Computer Graphics

What software to buy for someone into computer graphics?

My sister loves to make her own avatars, wallpapers, and graphics, and she’s GREAT at it, but I want to help her out by buying a Computer Software. She’s currently using Photoshop and GIMP but since I don’t know much about computer graphics and imaging, I was wondering which program would be the right one to buy for her? THANKS!

software:
(1) NeatImage or Noise Ninja for removing noise from the image (also have photoshop plug-ins)
(2) Corel Draw – I design our company’s shirts with this. It comes with a color separation. It separates the yellows from the blue from the red so that it would be easier to cut out the silkscreen patterns for shirt printing.
(3) Genuine Fractals (also have photoshop plug-ins) – for resizing of image without sacrificing quality

Hardware:
pen tablet…it’s easier and faster to edit graphics using the pen instead of the mouse. It simulates drawing. There is a pen and there is a tablet that serves as the mousepad or paper. Wacom brand is expensive, my friend just bought me a cheaper Genius brand.

Lecture – 1 Introduction to computer graphics