First let me say that I am absolutely blown away by the beautiful artwork here! I haven't found one yet that I didn't like!!! I stumbled upon this site while looking for backgrounds for a new blog and found this place and have been in awe ever since!! You guys (and gals) are amazing!!!!

Info on me: I'm not an artist and I know nothing. I've been wanting to get into graphics for a long time now but never had my own computer. I finally got one (Mac) and now I don't know what kind of software I should get to create such beautiful works as on this site. My husband was going to buy me graphics software for Christmas but I didn't know what to get for a beginner. So.....can anyone recommend software that I could buy in order to do such beautiful creations as these? Keep in mind I'm a beginner and I have a Mac. Your input would be greatly appreciated!!!

I'm going to go back to looking at your work. You all are so talented - I'm just amazed!

Blessings,
Carol

A good start would be to see the "Frequently used software" list in the FAQ. Note there is a link on the bottom of the list to a thread which has more software info.

A good way to find out what programs people use is to find the image that you'd like to try, and ask that artist which program they used, all the grapic artists will be more than happy to point you in the right direction and give you a helping hand understanding the program..

A lot of artists on here use either Apophysis (freeware), Tierazon (freeware), Chaoscope (freeware), Mind Boggling Fractals (MBF) (freeware), Terragan (freeware) and a few more which I can't think right now.. but its a great place to start..

w00tness ! Welcome Carol !!

Welcome!!



(*shoulders droop*) ... oh, a MAC .. (*sigh*) ..

(*loses interest, wanders away, jumps in a mud puddle*)

Welcome Carol! I think Windows users should be jumping into mud puddles, but that's just me.... J/K! :) I'm a novice at post-work but would be glad to talk Mac with you - anytime!

~*Mary*~

Bible thumping Jams Carol!. . . First of all I think it is important to consider some missed opportunities here. We would love for you to be a freshly discovered Artist and all, but I would think that before you can "Create", maybe you would be better off to "capture". You already have a Mac . . sweet! now how about a good but reasonably priced camera to accent that Mac. You know, like new shoes for a new dress! Then instead of sweating to be creative on the ole computer, you could enjoy capturing all of Gods wonderful creations to share with us. Its a much easier way to start, then you could sweat till midnight to enhance and create wonderful art to share with us. Aint nothing more satisfying than to apply makeup to your freshly captured pictures. I mean if this is your thing, then by all means Do It! You of course will need to bribe that husband of yours, who already bought you a computer to shell out more bucks for a well needed camera, and Presto! he gets a sweet and appreciative wife, who will not pester him for anything else. . . till next week. Good Luck :)

Thanks everyone for your comments.

J_272004, I wrote down all of the freeware you listed and went through a couple of them - they all require Windows but I'm still looking. Thanks for all the info - now I have a place to start. (I looked at the FAQ section before I posted my question - I still had more)

LoDollar - You're hilarious!!! :) you must have gone to my website - I must have put my link somewhere. (was freaking out at first - thinking 'how did this person know about Bible Thumping"?) hahaha

I've got to wait on the camera cuz hubby just bought me this computer - brand spankin' new, plus a scanner/copier which was the latest. He won't get me a camera yet cuz there's a built in one on the Mac. So I'm working on the idea of software for now because he's open to that because we don't have anything like that. (I'm more likely to get software than a camera at this point)

I downloaded Quadrium2 and have been playing with that. Don't know if you guys have heard of it but it seems to be a good starting point. Very easy.

Photoshop is probably the most popular application for digital artists, either on Mac or PC. If you go for the Creative Suite package you can also get Illustrator which is good for Vector Art. They are a little tricky to get used to, but there are tons of tutorial sites on the web, and a few here, to get you started if that's the route you choose. Good Luck!

Here is a link to a site that lists other Mac fractal programs. Freeware for the most part, I believe. In particular, "Xaos" is a popular one used by members on the site here.

Linkie to fractal programs for Mac.

Think that if you do a search on the site here, ok ... late Christmas present then. :o)

A fractal program for Mac?

&nmsmith's posting at 6/06/07 14:36 would be of particular interest to you.

Have fun. :o)

p.s. I agree with Paul above ... at some point an image editing program will be of great benefit to you and allow you to explore more genres ... photo manipulation, abstracts and so forth ... actual creation of, or for post sweetening.

Thank you - checking them out now...

just go take some pictures... and play with them in photoshop. you dont need a fancy computer to make good pics..