If you are new to computer graphics then this article will
hopefully point you in the right direction. The possibilities
are enormous depending on your interests and your budget.
Getting Started in Computer Graphics
My interest in computer graphics began in 1983 when
I bought my first computer, a Commodore 64. The 64 in
its name told you that it had 64K of RAM, which the computer
mags of the time told us was 'massive'. Today, that's
about enough memory to create 3 blank files in
Microsoft Word. While one blank file in Photoshop for
an A4 size document printing at 300 dpi, which is the
recommended pixel density for a professional quality
photograph, will take up 24.9MB, that is 24,900K.
How times have changed! (And they will go on changing
in an upward direction.)
So, what do you need to get started. One of the cheapest
PCs around as I write (April 2006) must be the Dell Dimension
3100, costing £299 including VAT and delivery. It has
a 3.2Ghz processor, 256MB of memory, 80GD hard drive,
and a 15 inch "ultrasharp" flat panel monitor. That is
plenty to get you going in two-dimensional computer
graphics.
(My interest and experience is in two-dimensional graphics.
If it is 3D graphics and / or animation that you're interested
in then you'll need to look elsewhere for information
on the likes of Poser and Lightwave.)
This entry level Dell would certainly get you going,
but if you can spend more then the first improvements
to make would be in the size of your RAM and the size
of your screen. The more RAM you have the faster your
software will function. So .5GB, .75GB and even better
1GB are worth having, and not too expensive. Once you
start using layers in your images (called objects and
lenses in Corel) the size of your files grow enormously.
You will easily use all the memory you can install.
Likewise
a 17" LCD monitor is preferable. Indeed, you want
the best monitor you can afford, because you'll be
looking at it an awful lot as you work on your graphic
creations. I have a 17" Sony VAIO LCD with a screen resolution
of 1280 x 1024. The normal ppi (pixels per inch) resolution
for a monitor is 72. Mine is 96, which means that compared
with a 72 ppi screen, the text and images on my screen
are smaller but sharper.
The speed of the processor in any PC you buy today will
be fast enough to handle all 2D operations. If you have
an older machine, the easiest and least expensive way
to improve performance is almost certainly to increase
your RAM to its maximun capacity. The Crucial Technology
website has an easy wizard to help you identify the type
of memory you need and your PC's maximum memory - click
here.
