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Archive for the 'shareware' Category

Symmetries - Vector Path Software Tool

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on August 18, 2008

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Symmetries from Earthlinksoft Software is an interesting symmetrical vector object generator tool.

The control system is very intuitive, requring no knowledge of how to manipulate vector paths. While simplistic, it gives one a high level of control over exploring interesting symmetrical objects. I did find that there seemed to be a bit of a genre of shapes that were the calling card for this tool, but maybe I just didn’t play with it enough.

Symmetries does not generate tiled patterns, but rather single vector objects, which then can be pasted into the vector software of your choosing for futher editing. The demo mode doesn’t allow this, so I couldn’t test it.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Illustrator File Previews: SneakPeek Pro QuickLook Plugin For Mac OS X

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George Coghill

on May 27, 2008

in Adobe Illustrator, productivity and shareware

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SneakPeek Pro is a QuickLook plugin fro Mac OS X 10.5 (”Leopard”). In a nutshell, it extends file previews in both QuickLook and the Finder to previously unsupported file types such as Adobe Illustrator .ai files and EPS files.

If you aren’t familiar with QuickLook, it’s a pretty awesome new feature of 10.5 which allows you to quickly preview a good number of core file types â€” PDF, JPG, PSD, Word docs, movies, text files and more â€” without actually opening an application. One just needs to tap the spacebar with a file highlighted in the Finder, and a floating bezel-type window opens up with the full image, document or movie. Even works with multi-page documents as well. It’s just plain awesome.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Mac Vector App Showdown

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George Coghill

on May 14, 2008

in Adobe Illustrator, OS X, shareware and tools

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A good, informative post over at TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) comparing low-cost vector software applications for Mac OS X byÂ 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.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Acorn: The Leatherman Tool of Image Editors

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George Coghill

on October 2, 2007

in OS X, Reviews, shareware, software and tools

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The more I try out image editors Pixelmator & Acorn, the more Acorn’s simplicity and new perspective on the interface grows on me. Pixelmator is looking to be just about perfect for those people who need a Photoshop Elements style app with low overhead at a sweet price point.

Acorn, on the other hand, seems to be carving out a new niche, and developer Gus Mueller has shown in some of the details that’s he’s not trying to compete with Photoshop (or even Pixelmator), rather he’s attempting to do something new & unique. From the single, unified tools palette to the Option & Control key resizing & crop features (with the live pixel dimension display on the bottom left of the window frame) to the live brush size on the brush slider, Mueller demonstrates that he’s been using graphics software, he’s been frustrated with some things, and he’s thought of a way to make it painless, effortless and intuitive.

Once you’ve worked a bit in Acorn with some of these novel approaches to old habits, you’ll soon wonder why it was never done this way before.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Image editor Pixemator hits 1.0

Published

George Coghill

on September 25, 2007

in Adobe Photoshop, shareware, software and tools

. 1 Comment

Pixelmator image editor icon art The much-buzzed image editor Pixelmator has just been released in all it’s 1.0 glory, which means the rest of us can download the demo and if so inclined pick up a copy ($59).

I have played around a bit with it and it seems pretty darn cool. Once I have a chance to compare it to Acorn I’ll get a review up here.
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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Acorn: Handy Lightweight Pixel-Based Image Editor

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George Coghill

on September 17, 2007

in art, cartooning, shareware, sketch, software and tools

. 0 Comments

Screenshot of single palette pixel-based image editor Acorn A new image editor snuck in under the radar a few days back: Acorn. It’s a pretty nice lightweight alternative to Photoshop for either users who don’t need all the bells and whistles the Adobe juggernaut has to offer, or would like to have a companion app for those times when you just need to do some quick edits and don’t want to fire up Photoshop just for an annotated screenshot.

If Adobe has Photoshop Elements, you could call Acorn “Photoshop Molecule”.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Default Folder X - Essential Mac Productivity Utility Software

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George Coghill

on September 9, 2007

in OS X, Reviews, keyboard shortcuts, productivity, shareware, software and tools

. 0 Comments

Default Folder X is one of those shareware utility applications that seem pretty handy while you are demoing, but until you use another Mac without Default Folder installed (or the demo runs out), you don’t realize exactly how perfect the software actually is.

I constantly run across these “714 Absolutely Essential Mac Applications” blog posts that always leave this one out. And I think the only reason is that the author is unaware of it’s existence. There’s no other explanation. Half of the time the apps I see on those lists are so-so anyways.

So what is this so-called “Default Folder” anyways? In short, it’s a way for you to access â€“ from the Open/Save dialog windows â€“ not only commonly used folders, but also recently used folders and open Finder windows, all with (mostly) user-defined keyboard shortcuts.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Genopal Color Scheme Generator Software: Weird Name, Cool Tool

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George Coghill

on August 24, 2007

in Cool Stuff, OS X, Web Links, art, design, productivity, shareware, software and tools

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Genopal is a color scheme generator software application I just stumbled across, and it’s pretty interesting.

Instead of the standard color wheels most color scheme generator/explorer software programs utilize, Genopal doesn’t give you the option of choosing a color model such as Complimentary, Triadic and such. Instead there are two sliders, one for Color Diversity and one for Lightness Diversity. There’s a “Generate” button which them cycles though color schemes as analagous or as wild as you set the sliders.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Archive That Artwork! Backup Tips & Software Advice for Mac OS X

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George Coghill

on July 31, 2007

in Apple, OS X, Reviews, Tips, productivity, shareware and tools

. 0 Comments

Backup. It’s something most computer users - let alone artistic types - never think about, at least not until after it’s too late. Trust me, once it happens to you, it will never be forgotten. Perhaps I can convince you to never have to go through that by recommending you start your backup system now.

All that precious time spent creating, tweaking, and perfecting your masterpiece is well worth a few measly bucks and a bit of effort (which will be automated once it’s all set up) to ensure you don’t lose those hours of hard work.

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by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Great Wacom Tablet Scrolling Software For Mac OS X: Smart Scroll X

Published

George Coghill

on June 27, 2007

in Cool Stuff, OS X, Reviews, productivity, shareware and software

. 3 Comments

Smart Scroll X icon In some previous posts, I rambled on about the ability to scroll, one-handed, using the Wacom software, and a shareware alternative, Smart Scroll X . I also touched on this a bit in my Wacom Intuos graphics tablets review.
I am very pleased to report that the developer of Smart Scroll X has worked out the issues with Camino and NetNewsWire. The newly introduced scrolling feature in the Wacom tablet driver software is very cool, and should be more than sufficient for most users. Smart Scroll X fills a gap that the more nerdy of us may appreciate. And I think this is the proper situation for a shareware app - to extend functionality. Continue reading 'Great Wacom Tablet Scrolling Software For Mac OS X: Smart Scroll X'OS X: Smart Scroll X’

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio • Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.