Vector Program...

[Pilot143]

hey guys... I'm trying to get into vectored artwork etc, but dont' know where to begin... it seems all of you are professionals and use adobe illustrator, but thats a $500? program!  not what I'm looking for... is there another program for MUCH less... or free even? that will do the same thing (or even close?) for somebody just starting to get into this, I can't even use the *.ai files that you guys have already done and hosted someplace right now...

wheres a good place to start?  

thanks again...

[mahuti]

Start with Frostillicus's vector tutorial and a free download of illustrator. Use it for the 30 day trial with the tutorial to get the hang of vector drawing.

Once you get the hang of it, you can use free programs like Sodipodi or
Inkscape

[spacy guppy]

why not download Illustrator off Kazaa?  There are several complete archives of AI 10 which will work marvelously

[mahuti]

OR, why not try the free 30 day trial, or an open source alternative.

[Sylentwulf]

why not download Illustrator off Kazaa?  There are several complete archives of AI 10 which will work marvelously

TACT - it does a poster good.

[mahuti]

Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head.

[Jakobud]

why not download Illustrator off Kazaa?

or... don't...  

[Nannuu]

You can also get older versions of AI and Coreldraw much much cheaper.  I've seen Coreldraw for 19.99 a few times.  If you are only wanting to vectorize and import EPS or AI files this should work.

[JoyMonkey]

I find CorelDraw much easier for vector work than Illustrator. I used to be a die-hard Adobe user and didn't think much of Corel, until I took a new job and HAD to learn Corel (which took about an hour). If you buy an old CorelDraw from eBay it might even come with a nice manual with easy tutorials.