Digital Media Tools

Vector graphics software is used to create artwork that can be re-sized without any loss of quality. Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw are the two most widely used examples of this kind of software.

CorelDRAW (fee)
The Corel site has video tutorials for many components of the Corel graphics suite. 

Illustrator (fee)
Adobe's web site has many Adobe Illustrator CS5 help options and tutorials.
The Adobe TV site has video tutorials suitable for beginners.

InDesign (fee)
InDesign is a professional-level page layout application from Adobe. InDesign shares features with Illustrator, Flash, and Photoshop. Adobe.com has InDesign CS5 help and tutorials.

Photoshop (fee)
Sitepoint, a blog covering topics in web design, has getting started information on using Photoshop.

Commercial graphic editing software can be very expensive. The list below contains open source or free alternative graphic design software.

Gimp
Gimp is free and can be used in Windows, Mac or Unix environments. A user manual is available.

Paint.NET (PC only)
This software was started as part of a college project and has continued to be developed. Paint.NET can be enhanced with the use of plugins. Paint.NET only works in Windows.  A user manual is available.

Pinta (Mac only)
Pinta is like Paint.NET except it is for Macs.

Inkscape
Inkscape is a free open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW. Tutorials and other help options are available.