In youth ministry today creating graphics has become a necessity.  Maybe you need them for your slides, your making a flyer, or just for a new cover image on your Facebook page, graphics touch so much of what we do.  Not all of us have the budget to cover Photoshop, so I thought I would cover a few options out there to help make creating and editing graphics a little easier.  Even if you don’t feel like you are the most creative person, these tools can help you look like a pro.

1. Canva.com

Canva is a great and easy to use way to create great looking graphics. They have a number of pre-defined templates you can start with (social media images, flyers, posters, business cards, invitations, collages and more) or you can design a custom one. You can upload your own images, use their stock images or buy premium stock images from their library to use in your projects. The cost is free so it’s hard to argue with that. As a bonus they have some great tutorials if you are new to design that will help teach you about using colors, fonts and more.

2. Pixlr.com

If you are used to working with photoshop and are looking for something that’s closer to that experience you might like Pixlr.com/editor. It has a more traditional photoshop like screen with your toolbox floating on your canvas.  It also allows you to upload your photos for use in your projects, but they don’t have the library of included images like Canva does, but you can start with a URL to an image if you’ve already found one online you like. It’s also a free tool, but to get the most out of it, you need to create an account.  They also have some more basic design tools with Pixlr Express and Pixlr-o-Matic.  These are really designed for photos that allow basic cleanup, filters and boarders.  They also have some mobile apps you might be interested in, you can get links HERE.

3. BeFunky.com

BeFunky is another Free service that allows you to edit photos and turn them into graphics that you can use for slides, flyers or elsewhere. They do have a paid version that gives you more filters, graphics and frames to use, but the FREE level still is robust. They also have mobile apps you can use on iOS (free or pro) or Android.

What tools do you use?

In our next post we’ll explore more mobile options.

Image Credit: geralt