Tools for amazing blog graphics

Creating blog graphics that stand out is very important when it comes to shares and engagement across social media and they will also make your brand look more professional and easy to recognize.

Ever since I started my business and blog, I noticed that there a lot of images you need to create every time you update your blog or add a new product to your shop. For this reason, I believe that knowing how to use graphic design software is a must. A good way to start is by taking an online course, or if you feel comfortable, you can even learn it on your own.

As a graphic designer, I usually use Adobe software so today I will tell you a bit about them and how I use them. I know some of you find them hard to use. I felt the same the first time I saw them, but knowing how to use them will give you a great advantage over the competition.

First things first, let’s learn a bit about Adobe graphic design software.

Photoshop is a raster graphics editor. That means it helps you edit photos or other images that are composed of pixels. It can edit and compose raster images and it has a lot of filters for editing. It is often used for photo manipulations. I’m sure you’ve all heard of photoshopped images.

Illustrator is a vector graphics editor. Vector graphics are created using mathematical algorithms, and unlike raster images, they can be resized without losing quality.  Because of this, Illustrator is often used for logos, materials made for print,  comics or other illustrations.

Lightroom is a photo processor and image organizer. It allows photographers to organize and retouch a large number of images, simplifying their work.

InDesign is very useful if you want to make flyers, brochures, and books. I’ve recently used it for my free blog planner and it made my work very easy.

How I use them

I know many people believe that Photoshop is only for image editing and photo manipulation, but it’s actually a very powerful design tool and you can use it for more than that.

I love to use Photoshop to create website mockups and social media templates for my shop. Most of my blog images are created in Illustrator, but I still use Photoshop for blog and social media images that have photos in them. I think it’s faster and easier to use than Illustrator, and definitely more powerful when it comes to image editing.

And did you know that you can actually create patterns and illustrations in Photoshop? There are many illustrators that use it because of its wonderful effects.

When I’m working with vectors I use Illustrator. You can also create simple vector work in Photoshop, but it’s not the same. I love using Illustrator with my Wacom tablet. It makes hand-drawn clipart look amazing and it has that hand drawn feel.

I also love using Illustrator for printable planners, workbooks, and style guides.

Free alternatives

The new Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions are affordable and they offer a one-month free trial. Even so, you might want to spend your money on something else, so these free blog graphics programs are perfect for you.

• GIMP is a free and open-source photo editing program similar to Photoshop. It is a good alternative even though it doesn’t have all its features.
• Canva is a very easy to use graphic design software. The great thing about it is that it has templates that will help you create lovely cards or blog graphics.
• PicMonkey is a very good online image editor. Perfect for retouching photos, and it even lets you access your own font library.
• Pixlr is also an online graphics software. It’s composed of Pixlr Editor that is like an online Photoshop, Express lets you add borders and effects to your photos, and Pixlr O-Matic is similar to Instagram filters.
• Inkscape is a very good and free vector graphics editor. It’s easy to use and it has a lot of great tools.
• Adobe Spark is also a very easy to use design software that’s perfect for blog and social media images.

How do you create your blog graphics? Do you plan to learn more about this programs?