Don’t have much experience with inkscape, so haven’t done vector graphics. I focus on digital paint, don’t see many people making ios and android games using this method.
But what do users on the corona forum prefer?
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I prefer illustrator, as I can resize everything pretty easily to whatever platform I need.
Inkscape rocks too, but it seems I need inkscape, illustrator and GiMP as well to get everything I need.
My process is complicated to get the effects I need
Start in illustrator to get the shapes I want.
Export the file and open up in gimp, apply a custom filter I created.
Export to svg inkscape, and apply a filter there I created
Combined the “layered” effects give me what I want.
Inkscape has cool filters, and you can edit those filters and “chain” them to other filters to create custom filters which you can use again to then filter other filters, while you filter.
That’s a lot of filtering, phew!
-ng
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I love Fireworks. I think it’s one of the “unsung heroes” in Adobe’s line. And it’s cheaper than Photoshop.
The reason I especially like it for app design is because it meshes the infinite, easy resize benefits of vector graphics with a slew of artistic methods, styles, and fills that can make your images look far more “hand-painted” than what is often expected from vector graphics. Combine this with a wide array of “live filters” that allow for even more artistic tweaks (while STILL keeping your image fully vector-based) and 80-90% of your app art needs are covered by one relatively affordable program.
The icing on the cake is the free 3rd-party Fireworks plugin that can output Corona physics shapes. Just draw a shape over the image using the “pen” tool, going clockwise of course, and use the shape output utility to get the exact physics shape coordinates. Awesome little tool. 
Don’t get me wrong, I adore Photoshop too. I’ve used it since about Photoshop 3.x back in the early 90s. I still use it for some things, but for apps, Fireworks is my work horse.
Brent Sorrentino.
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I’m not “graphics guy”, can’t do whole scene from scratch but if I buy some great pieces final effect is pretty good for me.
Vector graphics has different style so it doesn’t work for all your projects. You can’t do “Secret of Grisly Manor” with vector graphics.
Tools - got Fireworks in work and Pixelmator at home. Fireworks is absolutely fantastic!
Vector or bitmap graphics? Vector is much much more elastic for project and i use it a lot but Inkscape on Mac sux 
Illustrator is great tool but not cheap one. But hey - Fireworks can do simple vector graphics too!
So if style of your projcet allow vector graphics go for it as long as you can. Finally you have to create bitmap for Corona SDK. Get Fireworks! It really kick ass [import]uid: 12704 topic_id: 26641 reply_id: 108043[/import]
Judging by my previous experiences with open source freeware programs like mypaint and inkscape is the developers who made them don’t put much effort into the os x builds compared to the windows version. Gimp still and blender still work on os x. [import]uid: 128294 topic_id: 26641 reply_id: 108108[/import]
Cool, I never tried fireworks. I bought the “Master Collection Cs6” (I was using only illustrator and PS cs5 before). I got it for 40% off, so I figured why not.
Looking through there is a long list of stuff that comes with it, but fireworks was one of those. So far so good, it’s like illustrator in a way but with dual purpose image/vector.
I found that the “pages” feature seems cool too. Ive only messed with it about 15 minutes (just stopped now lol).
I’ll check it out some more, definitely feels more geared toward mobile graphics dev than illustrator or photoshop.
thx for the recommendation, who knew it was right under my nose .
ng [import]uid: 61600 topic_id: 26641 reply_id: 108142[/import]
Yep, it’s a great program. As another user pointed out, it’s not ideal for truly “painted” backgrounds like you’d see in most adventure games, but for most other purposes it’s awesome.
Using pages is also a great way to organize your images. I typically design one “Master” image then duplicate it for each target resolution I need (1x, 2x, 4x, whatever), scaling each page to that value and then exporting (hotkey: Command-Shift-R) to my project directory. A very streamlined method that Adobe has provided in that sense.
Also, if you need it, here’s a link to the “Physics Shape Panel” which you can install in Fireworks. Just draw out the shape using the pen tool and use the panel to get the coordinates.
http://www.ludicroussoftware.com/corona-physics-shape-panel-for-fireworks/index.html
Brent Sorrentino
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I think the vector graphics just look better on platforms such as iPhone’s and iPad’s. This is my sole opinion but the vector graphics can show detail while staying small. I played some games that use 3D graphics and they are just way to hard to see on a little iPhone screen. It definitely depends on what style your game is though because there are great games that use more traditional artistic methods. [import]uid: 50511 topic_id: 26641 reply_id: 108419[/import]