General Question

jdogg's avatar

What is the best ADOBE product for designing things (like cars, clothes, electronics)?

Asked by jdogg (871points) October 5th, 2008

There are like 10 different products and I have no clue which one.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

18 Answers

blastfamy's avatar

It really depends on what you are trying to do.

Personally, I would begin with illustrator. It allows you to draw lines that you can fill in to create shapes and layouts.

Photoshop is the other one that you should look into. It deals in image pixels directly. This is more of a painting program. You draw with layers of color that stack to form the final image.

Either way, both of these programs produce pictures. I would recommend working in a bit of both: use illustrator to layout you initial idea, then draw it out proper with photoshop.

Most of the other Adobe apps are irrlelevant to what you are doing (z.b. Soundbooth/Premiere are for sound/video).

MrMontpetit's avatar

Are you looking for something that lets you build models in 3D?

eambos's avatar

Photoshop and Illustrator.

Yep, blastfamy said it perfectly.

MrMontpetit's avatar

If you don’t want 3D I’d go with Eambos and blastfamy and say start off with Illustrator.

eambos's avatar

You can make a 3d looking image, but not an actual 360 degree movable rendering. For most concepts those two programs should be great.

MrMontpetit's avatar

For being able to create actual 3D shapes and polygons, I would recommend that you check out Google Sketch, it’s free and pretty easy and fun to use. (Not 100% sure that Google Sketch is it’s correct name, it’s been a while since I deleted it, I had no need for it.)

PIXEL's avatar

Yep. Use Photoshop and Illustrator side by side. Great duo you know.

jdogg's avatar

Im looking for just 2d design for now but when i get better 3d is an option and i just like fooling around like designing electronic and cars…

blastfamy's avatar

The best 3d app is Maya, but its expensive. Bryce is a good alternative to Maya (it’s cheap), but its mega-fugly.

eambos's avatar

Who spends money on software unless they are an established designer?

jdogg's avatar

@eambos how do u know im not???

blastfamy's avatar

@eambos, people that don’t understand p2p file transfers, people who feel they have some higher duty to abide by the system’s rules.

@jdogg, no offense.

jdogg's avatar

none taken

wilhel1812's avatar

I wouldn’t use any adobe product for that, but you can create mockups in photoshop and illustrator. (depending on the situation)

archondigital's avatar

Illustrator would be perfect 2D illustrations. For quick, rough 3D drafts, Sketchup Pro would be a good start you can import your 2D file in there. For realistic renderings Maxwell Render is a really good app.

SeventhSense's avatar

Answer #1…those 2 are the peanut Butter and Jelly of the graphic art world….
You’re the knife. :)
Even if you get Maya, Illustrator and Photoshop are indispensable.

pekenoe's avatar

For a slick little vector design program that doesn’t cost a lot, check out Millwrite. It’s primarily for CNC layouts but I used it for furniture design and sketches. Has a user friendly interface, great features, and reasonable price.

I’m sure with a bit of searching you can find a demo program so you can try before you buy.

http://www.emachinetool.com/accessories/catalog/large.cfm?OptionFamilyID=75

itsjustmatt's avatar

Skip Adobe and the price and go with InkScape.

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