Web Design in a Nutshell

Tools Overview

GIFs can be created with a wide variety of graphics programs and utilities.

Image-editing Software

There are many tools available for creating GIF files. The professional industry standard remains Adobe Photoshop (version 5 is now available), a full-featured image editing application. However, if you work on a PC, you may want to try Paint Shop Pro, which has some of the same features for a fraction of the cost. You can download a demo at http://www.jasc.com/.

Web Graphics Tools

Two new tools have shown up on the scene that have been designed from the ground up to address the special requirements of Web graphics.

Macromedia Fireworks 1.0 combines a vector drawing application with a bitmap editing program. Among its many impressive features are editable text, “live” effects that can be edited at any time, side-by-side export previews, animation features, rollover buttons, advanced image slicing tools, and much more. It alleviates the need to switch between drawing programs, bitmap programs, and specialized web utilities. For more information, see Macromedia’s site at http://www.macromedia.com/.

Adobe ImageReady 1.0 is a web graphic optimization tool that shares many interface features with its sibling, Photoshop. It provides editable text, optimization previews, interactive palettes, and animation tools, among other convenient features. For more information, see Adobe’s site at http://www.adobe.com/.

Both Macromedia Fireworks 1.0 and Adobe ImageReady 1.0 provide ...