PI8 Vs Macromedia Fireworks MX

[justieb]

I have PI8 and love it. But, my boss used Fireworks and wants me to get it. He says it does more then PI8. Is this true? (Probably not the place to ask this, but I'm a die hard PI fan)

[justieb]

I have PI8 and love it. But, my boss used Fireworks and wants me to get it. He says it does more then PI8. Is this true? (Probably not the place to ask this, but I'm a die hard PI fan)

[stephaniebt]

I'll be interested in seeing if anyone has an answer for you. I don't use Fireworks, so can't comment on it. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Stephanie's PhotoImpact Tutorials
PhotoImpact 8 and 7 Classes

[gidgit]

I suppose it depends on how badly you want to work for your boss... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif


Perspective...if I was hiring in house designers,and for the interviews had a few FW users, a couple of PS users and say but one PI user, and.... it ended up the PI user's worx were the best of the bunch ...then that individual would be hired and catered to, in that we would go out and purchase said app... you can easily write off the app, but it would be silly to write off talent... regardless of which app is used http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

HTH your boss think beyond the box... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Kelly]

I would request that your boss purchase it for you, since he's asking. Remind him that your productivity will no doubt suffer for a time if you switch, too.
I have Fireworks 3. I've never registered it, would your boss like to make me an offer?

Enter the PhotoimpactZone!

[gidgit]

I dunno, I would just as well have both toolsets on the system and simply craft... learn and grow with which ever toolsets the crew uses for sure, but hey... it just doesn't stop there...

I mean you can look at reaching out towards serious 3D apps for certain FX while utilizing some easier approach for some tasks.... such as using Xara3d or Cool3d or Simply 3D or.... for 3d text creation as in apposed to compiling those layers in those 2D apps... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

... and sure Fireworks is one terrific vector solution with tons of goodies under the ole hood for sure... so use those tools with which you gain the quickest, easiest and most pro looking results from and which you feel comfy in doing so... no problem there...

I use a whole host of apps to chunk out my meager graphics however this also enables me to come out with different styles/feel/look to what I am creating.

and... I would hope that my perspective employer would be wide eyed and eager about having someone on board who had the experience, and obviously enjoyed tackling things in a variety of ways... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

I mean seriously, this is truly what it is all about IMHO...

It's fine to champion but one or two apps just as it is to champion many... respect to all who manage to create with any and all http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Ah the funny yet wonderful world of digital graphics...

Once upon a time, in some little pub somewhere looking over the calm ocean beyond, a discussion broke out between two individuals... one was a left handed artist, the other, a right handed programmer... they were trying to figure out what all the fuss was about... lol

Happy creat'n all

[This message was edited by gidgit on March 09, 2003 at 13:11.]

[dk_art]

I'm curious about this screen shot of the tool bar in Fireworks ... I know PI has way more image retouching tools than is shown here

http://www.macromedia.com/software/f...ouch_full.html


I'm downloading the demo to try it http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

David K ... www.dkingdesign.com http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/signature.jpg

[dk_art]

I've been fooling around with the Fireworks demo (or Fireworx as Gidgit would call it ... heheh ;P ) and I must say it is a nice program.

One area where I really have to say it has an edge over PI (IMHO) is in vector tools. Here is an image showing some functionalities that PI doesn't have

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/fireworks/vector.jpg


1 ... reshape area tool is amazing. Deneba Canvas has a similar tool but this interface seems to allow this tool's settings to be adjusted faster (IMHO). It is also pressure sensitive if you want or set the size and strength as constant. This warps the shape of the vector object just by moving the thing around as you wish.

2... knife tool can cut vector shapes into segments.

3... boolean operations on vector shapes allows making new shapes out of other shapes by several way including subtraction as is shown here.

4... selection of more than one node when altering vector shapes (PI8 only allows selecrting one node at a time). Also "shift" constrains the direction of movement of the nodes as you drag them to horizontal and vertical directions. Very handy for altering shapes without squashing the whole thing . Also arrow keys move selected node(s) which can be useful.

5... vector lines which can have vector paint effects from oil to watercolour to others.Vector shapes can have vector lines around them.

6... redraw path tool allows you to just draw in a new part on an already drawn path object. just start at the edge and draw and end at the edge and that part of the shape gets changed. Very nice.

7... handles image fill adjustment better than PI ... handles allow rotation of texture, and alteration in other directions.


Yes , I really like the vector abilities of Fireworks.



As for the interface .. it is very much like PI's in that selecting a tool will alter the settings panel (I have that along the top of the screen). I find the program was easy to get used to right from the start.

Fireworks also has real layers which can be drawn on as you wish. They can have the "preserve transparency" checked so you can't draw on transparent areas.

Now for photoediting tools (retough tools), PhotoImpact has it beat without question. As I said in the screenshot I mentioned in my previous post, it lacks many of the tools in PI in this section.

PI seems to be a little better with bitmap "paint tools" if you are making larger images for print. I guess the main reason would be that PI can (since version 8) have a brush size larger than 100 while Fireworks has a maximum of 100.

PI also has way more effects and useful ones for photography. I didnt really find things like lighting and other effects in Fireworks.

Also PI has the perspective crop tool which is indespensible to me now for working with my painting photos .

This is only after a short time but due to how similar Fireworks's interface and program design is to things like PI or XaraX, it was easy to figure out and learn many things in a short time.


To conclude


I would say the better vector tools would be quite useful in webpage design issues. I can see how Fireworks would allow easier and faster vector shape creation and reshaping than PhotoImpact 8 does.


PI would definatley be my choice if I wanted bitmap tools or anything to do with photography or image fixing.



You can always try the demo from the downloads section of their site

http://www.macromedia.com/

David K ... www.dkingdesign.com http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/signature.jpg

[Kelly]

Sounds nice, David, but my offer still stands..It's not even on my PC..

Enter the PhotoimpactZone!

[gidgit]

Yea Dave, you don't know how hard it is for me to have to put the "k" in there... I mean I really have to override some very real and natural "go with the x" feeling... it just seems so natural to type "worx" .... I'me a genX product doda doda... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif {ah man, I need help eh http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif )

Phew, feel better already http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Now then... Yup, better to know multiple tools for sure... It helps in the work place and really provides one with that many more possibilities, and well...yea, it's just plain fun http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

These are some good examples you showed here Dave, there is little doubt that Fireworks is one fine vector tool set for sure... and like we all know, when all is said and done and the time is to put all the pieces together and add soem final touches most things end up in PI anyways... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Now, if only Ulead would make a 3D app that was as good in the 3D arena as is PI in the 2D arena... man how sweet would that be... ? Ah, the stuff dreams are made of eh?

Happy Creat'n all http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif