Using iWork to Create Graphics

February, 12 2006 12:17 AM Filed in: iWork
Sample Image
I'll just say up front that I've been using Photoshop for the past 6 years. I'm certainly no expert but I know the basics. More often than not though my needs are so basic that Photoshop is overkill. In those cases I don't want to wait for Photoshop to start and I've discovered a shortcut to creating simple images and graphics much more quickly: iWork.

Either iWork application will do: Pages or Keynote. In fact, the simple logo at the top of this site was created with Pages and of course the image in this post was as well. Not only is it great for working with text but I can drop an image in from my iPhoto Library and add a drop shadow in a couple seconds. Now that Pages 2.0 has basic built in photo editing it is even better at the task. Assuming that the graphic is intended for something other than an iWork document, say a website or blog entry, there is a little trick for quickly transferring it to a file on the desktop. A simple keystroke Command+Shift+4 will allow me to define an area for a screenshot. I create my selection over my graphic in the iWork document and I'm done. Easy and quick. I've got a new png file waiting on my desktop.

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