I’ve received some questions on how I add hand-drawn arrows and opaque circles with text to my photos, so I decided to tape an episode of Wednesday Wisdom to show you how I do it.
Ever since Pinterest launched, it can be helpful to add a little something like text to some of your photos. For instance, if you search for recipes on Pinterest, you’re probably going to find pictures with text that tell you what the recipe is without having to click on it. The person who pins doesn’t always get it right, and they don’t always link it to the original source. Plus, it can be fun to add elements like hand drawn arrows!
There are other programs other than Illustrator that will do similar things. I use Illustrator for far more than adding elements to photos, so if that’s all you want it for, I’d shop around–maybe even use an app like this one for your iPhone photos.
And, if you really want to learn how to use Illustrator, I recommend lynda.com and Nicole’s Classes. I’ve done both and love both.
Great suggestions April!
Have you ever used PicMonkey? It pretty much eliminates the need for Illustrator or Photoshop (for the basic / intermediate user)! It’s pretty awesome — you can add graphics, layer photos, edit, crop, collage, etc.
Check it out — it’s my fav freebie tool!
Yes, I adore PicMonkey for people just starting out. That’s what I suggest in my blogging course for beginners. I tend to get tired of it because I don’t have as much control as when I use Illustrator and Photoshop.
But it’s definitely an amazing tool. So great for anyone who wants something free that can do A LOT! Thanks for adding it here.
I also love Skitch for this purpose (it’s Mac only). While I do use Illustrator a lot, when I want to quickly draw all over a photo, Skitch is much a much quicker program to load and does a pretty good job!
I’ve never used Skitch before. Thanks for adding that resource.
Another Wednesday Wisdom that feels like a mini workshop. I’ve always said Photoshop and I aren’t friends but I’m realizing we are going to have to declare a truce sooner or later. I think I freak out about the learning curve. I’ve wanted to know how to do the opaque shapes with text for aaaaaages, so this video was perfect for me. Doesn’t seem like such a big reason to freak out anymore 🙂
You can learn a lot pretty quickly if you put your mind to it. I’m taking a couple Illustrator courses right now, and I’ve learned a ton in a short amount of time. I highly suggest lynda.com because it’s affordable and you get access to all the courses! $25/month to learn Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, etc…is a steal to me. 🙂
Oh April, Thanks so much for turning a light on in my head that says ‘get going!’ I loved your post and your friendly, honest and optimistic nature. I’m finding a transition a bit tough and need a boost and you were it. Thank you! Love what you’re doing!
I’m so glad Andi! THANK YOU! 🙂
I use a mix of PicMonkey and Photoshop for all my images. Nothing too fancy, mostly pumping up the color saturation (my favorite effect). I constantly have to remind myself that the colors don’t need to be comic-book intense.
That’s interesting that you use a mix of them! You can definitely go too far with it–some pictures are better left without tons of alterations. 🙂
This was a fun video! I enjoy working with pixlr (pixlr.com) when working on simple projects. Thanks for the tutorial!
I constantly have to remind myself that the colors don’t need to be comic-book intense.