Graphics packages

Home Office Computing, Nov, 1998 by Hailey McKeefry

Haven't been creative since the third grade? Masterpieces await you with one of these art suites

Sometimes it feels like a conspiracy: You may spend most of your day working in a word processor or spreadsheet program, but occasionally you have to leave the world of black and white words and numbers and enter the realm of color.

Just because you can't draw a straight line without a ruler doesn't mean that you're exempt from creating art with your PC. In this day and age, you're expected to add an eye-catching image to your report, create a snazzy newsletter, whip up a PowerPoint presentation, and build a Web site from scratch. And why not? Look around your home office: You have a powerful PC with ample RAM, a color monitor, a scanner, a digital camera, and a sharp color printer. Face it, Mr. or Ms. Artiste, you have everything you need to create eye-opening works of art.

Well, almost everything. You'll need a graphics package to create that logo, letterhead, image, or animated Web site illustration. Luckily, software stores are jammed with programs for enhancing digital images. These easy-to-use packages, which often ship with thousands of pictures and hundreds of templates, put a huge range of photo editing tools in your hands--including fun and funky filters; special effects; tools for removing scratches, dust, red-eye flash effects, and other defects from photos; and more.

These programs fall into two categories. First, there's the "more the merrier" suite approach, which jams several graphics programs (often some combination of a graphics editor, a drawing tool, an image organizer, and a 3D rendering tool) into a single box. Second is the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) integrated approach, which seamlessly blends some of the features mentioned above.

For this Buyer's Guide, we looked at nine graphics packages that range in price from $30 to $200. We focused on programs that work under Windows 95/98, although you can find just as many powerful and professional-quality graphics programs designed to work with the Mac. For our tests, we imported and manipulated photos (one depicting complex inanimate objects, such as a barn surrounded by autumn foliage, and another image populated with people), and incorporated them into business documents. Then we created art elements (such as logos, banners, and small animated icons) for an interesting and arresting Web site meant to keep visitors coming back for more.

LivePix Soho

If you like to take a class before starting any new sort of activity. LivePix Soho will make you feel right at home. This program provides a nearly endless supply of information for your perusal before you even start the program. We glanced through the user guide, watched a tutorial movie, browsed through the Intelligent Template Reference book, and read the QuickStart guide. Starting the program was like finally meeting a longtime pen pal in person.

The sense of having a helpful guide continued as we got into the program--choosing from dozens of individual templates, as well as 20 template sets which include a number of business documents (brochure, flier, postcard, letterhead, envelope, business card, and mailing label) with an integrated design. Alas, LivePix Soho doesn't offer any options for creating Web page elements.

Once you choose a template, changing it to suit your needs is simple: To switch photos, click on the photo in the template and one in the photo gallery (where photos are grouped into albums) and then click the Substitute button.

The tools, arrayed on a toolbar anchored to the left-hand side of the screen, are organized in a logical manner. As you select each tool, controls appropriate to it appear on the control panel at the top of the screen.

Although LivePix Soho's simplicity gives it a lightweight feel, its features prove to be rich, including a number of sophisticated tools such as red-eye reduction and image cloning. However, there's no support for Adobe Photoshop plug-ins in case you want to add special effects with another, more advanced image editor; this will deter serious users. Also, we found LivePix Soho to be an occasional slowpoke, particularly when saving our projects.

MasterPhotos Studio

MasterPhotos Studio is the budget package on our list, priced at $40. There are four programs in the box--a photo editing program, a file converter, a photo organizer, and an Internet e-mail utility--as well as 25,000 photos. However, you'll definitely pay a relatively high price in terms of the integration between programs and the ease-of-use features within them.

Of the MasterPhotos foursome, we liked HotShots best. This photo-editing program provides all the mainstream features you'd expect, and is simple to use as well. It uses a Control metaphor for launching its various features.

The QuickFix tool automatically optimizes photos by curing common problems, while SmartPix lets you tweak an image yourself depending on where the picture was taken (indoors, outdoors, with a flash, in deep shadow, and so on).