There are some pretty amazing graphics in these forums!

Yeah, photoshop seems to be the most popular. lots of support too.

Edition: although, I've never actually used anything else.

What other options are there? Illustrator seems to keep cropping up now and again. What is the difference between Illustrator and Photoshop? different uses?

 

buy Illustrator and Photoshop both if you are serious on graphic..these two are powerful enough..

 

i really enjoy using Paint, its an amazing program, lots of options for Web 2.0 style layouts

 

They are two very different programmes. Photoshop (and GIMP) is (mainly) used for making raster graphics. These are made of individual pixels, like in the old Microsoft Paint if you've ever used that. When you zoom in, you eventually see a bunch of little squares making up the image. Common file types: gif, jpg, png.

Illustrator (and Inkscape) are vector graphics programmes. They make images not with little pixel squares, but with math for lines ("strokes") and fills (colours). When you zoom in, you never see the little jagged edge of little squares. Curves and edges remain smooth. Common file types: ai (Adobe Illustrator), eps, [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SVG]svg (Scalable Vector Graphics)[/url].

Vector graphics are best used for things like logos. A vector logo will always look clean no matter how many times it's been resized.

Raster graphics are fine for anything that will never be resized, or for photographic images (which are almost always best saved as jpgs due to the fact that with photos, our stupid eyes are easily fooled and the jpg format removes a lot of information to make the file small and we can't usually even see it).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pick one and learn it. If you choose GIMP soley because it's free (like I did), fine, but both PS and GIMP need a large investment of time to learn how they work, and GIMP works very differently than PS. There are plenty of GIMP tutorials, and a really good book called "Beginning GIMP: from novice to professional" by Akkana Peck published by Apress. There's no point in choosing one programme over the other simply because there seems to be more tutorials for one; I myself use Photoshop tutorials many many times (after learning basic GIMP) because most of the buttons have the same names and functions. The filters have more difference in names, and I believe there are just as many funky filters for GIMP as for PS.
If you learn GIMP, you will have trouble (at first at least) with PS; if you learn PS, you will have trouble with GIMP... though there is a programme called GIMPshop which makes GIMP look and act like PS. I've never tried it, though.


Note, Inkscape is a free alternative to Illustrator (vector images), though it's still in beta and I have noticed there are much fewer tutorials out there (though the programme itself has a good basic one inbuilt).

As another side note, Flash is also a vector programme, usually used for animatino but can be used for single vectored images as well.

 

I'm new to all this. I would like to start building my own web site, splash pages, banners etc. There is lost of web software out there but where can I get graphics for them.

What are the best sources and are there any Free ones/

Thanks of the assist.

 

lol, I saw an amazing video the other day though, some guy drawing the Mona Lisa in MS Paint

 

Very talented.. ha ha is this real?

 

Photoshop is definately the best program for graphics!

Anyone here have CS3 Extended?

 

I use the Photoshop CS3 software for a few years now and so far i am very satisfied with it. I used gimp before it. that's good, but that is nowhere near the level of what photoshop can do. (the only great thing about gimp is that it's free).
So my advice is to use Photoshop -> look where it got me -> gtempl.blogspot.com

 

Someone who is good with the gimp can re-create most things you can do in photoshop. The Gimp doesn't have CMYK support and doesn't support PSDs well at all (don't argue the point unless you've tried it, I have, it messes up the colors).

I use the gimp and PS. I prefer the gimp because that's what I learned on. However both of them do very similar things and once you understand one using the other isn't that hard (besides the fact that stuff is in different places and sometimes called different things).

Most of the things PS can do that the Gimp can't are features many people never use anyhow. If you need those features then by all means go with PS. But I get the feelings a lot of people go with PS "just cause".

 

Yes it it, just search Mona Lisa MS Paint or something similar.

I don't think that you need PS CS3 to make graphics, you can do just fine with CS or less (I personally am fine with PS 7). No reason to pay hundreds for functions you'll hardly ever use

 

I don't get it..the word Extended..is it the new CS3?or what?I want to use the CS3..

 

I think there is still a CS3 and a CS3 Extended. The extended version just comes packed with a few more options. Here is the wording directly from Adobe's site:

"Get everything in Photoshop CS3 plus tools for editing 3D and motion-based content and performing image analysis."

 

i don't know what everyone is going on about. Who needs photoshop when there is MS Paint?

 

As some have already mentioned. This dude proves it: YouTube

Seriously though. Photoshop is king.

 

there is nothing you can do in photoshop that I can't do better in mspaint.

 

WOW I had no idea people were serious about using MSPaint.

I have a new found respect !

 

I mentioned it!

 

I'm with Tim on this one. I will take any challenge to prove photoshop drools and Paint Rules!

 

just wait till you see the changes they are going to do too on the next update!

saw a funny vid on that subject but can't find it now