Making the jump to Illustrator

[chestnutz]

So my birthday's coming up, and along with an iPhone, I'm really thinking of asking for illustrator CS3. I've used inkscape for my vector needs for over a year now, and I realize that design is something I really want to pursue as a career. Is now the time to make the jump to it? Is it that much better than inkscape? Looking at the new features and such on adobe.com, it looks to be much more advanced than the free inkscape.

My second question is: can I get a student discount? I'm in high school, do I qualify? How much is the discount?

Thanks to any responses.

[gingerbreadmann]

So my birthday's coming up, and along with an iPhone, I'm really thinking of asking for illustrator CS3. I've used inkscape for my vector needs for over a year now, and I realize that design is something I really want to pursue as a career. Is now the time to make the jump to it? Is it that much better than inkscape? Looking at the new features and such on adobe.com, it looks to be much more advanced than the free inkscape.

My second question is: can I get a student discount? I'm in high school, do I qualify? How much is the discount?

Thanks to any responses.

Yeah, you can definitely get a discount. I've used it. Just use the student I.D your school gave you and head on over to Academicsuperstore.com. I don't know if it's worth it, but if you're going for it, screw the iPhone! Personally I wouldn't be willing to buy it at this point but if it's not your money, why the hell not. Though it could be more practical and useful later on to wait until you hit college and CS4 will be out by then.

[chestnutz]

shoot, i never got a student ID I missed my picture day hahaha.

[pcgd]

So my birthday's coming up, and along with an iPhone, I'm really thinking of asking for illustrator CS3. I've used inkscape for my vector needs for over a year now, and I realize that design is something I really want to pursue as a career. Is now the time to make the jump to it? Is it that much better than inkscape? Looking at the new features and such on adobe.com, it looks to be much more advanced than the free inkscape.

My second question is: can I get a student discount? I'm in high school, do I qualify? How much is the discount?

Thanks to any responses.

You almost get a grand worth of gifts for your birthday??? I think I usually got a pair of cleats for the upcoming baseball season and that was about it.

If you're interested in a career in graphic design, Illustrator is a must. There are other programs out there that work, but because its the industry standard you mine as well put up the money because its what you'd be using in 95% of any future jobs that use vector software.

If you're in it to create concepts for your fantasy football team...well its be more like using a grenade to kill a fly. Overkill.

[chestnutz]

ha well considering I didn't really get much for my sweet 16, it's worth it. plus my family has a lot of connections with electronics so things can come at a big discount.

I'm almost positive I want to pursue graphic design as a career. I won't be using illustrator to create things for profit and such (most of the time), but I figure I might as well start now in order to get ready for college, right? I mainly use inkscape now for concepts and sometimes making logos that will be used for my family and friends. It's for fun and I want to get as good as I can right now.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

ha well considering I didn't really get much for my sweet 16, it's worth it. plus my family has a lot of connections with electronics so things can come at a big discount.

I'm almost positive I want to pursue graphic design as a career. I won't be using illustrator to create things for profit and such (most of the time), but I figure I might as well start now in order to get ready for college, right? I mainly use inkscape now for concepts and sometimes making logos that will be used for my family and friends. It's for fun and I want to get as good as I can right now.

Depending on your academic program -- and if you decided in a year you actually still want to go to school for design -- you might get an even more-reduced copy of Illustrator that might be even better than the current version. To me, it seems silly to blow $400 on a computer program you might like or might use, and although it's good to want to get a jump on your education, you'll find that you'll have professors and TAs more than willing to teach you. I can't imagine any undergrad being drastically behind in his major on day one. And the benefits of being more advanced -- professional-ready, I guess -- tend to eliminate the need for school in the first place.

It sounds a little bit like someone's money is burning a hole in your pocket. But $400 (or whatever it is) "for fun" and not your own money seems a bit much, especially when Inkscape is filling your needs right now.

[quantum]

Is it really just illustrator? What I mean is I find that when starting projects, photoshop and illustrator go hand-in-hand. I'm sure there are people that just create vector logos. But I would think most graphic design work eventually ends up in Photoshop.

I am training myself in these programs, so I'm no expert. Could a professional give some insight to this?

[chestnutz]

Alright, I may wait a little bit to get illustrator then. While it'd be nice, I'm not sure it's a necessity yet.

And about my school's program (high school), quite frankly it sucks. I took the computer graphics class this year (sophomore year) and learned nothing that I didn't already know. Honestly felt like I was better than the teacher is how bad it was.

[oddball]

First of all, if you're a junior to be in high school, don't waste your money unless you're 100% sure that's what you'll do. Then again, don't waste your money period. Here's the thing, and this is coming from someone who's about ready to graduate as a graphic designer, I would not buy it (the Adobe Creative Suite) until you know 1,000% that you are going to be a graphic designer, and that means that you are 75% of the way through college. Why then? Because I've known people who were halfway through their majors and realized they didn't want to do that, and I'm going to a private school, so it's beaucoup bucks. As nice as Illustrator might be to have, don't throw down that much money for a hobby that in a year you might not be doing. Is Illustrator that hard to learn? I don't know, it just takes time and the will, and every person will learn at their own level.

As far as complaining about the teachers... ugh, if I hear one more person complain about the teacher and what the teacher knows and doesn't know, I'm going to slap them upside the head. Here's why. I had a teacher tell me this and it's true, no matter what a teacher teaches you, it is only dipping your little toe into the ocean of that particular program (Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.), there's a whole ocean out there that YOU need to explore and find out. Sure a teacher can teach you the basics, but understand that sometimes it's not their background and they are just about as knowledgeable as you are. Plus with the internet, and today's technology, sometimes kids will have more knowledge than their teachers will, not because their teachers are stupid or lame, but because the teachers might not have time to learn your needs. Getting an education is your job, it is up to you to gain knowledge. It's not up to the teacher to open your head an pour in the knowledge while you sit there aimlessly texting on your phone. The knowledge base because of technology keeps changing and it's no wonder teachers seem behind the times. Kids today don't understand how much of a technology jump keeps happening, they talk about the iphone and websites on phones like it's a hairstyle, when I was in high school and college the first time, beepers were the new technology. Don't blame the lack of a teacher's knowledge on the teacher and being lame or dumb, help the teacher gain a knowledge of it and let the teacher know you know this and see if you can work with the teacher to create something better for the class.

[chestnutz]

I wasn't complaining about the teacher, she's a good friend of mine and I knew I just wanted to take the class. I felt like she didn't teach me much, which I wasn't exactly expecting from a little elective class. I'm not some spoiled little kit who complains about everything, I just want to get better because this is something I love. I realize I've done a decent amount of research on the subject of graphic design, but there's worlds more for me to discover, and I guess I was just expecting a bit more out of the class. All the class was was basically just teaching the very basics, and I mean basics, of photoshop and illustrator, stuff I learned over a year ago. Am I "at fault" for that? Yes, because I had done the stuff before, while the other 5 or so kids who did the class didn't, and I'm guessing most people who take the class don't. Not complaining, just saying it was a big too beginnerish for me.

/off topic

[gordie_delini]

going off of what quantum said, if you're really and I mean really interested in graphic design, having Illustrator only won't cut it. In my day-to-day, I tend to use the entire Design Premium suite. I spend most of my time in Illustrator, but I do a ton with Photoshop, a lot in InDesign, and quite a bit with Flash, which necessitates Dreamweaver. And most people can't receive .AI or .PSD files and want to see high quality graphics, so that there necessitates Acrobat Pro to create multiple-page PDFs, as well as getting files ready for print. These programs come bundled as a suite for a reason, and to have only one is design career suicide. Spend the cash and get the whole suite, if you're serious. If you're on the fence, or just want to mess around, there are free programs, like Inkscape and Gimp that will be more than adequate until you decide you want to pursue a career in design.

As for teachers, guaranteed, you will learn more in an internship or on the job than you ever will in a classroom. Spend the time and learn the software by messing around with it.

[quantum]

going off of what quantum said, if you're really and I mean really interested in graphic design, having Illustrator only won't cut it. In my day-to-day, I tend to use the entire Design Premium suite. I spend most of my time in Illustrator, but I do a ton with Photoshop, a lot in InDesign, and quite a bit with Flash, which necessitates Dreamweaver. And most people can't receive .AI or .PSD files and want to see high quality graphics, so that there necessitates Acrobat Pro to create multiple-page PDFs, as well as getting files ready for print. These programs come bundled as a suite for a reason, and to have only one is design career suicide. Spend the cash and get the whole suite, if you're serious. If you're on the fence, or just want to mess around, there are free programs, like Inkscape and Gimp that will be more than adequate until you decide you want to pursue a career in design.

As for teachers, guaranteed, you will learn more in an internship or on the job than you ever will in a classroom. Spend the time and learn the software by messing around with it.

Thanks for the reply. Your response was pretty much what I thought. A related side story, Bert Monroy is known for his work in Photoshop, but he sets up much of his artwork objects in Illustrator.

From what I understand of chestnutz resources (i.e. dad's money), just have him buy the suite for you. Go crazy and learn all you can from online resources. I think teachers were extremely important pre-internet, and work experience still needed to fill in the practical knowledge for any industry. The internet as I see it offers specific techniques, and the classroom is for basic foundation.

Anyway, thanks again.

[gatorade09]

I think you should get the 30 day free trial of illustrator and see ow you like it and test the different features on it and compare it to inkskape or what ever you said you had and then decide whether to get the full package or not

[Jigga]

I think Gradware.com has some pretty darn good student discounts as well.

[oddball]

I wasn't complaining about the teacher, she's a good friend of mine and I knew I just wanted to take the class. I felt like she didn't teach me much, which I wasn't exactly expecting from a little elective class. I'm not some spoiled little kit who complains about everything, I just want to get better because this is something I love. I realize I've done a decent amount of research on the subject of graphic design, but there's worlds more for me to discover, and I guess I was just expecting a bit more out of the class. All the class was was basically just teaching the very basics, and I mean basics, of photoshop and illustrator, stuff I learned over a year ago. Am I "at fault" for that? Yes, because I had done the stuff before, while the other 5 or so kids who did the class didn't, and I'm guessing most people who take the class don't. Not complaining, just saying it was a big too beginnerish for me.

/off topic

It was more of a rant that I needed to get off my chest and not directed at you. I hear the complaints a lot at school and it just seemed that it triggered a rant. Sorry about that, I hope there are no hard feelings. That's a good idea to try out the 30 day trial, but I think if inkscape has a pen tool then illustrator should be no problem for you to pick up. I'd love to see some of your work. I'd love to encourage you to become a graphic designer, but I'd love to see some of your ideas. If you are 100% certain that it's what you want to do, then go for the creative suit and learn all you can.

[Shumway]

I think Gradware.com has some pretty darn good student discounts as well.

Gradware is where I got my Illustrator. It was only $100. I think when I bought the creative suite, I used journeyed.com, where it cost about $600. Either way, I practically stole Adobe products, given the actual price of them.

[Mac the Knife]

Anyone have an interest in making $50 for doing nothing more than using their student discount to buy some Adobe software on my behalf?

I've finally decided to shell out for one of the Adobe CS3 suites, but I'll be damned if I'm going to shell out $1,500+ if I can get it for one-third that much, particularly considering how little I'll actually wind up using it.

[chestnutz]

I wasn't complaining about the teacher, she's a good friend of mine and I knew I just wanted to take the class. I felt like she didn't teach me much, which I wasn't exactly expecting from a little elective class. I'm not some spoiled little kit who complains about everything, I just want to get better because this is something I love. I realize I've done a decent amount of research on the subject of graphic design, but there's worlds more for me to discover, and I guess I was just expecting a bit more out of the class. All the class was was basically just teaching the very basics, and I mean basics, of photoshop and illustrator, stuff I learned over a year ago. Am I "at fault" for that? Yes, because I had done the stuff before, while the other 5 or so kids who did the class didn't, and I'm guessing most people who take the class don't. Not complaining, just saying it was a big too beginnerish for me.

/off topic

It was more of a rant that I needed to get off my chest and not directed at you. I hear the complaints a lot at school and it just seemed that it triggered a rant. Sorry about that, I hope there are no hard feelings. That's a good idea to try out the 30 day trial, but I think if inkscape has a pen tool then illustrator should be no problem for you to pick up. I'd love to see some of your work. I'd love to encourage you to become a graphic designer, but I'd love to see some of your ideas. If you are 100% certain that it's what you want to do, then go for the creative suit and learn all you can.

No hard feelings bro. It's understandable. Well, my work ain't very good now, but you can always see it by looking at topics I've made haha.

[chuckymack]

Anyone have an interest in making $50 for doing nothing more than using their student discount to buy some Adobe software on my behalf?

I've finally decided to shell out for one of the Adobe CS3 suites, but I'll be damned if I'm going to shell out $1,500+ if I can get it for one-third that much, particularly considering how little I'll actually wind up using it.

I'm your huckleberry.

[Mac the Knife]

Anyone have an interest in making $50 for doing nothing more than using their student discount to buy some Adobe software on my behalf?

I've finally decided to shell out for one of the Adobe CS3 suites, but I'll be damned if I'm going to shell out $1,500+ if I can get it for one-third that much, particularly considering how little I'll actually wind up using it.

I'm your huckleberry.

Cool. I'll PM you in a few days with the particulars.