When we make a web series, we also have also do a lot of graphic work to promote it. And we not always have access to designers, or to Adobe Photoshop or the possibility of investing $699 in software just to make a poster, some postcards and website elements.
To top that, I have been having problem with Photoshop lately, crashing and slowing down the computer more than it usually does. So decided to find a real alternative to photoshop, and I found it!
Let me introduce you to Pixelmator (sorry PC… for Mac only) A super powerful tool! It is easy to use, fun interfase and super awesome icon (hey that in important too!) It does everything I need done in photoshop, without sucking my computer power nor my pocket power. (screenshots in the article)
I used Pixelmator to designed the Facebook landing page for one of my web series, that I later exported in slices to build the html code on Dreamweaver. After that have started playing with in in other more complex projects and it is still holding up greatly!
Check out a couple of screen shots they have on their website:
Now, one of the best things about this wonderful piece of software is the price! A full version cost you $29.99!
You can also download a 30-day trial version here before you buy it. Believe me. Unless you are a designer, you might just get rid of Photoshop all together. I have exported Pixelmator on a PSD file and been able to use it in after effects as a layered comp. The compatibility might not be 100% when importing non-rasterized text, but Pixelmator holds my first choice when I need to do some still graphics for my web series and websites.
You can also take advantage of their library of tutorials!
The software is compatible with many file formats, including PSD files of course, so if you are working with a designer that is sending you revisions, or you already have some assets that need to alter that are in PSD, you can open them and save them again as PSD.
It has a nice integrated browser also that will access your iphoto and your pictures folder so you can just browse from within Pixelmator if you need another file. I love this feature because I use a lot of different files in different designs, and with this I don’t need to go to finder and bring it up. I just drop it from the little browser onto the canvas and it creates a new layer.
Once you try it I want to know what you think about it! Do you agree with me it is awesome?