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Geek Culture / Graphics Designers

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D I G I T A L
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 00:14
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hey guys. i gatta question.
in ur own opinion, what kind of Operating Systems should graphics designers use? Windows XP? MAC OS? and what kind of software they should use whether website designers or 2D/3D designers. i've searched the web for answers. but nothing what i was looking for. and btw, i know salaries are between 40,000$ and 55,000$. but that in the US. what about the UK? or any where else?

thanks!

"4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions."
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BMacZero
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 00:21 Edited at: 7th Jun 2009 00:21
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I think most serious graphics artists use Macs (not altogther sure why, though). For software - Adobe CS4, and Maya or 3DSMax.



Diggsey: I have a spine and memory, but one memorable guy says he hates me. What am I?
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draknir_
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 03:30
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Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator are what every graphics designer I know swear by, though there are some alternatives like GIMP.

I have heard claimed by some Apple users (who usually aren't actually graphics designers) that Macs are the best for graphical designers, but I see no reason why that would be so. I would suggest sticking with whichever OS you currently have/are comfortable with, as the Adobe software is available for both Mac & Windows.
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C0wbox
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 03:36 Edited at: 7th Jun 2009 03:38
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We just use straight boring Windows and free tools like Gimp and Paint for 2D, or Simply-3D 2 and Deled LITE for 3D. (I've seen nicer 2D work from our team than I see in professional games.)

But due to the fact we have no income/budget so I can't speak for professional designers. However I'd still prefer these tools if I turned to professional 3D modelling.

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BMacZero
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 03:42
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IMO you can't beat Blender for 3D without going up to those $3000 profession tools like Max.



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QuothTheRaven
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 04:52
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There is no such thing as an operating system that a "graphic designer." Use what you like.

DelvarWorld
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Sid Sinister
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 06:10
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Quote: "IMO you can't beat Blender for 3D without going up to those $3000 profession tools like Max."


Unless you have a student ID. Then you can get it from anywhere for about $200. I think even $99. Buy it while you can. Those are 13 month licenses of course. However, you can buy perpetual licenses, they just cost a bit more. ~$400.

The last legitimate reason I heard for using a Mac over a PC was because the color contrast is better on a Mac. Depending on your PC/Laptop monitor though, that shouldn't matter.

Also, think about the Mac image/brand as a whole. Do you picture a Mac or Laptop in the hands of a fashion sensible, stylish, latte drinking, new yorker? I picture a Mac. Why? Image branding.

On a side note, I think it fits. Both graphic designers and Mac user's think they are above creativity and the rules of design. They are 'the learned' and can snub their nose at anyone. Just speaking from experience.

"If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" - Isaac Newton
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Jeku
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 08:51
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At EA all the graphic designers I met were using Windows XP.

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Omega gamer 89
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 09:14
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yes, as previously stated, there really is no "better" OS for graphic design. It really depends on the applications more than the OS. Again, as has already been said, the big boys are Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3DS Max. Although, Maya is actually MUCH more powerful in just about every way than 3DS Max. Maya is essentially super-3DS max on steroids while drinking 300 cans of Red Bull and eating a huge back of sugar. The reason you don't hear about it as much is that the learning curve is so extreme. Maya is about so much harder to learn than 3Ds Max, most people just don't learn it.

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SunnyKatt
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 15:14
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Yeah, the whole "macs are better for graphic design" argument is crap and I can't believe people buy it. Using XP now, with photoshop and all those other fancy tools.

Join Nation Of Design - A large volunteer graphic making team!

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Roxas
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 17:48 Edited at: 7th Jun 2009 21:13
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Mostly they use Mac, because it has "better ram support", but you could just buy 64bit Windows. The other reason i can think is that Mac can make you more Productive. Those who work with music prefer Mac's too.

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 19:51 Edited at: 7th Jun 2009 19:54
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It's already been proven that that neither Mac or Win is better for graphic design, so use whatever you are comfortable with. I had to use Mac OS X for everything in my first year of design college and I hated it.

Illustrator/Photoshop are basically your two trusty weapons.

The design market is saturated now and from what I've seen where I live, a new graduate is lucky to find a $35,000 gig let alone a job.

Quote: "Also Mac is apple product and so are most Graphic software so i would see that as reason too."


Um...what?
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SunnyKatt
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 20:38
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Yeah, roxas' post made no sense.

Join Nation Of Design - A large volunteer graphic making team!

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Roxas
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 21:14
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Quote: "Um...what?"

Ahh, sorry I messed up Adobe and Apple

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Sid Sinister
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 22:25
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Quote: "Maya is essentially super-3DS max on steroids while drinking 300 cans of Red Bull and eating a huge back of sugar."


I am going to start flaming people who keep making these ignorant statements.

"If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" - Isaac Newton
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Insert Name Here
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 22:31
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Quote: "Maya is essentially super-3DS max on steroids while drinking 300 cans of Red Bull and eating a huge back of sugar."


I.e Hyperactive and unreliable

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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 7th Jun 2009 22:53
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Well, the unreliable part's right. I have sucessfully concocted a model that crashes OS X's window manager every time it is loaded into Maya on some machines and it won't reopen until the machine is reset.

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D I G I T A L
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Posted: 8th Jun 2009 12:08
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so basically, there's no particular OS to work on for graphics designing. and illustrator and photoshop is on top. what about website designers? which programs can they use? Dreamweaver CS4? Flash CS4?

"4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions."
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SunnyKatt
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Posted: 8th Jun 2009 12:42
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Yes.

Join Nation Of Design - A large volunteer graphic making team!

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Wehtam_
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Posted: 8th Jun 2009 21:09
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In terms of Operating system, it depends on the studio. The vast majority I know of use Mac OS partly because their printers use Macintosh in their reprographics department.

In terms of software, again it varies on a studio basis, as a rule of thumb a firm Knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat Pro is a must, but you’ll also need to become familiar with either InDesign or QuarkXPress, depending on what they use. In some instances you may have to make amends to a clients existing stationary, so you may need a decent knowledge of both.

Some studios prefer to send the coding aspect of a website project out to a developer, who will take a designers Photoshop file, cut it and code it. Studios that take on that aspect will usually opt for Dreamweaver as it’s part of the Adobe Creative Suite.

In terms of salary it depends on experience and skill set , It can be anything from £15,000 upwards

Hope that helps.

Click Creative Magazine - The free, online design magazine
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Sid Sinister
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Posted: 8th Jun 2009 21:35 Edited at: 8th Jun 2009 21:37
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Quote: "Some studios prefer to send the coding aspect of a website project out to a developer, who will take a designers Photoshop file, cut it and code it."


That's my job right now

With only two sites under my belt, I charge $20/hour, a fairly decent entry-level rate. I only know HTML and Javascript. If I knew more, I could get better jobs which means I could charge more.

http://www.swem.ca/ took me 27 hours, mainly because the client kept changing stuff at the last minute.

http://www.beapart.org took me about the same, and was the first professional website I had done. It was also for free because it was my church

If your going into Graphic Design, I highly recommend getting a Minor of some sort in web development. It's really important to know that workflow at the very least. But if you really get into it, not only can you design the sites, you can program them too which means you don't have to share the paycheck. Web development is really easy. After taking two HTML classes, I'm doing some great work.

I have two more jobs lined up I became friends with a graphic designer, and she keeps me in mind for web work. Try and form a symbiotic relationship with someone like this. Networking is the key to freelance success.

Not sure if all that was on topic, but hey, it's advice

"If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" - Isaac Newton
Current Project: http://strewnfield.wordpress.com/ (Last updated 05/06/09)
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D I G I T A L
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Posted: 9th Jun 2009 16:22
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thanks for the advice guys. really hot information. im thinking of going into the graphics design buisness. im a tech support currently, but back in the dark ages i remeber giving us alot of HTML and Java scripting.
i already began with Dreamweaver, Adobe after effects, photoshop and Flash for websites. DAZ3D, Bryce and Poser for 3D creations. and ofcorse the darkbasic for game designs.
the most important key for successes, is CHANGE. i gave tech support it's time. now changing to something else is big plus!
anyways im keen for more info on this topic. anyone who has an opinion feel free to share. thanks!

"4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions."
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Jeku
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Posted: 9th Jun 2009 17:59
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For web programming a lot of friends at my current job (Nokia) use Dreamweaver merely for ease of use when editing someone else's pages. When you click a section of a table, for example, it instantly jumps to the section of the code where that cell is located--- quite handy. But as for design purposes, they usually just use a text editor like UltraEdit. They use Photoshop for cutting up art (expensive solution in my opinion for programmers who will not learn anything more than how to crop!), Flex for designing cool user interfaces, Flash for creating widgets (charts, maps, etc.), and this Adobe product of which I can't remember the name (allows a non-techie to edit a webpage --- kinda like Dreamweaver for Dummies).

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Gunn3r
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Posted: 9th Jun 2009 19:08
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Jeku, it's Contribute.

I am also looking to get into this field, as well, so I'm grateful for everyone's advice.

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Wehtam_
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Posted: 9th Jun 2009 20:17
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I wouldn’t worry about digital 3D when approaching graphic design as you’ll probably find it’s rarely sort after unless your client specifies its usage. 3D graphics is a time consuming affair and most designers for print would rather opt for anything they could manipulate on iStockPhoto or similar site.

Putting the software part a side for a moment , your going to have to become familiar with the printing industry, and in particular how your 4-colour CMYK artwork will be turned into a physical brochure or leaflet

Two books I recommend are Print production by David Bann:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-New-Print-Production-Handbook/dp/294036138X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244567293&sr=1-1

And (although quite old, incredibly useful) Getting it right in print by Mark gatter
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Getting-Right-Print-pre-press-Designers/dp/1856694216/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Looking from the outside in, print can seem a very technical and physical profession, but learning the print process will accelerate the quality of your work

If I was you, I would download the demo of Adobe InDesign CS4, get your feet wet with the industries growing favourite and buy a book on the print process, this will really get you some decent exposure.

Click Creative Magazine - The free, online design magazine
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D I G I T A L
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Posted: 11th Jun 2009 14:11
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well done Wehtam_. very useful advice. in such a process, one's needs to have all the options in front, prioritize, and start step by step.
anymore suggestions anyone?

"4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions."
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Omega gamer 89
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Posted: 11th Jun 2009 21:35
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Quote: "I am going to start flaming people who keep making these ignorant statements."

Please inform me as to why my statement was ignorant and/or flame-worthy.

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Alucard94
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Posted: 12th Jun 2009 00:29 Edited at: 12th Jun 2009 00:30
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Quote: "Well, the unreliable part's right. I have sucessfully concocted a model that crashes OS X's window manager every time it is loaded into Maya on some machines and it won't reopen until the machine is reset."

Why I never have experienced any unreliability in over a year and a half of heavy Maya usage still remains a mystery though. What was the model by the way?
Quote: "Please inform me as to why my statement was ignorant and/or flame-worthy."

Please re-read your post and come back.


Alucard94, the member of the future of the past.
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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 12th Jun 2009 00:32 Edited at: 12th Jun 2009 00:35
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Are you using Maya on a network account? It works fine local but damn a lot of software fouls up completely when ran from a remote user account on OS X.

*cough*Toon Boom*/cough*
*cough*EPSON Scan*/cough*
*cough*MSN Messenger*/cough*

I could hold shift, FN and tap F9 all day though. It's so much fun Exposeing (?) with 120 windows open. Genie is fun too. Especially when slowed down. (hold shift)

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 12th Jun 2009 00:35
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Maya is generally not a tool that's common or even that useful for regular graphic design so there is no point getting into a debate as it would go off topic from the original post...a new thread could always be started though.
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D I G I T A L
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Posted: 12th Jun 2009 17:12
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i agree with Megaton Cat. i understand that Maya is much more complicated for graphics designing or website designing. As i browse through their website, they make movies out of it.

"4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions."
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