It's been quite awhile since I've revised my portfolio. Can anyone recommend to me what the "must have" applications are these days to slap together a new primo portfolio representing my mediocre work? Among other things, I am looking for best ways to transfer CAD drawings to more illustrative formats such as Photoshop, etc. without all the pixelation of lines & text, garbled lineweights & shades, etc.
At least I was on the right track. I was importing PDFs into Photoshop using CutePDF. I think on one hand the problem might be the PDF resolution. Does anyone know a free PDF creator with 1200dpi? (Or min. 600dpi... I'm not even sure what resolution CutePDF writes.) On the other hand, I do know Photoshop is less than ideal for linework. I would prefer to use Illustrator or InDesign. It's just that my versions of both are circa 2001. Ugh.
With cad pdfs you dont' need to worry about dpi - they are vectors (this is what allows you to zoom in with no loss of quality).
Illustrator - vector based program (this is where you want to work with anything that needs crisp lines, scaling, such as logos and cad)
Photoshop - bitmap based program (pixel based, with some very limited vector support). This is ideal for editing photo-like things, like renderings. This is where dpi is very important.
InDesign - composition program for layouts, great PDF export capabilities, fast way to put it all together (including pieces from Illustrator and Photoshop)
Illustrator and InDesign were just fine in 2001 (wow, did ID really go back that far?!). It isn't the software that makes a good portfolio or presentation.
i may be remembering incorrectly, but i feel like i've placed dwgs into indesign. if not, i second the pdf it route, or even bring it into illustrator to clean up a bit.
though to import cad into illustrator, i'd do so via dxf which should maintain layers, rather than as a pdf (i think that gets rid of the layers).
yes, illustrator hands down! Like prairie school said, drop in a dxf and then editing the line weights will be easy. Then save as an illustrator file and plop into your layout in InDesign.
Oct 14, 10 10:58 pm ·
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Portfolio Revamp: Recommended computer apps?
Hi all,
It's been quite awhile since I've revised my portfolio. Can anyone recommend to me what the "must have" applications are these days to slap together a new primo portfolio representing my mediocre work? Among other things, I am looking for best ways to transfer CAD drawings to more illustrative formats such as Photoshop, etc. without all the pixelation of lines & text, garbled lineweights & shades, etc.
Much appreciated, thanks in advance.
-BK
Illustrator. You will need to do some scrubbing first, but one cleaned-up and layers organized it is a breeze.
I once did mine in Adobe Photoshop but as I got better with In-Design, I took that route. Illustrator is fine too.
You can make mediocre work very good by having a good graphic sensibility.
I would stay away from Photoshop for all but photo touchups...
Indesign/ Illustrator...
Convert the CAD to pdfs (print to pdf) to improve quality between CAd and Adobe...
that should avoid the pixellation..
Thanks everybody,
At least I was on the right track. I was importing PDFs into Photoshop using CutePDF. I think on one hand the problem might be the PDF resolution. Does anyone know a free PDF creator with 1200dpi? (Or min. 600dpi... I'm not even sure what resolution CutePDF writes.) On the other hand, I do know Photoshop is less than ideal for linework. I would prefer to use Illustrator or InDesign. It's just that my versions of both are circa 2001. Ugh.
With cad pdfs you dont' need to worry about dpi - they are vectors (this is what allows you to zoom in with no loss of quality).
Illustrator - vector based program (this is where you want to work with anything that needs crisp lines, scaling, such as logos and cad)
Photoshop - bitmap based program (pixel based, with some very limited vector support). This is ideal for editing photo-like things, like renderings. This is where dpi is very important.
InDesign - composition program for layouts, great PDF export capabilities, fast way to put it all together (including pieces from Illustrator and Photoshop)
Illustrator and InDesign were just fine in 2001 (wow, did ID really go back that far?!). It isn't the software that makes a good portfolio or presentation.
i may be remembering incorrectly, but i feel like i've placed dwgs into indesign. if not, i second the pdf it route, or even bring it into illustrator to clean up a bit.
though to import cad into illustrator, i'd do so via dxf which should maintain layers, rather than as a pdf (i think that gets rid of the layers).
yes, illustrator hands down! Like prairie school said, drop in a dxf and then editing the line weights will be easy. Then save as an illustrator file and plop into your layout in InDesign.
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