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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The end of an era



Tomorrow is a sad sad day...

I remember hearing that Picnik was closing a couple months ago but didn't think it would ever happen. Dang it. Seriously my entire blog design was made in Picnik by yours truly and there isn't a day where I don't use the website for cropping, adding text, or resizing photos. I have done some research for a similar editing site and wanted to share my findings...

1. Pic Monkey- one of my favorite things about Picnik was the fact you could see how the effect would make your photo look in a little thumbnail (unlike Photoshop) and it is the same with Pic Monkey
There are also your basic capabilities- cropping, resizing, retouching, text, etc. Things I like about PicMonkey are the overlays and the little icons you can add to your picture. 

2. iPiccy- again, very similar to Picnik but not as colorful and intuitive as PicMonkey. The interface looks almost identical to Picnik but the capabilities/effects are labeled in such a "cartoony" way so you have to guess what your photo would look like. 
A cool thing about iPiccy is the layering tool. I am not sure if Picnik had that or not but I've never used it in Picnik. Also, there is an eraser and pen tool like Photoshop which is nice.

3. Pixlr- there are 2 options to this website. One is just a photo effects tool which is kind of like Instagram and the other is a full fledged Photoshop type tool. The interface looks exactly like Photoshop and you can even create an image from scratch (I used to have to upload a screenshot of a white page to create my own image in Picnik). 

This is a very cool site but the photo editor is a little confusing and not intuitive like Picnik is. Pixlr Express is another tool that is a a lot easier but with less functions. They do have neat border options. 

Other sites I've heard about...
  • Aviary
  • Google+ Creative Kit - looks pretty lame. 
  •  Fotoflexer- looks cool...you can doodle and even distort things (like the size of your backside)

I am anxious to see if Google will just ramp up the Picnik capabilities and release it? That is my hope! Have y'all found any great alternatives to Picnik? Free or low cost sites that is. Photoshop is just time consuming and hard!

19 comments:

Amanda said...

I'm going to miss picnik a lot too :( Hopefully Google ramps it up, otherwise it's a sad excuse for a replacement! Thanks for the tips on other options though :)

Amira said...

It's awesome that you did the research and posted this! I've seen so many bloggers asking what they should do after picnik closes. I'll send 'em your way!

Falen said...

I, too, was sad to hear Picnik was closing. I went over to PicMonkey and find it very user friendly. I attempted Aviary, but didn't have time to try to figure it out. I may stay with PicMonkey unless Picnik resurfaces somewhere else. Thanks for the post!

Carolyn said...

Most of the time I use Pixlr or Picasa but I've been hearing about PicMonkey, so I'm going to check it out!

jes @ twosmuppies said...

i can't even begin to tell you how happy i am that you posted this. i have been so sad about picnik closing that i'd given up hope on other programs because picnik was so easy. but i tried picmonkey the other day and i think it will do as picnik's replacement. for now.

Claire Beeks said...

I cannot believe Picnik is closing either, girl! I use it just about everyday! I now have a new Windows phone (Nokia Lumia...which I LOVE) and it has a thing called "Creative Studio" on it. It's pretty cool, and I have been doing a LOT of photo editing from the phone. I need to find a nice computer program for editing pics from my DSLR though!

Katie {katie lately} said...

These are awesome Ruthie! Thank you! I downloaded Picasa which has been working.. and also you can edit photos in Photobucket (not as well as picnik, but still works) .. Im not sure if Picasa will go away since it goes with Picnik. I hope not! boo!

Because Shanna Said So said...

I just discovered PicMonkey and am loving it. Super easy, unlike Photoshop that I don't think I will ever understand. Thanks for sharing the others too...I am going to have to check them out.
xo,
Shanna

Carolina Charm said...

I seriously don't know if photo editing will ever be the same for me after tomorrow. I guess I'll switch to PicMonkey, but it'll take some getting used to. :(

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you posted this! I was considering buying a photo editing program for my computer. I'm gonna go check it out :)

Allyson McGuire said...

I don't use photo editors near as often as I should, but I'm going to be so lost without Picnick!

Allyson
http://cupcakescandycanes.blogspot.com

Erin James said...

Okay, can I just say that you are my FAVORITE person today?!?! I use Picnik religiously and have been so so sad they are closing down. I wasn't aware of any of these others sites, so THANK YOU for taking the time to share this!! :) You are awesome.

Britt { Magpie Collective } said...

I use Pixlr. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple and really does come in handy for those random fixes!

Girls Love Fried Pickles said...

This is a great post. Thank you for the suggestions I now can figure out which I can start using. But there better be a wrinkle reducer tool!

Heather said...

this post is so helpful to me. I remember 1st hearing picnik is closing, but I thought "Oh, April 19 is SO far away" and now its um, TOMORROW. EEk. Sad day indeed.

Miranda said...

i am so sad about picnik! thanks for the new suggestions though! i've been trying to find a new place to edit my photos!

Kristen Thornburg said...

Ruthie, you're awesome!!! Thanks for looking into all this for us! So appreciate it! Now I don't have to do the research... ha ha ha! :) I will link to this post soon! :) Going to blog this week....eeee!! I just really want to start over fresh with a new layout and I am trying to find the time and inspiration of what to do.. Hmm... any ideas?? LOVE YOU!!! :)

Julie Keller said...

Weird, I was just thinking about how Picnik is closing, and it just so happens to be today that it's the case. I really liked it, like you said, there was no guessing what your edited photo would be like. It was very user friendly to a person that doesn't get computers and software. It will be missed!

Abbey said...

Thanks for sharing!! I'm going to explore your findings...thanks for the help.;)

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