Vector graphics software application DrawIt is one of many recent entries into the indie Mac developer vector graphics software field, including LineForm DrawBerry, VectorDesigner, and EazyDraw among others. Not only has the full version been updated to version 3.3.1, but a 1.0 release of the new — and free — lite version of DrawIt is now available as well.
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by George Coghill -
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Adobe just released an incremental update to InDesign CS3 (5.02), and it’s so new it seems to not be in the auto-update as of yet. Per the Read Me file:
 This update fixes known issues with Anchored Objects, Character Alignment, Step and Repeat, Indexing and Table of Contents, Text and Fonts, Dictionaries, Color, Scripting, Graphics Import/Export, InDesign Interchange files (INX), XML, Library files, and Printing, as well as other miscellaneous issues.Â
Continue reading 'Adobe InDesign CS3 5.02 Update Released – 10.5 Fixes On Apple’s Shoulders'
by George Coghill -
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After various random rounds on Twitter lamenting the demise of Macromedia Freehand, cartoon-style illustrator Garth Bruner decided to do something about it. He’s started posting an ongoing series of YouTube video screencasts demonstrating key differences between Freehand and Adobe Illustrator. He highlights how he created vector art in Freehand, then jumps over to Illustrator to attempt the same task, comparing tools, techniques and workflow.
Continue reading 'FreeHand & Illustrator Comparison Video Series By Illustrator Garth Bruner'
by George Coghill -
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Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.
As you may have noticed on this blog, I am a bit of a software junkie, particularly shareware/freeware. I love the ingenious functionality some of these independent developers bring to OS X, and also the direct access you have to the creators of the software.
MacHeist 2 is, as the name implies, a followup to an extremely Mac-only discount shareware software bundle promotion that debuted in the winter of 2007. Until January 23, 2008 at midnight, for $49 you can snag $370 worth of quality software. Last year’s apps were decent, this year’s apps are outstanding. My only regret is that I already own most of the apps that I would want out of the bundle! Â
Continue reading '11+ Excellent Mac OS X applications for a phenomenal price: MacHeist 2'
by George Coghill -
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I just stumbled across some more Creative Suite 3 issues on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, on the Adobe support site Photoshop page. Supposedly this will be fixed by an OS X update, not an Adobe update (and Adobe and Apple are working together on this issue).
Continue reading 'Even More CS3 & 10.5 Leopard Issues: Photoshop CS3'
by George Coghill -
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Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.
A plugin that I always forget to tout, since the functionality it provides seems so intrinsic to Illustrator once it’s installed, I forget it’s a third-party enhancement.
Select Menu for Adobe Illustrator (Mac and Windows, free) from Graffix Software is available for every version of Illustrator from 8 on up to CS3. It adds additional selectable items under the Select -> Objects menu.
This plugin really comes in handy at the production stage of prepping your art, allowing you to find all sorts of items that you need to preflight. It especially comes in handy after flattening transparency, such as when you export art to an older version of Illustrator. I find lots of klunky and open paths all over the place after flattening transparency, and I couldn’t imagine how much of a pain in the neck it would be to clean up art without Select Menu.
Continue reading 'Essential Adobe Illustrator Plug-in: Select Menu'
by George Coghill -
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James Demsey over at design blog The Creative Mac (formerly The Creative Guy) posted some additional issues with Adobe Creative Suite 3 and Mac OS X 10.5. Seems in addition to the Open/Save/Place issues I mentioned earlier, copying vector art from InDesign to Illustrator has issues, as does hiding InDesign.
Continue reading 'More CS3 Problems On Leopard'
by George Coghill -
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Yikes, just read over at MacMerc.com that one of Adobe’s guys posted a blog entry recently regarding some serious issues with InDesign, basically in all the dialog boxes. That means crashes for Save, Place, Open — doesn’t sound like something I would want to deal with. They did say this seems to be primarily with PowerPC based Macs, but that affects those of us still on a G4. These new InDesign bugs Adobe says they need Apple’s help to squash.
Continue reading 'Serious Issues With InDesign CS3 & Mac OSX 10.5'
by George Coghill -
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There’s a handy Mac OS X application list & summary over at graphic designer James Dempsey’s Creative Guy blog about which software applications seem to be working and which seem not to be working on his Intel MacPro.
Continue reading 'Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: What works, what doesn’t'
by George Coghill -
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Adobe announced the other day that CS3 is all set for Leopard, except for Acrobat Pro. Scheduled for sometime in January, the Acrobat update is coming but why such a long delay?
Update: I have recently learned about some CS3/10.5 issues. Be sure to read as these go beyond the Acrobat Professional issues noted here.
Continue reading 'Adobe: CS3 OK on 10.5 – Except For Acrobat Pro'
by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.
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