All I want is to Draw and Edit

[Carlos_Howard@adobeforums.com]

I don't know if this is the Software App I am looking for. Right now, my plans are to "draw" free hand into my Mac, and edit the drawings on my Mac. I also want to be able to scan drawings in, edit them, and print them.
Web Publishing is on my to-do list for the future, as is 3D.
Is Illustrator what I am looking for?

[Gary_Newman@adobeforums.com]

Could be. You can freehand draw in Illustrator using the Pencil tool or the Brush tool, and edit the paths you create to your heart's content. To scan existing drawings in, you'll wind up with a pixel image file, for which Illustrator is not suitable for editing the pixels - you'll need Photoshop for that. However, if what you want to do is bring the image into Illustrator to use as a template to trace over, Illustrator is unparalleled.

[hitpawz@adobeforums.com]

Well, yes but..

It's a vector program, which means that lines are created by data points and control handles. Illustrator will interpolate that information into lines and fill areas. It's editable, but you must first understand the basics. That covers about .5% of what it can do.

As far as scanning in and editing, you're looking at extra steps. There's plenty of online help, but you will have to run some other processes to convert your scans into vector data before edits can be made.

When drawing, you can use the pencil tool and Illustrator will automatically create smoothed out lines from what you draw.

Photoshop is another option and may prove a bit more friendly to a new user. There, you can pretty much just scan, grab a brush, pick a color and paint. In fact, if your goal is to work mostly with scans, you will probably benefit from PS over AI.

I'm finding it hard to explain, but the bottom line is that no matter what program you use (aside from mabe MSPaint) there's going to be some learning involved. Which means you have to have patience and a LOT of it.

edit: I KNEW somebody would beat me to the punch :)

[Carlos_Howard@adobeforums.com]

Ok, thanks guys.
I'm sorry about the double post, but I finally found this
I'm sorry I also didn't know what a vector program is, thankyou.
I basically want an MSPaint like program, but a little more polish, a few more features.
Being able to trace a scanned image would be great, however you said I could edit the image in photoshop. Can I draw freehand in photoshop?

Let's say I don't know anything about doing artwork in a computer, where would you say I should start? Online, books, anything.

[Gary_Newman@adobeforums.com]

There's about a jillion good books on Photoshop, and it sounds like that's where you should start. Saying Photoshop is like MSPaint with more polish is a pretty big understatement, but Photoshop is pretty friendly to beginners.

[jonf@adobeforums.com]

It seems there used to be a stripped down version of Photoshop which offered basic tools, at a more affordable price for non-professionals. (Could this be Elements?) I haven't used it so I can't vouch for it, but something like that might meet your needs.

[Gary_Newman@adobeforums.com]

Good point, jonf - it's either Elements or PhotoDeluxe - one of them is generally bundled free with most new scanner purchases.