Image editing: the lowdown

In these days of easy-to-use computers, you may or may not have been tempted to creating your own craft images on the computer. Perhaps you found a vintage image  that was almost what you wanted, but not quite. Perhaps it wasn't as clear as you wanted, or the background was the wrong color. Perhaps you've had trouble finding just what you want for your project.  That's how I started. I've used various applications for designing, and, here, I'll give you the scoop!

Pages

Pages is what I started with. It's a word processing software, so I don't particularly recommend it for digital design, but, if all you have is word processing software, it works. Word processing software can also be useful for designing items that depend largely on text and for creating templates. The main difficulties I have encountered are size limitations (you are generally designing for a printer sheet, although there are some exceptions) and the fact that real image editing software gives you so many more options and tools. The main advantage of word processing software is that it's pretty accessible. Most people already have it on their computers and already know how to use it. It is good for designing things like flyers, planners, recipe templates, things like that. You can also use it to learn about designing and decide if you enjoy it. 

Canva

Canva is an online design platform that offers a free plan and paid plans. As far as tools are concerned, it offers many of the same tools and resources as word processing software, plus many more. Like word processing software, it offers limited drawing tools, and you can't change an image's aspect ratio (proportions). Unlike word processing software, it offers a wider variety of project sizes, templates, and design assets to use for your projects. You can also easily buy Canva templates on Etsy, including templates for making your own junk journal paper. It also offers several image editing options, including filters. Unlike image editing software, it is geared for web and social media design. The default download settings are not geared for printing as far as color space is concerned. Otherwise, it is easy to use and intuitive, great for starting out in designing. 

Krita

Krita is a free, open-source design software, and it's what I use to create most of the items I sell at my shop. Like Canva, it's drag and drop, making it intuitive and easy to learn. It's generous selection of brushes makes it a wonderful resource for digital drawing. Image editing tools include numerous filters, plugins, and image size and ratio changes. It is the kind of software you grow into. I still don't use all the features it offers. The main drawback is that it is a raster, not a vector platform (that means it mostly works with images that are made up of small dots, or pixels, not with vectors, which employ a different technology and don't have the same resizing limitations that raster, or pixel, images do). Otherwise, it's a great program for anyone who wants to get serious about designing, even if it's just a hobby. Oh, the other drawback is that you might find yourself buying a graphics tablet if you get too serious with this program. (Not a drawback. I love my graphics tablet!)

Gimp

Gimp is another free, open-source application. Unlike Krita, it focuses more on image-editing, more along the lines of Photoshop. It has more filter and editing options than Krita, but it is less intuitive. It's color changing capabilities are pretty cool. It's brushes are limited, so I recommed it for image editing, not for art.