Image Creation Guide

Image Basics ~ Using Photographs ~ Animated Images The Best Image Tools

To make the most of your Web pages you need to be able to create images and 'process' existing ones. There are some great tools available for just this purpose, and a few of my favorites are listed below: Paint Shop Pro: By far the most reasonably priced program I use, Paint Shop Pro is a powerful image manipulation tool. It contains a full range of functions for resampling (smooth resizing), colorizing, and converting images to different file formats. It also support the Adobe plugin filter standard. You should have this program if you have images on the Web! GIF Construction Set: An easy to use GIF animation creator. You create GIF animation 'frame' files in another program like Paint Shop Pro, then GIF Construction set allows you to effortlessly build them into an animation. It even supports the GIF transparent color feature. Adobe PhotoShop: What a lot of pros use. PhotoShop is considered a standard and they've been responsible for many of the recent innovations in computer imaging. Personally, I find that Paint Shop Pro supplies all of the features I need, but if you're heavily into graphic design you might prefer this one. GIF Wizard: Use this! One of the wonders of the Web, GIF Wizard is an on-line tool for reducing the size of your finished GIF images! It works marvelously, and I find that my own image file sizes are reduced on average by 35%. That's a lot! After processing an image, the Wizard display version of it with colors reduced right down to 2, allowing you to select the best and smallest reproduction of your original. You'll impress your users when they see how fast your images download after the Wizard has finished with them! GIF Wizard is also a free service. Image Basics ~ Using Photographs ~ Animated Images The Best Image Tools Copyright © 1997 by MicroVision Development, Inc.