Fireworks?

Okay, so I can tell from looking at the threads here that most people are using Photoshop. That is understandable, but it is also a bit out of my price range.

I have Fireworks CS3. I've been using Fireworks since it was in public beta, so it is what I'm familiar and comfortable with. Most of my graphics work is for web sites, so it is more than enough for everything that I do. I have found that I don't need to pay three to four times more just to use a program that does the same things that I need to do. (Yes, I know Photoshop does more, but I don't need the "more" )

So, are there any others who use Fireworks here? Any suggestions? Has anyone tried importing any of the PSD files into Fireworks? Not all PSD files import properly, as I've discovered on some other projects I've worked on. Anyone who has used it know of anything I should be aware of as I work on projects?

Thanks!

I'm not familiar with Fireworks and I can't tell from the web site..... Does it handle channels and layers? If you're doing even the most basic textures for SL, you'll need to have a program that can handle 32 bit images properly so you can create things with transparency, either as TGA or PNG files. And I can't imagine making many things without being able to manipulate layers. The three most commonly used graphics programs here are Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, and GIMP (which is free). Each has its advantages and its partisans, but they all do essentially the same things.

Yes, it does use layers, and use them quite frequently when I work on web images. Also, it handles transparency and a wide number of image formats, including TGA. It's default file format is a multi-layered PNG file. In terms of what it can do, it is somewhere in between Photoshop and Paintshop, closer to the Paintshop end of the spectrum. I like the fact that it even handles Photoshop plugins, such as Alien Skin's tools.

Give it a shot, then. If I were you, I'd read through the sticky threads on File Sizes & Formats and on Alpha Channels that are at the top of this forum. If you can translate that information into something that makes sense for Fireworks, then you've taken care of a big chunk of the design challenges that give people headaches in SL. You may still want to trade up to Photoshop at some point in order to get its versatility for doing complex work, but if Fireworks does what you need for now, go for it.

Fireworks can do the job. Its implementation of alpha channels is a little weird, but it can certainly create both transparent and opaque images that SL will be able to use. I'd probably suggest using PNG over TGA, since you won't have a ton of control when it comes to channel editing, compared with what you would have Photoshop. So give it a whirl.

That said, doing the job, and doing the job really well aren't the same thing. Fireworks doesn't have much in the way of filters, brushes, etc., beyond the basics. Where the program really shines is in taking preexisting, or at least partially preexisting, imagery, and giving it properties it will need for the Web. It's not all that capable as a raster editor/creator on its own. It would be far from my first choice for a texturing tool.

I understand your concerns about Photoshop's price tag. But I would submit that your statement of "I don't need the more" is starting to become untrue. Your interest in SL is changing the ballgame for you. The fact that you want to create textures has brought you past the relatively simpler Web graphics you'd been working with before. Once you've become a competent texture artist, the skill set you will develop will also enable you to create far more rich and complex Web imagery than you can now. In other words, you'll become that much more valuable as a Web developer as well as as an SL content creator.

Sticking with Fireworks as your primary graphics tool probably won't get you there. Expanding to Photoshop will most likely be necessary in order to step onto the path.

I'd suggest you download the free 30-day trial of Photoshop CS4 Extended, and run it through the mill. I'm sure you'll discover that once you've been exposed to "the more", there will be a lot of things you'll wonder how you ever lived without. After all, it's hard to really know what you do and don't need until you've been exposed to it all. After the month is up, then decide what to do.

If you find you've really enjoyed your time with Photoshop, but you truly can't afford it, then check out some of the popular alternatives like Paintshop Pro and GIMP. PSP is only a hundred bucks, and GIMP is free. I always recommend starting with Photoshop first, though, even if you know for a fact you won't be able to afford it, for two reasons. It covers all the bases, and using it helps develop some important habits. If you know Photoshop, you can learn PSP in a day. But trying to go the other way around is much harder.