Not sure if this is the right forum to be posting, but I have some design questions. When you're designing your kits/mini kits what program do you use? What's your designing process? I would really like to get into designing kits but I am so intimidated and have no idea where to even begin. Do you use templates? Or start completely from scratch? How do you even start?
ETA: I probably should have mentioned that I have the full Adobe CS5, Photoshop and Illustrator included.
Everyone is different. Many designers design or hand draw all of their elements. And then many use templates and other things as starting points.
The first step: would be to get a program ... Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro are the two most used I believe.
I use Photoshop
Then it's just practicing, asking questions, and practicing more to get better and better. There are lots of tutorials here and online that can help with most of the basic things. The ladies here are awesome help. If there's anything specific ask away.
Try some of the designer challenges here and the blog train to gain experience. That's what most of us do. Then there are those that just design for fun or to make things that they can't find in any kits out there.
Most of all, have fun, and don't give up. I'm sure you'll be great!
Thanks Kiana! I'll have to check into the designer challenges!
You Tube is a life saver, as is Google if you're trying to figure out how to make something. The tutorials here at Pixelscrapper are great starting points too! And, as Kiana said, join in the designer challenges in the forum. I learned a lot by following Marisa's advice: try to copy something you like from another designer. It may take you a while, but you learn so much on the way there! Good luck and i hope we see you around in the designer challenge forum!
There are loads of tutorials out there just waiting for you to do them! Look at the designers whose work you like. Choose something to research - making ric rac for example. Find a tutorial when you feel happy with that technique, search for another tutorial and so on. Soon you will have lot's of skills to call upon when you decide to make a kit.
PS. Don't try to sell something you have copied too closely or you could upset the fragile image of some insecure designer. I designed some papers one time and had a designer contact me that I had stolen her stuff. Thankfully I had them saved in layers so I could prove to her that they were not her papers but my own. Some people don't play nice.