Re: getting started. need suggestions.

>This kind of depends on where you want to head with graphics.
>
>ie. designing for the wed or for print, it also depends on your budget.
>
>I'm not a graphics artist by any means but this is what I've learned so
>far.
>
>Paint Shop Pro will run about $99 - $120 (note all prices are in Canadian $)
>PhotoShop will run about $1000

About 600$ US for Photoshop 5.5

>These are probably the 2 main graphics programs each has it's own strengths
>and weaknesses. Paint Shop Pro while it may not have the power PhotoShop
>does (this is debatable) it does allow you to do vector graphics and most if
>not all PhotoShop filter plugins are available for PSP.

PSP (Windoze only) is good for a web graphics beginner. Personally, I 
think you should go with Photoshop if you can.

>Fireworks is another choice if your goal is to do graphics for the 
>web, it's main
>strength is in slicing up graphics and generating the HTML code to piece the
>graphics slices to fit together. It's native graphic format is PNG 
>and from experience
>does the best job of converting one format (JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP etc) 
>to PNG, in other
>words it creates a better compression and quality than does PS or PSP.

In my experience, Fireworks does a great job of optimizing GIFs. 
ImageReady (which comes with PS 5.5) is MUCH better at doing JPEGs. 
PNGs are not well supported yet, so they are only really useful for 
saving Fireworks images.

>Illustrator AND Freehand are both vector graphics programs and are 
>mostly for print tho
>I hear many use either to great graphics for importing into Flash. 
>Since I rarely use Freehand and have not touched Illustrator this is 
>about all I know on either.

Illustrator/Freehand can be very useful for creating web graphics but 
are also quite expensive.

HTH!

Best Regards,

Kevin John Dail
Art Director, Web Illuminators Inc.,
Web Design, Graphics and Business Solutions
kdail(at)webilluminators.com
http://www.webilluminators.com

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