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The Pokémon Peninsula > Graphics Editors

Wir mussen jawohl... oh sorry, I mean, of course we have to list graphics editors here! XD These editors are commercial, shareware and freeware, and they are pretty much the ones I use so they're reliable XD.

Adobe Photoshop - Commercial

Photoshop is the industry standard for graphics editing, and it comes at a price. While it has enough features for anyone, including features that no other graphics program has, it's got a steep learning curve and it's very expensive. Like other commercial programs, students and teachers can get an academic version that is the same program, a lot cheaper - the only problem is that you're not allowed to use it for commercial purposes. Unless you're a professional designer, it's unlikely you'll need the power of this program.

Macromedia Fireworks -  Commercial

Fireworks is the graphics offering from Macromedia, creator of the popular web editor Dreamweaver, and it is optimised for web graphic creation. Its features stretch beyond simple web design, though, and combined with some simple freeware tools there's no real need for more. If you use Dreamweaver, I'd recommend Fireworks anyway, as they are designed to integrate with each other (Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash and Freehand are available together in the Studio suite, which is a lot cheaper than buying any three of them separately). While Fireworks is still expensive, it's a lot cheaper than Photoshop and both student and academic versions are available. Fireworks is also very user-friendly and easy to use, making it the perfect tool for beginners.

Jasc Paint Shop Pro - Commercial

PSP is probably the most popular graphics editor after Photoshop, and for good reason. For a reasonable price it offers a heap of features also available in the more expensive programs, and some that aren't. The only bad thing about PSP is that some of the features aren't so intuitive, and it takes a while to get used to the program.

Ulead PhotoImpact - Commercial

PhotoImpact is an editor that's about the same price as Paint Shop Pro, but it's aimed at a slightly different market. While several of the standard graphics features aren't readily available, it includes very good effects (gradients, lightings, fills etc.) to make ready-to-go images for websites and headings.

Oriens Enhancer GOLD - Freeware

For a freeware program, Oriens Enhancer GOLD is very good. It is easy to use, with a lot of features. It's a bit buggy and leaves a large memory footprint, but that's only to be expected at this price and as long as you have plenty of RAM and a fast computer you'll be fine. (I'm not fine, because I don't have a fast computer XD.)