What graphics programs do you use?

I have to go with photoshop, simply its the best and does everything I need, I really dont want to spend time learning new stuff and have multiple graphics softwares and keep looking out for others. I used to find that vector grahics was optimised and worked way better with Fireworks, but with CS2 out it seems to have made some ammends.

I like Photoshop, I was amazed when I saw my friend using it and creating some nice images.. and after I got it I could never stop using it. I'm an addict I tell yah! :blech:

etech-peter, do you not find those two to be immensely cumbersome for little added-value?

I've found most versions of PS - past 8 - have all been practically the same, only bloatier.

I'm still GIMPing it up. Keep finding new features every day I use it Haven't actually come across a scenario where I've needed PS because The GIMP couldn't do something. Am also finding more and more that the two aren't that comparable, both are good at what they do.

Photoshop CS2, Photoshop 7, and Ilustrator CS2.

I use Inkscape and at times, The GIMP to do my graphics work. However, I still prefer to use PS. If given the option, I would use PS over The GIMP.

I've found the more stock type images being used the less I use programs like photoshop and paint shop pro, instead just using ifranview, which is a powerful yet very lightweight app, it isn't made for creating images but can do a lot, even blending. and above all it's not a resource hog

Im afraid that adobe might monopolize using their photoshop and other image programs, so I stick with corel/jasc paintshop... i can use both but I prefer psp since its lightweight and pretty much covers what I need...

Photoshop and Illustrator. I have CS2 versions of both, but Photoshop 7 is still my workhorse, because of the performance issues with CS2.

I use Fireworks, mainly because that is what I started with, got used to and haven't had the time to try anything else!

Right now I am using Paint.NET 2.1 (http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/). The only real drawback is that it can't do transparent backgrounds, but it's easy to live with if you don't change the backgrounds for a certain image a lot.

I think I'm going to try the GIMP because of all the positive comments I've read about it. I'll give anything free a chance.

[smarta** mode]I usually use front page or word to edit mine[/smarta** mode]

Main touchups etc are in Ulead's Photo Impact. Will use Fireworks or Corel PhotoPaint for things I already know how to do in there that I haven't figured out easily how to do in PhotoImpact.

For optimizing images, I use Ulead's Smart Saver Pro. This is how I got PhotoImpact in the first place. Buying boxed copy of version 6 right before they released 7 qualified me for the "updgrade" price on SSP, and together the price of both was only $10 more than SSP full version. At the time, I didn't know fireworks at all, and Corel PhotoPaint was jsut too bloated and slow for my system at the time.

We bought a computer through best buy last week, they have the deal get 3 software titles for $50. I almost did that and paid for it myself, one of the items was PaintShopPro 10 i think, which was marked normally $109....

I remeber PSP v3. That was my main program for web work back in 1997...

I installed SuSe as a server this past weekend, and decided to give Gnome a try (only ever used KDE before), however one thing I disliked about gimp, the wasted space for the titlebars and such. I prefer tiny ones, the toolbars and such took up way too much space for my liking. But other than that looked good.

-Greg

Ah, but I do a lot of work with a professional cartoonist (http://www.bydon.org) so 100% Illustrator compatibility and scope of features is needed. SVG just doesn't cut it on the advanced features, not yet anyway

Give Inkscape 2 more years . . . (I do have it installed on my main Linux machine which I use most of the time and I do love it )

I use PSP X and have used PSP exclusively for about 5 years now. I started out on Photoshop and I have PS CS installed as well as Image Ready. I think I have opened them up at least 6 times this year.

I have used Fireworks once, I use DW MX for coding templates and such.

And Jeeves has just discovered the wonders of true vectors ...

I can see why Inkscape wouldn't compare to Illustrator but it's still a great little app and for most web designers it would work just fine (especially given the price difference!!)

02bunced wrote: missed Illustrator capabilities, SVG plugins and is too clunky

Well that certainly isn't the case under Linux?! It's designed to use SVG, that was the whole ethos behind branching it from Sodipodi. Can understand what you mean by lack of features I suppose, although these days I look for simplistic elegance instead of bloat in the applications I use

Thanks for that link, will install now!

GIMP runs flawlessly on Windows if you download the GIMPShop fromhttp://www.plasticbugs.com/ - it irons out all the problems with the initial GIMP.

Yes, I have tried Inkscape, but it isn't advanced enough for what I need to do - it missed Illustrator capabilities, SVG plugins and is too clunky

I downloaded the trial version of Photoshop and after 30 days Photoshop wouldn't load up without buying it (duh.) However, ImageReady didn't do that. I think ImageReady is free? So I use ImageReady w/o PS.

Well, what you want is Linux of course! Inkscape runs beautifully on Gnome 2.12

Have found The GIMP to be stable on Windoze (compared to how it was), only a few problems with the file save dialogue not working for gif/JPEG which is a bit of a pain when doing web stuff. Don't know if that's just something wrong with my particular install though.

Otherwise Photoshop, but am finding CS2 to be a massive pain the rear, it's just way too clunky! It eats my 2GB of RAM :eek: 2 friggin gig!!! Any app that does that deserves to get ditched in favour of the GIMP.

02boundced - good combination Have you looked at any of the open source vector apps? There are some good ones out there but I have yet to find a good one that runs properly on Windows. I was playing with Inkscape the other day but it's way too buggy on Windoze.

In the past I've always stuck with Photoshop pretty much exclusively (except for a brief experiment with Fireworks which resulted in the current TWF design). Lately I've been experimenting with other programs including the Gimp and aforementioned open source vector apps. I like the Gimp a lot and wish I had more time to experiment. Phtooshop and Illustrator are great applications but the more I see of the Gimp the more I think that they're just not necessary for the average web designer. Given the price difference I think the Gimp is a perfectly suitable alternative for a lot of people.

I've also landed back on Fireworks for a certian project I'm currently working on I like Fireworks a lot better than photoshop for creating crisp edges and button graphics and that sort of thing. It's a lot easier to do that sort of thing in FW.

So, I checked Photoshop, Fireworks, and the Gimp. I used to use Paint Shop Pro back when I first started out but I haven't seen it since version 6 or something like that. I'll have to check out the trial again when I have some time

Nice to hear everyone's responses! (and keep 'em coming, of course )

A combination of GIMP and Adobe Illustrator CS2

Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro.

CS2, I switch back and forth every two seconds. Image ready to make the box snapped to pixels then photoshot to make i look nice.

Photoshop for me, i've been using it since about 2000 or so, version 4 and i've just stuck with it since then. I remember back then you couldn't even draw boxes on it or anything but it still impressed me

I used to be exclusively Paint Shop Pro, mostly because of my experience level with it and it's low price point. Then I decided to pick up Macromedia Studio, and used Fireworks exclusively for a short while. Now I use both. Fireworks for laying out/designing new sites and for any vector graphics, and PSP for raster images and optimizing.

I have found that while Fireworks and Paint Shop Pro both will optimize/export graphics, PSP does it much, much better. And I'm even running v8 of PSP, where v10 is out now.