Web Tools:

Graphics Tools

Look here for links to graphic programs and utilities that you can use to create and enhance Web art.

Graphics Editors
Viewers and Convertors
Misc. Graphics Utilities
3D Modelers and Ray Tracers
GIF Animation Tools

Graphics Editors

Professional Graphics Editors

Cross-Platform

Adobe Photoshop. The tool of choice for many professional graphic designers. $649 directly from Adobe. Windows and Macintosh.
Corel Painter. Full-feature paint program. $379 direct. Windows and Macintosh.
Canvas. Advanced photo editing and technical drawing software. $349 direct. Windows and Macintosh.

Windows

CorelDraw Graphics Suite. Includes CorelDraw, Corel Photo-Paint, Corel R.A.V.E., CorelTrace, and Corel Capture. $159 direct.
QFX. Full-featured image editing, painting and composition program. $399. Shareware version, QFX LE, also available for download.
Xara Xtreme Pro. Full feature drawing and illustration software. Now includes Xara3D. $249. Xara Xtreme $89.

Affordable Graphics Editors (Under $150)

Cross-Platform

WebPainter by Totally Hip Software. A full-feature image editor. $89.95 to register. Windows and Macintosh.
Pixel Image Editor. A full-feature image editor. $38 for beta version - final version will be $89. Macintosh, Linux, and Windows.
Rainbow Painter by Norbyte. Currently in Beta. Windows and Macintosh.

Windows

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2. Full-feature photo-paint program that supports over 30 image formats, as well as Adobe Photoshop plug-ins. $89.99.
Ulead PhotoImpact. Full-feature image editing software with lots of goodies. Creates Java rollovers, buttons, bullets; GIF animations; backgrounds; 3D buttons; image maps; and more. Includes many paint and 3D effects. Rated 5 stars at Tucows. $89.99.
Image Broadway by FileStream. Photo and image editor with a wide assortment of tools. Rated 5 stars at Tucows. $89.95.
Twisted Brush by Pixarra. Traditional art tools that look and feel like the real thing, including paints, pastels, charcoal, pens, oils, etc. $119.
PD Pro by Project Dogwaffle. $119. Other versions available from $19 to $79.
Xara Xtreme. Work with photos, illustrations, Web graphics. $89. Xara Xtreme Pro $249.

Inexpensive Graphics Editors (Under $50)

Windows

NeoPaint for Windows. A full-featured artist's studio that makes it easy to touch up photographs and create great looking graphics for desktop publishing, presentations and the Internet. Rated 5 stars at Tucows. $49.95 to register.
GFX Alchemy. All-in-one solution for image editing, conversion, viewing, and much more. Rated 5 stars at Tucows. $39.95 to register.
ArtStudio Drawing Program. Allows you to draw & rub quickly and easily without having to think about mouse clicks and keystrokes. Rated 5 stars at Tucows. $29.95. "The Works" bundle (includes ArtStudio with Drawing Hand Screener and Sketch Studio) is $49.85.
ImageForge Gold by Cursor Arts. Includes image filters, 3-D tools, animation effects, image map editor, and more. $37.95.
Ultimate Paint. Full feature image editor. $34.95.
LView Pro 2004. LView started out as a nifty image viewer, Version 1.D2, with some image processing and batch conversion capabilities and has grown into a full-feature image editor with a bunch of additional features and capabilities. $39.95.
Ability Photopaint. Similar to Adobe Photoshop in interface and functionality. Filters, brush and paint tools, selections, layers, image enhancement, and vector drawing. $29.95.

Macintosh

Compositor by Artly There Software. A full-feature image editor. $35.

Free Graphics Editors

Windows

GrafxShop by Emryn International. Image and photo editing software. Drawing and painting tools, layers, effects, screen capture, slide show, and more. Free for personal use.
GTK+ (and GIMP) for Windows. A Windows port of the Linux graphics editor, GIMP. Free (GNU Public License).
imagoWEB by Fabrizio Pignotti (available from F2.org). Previously called Visua. Views and/or converts multiple image formats, including JPEG, GIF, BMP, DIB, RLE, WMF, and many more. Thumbnail viewer, Twain scanning interface, and screen capture. Also can apply image special effects, such as blur, oil paint, mosaic, page curl, wave, mirror, etc. Free.

Linux/Unix

GIMP. GNU Image Manipulation Program for image authoring and photo retouching.
Karbon14. A vector-based drawing program that is part of the KOffice Suite.

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Image Viewers, Managers, and Convertors

Windows

CompuPic by Photodex. An image editor/viewer and media manager that can add text, filters, transparency, as well as publish Web galleries. $24.95 (Express), $39.95 (Standard), and $79.95 (Pro).
PolyView by Polybytes. Multithreading graphics viewer, conversion, and printing utility. One of my favorite image utilities. $29.95.
MagicViewer. This program does image editing, including fills and special effects, as well as batch conversions and animated GIFs. $29.95.
Graphic Workshop Professional by Alchemy Mindworks. Converts files from wide range of file formats, as well as reverse, rotate, flip, crop, and scale images, manipulate and adjust color, contrast, brightness, dithering, etc., reduce color depth, convert multiple files, acquire images from digital camera, and more. Can be run in batch mode. $44.99.
WebImage by Group42. WebImage does transparent and animated GIFs, client-side/server-side image maps, color reduction/image scaling, plus graphic format conversions. $39.95.

Macintosh

GraphicConvertor by Lemke Software. 29,95 Euro.
GIFConvertor. $30.
QPict Digital Asset Management. View, organize, search and batch process all your media files. $35 (Standard) and $99 (Professional).

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Misc. Graphics Utilities

Windows

Xara WebStyle. Allows you to easily create your own custom web-optimized graphics, including buttons, bullets, dividers, 2D and 3D headings, and backgrounds. $89.
WebGraphics Optimizer by Plenio Software Solutions. Optimizes your web graphics to minimize their bandwidth consumption. $39 (Standard) and $99 (Pro).
KVT ImageCutter by KVT Software. This is an image slicer utility that slices larger images into smaller images and reassembles them in tables, which can then be nested inside of links or image map hotspots. Can batch cut multiple images according to the same cutting template. $14.95 (Personal) and $29.95 (Business).

Macintosh

TextureMagic by Artis Software. Transforms pictures into seamlessly tiling textures. $39.95 and $79.95 (Pro version).
Text2Graphic. Generates graphic files out of text. $69 (Pro) and $25 (LE).

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3D Modelers and Ray Tracers

Want to create your own 3D bullets, buttons, and other objects. Check out these programs:

Cross-Platform

POV-Ray. Without the most intuitive user interface and a bit difficult to learn, but a powerhouse once you've figured it out. Free. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.
Carrara by DAZ3D. Supports figure posing, modeling, landscapes, seascapes, skyscapes, animation, advanced rendering, and more. $99.60 and $197.64 (Pro version). Macintosh and Windows. Also authors of Bryce, Carrara 3D Express, DAZ Studio, Hexagon, and Mimic software applications.
Behemot Graphics Editor. A 3D image editor and ray tracer. Was originally RT Editor. Freeware. Click "Files" to download. RT Editor can still be downloaded here. Windows, Linux, and Macintosh (Classic).
AC3D by Inivis. Create 3D objects, compose scenes, construct models, and more. $79.95. Windows, Linux, and Macintosh.

Windows

Xara3D. Makes the task of creating 3D text and graphic headings and animations simple and easy. Export Flash animations, screen savers, and more. $44.99 (CD-Only). Windows.
3D Canvas by Amabilis. Real-time 3D modeling and animation tool. Free (standard), $34.95 (Plus), and $69.95 (Pro). Windows.
Genesis 3D by Silicon Dream Ltd. A fully functional and free 3-D editor. You're limited to 1000 polygons in any one session, which means you end up rebooting the program a lot. Definitely worth the trouble, however. If the download link at the Genesis 3D home page doesn't work, you can download it here. Windows (95).
DX Studio by WorldWeaver. Create interactive 3D graphics and simulations. 175 GBP (Standard) and 375 GBP (Pro). Also available is a freeware edition. Windows.

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GIF Animation Tools

Windows

CoffeeCup GIF Animator. Rated 5 stars at Tucows. $29. Windows.
GIF Construction Set Professional by Alchemy Mindworks. Creates transparent and animated GIFs. $24.99. Windows.
Advanced GIF Animator. $35 (personal) and $50 (business). Windows.

Macintosh

GIFBuilder. Free.
GIFfun by Stone Design. Free. Scroll to the bottom of the Download page to download the GIFfun standalone application. Macintosh.
Gif*gif*gif by Pedagoguery Software. $28. Macintosh (Classic).