Corel Draw

[Akkarin]

Why did Corel stop making Draw for the Mac? I really like it on the PC. I am new to Macs and thought this would be on the Mac.

What is the best alternative to Draw on the Mac? I know Draw well and have used it and it's vector drawing tools for years. Will I find it hard to switch over to another application.

Thank You!

Akkarin

[camgangrel21]

try Photh shope.

[Thank The Cheese]

Best vector based alternative is Illustrator. I found myself in a similar situation as you 6 months ago. my Uni taught me Corel Draw, but then I found no one used it in the industry, so I needed to learn something else.

It was a bit of a learning curve for sure, but now that I know Illustratotr I just dont know how I could use anything else. At first it seems like it is much more cumbersome and over-complicated compared to Corel Draw, but you can do much more complex things once you get the hang of it.

The way I learnt Illustrator was through a VTC.com video tutorial, but there are plenty of good books too, I just hate reading :P

[fryke]

Originally Posted by camgangrel21

try Photh shope.

Even if spelt correctly Photoshop isn't a vector-based graphics application. I'd, too, say go with Illustrator. There are basically two vector graphics applications used in graphics design around the world, and that's Adobe Illustrator and Adobe FreeHand (was Macromedia FreeHand before Adobe bought Macromedia). And while both applications have a big user-base, it is believed currently that Adobe will merge some of FreeHand's features into the next version of Illustrator, effectively killing the former competitor's product.

If Illustrator is too much and too big for you, there are some cheaper solutions. Some things may be achieved with OmniGraffle, for example, which is a very nice tool in its own, but might not do what you actually want.

[Akkarin]

I think Illustrator is the way to go for me. Some of it is similar to Draw thankfully but there is a learning curve there I think. Pity as I liked Draw but I think Corel are looking more to the PC user only and people who just tinker on home projects now. They really are falling behind Adobe I feel now more and more. Which is a shame as Corel in the old days was a big application.

I do have a vtc.com account but I like books also; so on your advice I will be using these resources to move to Illustrator.

This is annoying because I read a huge Corel 12 book not long ago. Computing never seems to stop evolving. One reasons I am saying goodbye to PC's is I think Mac are coming back strong these days. I don't want stuck on a PC if there is shift to Mac in the computing industry.

Thank you for your help to this new Mac user.

[simbalala]

Corel Draw was never in the same league as Illustrator or Freehand.

The home user base is more appropriate for Corel.

[Lt Major Burns]

Corel has a wonderful way of drawing vectors, really simple and intuitive, but also powerful. however, a good all-round piece of software that does not make.

Illustrator is just the most powerful vector-to-print industry-level piece of software. my advice would be to just get a hold of how the pen tool works. that would be the key difference. it works, to some extent, like an advanced polygonal lasso tool in photoshop. try tracing round things.

[Akkarin]

Yes, you guys are right. Since my last post I have picked up a book and done 1/2 the vtc.com tutorial on Illustrator CS. I have to say I am surprised by how much more it has to offer. There are concepts that carry so I have found it easy enough to move over, so far.

It does not change the fact I really liked Corel Draw and I still praise it for price and what it offered - NO I will not here a word against my X vector software. It was my fault I was seeing Illustrator on the side.

Seriously though thanks for the help once more I find this forum great for helping me move to Mac. Perhaps one day I can help likewise.