- Graphics (cont'd)
Graphics Tip!!: Save a
master copy of your graphic in the program's native format
along with your .jpg or .gif copy for your website. When
you save your graphic for the web all of the objects are
merged into one single item. By also saving a copy in
the native format, the objects are saved as parts of the
whole. It will save you a lot of time and frustration
later if you need to make changes. (Native format is the
format designed for that program. Ex. Adobe Photoshop is
.psd. Generally when you hit Save the native
format comes up by default)What
graphics software should I use to create graphics or edit
photos?
Now there's a
loaded question. Honestly, you'd likely get a different
answer for every person you ask. Many times it depends
on the software that person has experience with. Let me
begin by saying this - if you already have experience with a
piece of graphics software, use it. Look around and see
if it has what you need. If you've never used graphics
software before, ask around. Someone you know may have
some good input and also be able to provide some help if you
get stuck.
I'm going to start out here
with the biggies, meaning the software that is the most
expensive and typically has the most features. Just keep
in mind that bigger isn't always better and if budget is a
concern, a lesser program may not have all the bells and
whistles, but will probably serve your needs just fine.
Adobe PhotoShop is one of the
best and is often used by commercial graphic designers.
The learning curve can be a little steep, especially if you
have no graphics software experience. But it produces
superb results, from resizing and adjusting photos to creating
basic graphics. Price for a full version of PhotoShop
will run $600-$700. Adobe also offers PhotoShop LE which
is a pared down version for around $100. Corel offers
the Corel Draw Graphics Suite which includes Corel Draw &
Photo-Paint (among others) for around $500. I prefer
PhotoShop to the Corel Suite, but that's just my preference.
In the mid-range is JASC Paint
Shop Pro which is a really great program. It offers an
easy to use interface, good effects, and good results.
For around $100 it's a great option to produce good graphics
without spending a small fortune. Also in the mid-range,
Micrografx Picture Publisher for around $50. Picture
Publisher is a good program with some very useful wizards for
making buttons and web page themes as well as some good
effects. It's .jpg compression isn't the sharpest, but
if it fits your budget, it's not a bad choice.
On the low-end, there are some
shareware/freeware programs out there that people use.
For instance, JASC offers a trial shareware version of Paint
Shop Pro that you can try out before you buy. Now, I'm
going to let you in on a little secret that a lot of people
miss. There's a program that produces great results and
is very easy to use. And best of all, it's free.
So, what's the bad news? Well, it's called Microsoft
Image Composer and it's now only available when you buy Front
Page 2000. Microsoft has recently come out with
PhotoDraw 2000 which I believe is meant to be Image Composer
in a grown up form to compete with some of these other
consumer level graphics programs. At this point, I
haven't tried PhotoDraw yet, so I can't recommend it. If
anyone out there has any info, please feel free to email
and let me know what you think of it (especially in comparison
to Image Composer). So, basically, if you've made the
decision to buy FrontPage then you're getting a graphics
program with it in the form of Image Composer.
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