The best program for beautiful graphic on web?

[WebSight]

I prefer Photoshop myself. For those looking for a free option, Gimp is a great option to try.

[nighthawks]

100 % photoshop.

[kendra326]

Could not agree more! Some have more widgets and tools than others, but it's suprising what you can do on any reasonable gfx package if you take time to learn what it's capable of.

I also agree, I use Corel Paint Shop Pro x2 and I'm very happy with it

[auntnini]

Browser screens are composed of pixels so, basically, Web graphics are bitmap (pixel) images: JPEG (for photo tones, gradients), GIF (for flat colors, transparency, animation -- limited to 256 indexed colors), or PNG formats. Adobe Photoshop is a leading bitmap "painting" program. Adobe Illustrator is a leading vector "drawing" program (mathematically plotted anchor points with connecting paths).

A "device" is needed to display a SVG (Scaleable Vector Graphic) on Web browser. Although bitmaps, videos, etc. can be incorporated into SWF movie, Flash native graphics are vector. Flash player is required to display SWF movie on Web. Since SVG players are rare, I use FLASH SWF to display vector format graphics on Web: http://www.auntnini.com/vectorFlash/index.html

To create original artwork, utilize any and every graphics program you can get your hands on (Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, etc.) Then save a small 72ppi max 500 pixels height/width version for Web in .jpg, .gif, or .png format. Web graphics are a compromise between resolution/quality and file-size/download time. If you are using Photoshop, File> Save for Web & Devices gives you a 4-Up window where you can try different settings.

Hear a lot of talk about using this or that program (from Photoshop to InDesign or Dreamweaver for ImageMap) to "design" a Web page. A piece of paper and pen, pencil, or markers should suffice for the design markup. Then apply your HTML and CSS knowledge to make your Web page/site come alive and function. Online help such as Dynamic Drive can provide wonderful JavaScript code and other assistance.

(To keep pages viable, use CSS instead of images for buttons.)

[tonyroberts09]

photoshop - they are all great software to use to create great web pages.

[rcdeck]

GIMP - It's a free GNU Image Manipulation Program. You can essentially do almost all photoshop functions, though the controls are a bit different. http://www.gimp.org/ is the link to download the program and you can find numerous tutorials and lots of help at http://www.gimptalk.com/forum/ If you have any questions about it feel free to contact me as I've been using it for quite a while. Again, completely free, legal software that is amazing!

[blackballoon]

I personally use Adobe Firework. It's price tag is quite a bit less than photoshop cs4. If all you are planning to use it for is websites or small changes to photos Fireworks is perfect. For anything of Bigger Scale i would use Photoshop CS4!

[dillankid]

My vote is for Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, Corel products are very good as well.

For the ones trying to keep money in their wallet, Adobe Photoshop Elements or Paint Shop Pro (from Corel, there are several versions) are good enough for casual use.

[X96 Web Design]

The GNU Image Manipulation Program - it can open almost any type of image file, including Photoshop. I have had only great experiences with it, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to make cool graphics.

http://www.gimp.org is the site for it.

It takes a bit to get used to it, but after a while, you get the hang of it, and it turns into a professional and very useful Image Editor. It has plugins that can automatically render patterns and morph images that would take hours to do by hand.

I love it, and it's free! I'd rate it 9.8/10. It's an awesome Image Editor!

Go to http://docs.gimp.org for documentation on how to use it.

Cheers,
X96 WD

[josh.legogeek]

Gimp for Mac OS X