A good, informative post over at TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) comparing low-cost vector software applications for Mac OS X by indepedent developers. The review is specifically comparing tools and techniques available in Adobe Illustrator CS3.
The comparison covers four applications: DrawBerry, EazyDraw, Lineform, and VectorDesigner. I have demoed all of these at one point or another, and found each to have their stregths and weaknesses.
One of the comments on the post brought up a good point — do these apps create vector art files that are suitable/compatible with high-quality printing? That I do not have an answer for as of yet. One commenter stated that they were using one or two of these apps for design work, but didn’t specify if it was for print or just web.
For me, sticking with the CS3 suite ensures that all the files I create are compatible with each other and I know that they are ready fro print. However, for those starting out or learning vector art, a cheaper alternative may be the way to go to determine of vector art is for you, and to get a feel for the tools. In general all the vector tools (in particulat the path tools) are similar in all the apps.
by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.
Tags: Adobe, Adobe Illustrator, CS3, design, illustrator, Mac, Mac OS X, OS X, review, shareware, software, vector
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