Creating New Graphics

All of the desktop-publishing programs can create a limited array of graphics composed of rectangles, circles, ovals, and lines. As an example, you would find it relatively easy to draw the pieces and put together an organization chart in those programs. However, if you need a real drawing program, you might consider Ray Dream Designer, Canvas, Adobe Illustrator, Turbo CAD, or Corel Draw. In particular, I recommend Adobe Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop 5.0 for Mac or Windows is the top choice if you need sophisticated graphics. The software is wonderfully complex - you will still be discovering interesting capabilities after a year of use. If you have been longing to create the astounding graphics you see on the Web, it's time for Photoshop. The price is about $595.

The Adobe Photoshop software manual is more of a reference manual than a tutorial. If you need more help with the program, you'll find many good books on the subject. One good example is The Photoshop WOW Book by Linnea Dayton and Jack Davis.

Corel Draw

If you are just starting with your first drawing program and plan to produce uncomplicated graphics, you should do well with Corel Draw, Version 3. Version 3 is an early version, but it is still available for about $100. After you have used it for a while, you could upgrade to Version 5, if necessary.

Version 5 currently costs about $600 on disk, $460 on CD. If you are planning extensive, sophisticated drawings, choose Version 5 or one of the other programs discussed in this section. Note that Version 5 is $140 cheaper on CD. So you might prefer to invest in a CD ROM drive for the CD ROM version of Corel Draw Version 5 when you find it necessary to upgrade.

In addition to their drawing capabilities, Corel Draw Versions 3 and 5 offer a wonderful import/export facility. You can use it to transform graphics created with other programs. For example, some graphics programs create graphics files that QuarkXpress cannot import. In such a case, you can use Corel Draw to import the graphics file, then export it as a TIFF file that Quark can read.

Ray Dream Designer

Ray Dream Designer 3.0 for Mac or Windows is a professional graphics package that you can use to create realistic images. If you do not need realistic images, this program would be overkill. Ray Dream Designer allows you to apply shading, reflection, and perspective to your graphics automatically.

Ray Dream Designer includes a tutorial that helps you to create 3D text and graphics easily and quickly. It lets you rotate your objects in 3D space. This program costs about $250 for Mac or Windows.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator 5.5 for Mac and 4.0 for Windows offers you illustration capabilities and design tools. Adobe Illustrator costs about $390 for Mac and $450 for Windows.

Turbo CAD

Turbo CAD makes it easy to create simple or complex technical graphics. The price is under $100 for Windows. This is the package for you if you need a relatively simple CAD program.

Canvas

Canvas 3.5 for Mac or Windows gives you precise technical illustration capabilities along with 34 easy-to-use drawing tools. Canvas costs about $290 for Mac or Windows.

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