both mouse and pen are not the only means. I often create artworks in the traditional way, then photograph or scan them, then digitally manipulate them it my end design. So, in a way, I do not have to be a master of the tablet and pen, just a master at manipulation!
For tutorials, search the Internet. I am new to ConceptArt and have not yet fully explored its resources, but I think I saw something about digital workshops somewhere on this website. Check it out.
Hope this is of some help.

[originalpink]

Hello! To answer your questions in no certain order: yeah, you need to learn whatever programs is used at the job you are aiming for.
Print designers on magazines or books should at least know indesign since that is the tool mostly used for that kind of work. Otherwise it's the usual; photoshop and illustrator.
Motion designers (yes, that's also a part of graphic design) should offcourse know a bit of after effects and some 3d program.
Web designers... Photoshop and Fireworks.

It all depends on what kind of work you do, and the same goes for choice of tablet. In most design stuff, I don't even use a tablet, a mouse or even a traditional copy machine is better.

Graphic Design is about creating a form for a client. You need to study other success stories (look at well known designers such as Paul Rand, Paula Scher or Joseph Müller), find out why the form worked and solved the clients needs and not necessarily if it looked good or not.

And read books from whatever field of graphic design you are interested in.
A good start for learning the fundamentals of form is: http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Graphi.../dp/3721201450
And dig in on why we create pictures in the first place: http://www.amazon.com/What-Do-Pictur.../dp/0226532453
Good luck :-D

[TheMumm]

Honestly, I'd skip fireworks. It's applications are few and I have yet to open it except on accident when double-clicking a .png.

Photoshop is a must. InDesign as well. I spend most of my workday in one of these. You can get away with staving off Illustrator for a little while, but as soon as you start doing anything requiring large images or graphics you'll need to learn some sort of vector editor.