Fireworks in the Real World: Introduction
videos

Fireworks in the Real World: Introduction

on Mar 7th 2013 with 20 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Screencast duration: 7 mins
  • Topic: Adobe Fireworks
  • Difficulty: Beginner
This entry is part 1 of 10 in the Fireworks in the Real World Session
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Welcome to the first in a series of screencasts about using Adobe Fireworks in the real world. This session is suitable for newcomers to Fireworks and those of you who’ve used it in the past, but not necessarily as your design tool of choice. Throughout this session I’ll be showing you the advantages Fireworks has for real world projects.

Introduction


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By

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Leigh Howells is a web designer with 18 years’ experience, based in Cambridge UK. Currently works as a Design Consultant at Headscape Ltd. Long time contributor to Boagworld blog and podcast. Occasionally published in places like Smashing and .Net Magazines. Follow on Twitter - @Leigh  

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  • http://twitter.com/verpixelt Kevin Lorenz

    I’m super excited about such video series, when will the next episode be online? I totally want to use Fw more than I do now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/oldcampos Francisco Campos

    I’ve read articles about fireworks, but I don’t realy use it as much as I’d like to. I hope this series gives the push I need to give fireworks a try…

  • http://www.maverickcreative.ca/ Joshua Richards

    I’m interested, but there is far too much rambling. Get to the point!

    • http://twitter.com/leigh Leigh Howells

      Scene setting – promise to try not to ramble too much as we get going :)

    • ianyates

      Have a bit of patience! It’s all part of Leigh’s presentation style (which I think’s pretty nice viewing)..

  • Lucas

    Why not a series of tutorials on Sketch (bohemiancoding.com) instead of Fireworks? ;) I just don’t think Fireworks is going anywhere anymore.

    • http://twitter.com/leigh Leigh Howells

      I love Sketch. It does a lot of things really well. Mac only of course though, so more limited (but very relevant) audience. Maybe next :)

      • Lucas

        Awesome! Looking forward to Sketch tuts :) But yeah, Mac only, good point. I love Fireworks too but it’s a shame it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

  • http://twitter.com/Tee_trinker ƤƏԎƏΓ⸗ЊҒШѦЛЛ

    Looking forward to this. I’m using Fireworks on my first web-project now and I found it pretty useful, especially for wireframing and prototyping websites and interfaces. But compared to other Adobe tools, I find it very awkward to use – it just needs a lot more work in terms of usability and performance. It feels like for Adobe it’s more of a second-class product, which they don’t seem to care much about. (no wonder, since it doesn’t sell as much as PS, ID, etc.)

  • chadw

    So great to see some content on Fireworks. Previously starting my current 9-5 I never used it. I had an instructor in college who tried to get me to use it but I refused. Now that I use it daily I rarely go into Photoshop unless I need to do photo editing.

  • Jeff

    What did I just watch? It was certainly not a tutorial. I learned nothing. What is the point of this video?

    • ianyates

      Part of a longer series Jeff, hang fire..

  • Devon117

    Fireworks is like a simplified version of Photoshop. Photoshop can do way more things but sometimes its just better to be more simple, I prefer fireworks! Jpg’s in fireworks are terrible though. The quality is just ew, thats the only crappy thing

    • Isabel

      Fireworks is not a simplified version of Photoshop. That is a common misconception. PS is a photo editing tool that can do many things web through workarounds. Fireworks does these things for web faster and much more logically simply cause it is a web design tool.

      • Adebola

        Tell them Isabel!

    • mjmediastudio

      Never noticed that. All jpegs were always crystal clear.

  • Isabel

    Hi Leigh,

    Very happy to see this tuts no matter if FW stays or leaves. At least some more people will get to know it better, which is good, cause there are big misconceptions and a big lack of knowledge about it, and it is a real pity.

    I wanted to comment on Firework’s capabilities as a vectors tool.

    Just as you said, Fireworks is not to replace Illustrator, one of the main reasons being the fact that FW is a screen tool , even if you can set its canvas to 300dpi – (but for that we have Illustrator better).

    However, I’d like to point out the fact that the level of quality it delivers for screen illustration with vectors is just amazing if one learns how to use this extremely easy and short learning curve software.

    In fact, one of the best things it has is that, not having an interface with a myriad of different tools, one can achieve the best results with far less effort and in some cases, these results are better than in other more appreciated and well known vector tools.

    I am specially in love with its feather tool which is the finest I have ever had the pleasure to use. One can just go and try the feather tool in Illustrator and then give it a go in Fireworks to get to their own conclusions.

    The live effects and gradient tools give immediate feedback which allows the designer to work in an extremely easy and accurate way.

    Lastly, allow me please to leave here a couple of links to show more clearly what I mean and to let people know how designers and artists, including myself, are using this amazing tool, and maybe more people gets to know a little bit more of what Fireworks can achieve and deliver (and this is just the vector illustration part). Then, all the rest.

    100% Fireworks:

    http://dribbble.com/Isabel_Aracama?page=1

    http://dribbble.com/search?q=fireworks

    Thanks and again, very happy to see this tuts!

  • Pham Ngoc Sinh

    i used firework. i love firework but in the marketplace of tutplus using PSD common for sale, so sad

  • Adebola

    I love fireworks. been using it since 2004 and not thinking I will back down yet. My first love when it comes to grafix. Can’t wait for more episodes

  • Nick

    I know photoshop is for editing photos. But I have seen loads of people use photoshop for making templates for websites. Especially for Themes.

    Should I learn fireworks?