how to make a collage

[Arcana]

Earlier today I asked a question in a thread called "What does it mean" (Talking Tarot) about how to make a collage. I was kindly advised to ask it here (thanks again, Marion ) so here it goes. HOW does one make a (moderately goodlooking) collage on the computer? Scanning will probably be necessary, and digital photographs would be handy but I don't have a digital camera (yet). Are there any good programmes for this? One where you'd be able to cut a picture just the way you want it to make a perfect fit? I was hoping to add a few collages to the deck I'm creating (or planning to create) for my own personal use. As I understand it, there are a lot of experts here. I'd be gratefull for any tips!

 

[wizzle]

You can get source material not only from your own photos and scans, but by buying discs of images. Just scout around on line.

A good graphics program and plenty of ram memory on your puter are essential to do collages. The graphics progams I've used and am familiar with are:

1. Photoshop.....the flagship of programs for pixel-pushing. It's enormously powerful and has lots of support sites on the web so you can use it effectively. It is hideously expensive.
2. Corel Draw - Corel is at least as powerful as Photoshop and if you buy Draw you get not only the bitmap equivalent of Photoshop, but rastor graphics, for which the Photoshop crowd charge you another arm and leg. However, if you are planning to do collages, you really don't need rastor graphics. That's more for folks who create images on the puter from the bottom up, so to speak. Corel is very well supported, web wise.
3. Paint Shop Pro - an inexpensive alternative to Photoshop that is fairly easy to learn and has many many tutorials.

One giant caveat.....money is not everything when it comes to graphics programs. The most powerful and glitzy program is useless if you can't figure it out and graphics are far harder to deal with than, say, word processing programs. Whatever you choose, make sure you get not only the manual but a program that has plenty of websites where you can pick up tips.

Paint Shop Pro has to be the most cost-effective choice for anyone who is not a serious digital artist. It has a huge following, so there are plenty of websites that will help exploit all of its features. And PSP accepts all of the zillion Photoshop plugins that are around. Personally, I think PSP is easier to learn than Photoshop.

If you do want to make collage art, be prepared to sit at your puter and ...literally.....edit images bit by bit. This can take hours. Sort of like plucking hairs instead of shaving. Not everyone has the patience.

 

[yaraluna]

my collages exp...

Hola

well, i am making two collage decks right now in the computer. what i personally do is the following:

1-i don't buy or download pics. INSTEAD...however, find my pictures from magazines such as national geo., in style, etc etc. although, for one of my decks i may be getting some extra clip art from Dover

2-I have photoshop. ...HOWEVEr, right now i am scanning my pics, and collaging them with Collage Creator (which i think, i am not sure on this one, i got with my pen tablet CD). Once i have them collage, i go to photoshop and work on detailing, colors, effects, etc

3-there are some great resources on collage (digital and regular) online and i think there are some links here in AT.

i think you can find links to collages throuth Arnell's website, which i think is listed here in AT.
aside from the stuff above, there are also links here about threads dealing with details for image size, printing,etc, as well as online.

just MHO
yaraluna

 

[rota]

If you're doing a digital collage, let me speak up for Photoshop. There are a few competitors available, but there's really nothing else that comes anywhere near touching it for power, versatility and options. If you're serious about digital imagery at all, you should have this glorious Swiss army knife of a computer tool. All the other options I've tried are clunky pretenders, like using a spoon when you really need a screwdriver. (And the nice thing about Photoshop is that they never sit still -- always with the fine tuning and the new gewgaws to try out in the newest versions. But, they manage to fit them in without infuriating older users. I'm looking forward to new versions of Flash...)

If you're a newbie to Photoshop (and we all were sometime. Good grief, how did we ever get along without it? All those exacto blades, PMT's, layers of acetate, rolls of rubylith... bleh!), here's my recommendation: find someone who knows it well, and will tell you which buttons to push. You risk wearing out a friendship that way, but your sanity will be undamaged!

 

[MareSaturni]

If you're doing a digital collage, let me speak up for Photoshop. There are a few competitors available, but there's really nothing else that comes anywhere near touching it for power, versatility and options. If you're serious about digital imagery at all, you should have this glorious Swiss army knife of a computer tool.

True! I so agree with Rota...Photoshop is the king. Better than Corel, imho, though many say it's more complicated. It's all a matter of learning - there are many tutorials available, all you need is patience and curiosity!

If you cannot scan pictures or don't own a digital camera, there are always websites offering stock pictures, that you can use freely. My favorites are:
http://www.sxc.hu
http://pdphoto.org/
and, of course
http://stockart.deviantart.com/

Just pay attention, because some artists may require a link to their gallery or just ask you to comment, telling you are going to use the picture. It's polite to respect such wishes

Good luck! I'm posting some of my own collages at my DevArt gallery, if you wish to look: http://frengers.deviantart.com

~Yuko

 

[Arcana]

Thanx everyone! You've been a big help! And miss Yuko - those sites will come in very handy!

 

[yaraluna]

another tip

just another thing i forgot. I am a self-taught artist in some areas. with photoshop i found the book"teach yourself visually-Photoshop 6" very useful. I need to see things and then practice and that is exactly what that book does. it is straight forward about all the commands, with tips, etc. at least to get you started b/c everything in this world needs to be practiced in order to be learned.MHO.

yaraluna

 

[rabble]

I use Paintshop Pro, and find it equally as good as Photoshop. (I have both.)

The deck I'm creating is a digital collage, but all of the images I'm using are my own photos. The process isn't much different though, than one using images from any other source. It is time consuming, and there is a bit of painstaking work involved, but it's worth it.

 

[Arcana]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I've recently acquired Paint Shop Pro 9. I would have gone for Photoshop, but it turned out to be too expensive for me... However, I'm really excited about PSP and I've already figured out most of the tools I will be using. For now, I'm waiting for my scanner to get re-installed, and then there'll be no stopping me! I've already found a lot of great images on the internet which I've already adapted for use. But I'm still looking for a border or frame of some kind... Something like the Sacred Circle Tarot uses... Although I haven't got a clear picture of it in my head... I guess I'll keep looking until I know what it is I'm looking for!