I mainly use corelDraw which I think is one of the best vector packages available, but I also use Pixelmator and Fireworks. I have also used both Illustrator and Photoshop which are great and for the novice have the huge advantage of the sheer number of step-by-step tutorials available on the web which allow you to quickly achieve some fantastic graphic effects.
I've been using an older version of Paint Shop Pro (now Corel) which I still use because it combines the best of both worlds for vector and raster graphics. If anyone knows if any app that is Mac OSX native that does both vector and raster please let me know
Good to see a mention of Paint Shop Pro at the end, I was about to recommend it. I think though in hindsight that if I had to relearn PSP then instead I would just learn Photo Shop - at the time (eons ago!) little things put me off, for example: zooming with the mouse wheel! PSP is a very good price (v X3).
Once again, I want to thank everyone for their recommendations. I've been using Photoshop frequently now and I've made some decent stuff for a beginner. So here's something I made as practice that's related to my game idea.
That looks pretty good. Did you do all that by yourself, or did you use elements/renders from other places?
Kind of half and half. Some effects like the grunge and cracks are from different sources. I created that tear or split effect. The shadow guy I did on illustrator then transferred him over, and I used the already available cloud renders for the background but simply warped it. I basically brightened and blurred some things, overlayed a few layers and it turned out like this. I've also been making other scenes with more objects and stuff that I've made on illustrator and transferred over. So yeah, I'm still new with Photoshop, so I'm using things from other sources to start out.
Photoshop is the king. But you don't need the lastest version, you can do pretty much everything with an older version.. And you can find it cheaper.
