I have CorelDraw 8 on my computer, only because I got it for free, but I’m not exactly happy with it. Does anyone have a graphics program they would recommend?
It depends on what kind of graphics work you want to do. I use Photoshop for personal use. Very powerful, but can have a steep learning curve.
For work, I use Visio for diagrams and design work. The little bugs it has drive me crazy, but it’s the only package that does what I need.
I agree that it depends on your needs and your skill level as well as what you can spend.
Keep in mind too people have different opinions on the software - and what follows is my opinion.
Grab some demos off the web and try them out to find what you like.
Here’s a list of what I’ve used and what I use it for along with the difficulty to learn:
Paint Shop Pro:
Simple Graphics, quick edits - almost as good as Photoshop for simple tasks, great for beginners. The animation shop is fun too - and comes with it. And it is cheap.
You can find it at ftp://ftp3.jasc.com/pub/psp702ev.exe
Adobe Photoshop:
Great effects and lots of options. Harder to learn - and is not at all cheap
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/tryreg.html
Adobe Illustrator:
Design and layout tool. Quite a bit like Corel Draw, not for beginners - takes a while to learn and you may need photoshop too, but extremely powerful for designers to use - but it is expensive too.
http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/tryreg.html
Macromedia Fireworks:
Great for web graphics, simple to learn, great integration with web development tools - Flash & Fireworks are very friendly. Can use Eye Candy and other plugins with it for effects and it comes out as powerful as photoshop but easier to use, and far more integrated with web design. Mid range price.
http://dynamic.macromedia.com/cgi-bin/MM/software/trial/hwswrec.jsp?product=fireworks
Try them all and have fun.
Older versions of the highly versatile Adobe Photoshop can be found in the “used software” section of your local computer store for between $100 & $300, depending on the version. Years ago I found an introductory version of AP (Photoshop 2.0, I believe they called it) for about $30.
Folks sometimes seem to believe they can purchase skills and abilities without the need for the prerequisite practice. (I am not speaking of you, Kat!) You know, high dollar golf clubs or the latest programmable graphing memory carded high zoot calculator.
I play with graphics now and then and have had the chance to look over the shoulders of pros and hobbyists using a good variety of brands and prices.
Jasc’s Paint Shop Pro has a rather widespread reputation for value and ease of use.
Adobe has the reputation for being a bit more intuitive to use than some, but rather pricey for many.
I too have CorelDRAW, plus Photo-Paint, for home use. I have received a few attaboys and the occasional wow from some of my efforts. I will never use even one-tenth of the documented potential of either. Corel’s Photo-Paint has more of the abilities you might be looking for than DRAW does.
Rick Altman produced a number of books that went a good bit forward in explaining many aspects of CorelDRAW for the average user. “Mastering CorelDraw” is usually how his books were titled.
My opinion is that there are many supremely skillful users who will use only a vary small portion of their sofware’s potential.
For some, sometimes, a more sincere effort during the learning stages will offset the limitations of a given budget.
Kat, if you ever get the chance to watch someone use any program, take it. Much of what you would see, and many of the terms used, are universal to most graphics programs.
I am loving Photoshop, and I don’t think it has that much of a learning curve. (But then again, I cannot say I’ve mastered it as yet…)
I got an older version of Photoshop off of eBay, and then was able to upgrade to the current version at a big savings. If you don’t want to go with Photoshop, try Photoshop Elements. It is the entry level version of Photoshop, priced quite reasonably, and is considered to have a lot of bang for its buck. A Photohop magazine I subscribe to gave it a glowing review, and said that it really offered more features than you’d ever expect, considering the price. I would get it myself, but I already have Photoshop.
I think Photoshop is one hell of a learning curve – its range is far broader than any other software in the graphics area. The main issue is that to use it to anything approaching its potential you really need to understand every aspect of image manipulation. It’s genuinely intimidating !
If you want to use predominately vector graphics with a little image manipulation, I’d suggest Fireworks for a couple of reasons;
Firstly (and especially in version 4), it’s integration with Dreamweaver and / or UltraDev make the two seem like one unit – beautifully seamless. Also, you can play extensively with Photoshop filters, textures, Plug-Ins, etc. as the majority can also be fully integrated into Fireworks – that also gets you into thinking about Photoshop.
Secondly, you can manipulate images as well as you probably need in Fireworks without the complication of trying to understand everything about images. Photoshop just presents you with so many options, it’s easy to get intimidated – Photoshop is too much to chew at the beginning, IMHO.
Whichever way you choose to go, I suggest beginning with Macromedia and Adobe products because those are the interfaces you’ll need to know in the long term.
For what it’s worth, Adobe is coming out with Photoshop Elements, which packages most of Photoshop and some new tools in a much better interface. It’s a much better stab at making PS understandable than Photoshop LE was.
For Web graphics, you might also want to try ULead Cool3D. Lots of depth for static and animated content, and very easy to use.
I’m like herpes sores, I just keep on coming back.
PhotoImpact by Ulead lets me do all the things I want. I do like to change pictures and give them out as presents. This was the cheapest software that was of the quality I required.
Here’s the link.
Check out the GIMP. It is a bit off the wall, and installing it requires you to install a huge compatibility library (GTK for Windows,) but you can’t beat the price: FREE! I use nothing else on my photos, either under Windows at work or Linux at home. Look here for the Windows version. http://www.gimp.org/~tml/gimp/win32//
Kat,
What do you want to use your graphics package for? I am a designer and I’ve used CorelDraw, Illustrator and Photoshop, but I use them for different things. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. It may help to guide the responses you get if we know what you want/need to do with your software.
As a part-time web designer here are my thoughts…
Photoshop (I have 5.0) is excellent for print work, it also does have a very involved learning curve. I do use it more to reduce photos that I get that are HUGE, meaning bigger than my screen res, to smaller and more managable pics for the internet. It also is great for increasing resolution. As for graphics, older versions suck. This is where Paint Shop Pro steps in.
I use Paint Shop Pro for virtually all my graphics needs, not all but most. I personally prefer PSP 6.0 over 7.0. Virtually anything you can do in Photoshop you can do in PSP and then some with more control. Virgin graphics are easier to create too. You can see some awesome graphics created with PSP at http://www.pspug.org/ Both in the message boards and in their gallery…also, http://www.jasc.com has a gallery. And the nice thing is PSP is relatively inexpensive. You can also download a 30 day fully functioning trial. I think that PSP is running at about $100 versus $600+ for Photoshop…
I have Illustrator, got it cheap because I am a registered Photoshop owner and it is the hardest friggin program to figure out. Unless you are well versed and have the time to learn, I can’t reccomend Illustrator for the average Joe.
So, I highly recommend Paint Shop Pro for web graphics and web photo manipulation. Go check out OpalCat’s site and you will also be able to see the power of PSP. If I remember correctly, she uses it almost exclusively. http://fathom.org/opalcat/
Ack, sorry I didn’t get back to this thread before now, but thanks for all the suggestions.
What I’m specifically hoping to find is a good program for beginners, but one that will still be useful after I’m out of the beginner stage. I’d like to eventually make my own graphics. And I definitely want a program that will not open sixty billions folders when I turn the computer on. I’ll take functionality over low price (well, up to a point), if I have to choose.
I am going to have to agree with Mont Furd on GIMP. It is an excellent program for all graphics needs when it comes to web based stuff. (Havent used much of their line drawing stuff yet) It comes with tons of plugins and the program is free.
Kat,
Then I completely recommend Paint Shop Pro for you. Like I said there is a 30 trial, fully functional so you can get to know it before you make your final decision. CNet Product Review rated an 8
PaintShop Pro is the way to go.
It is the least cluttered with the most functionality. Another great thing about it is if you decide that graphics are something you want to do professionally, it has a very standard tool set, so if you want to try other software later, it is easy to learn new software, not that you will need to learn another package ever unless you decide you want to be a professional graphic designer.
Paintshop pro has layer manipulation and vector graphic capabilities which are all you need for doing more advanced graphics.
But this all depends on whether your dream is to create the penultimate web page or print based advertising.
Paintshop Pro works for both print and web-based graphics quite well but it is not specifically for one or the other where other packages despite claims are created for too specific of purposes.
(See my previous post)
[hijack]
Photoshop from Adobe is more for print artists, and there is much bias from graphic artists who started or work in the print medium, but trying to turn one of the print artist’s graphics into a web page is a painfull process to be honest.
Please don’t flame me Photoshop users, but from my experience most Photoshop users can’t or don’t wish to understand principles of various resolutions and areas within the design specified for bleeds.
Until flash is more advanced and vector graphics are supported by all user’s browsers, I’ll have to sit in meetings with print designers explaining to them that I must shift pixels before we show the design to the client or we are setting up unrealistic expectations for the end user, and I am tired of those arguments.
Although Image Ready comes with PhotoShop, I have yet to work with a Photoshop user who will slice thier own image and test to see if it will work in more than one resolution. Please, please use image ready and see if the image fits in a browser at both 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 as well as some resizes in between and please, please, please do not design a page by creating graphics that are 800 x 600 - the user’s browser takes up some room as well on the screen.
Thanks.
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I am sure you know what you’re talking about, Lexi, and I’m certainly not trying to negate your points. But, I am a relativly new to computer graphics, and have never really used Photoshop for print. I am using it to manipulate my photographs, make web graphics, etc. And I have to say, I prefer it to Paint Shop Pro. Maybe I never gave PSP much of a chance, I don’t know. But now that I am what I might consider an “beginner/intermediate” Photoshop user, I find PSP’s interface completely incomprehensible. I don’t use it hardly at all anymore, and I used to use it quite a bit before I got into Photoshop. I think there are a lot of artist-types out there (like me) who never have had experience with Photoshop as a print tool. I think Adobe is making PS a good web tool, if you know how to use it as such. And since I don’t know how to use it any other way than for the web, I think it serves me quite well in that area.
I don’t think Photoshop has that much of a learning curve either, but I guess that might be because I have been a bit of a Photoshop geek, and have been reading books on in it my spare time (I have a job with lots of “reading” time.) Adobe’s “Classroom in a Book” really helps in comprehending the program, and also anything by Deke McClelland. I always have been one to get a book (or two, or three) on any new software I am serious about learning. And I have to say, that with the help of my PS books, I don’t find Photoshop any more difficult than, say, FrontPage. But maybe that’s just me, I don’t know. There are a lot of nooks and crannies to Photoshop, and granted, to learn them all would take some time. But I find that you can get up and running with it in a reasonable amount of time, and without too much confusion.
But since the OP is not in the market for a $600 program (though I got my copy for considerably less on eBay, and yes, it is registered to me!) I think Photoshop Elements is worth a look. I don’t know if it competes with PSP, it may not. But has anyone at least tried it out? The reviews for it are glowing, and it is priced the same as PSP.
Continuing the hijack…
yosemitebabe: The Photoshop users I was refering to are more the designers who went to school for graphic design and learned a bias towards print. There are people within this group that can not see that web is a different medium.
I love the way advertising is going right now, print, and television is emulating the web right now, and although the basics remain the same for design, such as any artist learns in art school, the styles are changing.
Some great artists are coming out who are self taught in graphics tools and are not being bogged down by “rules”. Some of the best web designers I have seen are former architects, and people who come from professions other than graphics artist background.
The self taught graphic artist is as well as being more creative, is also more fun to work with because there is no unteaching of older methods.
The educated graphic artists make me think of an artist who was taught that painting is the only true art form and that all paintings must be on 8 by 10 canvases, and that all other “art” was not art. If this artist was asked to create a sculpture, thier bias may prevent them from seeing the merits of sculpture and would have not prepared them to work in this new medium.
I like Photoshop and think it is great for certain tasks, but the way I design - I used to use up to 5 software packages to create a final page design.
In Illustrator I would create a logo as a vector graphic, I also use it for text and backgrounds. In Photoshop I would manipulate photographs adding drop shadows and effects. I used Paintshop Pro for cropping, screen captures and resizing as well as batch conversion from tiff or other formats. I pulled in the major desing elements to Fireworks and layer and structure the javascript mouseovers as well as create any buttons and complete the final layout. Any animations I pulled into Macromedia Flash and manipulate there.
That was only the graphics - I use Dreamweaver for the major layout factors in the html page, and then I use Homesite to clean up the code.
Now I use only Paintshop Pro 6 and Fireworks 4 and Flash 5 for graphics: Although I am sure I could use only Fireworks now that they have batch processing.
For most of the “quick” work Paintshop Pro still rocks - I use Fireworks for the design from comp to production - It has all the vector elements I used in Illustrator and all the effects I used in Photoshop.
On a side note, for part of my job I do software evalutation, I think I’ll get the Photoshop Elements and Paintshop Pro 7 and see how they do against each other in some standard tests.
We need to do an evalutation of the JR. Web Designer’s tools at our office - I’ll keep you posted.
Here is a quick evaluation of Photoshop elements and Paintshop Pro 7.
Myself and two other people worked on this:
http://www.lexigraphical.com/design/eval1.html
Kat: Ulead has many graphics programs, and most can be downloaded for a 30 day trial. PhotoImpact is easy to use as a beginner, but has a lot of manipulation options for the intermediate user, and has features for the advanced user to make their own manipulation functions. It also is geared to be used in web page design and animation gifs. This is the only program I load on my computer for graphics manipulation anymore. I do own a couple more of their programs, but they are in a different category than you seem to be looking for. Maybe you would find one of their other softwares more appropriate, but almost all are on a free 30 day trial.
The last time I did manipulation, I put someone’s face on a mermaid, and printed it as a photo, and framed it. She does a lot of scuba diving. Most of the people a work saw her face in the picture immediately.
I sometimes can go to a website and tell if they used PhotoImpact, because some of it’s functions are very discernable in the displayed pictures.