Photoshop or Fireworks !?!

[feedodeedo]

hi everyone... i hve been thinking about this question for a while...so now i m here to ask all the experience designers... which one is better... Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks or Jasc Paint Shop Pro... and which one is powerful and easy... and ofcourse... which one do u use mostly...

regards...

[DanielOliver]

I used to always use Adobe Photoshop but recently have been starting to use Fireworks more.
I think Fireworks is great for setting out your initial design compositions and then take it into Photoshop to develope further. Fireworks is also my choice when it comes to vector graphics but I would like to try Illustrator properly.
Fireworks is handy with it's frames and history. You can design a different comp on each frame which makes it handy to keep on top of things if you are finding you have hundreds of designs for just one client. Instead of having hundreds of files you can just whack all the designs into frames and have just one file. What a dream when trying to save space.
I have a few issues with Fireworks though, which I expect I will overcome in time as I use it more. Because I used Photoshop for so long, when finally jumping over to Fireworks it took me a fair while to get used to it. I think Photoshop may be a tad easier to use, and at times can be more powerful.
There has been a lot of debates over which is better, but both are excel in different areas which is why I use both.

[Eddy Bones]

I use Photoshop the most. I've only used Paint Shop Pro a little bit, but from that I get the impression that it's a little sketchy compared to Photoshop. I'd maybe use Fireworks but I don't have it, nor do I have Illustrator (I'd love that one). So if I need or want vector art I use Flash. Probably not the best thing for the job, but it gets it done nicely anyhow.

[Shani]

I like Photoshop, but I haven't used Fireworks in a few years. I've never used Paint Shop Pro.

Maybe you should download the 30 day trial versions of the software and see how you like them, make your decisions based on that.

For complex vector graphics, I generally use Illustrator. But if they are really simple, Photoshop and Flash generate them okay.

Photoshop is bundled with ImageReady, so it's a pretty good tool when it comes to optimizing your images. And, correct me if I'm wrong, Fireworks is a web design tool, whereas Photoshop can also handle high-res print files. Maybe this has changed in the newer versions. I don't know.

[jspence]

Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do when feeling like you have lost your creativity. I'm lost lately and can't seem to design anything on my own without stealing from other designers. Any suggestions?

[misterphotoshop]

lol I know what you mean just last week I had a major creativity block. What helped me was jsut checking out other websites (usually done by 2advanced or anything really nice)and jsut took ideas from them like colours or button styles. But, sometiems my best ideas come when Im jsut not trying to think of anything. I know thats not very helpful but thats what I do. Sorry.

[jspence]

I know 2Advanced's site. What other sites do you look at when you need help?

[megablaz0r]

back on subject, i think photoshop is pretty widely accepted as the industry standard. it's hard to find people that use fireworks exclusively, whereas it's very easy to find someone that uses photoshop exclusively.

paint shop pro is more user friendly than fireworks or photoshop, but is less powerful.

[DanielOliver]

Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do when feeling like you have lost your creativity. I'm lost lately and can't seem to design anything on my own without stealing from other designers. Any suggestions?

http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/20.../getting_unst/

But back on topic. I have been looking a lot more at Fireworks over the last day or so and there are some nifty features there when it comes to web production which is primarily what it was built for. Photoshop is more of an all rounder. Ideal for photo editing and of course is pretty nifty when it comes to graphics and website design. I can't choose between the two. For me I can't use one without the other any more. Start in Fireworks and then shuffle over to Photoshop to add more detail and more effects I may not know how to do in Fireworks. I think as time goes by I will have to do this less as I learn more and more about FW each day. But i still wouldn't be able to get by without Photoshop.
Have to wait and see :laugh:

[ew1075]

I use Fireworks exclusively. I have my reasons (one in particular), but I probably shouldn't talk about it here.