I currently use PSP 6.1 and love it. The only reason why I don't use Photoshop is because I've never got round to trying it. As a web designer I'd be interested to know which of the two people prefer. A mate of mine has both and says he prefers neither as they offer different things.<br><br>Just interested.
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PSP -vs-Photoshop 4
- Thread starter TheDemon
- Start date
(PetitPal throws in his two penneth worth again)
Yeah, you can also import (allegedly) Photoshop brushes into PSP but it doesn't actually convert half of them.
I think the general conlusion I came to is that the difference is in the name Paintshop is for painting / drawing stuff (v. good at this) and Photoshop is for modifying photos and other high end graphic stuff (v.good at this).
Easy, eh?
*grins*
PetitPal.
Yeah, you can also import (allegedly) Photoshop brushes into PSP but it doesn't actually convert half of them.
I think the general conlusion I came to is that the difference is in the name Paintshop is for painting / drawing stuff (v. good at this) and Photoshop is for modifying photos and other high end graphic stuff (v.good at this).
Easy, eh?
*grins*
PetitPal.
cactus1000
Programmer
Photoshop is normally the choice for print publications, but I just do web stuff. PhotoShop has great effects, but the GUI makes my brain hurt. I used to use both, but with the release of PaintShop Pro 7, I've stopped using PhotoShop entirely. Version 7 also comes with AnimationShop, which is pretty cool. And there's a product called "Eye Candy" that lets you add a few more effects to PaintShop Pro.
By the way, am I the only person who thinks that version 7 has replaced a perfectly workable "text" function with one that is needlessly convoluted?
Anyway, here's my latest cheesey banner made with PaintShop Pro:
By the way, am I the only person who thinks that version 7 has replaced a perfectly workable "text" function with one that is needlessly convoluted?
Anyway, here's my latest cheesey banner made with PaintShop Pro:
vinchenzo26
Technical User
Hello, I have a copy of photoshop 5.5 and the password for it no longer works. I am unsre why and was wondering if anyone can help me. vinchenzo26@aol.com
Thanks,
Vincent
Thanks,
Vincent
LittleRedHat
Instructor
Sorry, can't help, but suggest you also try asking in the Photoshop Forum.
Good Luck.
LRH
Good Luck.
LRH
bearsclover
Technical User
Well, I'm coming from the opposite viewpoint - I started out on PSP, and strayed to Photoshop. And have never looked back. Granted, I never did learn PSP that well. I thought it was too hard to learn! But for some reason, I dug my heels in, learned Photoshop, and it's been great for me.
Photoshop IS the industry standard, and a marketable skill. That's it. Also, Photoshop has a lot of nooks and crannies that are great, IMO. I discover new features and goodies about it all the time. So many shortcuts, faster, easier ways to do things. And there are so many great Photoshop books out there! Certainly enough information, enough tutorials are being offered to overcome the so-called "steep learning curve" (which I never found to be *that* steep). And as someone else has mentioned - Photoshop has so many nifty features (I love "styles" - I make my own, and I can transfer them from computer to computer!) Also, Photoshop is cross-platform. I need that. I own and use both Mac and PC.
Photoshop IS the industry standard, and a marketable skill. That's it. Also, Photoshop has a lot of nooks and crannies that are great, IMO. I discover new features and goodies about it all the time. So many shortcuts, faster, easier ways to do things. And there are so many great Photoshop books out there! Certainly enough information, enough tutorials are being offered to overcome the so-called "steep learning curve" (which I never found to be *that* steep). And as someone else has mentioned - Photoshop has so many nifty features (I love "styles" - I make my own, and I can transfer them from computer to computer!) Also, Photoshop is cross-platform. I need that. I own and use both Mac and PC.
I'm starting to find that I use Photoshop 6 for pretty much everything these days, web included; it's a lot easier now that I've got the hang of work paths which are rather cool. I think some of the really killer things about Photoshop are the way you can apply an effect / style (blending options) to a layer and then remove it / re-apply it again and again. In Paintshop you have to draw you funky shape as a vector, duplicate the layer, convert it to a raster, then apply your effect and, if you don't like it later, remove the layer and re-duplicate the original. Although having said that, you can edit the shape more easily in PSP using vectors than in Photoshop.
You can also make a selection based on everything in a layer by simply selecting the layer and hitting enter. In Paintshop you just can't do this.
Anyway, I tend to find myself now using Photoshop more of the time (esp. with the release of V6) although I do still use Paintshop for applying vectored text to web buttons and also for optimizing gif's before they go on the web. I still think the optimizer in PSP is hard to beat (but I haven't really got into the Photoshop one yt, so who knows!)
Still love PSP though, but now it's extended to include Photoshop too and, as bearsclover pointed out, it's a marketable skill - something not to be sniffed at in this day and age!
=)
PetitPal
p.s. May the debate rage on!
You can also make a selection based on everything in a layer by simply selecting the layer and hitting enter. In Paintshop you just can't do this.
Anyway, I tend to find myself now using Photoshop more of the time (esp. with the release of V6) although I do still use Paintshop for applying vectored text to web buttons and also for optimizing gif's before they go on the web. I still think the optimizer in PSP is hard to beat (but I haven't really got into the Photoshop one yt, so who knows!)
Still love PSP though, but now it's extended to include Photoshop too and, as bearsclover pointed out, it's a marketable skill - something not to be sniffed at in this day and age!
=)
PetitPal
p.s. May the debate rage on!
I have used Photoshop 5 & 6 and PSP from 3 upwards. My answer to the initial question is this:
If you are a graphics professional working with print and screen based media, CMYK, colour separations, Adobe illustrator and stuff - then Photoshop is the obvious and career minded choice. Even though PSP can do everything Photoshop can, because of industry standards and a traditionally Mac dominated environment (important point that), it will take time to accept something like PSP.
If, like me, you create graphics for all kinds of things like the web, print based media, screen based, presentations, retouching, raster, vector, everything! - then PSP7 is the business. It's easier and more intuitive in usage than Photoshop and I get stuff done professionally and quickly. As PSP has matured, particularly with the release of PSP7, I very very rarely use Photoshop now. For a rich variance of effects, plug-ins and filters etc (which Photoshop offered more of), I use PSP7 and sometimes Corel Photopaint 10 which has some brilliant filters. For me, there's no reason to to use Photoshop now. (Violins begin....)
If you are a graphics professional working with print and screen based media, CMYK, colour separations, Adobe illustrator and stuff - then Photoshop is the obvious and career minded choice. Even though PSP can do everything Photoshop can, because of industry standards and a traditionally Mac dominated environment (important point that), it will take time to accept something like PSP.
If, like me, you create graphics for all kinds of things like the web, print based media, screen based, presentations, retouching, raster, vector, everything! - then PSP7 is the business. It's easier and more intuitive in usage than Photoshop and I get stuff done professionally and quickly. As PSP has matured, particularly with the release of PSP7, I very very rarely use Photoshop now. For a rich variance of effects, plug-ins and filters etc (which Photoshop offered more of), I use PSP7 and sometimes Corel Photopaint 10 which has some brilliant filters. For me, there's no reason to to use Photoshop now. (Violins begin....)
Guest_imported
New member
- Jan 1, 1970
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Jasc Animation Shop 2....I want to learn a particular thing and can't seem to figure it out. The website is
I am an artist and really like how they managed to make the letters animated and put the artwork inside...can anyone help...
Thanks
I am an artist and really like how they managed to make the letters animated and put the artwork inside...can anyone help...
Thanks
- Thread starter
- #29
Listen, that's not part of the discussion, Shellybeans, but very quickly:
- Create the lettering, making the inside of the lettering a different colour to the outside.
- Export as a transparent gif, where the inside colour of the letters is the transparent colour
- close and save
- open the file up again
- create a new layer but put that layer underneath the original layer containing your lettering
- in this new layer place your first image under each letter
- export as frame 1
- repeat process, where you put a new image in the underlying layer.
- you'll end up with five or six frames, each one a gif
- Open Animation shop and use the wizard to open each frame for your animation
- simple when you know how
Now, back to my discussion................
- Create the lettering, making the inside of the lettering a different colour to the outside.
- Export as a transparent gif, where the inside colour of the letters is the transparent colour
- close and save
- open the file up again
- create a new layer but put that layer underneath the original layer containing your lettering
- in this new layer place your first image under each letter
- export as frame 1
- repeat process, where you put a new image in the underlying layer.
- you'll end up with five or six frames, each one a gif
- Open Animation shop and use the wizard to open each frame for your animation
- simple when you know how
Now, back to my discussion................
LittleRedHat
Instructor
Afraid I don't have much time, so just a quick "something to try" that will hopefully get you started.
In PSP use File/New to create 2 identical windows. (300x300 will work fine.) In each create 2 identical letters - outlines only, by using the text tool/vector/antialias/fill as white/stroke your preferred colour. Enlarge the letters to fill the windows to keep them the same size and in the same position. Then via Layers use Merge All(flatten).
Open a graphic that you would like to use for the fill. Click on the arrow on the Styles box (under the colour palette) and select Pattern. Then click on the Styles box itself and from the Patterns window click on the downward arrow next to whatever pattern is showing. This will put up the patterns available, including the graphic you have opened for the fill. Select that and then use the Fill tool inside one of your letters.
Using a different graphic, do the same for your second letter.
With the window containing your first letter use Copy, open Animation Shop and use Edit/Paste/As New Animation. Then copy the window with your second letter and in Animation Shop use Edit/Paste/After Current Frame ... and then View/Animation.
If you have any further questions, you might find it more helpful to start a new thread/question rather than having them possibly getting lost in this discussion.
Good luck!
LRH
In PSP use File/New to create 2 identical windows. (300x300 will work fine.) In each create 2 identical letters - outlines only, by using the text tool/vector/antialias/fill as white/stroke your preferred colour. Enlarge the letters to fill the windows to keep them the same size and in the same position. Then via Layers use Merge All(flatten).
Open a graphic that you would like to use for the fill. Click on the arrow on the Styles box (under the colour palette) and select Pattern. Then click on the Styles box itself and from the Patterns window click on the downward arrow next to whatever pattern is showing. This will put up the patterns available, including the graphic you have opened for the fill. Select that and then use the Fill tool inside one of your letters.
Using a different graphic, do the same for your second letter.
With the window containing your first letter use Copy, open Animation Shop and use Edit/Paste/As New Animation. Then copy the window with your second letter and in Animation Shop use Edit/Paste/After Current Frame ... and then View/Animation.
If you have any further questions, you might find it more helpful to start a new thread/question rather than having them possibly getting lost in this discussion.
Good luck!
LRH
Hmmm, OK, so I agree PSP7 is good and intuitive and I think it's a really nice package; however, there are so many nice touches in Photoshop 6 that I am starting to miss whenever I go into PSP. Just nice little things like being able to add effects (e.g.: Drop Shadow) and then remove them again, or adjust the effect. Also being able to just hold down enter and select the layer to make a select based on the contents of the layer. The stroke and fill functions are really cool as well.
Anyway - I think I'm giving up on this thread now - we'll just end up going around in cricles for another year!
=)
PetitPal
Anyway - I think I'm giving up on this thread now - we'll just end up going around in cricles for another year!
=)
PetitPal
- Thread starter
- #32
Well chaps, it's been a while (over 18 months, to be precise) since I posted the original question/challenge in Tek Tips and I have to say I've been overwhelmed by the response. I posted up the same thread in the Photoshop forum and have received very little feedback. I guess this is mainly because those who use PS are traditional designers who don't use anything else, whereas PSP users are more likely to be web designers who are more comfortable using a whole suite of sw packages to get the job done.
I thought you might be interested to know that in the last couple of months I finally got myself a copy of PS6 with the best intentions of learning it as well as I know PSP. Then I went and upgraded to PSP7. What happened? Well, I tried to learn PS, really, I did. I can see how powerful it is, and the filters are fantastic. Alas, for all you PS fans out there the lastest version of PSP really does let me do everything I need to, and it is so much more intuitive and user friendly.
I'll keep my copy of PS and will use it occasionally for the filters and so on, but I'm sticking with PSP. Combined with Fireworks these two packages are all I need to create images, animated gifs and optimise photos. Thank you JASC! The Demon
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I thought you might be interested to know that in the last couple of months I finally got myself a copy of PS6 with the best intentions of learning it as well as I know PSP. Then I went and upgraded to PSP7. What happened? Well, I tried to learn PS, really, I did. I can see how powerful it is, and the filters are fantastic. Alas, for all you PS fans out there the lastest version of PSP really does let me do everything I need to, and it is so much more intuitive and user friendly.
I'll keep my copy of PS and will use it occasionally for the filters and so on, but I'm sticking with PSP. Combined with Fireworks these two packages are all I need to create images, animated gifs and optimise photos. Thank you JASC! The Demon
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- Thread starter
- #33
Oh, and a massive thanks to all you bods out there who have contributed to this discussion. It's been very informative, even if it did take me 18 months to come to the same conclusion that people like Jeff and Liam did all those months ago! The Demon
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- Thread starter
- #35
True, PetitPal! We could make it more interesting by asking why Fireworks can't do everything that PSP can. One assumes that Fireworks, PSP and PS are all competing for the web designer's dollar - yet I still end up using a combination of the packages. Why can't these software houses design a package that does everything (including making me a cup of tea in the morning)? The Demon
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Hmmm, I tend to use PSP or PS to do the graphics and then fireworks as a quick way of checking these in a web page layout; this is especially true with buttons; to see how the whole mouse over affair looks.
=)
PetitPal.
p.s. oops, starting off a new thread... here comes aother 18 months worth *grins*
=)
PetitPal.
p.s. oops, starting off a new thread... here comes aother 18 months worth *grins*
Guest_imported
New member
- Jan 1, 1970
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Don't get me wrong, I'm a PSP7 user but I have to admit that there are things that PS does that I just can't do with PSP...
I WOULD BE DELIGHTED THAT SOMEONE CAN PROVE ME WRONG
(that is true... that would mean I could do some more than I think with PSP...)
Let's take an example, I thought I could follow a PS tutorial and adapt it to PSP, unfortunately there were PS features that I just could not do in PSP :
Try all those tutorial at and if you know of how to translate them for PSP then I'm the most happy of men in this planet
Frappuccino
Paris/France
I WOULD BE DELIGHTED THAT SOMEONE CAN PROVE ME WRONG
(that is true... that would mean I could do some more than I think with PSP...)
Let's take an example, I thought I could follow a PS tutorial and adapt it to PSP, unfortunately there were PS features that I just could not do in PSP :
Try all those tutorial at and if you know of how to translate them for PSP then I'm the most happy of men in this planet
Frappuccino
Paris/France
Interesting thread... I use both and I fail to see how PSP is better than PS. (I'm using PSP 7, and PS 6)
Many of the arguments here seem to be about effects rather than more day to day tasks.... CMYK, channels, layers, paths, styles, text, masks, extract..... Yes, all these are supported to some degree by PSP, but is anyone seriously saying there's any comparison? And what about the web? PS comes bundled with ImageReady which knocks the spots off anything PSP has to offer.
Don't get me wrong, I actually think PSP is a great piece of software, and I actually used it to produce the graphics on a commercial website, but it is frustrating to know that I could have had it done in a fraction of the time in PS. Quick example: I wrote some text over a graphic and tried to apply a drop shadow. No can do. Must rasterise text layer first. I have to use the same style for lots of different headings, so this is a real time waster. In Photoshop, I could have applied lots of effects to the text directly, and still gone back to correct any spelling mistakes. To get this kind of versatility in PSP, you have to maintain lots of hidden backup layers, and on a big project it can quickly get out of hand.
To sum up, both of them are worth the money, but you get what you pay for....
Many of the arguments here seem to be about effects rather than more day to day tasks.... CMYK, channels, layers, paths, styles, text, masks, extract..... Yes, all these are supported to some degree by PSP, but is anyone seriously saying there's any comparison? And what about the web? PS comes bundled with ImageReady which knocks the spots off anything PSP has to offer.
Don't get me wrong, I actually think PSP is a great piece of software, and I actually used it to produce the graphics on a commercial website, but it is frustrating to know that I could have had it done in a fraction of the time in PS. Quick example: I wrote some text over a graphic and tried to apply a drop shadow. No can do. Must rasterise text layer first. I have to use the same style for lots of different headings, so this is a real time waster. In Photoshop, I could have applied lots of effects to the text directly, and still gone back to correct any spelling mistakes. To get this kind of versatility in PSP, you have to maintain lots of hidden backup layers, and on a big project it can quickly get out of hand.
To sum up, both of them are worth the money, but you get what you pay for....
In general I agree with you completely -> I've got into PS recently and there is now no looking back... however; there is one thing that you can do in PSP that PS can't do. Applying text/type to a vector. In PSP you can create a nice vector shape and then apply your text to it; the text follows the shape of the vector - which is a lovely, lovely feature - and one that you can't do in PS (v6 anyway; maybe 7? ).
=)
PetitPal (in love with Photoshop 6)
).=)
PetitPal (in love with Photoshop 6)
I have both and am very familiar with both. For web graphics PSP is way above PS.
The only reason PS is "the standard" is because it came out before PSP and was a Mac software which was used by most, if not all, print ad designers.
Hmmm... There are 20 million registered users of PSP and not even a fraction of that number of registered PS users.
The bottom line for web graphics is what are you used to using.
Just my tainted humble opinion.
PSP Forever...mike
The only reason PS is "the standard" is because it came out before PSP and was a Mac software which was used by most, if not all, print ad designers.
Hmmm... There are 20 million registered users of PSP and not even a fraction of that number of registered PS users.
The bottom line for web graphics is what are you used to using.
Just my tainted humble opinion.
PSP Forever...mike
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