If you're taking the time to read over this article then you are probably trying to get some insight on how to get started creating your own works of art. Be it for a website, a signature, your myspace, a wallpaper, some old photos you'd like to restore, or even just to impress your friends and family -- you have got to start somewhere.

First thing you'll need is an image manipulation program. The following is a break down on some popular programs and what you can do with them:

Adobe Photoshop - By far the most preferred by graphic art professionals, Photoshop is the grand-daddy of all image manipulation programs. Unless you've got someone you can borrow it from, this program can put quite the hefty dent in your wallet.

GIMP - Despite its name, this program is an amazing one to work with. It may be cluttered with tools and not quite as fine tuned as Photoshop, but this program is FREE. Originally designed to run on Linux but will install on Mac as well as Windows.

Corel Painter - Another professional software that has its own highlights. Not as widely used as Photoshop but powerful none the less. This software is priced similar to Photoshop.

MS Paint - Included with every Microsoft desktop operating system comes this program. Extremely basic from its very roots and not recommended for even a mildly serious graphic artist.

Illustrator - Another professional (expensive) Adobe product. Illustrator is fine tuned for vector based output and great support for freehand art.

Paint.NET - Last in the list but not the least is Paint.NET. This program is free to you as the user and a steep upgrade from MS Paint, with support for things such as layers. Not quite Photoshop but definitely worth it for its price (or lack there-of).
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Now that you've got the program, what's next?

To familiarize yourself with some of the lingo that graphic artists use, we suggest that you glance over the list of graphic arts vocabulary terms.

The best way to learn in graphic arts is to get out there and (as Nike would say) just do it. Go ahead and take a peak at the Tutorials section of our website and start collaborating with other users. Working in a group will allow you to share what you've learned, critique one anothers' work, and eventually show it off!

That's all there is to it, welcome to the scene. Now you've got a lot to learn but just remember, even the best Photoshop pros will tell you there is always room for improvement.

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