TopPicks Index
Top 7 Advanced Illustration Programs
Illustration or drawing software offers vector-based graphics editing and creation capabilities for creating simple, non-photographic drawings and illustrations such as logos and stylized art. Those in the advanced category are powerful enough for high-end professional design and business use.
Top 10 Favorite Things on my Desk
The main computer I work on daily is a custom-built, dual-core Athlon running Windows, but there is a lot of additional hardware and gadgetry that helps me out in my job as the About Graphics Software Guide. Here you can learn about some of my favorite gear -- the computer hardware and gadgets I use most.
Top 8 Free Photo Editors for Windows
Even if you can't afford to spend anything on software, you can still find free software to help you create and edit your photos and images. These are my top picks for free image editing programs.
Top 10 Art-Oriented Software Programs
These art-oriented software programs are designed especially for painting, drawing, coloring, and creating original art work. Most of them have tools to mimic traditional artistic media such as oils, watercolors, acrylics, pencils, markers, crayons, chalk, pastels, and felt pens. Many of them also offer a variety of unusual, non-traditional tools. Several are even free!
Top 10 Pressure-Sensitive Graphics Tablets
These are the most popular brands and models of graphics tablets available in the US. The pressure-sensitive graphics tablets featured here are well-suited to both professional and home users who will be using the tablet for photo editing and digital art, or as a mouse replacement.
Top 10 Web Graphics Programs for Windows
When it comes to selecting a Web graphics program, there are so many choices it can often be difficult to determine which program is right for you. These picks summarize some of the top Windows software for creating Web graphics.
Top 5 Web Graphics Programs for Macintosh
When it comes to selecting a Web graphics program, there are so many choices it can often be difficult to determine which program is right for you. These picks summarize some of the top Macintosh software for creating Web graphics.
Top 5 Beginner Photo Editors for Windows
These tools offer bitmap-based image editing, photo enhancement, and graphics creation capabilities for the beginner. I selected these picks based on how easy they would be for a graphics novice to learn and use, but I also looked at how flexible they would be for the long term.
Top 5 Advanced Photo Editors for Windows
When choosing a photo editor for professional or business use, you need flexibility, stability, and an intuitive interface which provides a streamlined workflow. Here are my picks for Windows image editors that best fit these requirements.
Top 10 Budget Photo Editors for Windows
Even if you can't afford to spend a lot on software, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a functional, well-designed image editor. These are my top picks for low-cost shareware image editors.
Top 4 Advanced Photo Editors for Macintosh
When choosing a photo editor for professional or business use, you need flexibility, stability, and an intuitive interface which provides a streamlined workflow. Here are my picks for Macintosh image editors that best fit these requirements.
Top 8 Free or Budget Photo Editors for Mac
Even if you can't afford to spend a lot on software, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a functional, well-designed image editor. These are my picks for the top freeware and shareware image editors and painting programs for Macintosh.
Top 5 Beginner Photo Editors for Macintosh
These tools offer bitmap-based image editing, photo enhancement, and graphics creation capabilities for the beginner. I selected these top picks based on how easy they would be for a graphics novice to learn and use, but I also looked at how flexible they would be for the long term.
Top 7 Integrated Graphics Suites
Graphics suites combine image editing, illustration, page layout, Web design, and typography functionality in one package. Buying a graphics suite is a good way to save money and streamline your workflow. Here is a summary of the top graphics suites for both Macintosh and Windows.
Top 8 Thumbnail Image Browsers for Windows
A roundup of the best thumbnail image browser software for viewing, browsing, sorting, printing, and sharing your images.
Top 10 Gifts for Photo Fun-atics
These days, there are more options than ever before for getting your pictures into your computer. This can lead to loads of fun projects incorporating your photos and your own personal touch. Here's a selection of gift ideas that would be ideal for anyone who enjoys working with family photos in fun and creative ways.
Top 5 Flash Authoring Tools
Flash has become the Web standard for compact, vector-based animation and interactive Web design. Software for creating Flash-based content ranges from simple text animation and special effects tools to powerful, full-featured development environments.
Top 7 Digital Camera Newbie Mistakes to Avoid
Digital photography brings with it a lot of freedom, but it also opens up a whole new world of technology that can be confusing to the newcomer. The resources in this article with help you overcome and avoid the most common digital camera newbie mistakes.
Top 10 Gifts for Aspiring Artists
Art and technology, what a wonderful combination! These selections would make great gifts for any digital art enthusiast, whether professional or amateur.
Top 10 Gifts for Web Weavers
Graphics and the Web go hand in hand. Whether you're shopping for someone who dabbles in Web design as a hobby, or is into serious Web publishing, this selection of gift ideas are sure to please.
Top 10 Gifts for the Digital Darkroom
With digital cameras getting cheaper and better all the the time, more and more folks are catching the digital imaging fever. Whether you work with scanned photos or a digital camera, here's a roundup of gift selections that are sure to be an asset to any digital darkroom.
Top 10 Favorite New Features in Photoshop CS
Adobe Photoshop CS (or Photoshop 8, if you prefer) offers improvements for everyone, but photographers will benefit the most from this upgrade. Here are my picks for the top ten new features in Photoshop CS, complete with links to learn more about them right away.
Top 10 Photo and Media Management Cataloging Software
A roundup of the best database media cataloging solutions for viewing, browsing, organizing, cataloging, sorting, printing, and sharing your digital photos, images, and other media.
Top 10 Adobe 'Classroom in a Book' Series
These are some of the best books for learning Adobe products on your own. The material is presented in structured lessons with many hands-on, step-by-step exercises.
Top 10 Software Pet Peeves
Software developers, take note! Even if your software is 100% bug-free (although we hardly expect that these days), there are many things that could still be bugging your customers. Here is my run-down of the most annoying software pet peeves.