As most people know, I am not a graphic type. Indeed, I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler. So my interest in graphic programs definitely tends to the easier ones to use. Still, until quite recently, I have had to ask others to build buttons and other simple graphics for our Web site - no program of which I knew would do them for me easily.
Well, after a lot searching, I found a great and simple graphic program that does exactly what I want - let me create simple Web graphics easily and quickly. It saves them out as GIFs, JPGs, PNGs, and even PhotoShop formatted files. And I must say that being able to create my own buttons and Web icons without having to yell for help is quite a relief.
This program is Adobe's Image Styler. And I must give it a score of ten, or both thumbs up as far as a rating goes. Please note that writing a review of a program that I like as much as Image Styler is difficult because, having used it, to me it is self-evident that you should rush out and buy it. Now, I have to explain why it should be obvious to you as well - and that is somewhat like telling you why you should have a computer at all. Well, on to the review....
Image Styler allows me to create a very simple or even a very complex button with just a few mouse and key strokes. Of course, from that simple button, I can add a lot of special effects: three dimensional effects, borders, distortions, special shapes (and Adobe has included a lot of standard shapes), focus effects, dithering effects, layers. And on and on and on. There are a lot of special effects that a non-graphics oriented person can use to create simple or complex graphics - I've been using the program for about six months, and I still haven't used all of the capabilities of Image Styler.
Having said all these nice things about Image Styler, I must give some actual details about the program.
Image Styler uses what I think of as Adobe's standard interface. You have the basic operating window, then surrounding it are the various windows for the many tools you have to manipulate your drawing. Of course, you have the ubiquitous shapes and colors palette. Other palettes available let you do the many things I described above: distort the image, change the opacity of the image, change the colors of your image, apply a gradient to the image, and many other tools. These tools are organized into palettes, each of which has its own window so you can move easily between the tools without having to search for the specific tool you want to use.
Ok, you've designed and built the perfect set of buttons for your Web page. Now, how do you get them out of Image Styler and into, let's say, JPG or GIF format? Look around the screen and find the Export window. Change the type of file to JPEG, and check the "Active Preview" box. Image Styler will then tell you how large your image files are going to be when you finally save them out. Yes, if you build three buttons in one go, you will get three image files. So everything is perfect - go ahead and export the images. Image Styler will build a Web page for you linked to the saved images you developed in the format you want, e.g. JPG. You can then take the images and put them into your own Web pages.
Of course, because Image Styler is oriented towards the Web, you get a great set of tools that allow you to build images and actual code that take advantage of JavaScript's many abilities to change images on the fly, using, for example, MouseOver events. Additionally, you can tie a URL to the image so that when you export your images, you can just cut the code from the Image Styler Web page to your own page. Actually, Image Styler can be used to develop your entire graphics-based Web page - though as a Web developer, I don't recommend that solution.
In the few words above, I've tried to describe some of the more important features of Image Styler. Obviously, reading the documentation that accompanies Image Styler gives a lot more insight into the program's capabilities. And, you can even use it to learn how to use the program. The documentation is thorough and well-written as is usual with Adobe's products.
This program is a useful addition to any Web designer's tool box, as well as anyone who needs to pump out graphics. It allows the developer to build simple and complex graphics quickly and easily - much more easily than any other program I have found, and I've been looking for quite a while. As I said above, it gets a score of 10 and two thumbs up! And I hope I have begun to explain why it is obvious to me why you need this program.
If you have any questions about this product or any other I have seen, please feel free to contact me here.
Date Revised: 23 December 2003