Pixel-Editing Software
You need software to help you prepare your scanned-in work for submission. First and foremost, consider your options for image-editing software. Once an image is scanned, it is comprised of pixels. Think of pixels as little dots that are the smallest divisible element of your illustration. Pixel-editing software should be able to do the following:
Work in high resolutions (such as 600 ppi) without slowing down the hard drive
Create bitmaps
Convert color to grayscale, RGB, CMYK, and indexed color modes
Save in TIFF, JPEG, PNG, and GIF formats
Adjust the sharpness and contrast of an image
Work in layers
Add and edit type
Apply bicubic resampling to allow you to enlarge an image while maintaining smooth edges
There are several software packages that do some of these very well, but you need to be able to do all in order to get the most out of both your print-and Internet-based opportunities. The free software that shipped with your scanner may not be up to the challenge.
Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements
Adobe Photoshop is the standard in the professional printing industry and comes with an industry-standard price tag. However, it's one of the few software packages powerful enough to be worth the expense. It does all of the required actions well and does them quickly. You will never be faced with an image-correction problem that cannot be solved in Photoshop.
If the cost of buying Adobe Photoshop is daunting, consider the scaled-down Photoshop Elements. It doesn't have all the features of Photoshop, but it covers all of the necessities mentioned earlier. It's a fine tool for the working cartoonist, at a fraction of the cost of Photoshop.
All of the tips for processing art for publication will be described in terms of Photoshop commands. Both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are available on Windows and Mac platforms.
CorelDraw Essentials
PhotoPaint, which also meets all of the criteria, ships as part of CorelDraw. It offers a wide array of image-correction functions and is fairly intuitive. Many of the Photoshop commands discussed in this book have a parallel function available in PhotoPaint. If you already have PhotoPaint, or are unwilling to buy Photoshop, it's the next best thing. CorelDraw Essentials is quite affordable and available for both Windows and Mac.
