Software app for bending text?

Hi all ... been trying to just use my home computer for mapping, which means open-source or at least cheap (as opposed to $700 for photoshop). Most of the time I love gimp anyway, but my gawd it is a bear to curve text. Does anyone know of something I could use to just bend some text for importing into gimp?

In the meantime, I'm using my work laptop (which has PS on it) to do the labels for my current WIPs, but it would be really nice to find something I like that I can put on my home pc.


Thanks!

Uh, PS already has tools to do that so just use them. Click on the Type tool, it should be in the box with all of your other tools like eraser, pencil, etc. and it looks like a T. Now click on the document window and type your text and click the check mark at the top of the screen. Now if you look to the left of the check mark you will see a T with a curved line under it...those are the basic text warp tools.

The fancier way to make curved text is text on a path. Use the pen tool and make whatever path you like and as curvy as you like (even a circle). Now click on the type tool. When you click on the document window to start typing your text, click on the path and your text will follow the path.

As far as know all vector apps do text on a curve easily, which means Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, Xara Xtreme, Serif DrawPlus and probably Inkscape (though I don't use Inkscape, so I don't know if it can for sure, but probably though), the last one being free like GIMP. Every vector app I've ever owned, and I owned three of five of those listed above do that no problem.

The basic version of Xara Xtreme is only $49 (I use the Pro version though which is $249) does this and anything else you need very easily. Not that I'm especially recommending it over the others, but if you're familiar with any of my maps, all of them were created or otherwise composited in Xara Xtreme.

Go download Inkscape for Free and try it for text on a curve, it probably best fits your budget! :P

GP

Inkscape does text on a path very well. And is open source.

-Rob A>

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm using the PS on my work pc now, I just wanted to get something affordable for the home pc so I don't have to set up two computers is all.

I think I'm going to have to download Xara's trial, that feature list is nice.

Yeah, the text along path in gimp is kinda meh... because you can't edit the path on the fly... I'll through in a second vote for inkscape...

Wow, Xara has one heck of a learning curve! I'll keep tinkering with it and see if I fall in love, and in the meantime it looks like I really missed a lot of Inkscape's potential for this. I'll zoom around the web and see if I can't find a how-to.

Thanks again guys :)

Just get the development nightly build of inkscape, rather than the .46 stable, as there are many, many more features available (and I have not had a crash, so dev is still pretty stable.)

-Rob A>

I've come to the conclusion that Inkscape is resisting me with a will of its own >.<

My tablet refuses to function in Inkscape. A little google-fu came across two known issues, one that is GTK+ based (which can't be it, because GIMP works like a dream and the issue was happening in both programs), and the other saying that Inkscape can't handle two pointing devices at the same time. I unplugged my spare mouse, and the tablet worked great ... for about 2 minutes. Now it's back to consistently not functioning, even after reboots/program restarts.

If it matters, I'm using a Wacom Bamboo. I've tried turning the pressure sensitivity off in Inkscape (with my spare mouse before I unplugged it), and making sure both the tablet pen and the tablet eraser pointing devices were set to screen (which they already had been).

I'm usually a better geek than this, but Inkscape just seems to keep foiling me. Any ideas?

It depends on how you're wanting to bend it. PS can do most of that by itself but there is one type, that I know of, that it can not do...text that is curved at the bottom but straight across the top for something like logos or letterheads in the old Victorian style.