Do I really want to use Illustrator?

*MoodsR4Cattle* · 07-09-2006

I've used Photoshop since PS 3 (now CS) and love it to death, but find myself running into limitations.

Before I spent a load of time learning Illustrator I'd like to know if it will be the be-all-end-all to my PS problems.

My job partly consists of designing print posters (2'x3') and banners (3'x8') for a nightclub chain. They are heavy on stock photo usage with text. Here are a couple examples:

http://www.artofthegroove.com/images...ers/demo_1.jpg
http://www.artofthegroove.com/images...ers/demo_2.jpg
http://www.artofthegroove.com/images...ers/demo_3.jpg
http://www.artofthegroove.com/images...ers/demo_4.jpg
http://www.artofthegroove.com/images...ers/demo_5.jpg

Will I be able to do all the same work in Illustrator?
If not, will I be able to adjust the text I create in Illustrator in Photoshop (be able to use layer styles/resize ... etc)?
Also, if I create the entire poster in Illustrator, will the files be smaller than the Photoshop files? Some print shops insist on PDF's and others .jpg's, but more and more they want Illustrator files.

So, before I dive into Illustrator, will it be worth my while?

Thanks for suffering through this long post!
Moods

Telos · 07-09-2006

I would imagine you could do those in illustrator also but I think the main reason to use illustrator is the use of vector art. If your graphics are just bitmaps then I don't see any reason to switch.

snowcooldragon · 07-10-2006

I use both Photoshop and Illustrator a lot, although Illustrator is great if you wanna use it for logo designing and other stuffs but looking at your kind of work I really don't think it will be of any great help to learn Illustrator you can always use Photoshop for that kind of work.

All the best

Jacorre · 07-10-2006

You could touch up photos in Photoshop and use Illustrator to lay out the design and text. I always found working with text in Photoshop is a pain, which is why I like Illustrator better for that at least. I think Illustrator gives you better options when preparing to export for print as well.

*MoodsR4Cattle* · 07-10-2006

Thanks for your suggestions/opinions. Most of my print work is "I need it yesterday" and I was hoping that Illustrator would make my work faster and easier with smaller files, maybe that won't be the case. I'll work with Illustrator when I need to create logos & special text, but it appears that Photoshop will remain my main program.
Thanks again!

**tamlin** · 07-10-2006

If you do start working in Illustrator, you may find that your productivity goes down before it goes up - although their interfaces look very similar, I found that the learning curve when switching from Photoshop to Illustrator was extremely steep. In fact, I gave up eventually and went back to Photoshop because I knew pretty much where everything was and how everything worked, and there didn't seem to be anything I would need to do in Illustrator that I couldn't do in Photoshop. Of course, it all depends very much on what work you are doing - most of my stuff is based around photomanipulation, for which Photoshop is the best tool. If your work relies heavily on vector art, then obviously Illustrator would be the way to go. Horses for courses, as they say.

timmytoo · 07-18-2006

I use Illustrator a good bit and find it works well for the vector art.