By Eva Williams 2 days ago, Apps and Software
Looking for efficient Adobe Fireworks alternatives for prototyping websites and app interfaces? In this article, you will find a list of the best programs for creating graphics that can be used even by beginners. They are useful for drawing and editing vectors and bitmaps. You can also use them for sharing projects with the team.
Adobe Fireworks is a great program for sketching and creating designs. It supports wireframing and prototyping, which allows you to use it for improving your UI.
Adobe Fireworks provides vector and bitmap editing tools and supports iOS and HTML prototypes. However, while people can still use Adobe Fireworks, it is not updated anymore. That is why many designers are starting to look for an Adobe Fireworks replacement.
By using these programs, you can effectively organize designs in folders, preview the design of a mobile app, use various plugins for accelerating your work. With some software, you can create 3D designs and draw soft lines thanks to the brush stabilization feature. These Fireworks alternatives also perfect for non-destructive editing.
Adobe XD is a great alternative to Adobe Fireworks as it allows designing and prototyping interactive user experiences for web and mobile applications. The program has a range of tools that can be used for creating interactive mockups. Adobe XD lets you link any object to any designated page, thus allowing a user to get to it in one click. Mockups can simulate a scrolling page or window.
The program is quite easy to use. Users can learn more about its advanced features by watching a demo. With the help of this UI design software, you can wireframe, animate, prototype, collaborate, etc.
Main Features of Adobe XD:
Adobe XD is compatible with both macOS and Windows. The program has a Repeat Grid tool that allows users to create lists of items. After creating one item, you can use a repeat grid for duplicating it vertically or horizontally. Then, you can create a unique entry for each duplicated item by dragging and dropping text or pictures.
You can use this free Adobe software for interactive prototyping even without third-party plugins. Adobe XD can be used by designers for connecting interactive areas to other screens using wires and transitions. Besides, you can publish and share an interactive prototype and view it on the Web or with the Adobe XD mobile application.
Fireworks and Adobe X are more suitable for producing website prototypes. However, those users who need to draw vector graphics should use Illustrator. This Adobe Fireworks alternative is great for designing logos, typography, illustrations, and other scalable elements. Illustrator suits for creating drawings, maps, complex technical illustrations, business cards, and more.
Main Features of Adobe Illustrator:
Illustrator has a great toolkit for creating stunning vector graphics. Besides, it comes with effective reshaping and transformation tools for blending shapes, warping, tweaking, bloating, and more. In Illustrator, you can draw precise control lines and shapes with slicing and cutting tools.
This Fireworks alternative allows you to export your files in various formats for printing, app design, video projects, etc. Moreover, you can use design templates, vector illustrations, and photos in your works.
Affinity Designer is a vector graphic design software that can be used on PCs and iPads. If you compare Affinity Designer vs Illustrator, you will see that the latter lacks more advanced tools. Affinity Designer is one of the best Fireworks alternatives for illustrators and graphic designers who work with raster and vector graphics.
Main Features of Affinity Designer:
This Adobe Fireworks alternative has standard pen and shape tools for creating complex vector and pixel artworks. This software has a handy persona toolbar that groups vector, pixel, and export tools into three categories and allows switching between them without interrupting your workflow.
This software comes with great color adjustment tools. It supports the majority of formats, ICC profiles, and the most recent wide gamut displays for unique designs. Besides, you use silky smooth gradients that will be updated on the page in real-time.
This open-source software is especially popular among Linux users. GIMP supports the majority of Photoshop files. The program is great for creating quick sketches and enhancing photos. While Illustrator is better for quick mockups and prototyping, GIMP is perfect for creating the final products.
Main Features of GIMP:
This free graphic design software can be used as a standard paint program, professional photo retouching software, an online batch processing platform, image renderer, and format converter. GIMP has tools for creating, loading, and saving animations in a frame-as-layer format.
Considered as one of the greatest Fireworks alternatives, this program allows adding plug-ins and extensions for even better performance. GIMP is fitted with an advanced scripting interface that allows users to script simple and complex tasks.
This free vector graphics software is great for creating graphics, layouts, and illustrations. With its artboards, you can create complex layouts and web pages. Besides, the program has the magical canvas feature that allows you to work without distractions.
Main Features of Vectornator:
What makes this Adobe Fireworks alternative different from other iOS programs is that its interface supports sensor features. Thanks to it, you can easily create vector shapes on your iPad.
Vectornator is easy to use, as it has a simple interface and intuitive design tools. It integrates with Adobe Creative Cloud and supports Apple Pencil.
Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor that allows you to work with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard. This vector program for Mac has an extensive toolkit with various shapes, markers, clones, patterns, transformations, and more.
Main Features of Inkscape:
Inkscape has basic text editing tools that can be found in word processing programs. However, this Adobe Fireworks alternative has a more extensive toolkit with numerous features for creating, editing, and transforming vectors. Each tool has a separate dialog box that can be activated with a double-click. This software allows you to create polygons, angle- and curve-based shapes. Besides, you can use a pen, brush, paint bucket, object sprayer, and more.
Inkscape has an effective tracing tool for transforming color and black-and-white bitmaps into vectors. After drawing shapes, you can use a great variety of snapping tools available in this free Illustrator alternative. With them, you can manage placement and path operations to control how the shapes and paths interact.
Fireworks Figma is the best solution for arranging ready-made graphics. Besides, this free wireframe tool is perfect for collaborating. You can work on the same page with your team members and communicate with them in real-time when using high-quality vector and raster graphic tools.
Main Features of Figma:
Figma lets you work on the same file with other team members in real-time. With it, you can easily edit a prototype, share it with your team, and submit it to your client for approval. Besides, you can view files on various PCs without downloading or copying them.
The program contains tools for creating designs, prototyping, and other tasks. This free web design software has the Figma Mirror app for iOS and Android platforms. With it, you can preview how your design will look on mobile devices.
Mockplus is a great Fireworks alternative for a variety of tasks, such as design, wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration. You can use its drag-and-drop features for building interactive prototypes. The program is great for collaborating with your team members when working on a project together. Besides, customers can post their comments directly in Mockplus.
Main Features of Mockplus:
Mockplus is a user-friendly program that is perfect for novices. You can use pre-built components and various icons. Thanks to a convenient drag-and-drop feature, you can create a prototype more quickly. Besides, there are eight ways for testing and previewing your works online or offline.
This alternative to Adobe Fireworks has 200 pre-built components that allow you to complete your projects more quickly. The program also has an extensive library with more than 3,000 icons, including 2,600 SVG icons.
