Can someone recommend a good graphics program for artwork?

[cbn]

I am not really an artist, but I need some images to place in a book I am writing.

Can someone recommend a good graphics/artwork program that is easy enough for the beginner to learn. It would be good if it included a huge variety of sample images.

Thanks.

 

[Rottie]

If you are looking for free program I can think of Gimp I heard it is easier to use but to me the interface is bit confused. Or you prefer to use paid version try Microsoft Publisher (I think that is the right brand name).

 

[lxskllr]

Paint.NET

 

[Malak]

No graphics software suite I know of comes with sample images, they are designed for you to make your own images. What you want is like a clipart collection, which are a dime a dozen. Lots of websites out there that have no problem selling you images and you can probably find the ones you want.

 

[uberman]

I've got a copy of Adobe Illustrator (5 yrs old) and I've never figured out how to use it. It's probably difficult. But I don't do art.

 

[rivan]

If you're looking to self-publish, you're looking for a layout application. For the Adobe applications, you'd be looking for InDesign for page layout. Illustrator can do typesetting and single page layout, but it doesn't have any strength in multipage documents.

If you're looking for clip art to drop into your book, then you should be looking at things like clip art collections or websites like istockphoto.

If you're actually looking for a tool to lay out your book and don't have the budget for InDesign, try Scribus.
http://www.scribus.net/