Is Illustrator the best prog for working with vector images?
 

Is it? or is there something better out there?

I have worked with Illustrator, Freehand and Corel Draw. I found Illustrator to be a much more powerful program with a lot more options although I havent used it much in the last 2 years since I got out of design school...

Yeah illustrator is the best, freehand is good too.

illustrator is cool but takes some getting used to

yes. freehand is cool, too, but Illustrator is top notch

I use Xara. It was developed by the guys who built the vector engine for CorelDraw, but don't let that put you off :) It's not as powerful as Illustrator or Freehand, but it's very intuitive and a hell of a lot cheaper, so if you aren't planning to become a full-time vector artist it's a great alternative.

A lot of people don't seem to mention it but Flash does really well with vector graphics as well. too bad I can't use that program for shit.

i prefer fireworks over illustrator or freehand ( i don't use complex brush styles etc though)

Corel Draw is more user friendly and works fine for the average user. Illustrator is more powerful, but like Photoshop and most Adobe products, you might need a few of those Video Professor tapes to get proficient at it.

:1orglaugh

I don't agree,
Corel Draw is the best Vector but Adobe Photoshop is the best bitmap editor.

Like you mentioned, the curve is steep for Adobe products but as the saying goes, No pain, No gain...

The Macromedia products are VERY powerful, and very easy to learn, my six year old uses Fireworks to draw.

I have been using Corel since version1 and Photoshop since version 2.5 They are both very powerful tools, and most likely more tool than you will ever need.

The new free hand is brilliant although I always prefered illistator till now

Can Fireworks open files created in Illustrator?

I used illustrator to design the splash page of my first portfolio site. After not using the program for a year it was tough to get the hang of it again. Just a simple design but I like the steak :1orglaugh
http://members.shaw.ca/martinigirl/g...meat_title.jpg

yes it can open .ai files. it's also good for vector animation and export to animated gif or macromedia flash etc.

( i use it for anime/hentai stuff )

http://www.tripleorgasm.com/animtest.jpg

it's all i use for vectors. too simple.. the rest shit me.

great design man, care to share some tutorials, cbt in using illustrator? it would really come in handy. tnx!

Thanks, I don't have any tutorials though... i would suggest picking up a book.

I vouch for Xara as well. Certain things are just so much easier and quicker to do with it than with Illustrator. I use both on a regular basis.