Chani

I agree 100% with what BobbieLee said.

Except...your plotter IS compatible with AI. Of course, I never use it with AI.

Oh...Mac vs PC...Upgrades and Software are generally less expensive with PC's

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miktoxic

i'd rather spend a little xtra on a mac and have less headaches.

 

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sunnydayz

I think these threads just go to prove that its all a matter of preference. I always suggest to try both trials and see which works best for you Its the only way to truly find out which is better in your circumstance.

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sbremner

Like most here are saying, Illustrator or Corel for vectors, and most definitely Photoshop. I'm in the contract printintg business, and I have to say, I don't receive 10 CorelDraw files a year from my customers, they are almost all Illustrator, so we're more adept at Illustrator here. None are "easy". Just be prepared to spend some time learning. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find it all makes sense, considering what you're trying to do. Good luck, and don't get discouraged.

Steve

 

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corytrevor

Yea, we don't get hardly any corel files anymore either. Which is great for us, since we're and Illustrator shop. I get the feeling that the guys who are using it are the guys who fell in love with it a long time ago and have been using it for years... but I'm sure there are exceptions, so save the clickity clack

 

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myk5

The newest IllustratorCS2, does a GREAT job of converting raster to vector art -'vectorizing' if you will.

CorelDraw and Illustrator cover the same ground, I personally prefer Illustrator. CorelDraw may be easier for some people to use. I believe Illustrator is easier to use at an advanced level, especially if you are also an artist. You may be able to buy both Photoshop and Illustrator cheaper than Photoshop and CorelDraw.

Illustrator has a similar user interface as Photoshop, so if you already know Photoshop well, it may help your learning curve with Illustrator.

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folivio

Quote: Originally Posted by pwinder I currently am new to the t-shirt thing, I just have a whole load of ideas for great t-shirts. I was wondering, which software is best to bring my ideas to life, to make what I think in my head a picture exactly how I want it. I want to be able to take pictures and use the background as a part or my design/creation or use an object in the pic as a part of my design/creation. Which software would be best??

You asked which was more user friendly.

CorelDraw example 1: Drop Shadow
1. Select the Drop Shadow Tool.
2. Click on the object you want a Drop Shadow on.
3. Drag. Done!

CorelDraw example 2: Fill and Outline
1. Select the object you want to add a fill and outline to.
2. Left click the color for the fill.
3. Right click the color for the outline. Done!

CorelDraw example 3: Gradient Fill
1. Select the Interactive Gradient Fill Tool.
2. Click the object you want to add a gradient fill to.
3. Drag. Done!

Now that's user friendly!

Frank Olivio

 

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myk5

Quote: Originally Posted by folivio You asked which was more user friendly. CorelDraw example 1: Drop Shadow 1. Select the Drop Shadow Tool. 2. Click on the object you want a Drop Shadow on. 3. Drag. Done!

Illustrator Example:
1. Select object to apply drop shadow to
2. from top menu bar bar select filter - stylize -dropshadow.

You now have a dialog box allowing you to control the placement, blur, opacity, transparency mode and color of your drop shadow. You can always stick to the default, but tweaking every aspect of that drop shadow is instantly available.

Quote: Originally Posted by folivio CorelDraw example 2: Fill and Outline 1. Select the object you want to add a fill and outline to. 2. Left click the color for the fill. 3. Right click the color for the outline. Done!

Illustrator Example:
As you create the object it automatically has the last fill and stroke used or applied, these are available on the base of the main tool bar, double click to change the color of fill or stroke or select color from a library with the stroke or fill object selected.

Quote: Originally Posted by folivio CorelDraw example 3: Gradient Fill 1. Select the Interactive Gradient Fill Tool. 2. Click the object you want to add a gradient fill to. 3. Drag. Done!

Illustrator Example:
1. select the object to be filled with a gradient and double click the gradient tool.
2. You now have a floating window that allows you to select the kind of gradient and to customize the gradient colors, angles.
3. The tool can be used manually (dragging) to interactively adjust placement and beginning and end.

Generally Illustrator is more difficult but always in the interest of giving the user flexibility and control.

Quote: Originally Posted by folivio Now that's user friendly! Frank Olivio

User friendly is in the eye of the user. If I don't want to accept defaults and instead wish to micro manage the filters, colors and effects. Illustrator makes it easier to do so.

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dann

Quote: Originally Posted by miktoxic dan i guess you've never used a mac. we don't have problems with viruses, drivers. etc. like pc users do. my girlfriend and i have an office in our apt with our desks at opposite ends of the room. she is constantly complaining about things with her pc and it's operating sys. i agree that the software might run the same on the machines but there is no comparison to the computers. and yes the user has to be capable of using the tools given to him/her. once you learn an adobe program they interconnect with each other seamlessly (kybd shortcuts for one). i can do a quick graphic in photoshop or illus. and import it directly into my video editing program bing bang. and you must work for yourself. i live 10 minutes north of nyc and i don't know if things are different where you are but all the creative agencies, design houses etc. use adobe(illus./photsp/flash and now even indesign), period.

Your "mac" is just a pc running mac os. Macs have been made by intel for sometime now. Any advantages you may have by running things on a mac are in your head.

And you don't get viruses not because macs are so fantastic. It's because no one is going to waste their time writing a virus that will only work on 3% of the computer using population.

 

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myk5

So off topic

OSX is more secure than windows due to small market share yes (closer to 6% and growing) - but there's a lot more to it than that. The OSX kernel, 'Darwin', is open source. That means when a virus is written to exploit OSX, the open source community has access to the kernel to be able to patch the vulnerability with Apple not having to lift a finger.

(in the world of hackers and crackers, an OSX virus is a big deal because none exists - so there is a lot of interest in attacking OSX simply for bragging rights. Before OSX, OS9 and earlier DID have virus' written for them that required anti-virus protection -and their market share was far less than it is now).

Compare to Windows where the kernel is a proprietary secret, and the company has a history of denying a virus exists until they have a patch for it - no matter how long your computer is vulnerable in the meantime.

OSX is better than Windows because it allows you to focus on the application you're running, not on the operating system behind the application. It's not that OSX is anything more than a barely adequate operating system tho. Its that Windows is grossly inadequate, every version - but it's so ubiquitous people are used to it and make excuses for it.

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dann

Yeah, it is a bit off topic. It's just odd when people say macs are so great. They're a PC with a unix based OS. Hardly worth the thousands macs go for, since you could buy a nice comparable linux box (a pc with a unix based OS) for what, 300$? Macs 'just work' because you aren't allowed to do anything that 'won't work'.

But back on topic, go with Inkscape and GIMP and find some abandon-ware versions of illustrator/corel draw and photoshop to open customer supplied files with and do some exporting.

 

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folivio

Thank you... You made my point perfectly! What? You don't know what I mean? It's simple. In Draw you don't have to open dialogs or palettes and putz around trying to get Illy to do what you want.

For example.. the drop shadow. You make it appear as if it is a 2 step process. How deceiving. In Draw all the shadow properties are available right on the image. No dialogs or complicated parameters. You want more fade? Just drag the slider on the image. More Transparency? Again, just move the slider on the image. Change color? Just click on any color. And the best part is it happens in REALTIME. No preview check boxes or trial and error.

Want another example? Gradient Fill... Again, click and drag. Want to move the center of the gradient? Just drag the slider on the image. Need more than 2 colors in your gradient? Just drag them from the color palette and place them on the line (yep, you guessed it) on the image. Decide to change direction of the gradient? Just drag the line "on the image". Again, no "floating windows" or endless lists of gradients, none of which is what you're looking for. It's dribble to say "Ease of use is in the eye of the beholder", unless the beholder has something in his eye. Ease of use should equal productivity. Endless dialogs, floating windows, confusing settings, limited feature sets, restricted user customization and harder use tools do not answer the poster's original question. Which software is more user friendly?

Have fun

Quote: Originally Posted by myk5 Illustrator Example: 1. Select object to apply drop shadow to 2. from top menu bar bar select filter - stylize -dropshadow. You now have a dialog box allowing you to control the placement, blur, opacity, transparency mode and color of your drop shadow. You can always stick to the default, but tweaking every aspect of that drop shadow is instantly available. Illustrator Example: As you create the object it automatically has the last fill and stroke used or applied, these are available on the base of the main tool bar, double click to change the color of fill or stroke or select color from a library with the stroke or fill object selected. Illustrator Example: 1. select the object to be filled with a gradient and double click the gradient tool. 2. You now have a floating window that allows you to select the kind of gradient and to customize the gradient colors, angles. 3. The tool can be used manually (dragging) to interactively adjust placement and beginning and end. Generally Illustrator is more difficult but always in the interest of giving the user flexibility and control. User friendly is in the eye of the user. If I don't want to accept defaults and instead wish to micro manage the filters, colors and effects. Illustrator makes it easier to do so.

 

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myk5

Some general vector program tips, for any vector application.

WHY VECTOR? Vector drawings are made of shapes that are defined mathematically, they are resolution independent. That means they scale perfectly in any circumstance, unlike any raster image. For screen printers, vector art provides clean sharp shapes that can be screen printed cleanly and easily.

Fundamental concept: think of vector drawing like an evolution of what you did in Kindergarten. Remember cutting out shapes on color construction paper and gluing them on top of each other to make a poster? That's how a vector program works - discrete shapes filled with color and perhaps an outline, placed on top of each other to yield an image.

The fundamental vector tool is the pen tool. It is the toughest to master, but time spent mastering the pen tool pays huge dividends for your lifetime of vector program use. A vector shape consists of points that control the angle from which a line leaves it and joins it. There is always a vector tool allowing you to edit these points and their effect on the angles of a life after the fact - but an expert with the pen tool get it right the first time. The process consists of clicking from point to point, like a connect the dots where you make up the dots as you go along, at each point you drag the mouse or wacom pen to control the angle of entry and departure. A rule of thumb is that to from a smooth curve - the control bar you drag with your mouse should be pulled to about 30% of the length to your next point. The fewer points your object has, the more smooth and elegant it will look.

It is possible to 'vectorize' or 'streamline' bitmap artwork into vector artwork. Illustrator CS3 does it spendidly. At home I have only Illustrator CS so I use Flash for streamlining and it does a great job too. The catch is this: if you are good with a pen tool, you can alway create a far better image tracing the bitmap with a pen tool than any vectorizing solution. It takes more time - unless the stand you're going for is very high (then it's easier to recreate the image properly with a pen tool than to try and simplify and smooth a vectorized version with hundreds or several thousands of unnecessary points).

It is true that in NYC Adobe rules the overall graphics industry. But there is an exception in the world of garment printers. One company I worked for had a proprietary printing technology that required a cad quality fine line that CorelDraw could deliver and Illustrator couldn't. Coreldraw does offer printers some cool tools that do things that are tough to do in Illustrator. I personally am glad CorelDraw is relevant and useful from the point of view of loving Illustrator: Adobe needs competition after absorbing Macromedia.

I should also point out that while Adobe rules graphics in NYC, most people are expert with Photoshop and Indesign. Those that are expert with Illustrator are few and far in between. There's so much competition as a graphic artist in NYC, I'm almost unemployable as I have 15 years of experience (I'm expected to ask for too much money or to leave the job too soon for a greener pasture). But I do have a job, and it's largely because I know Illustrator like the back of my hand. And to know Illustrator (or Coreldraw) well, you have to master the basics. The pen tool.

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myk5

Mactintosh computers work well because they make their own hardware. The same reason a Sony Playstation always works. The Apple hardware is top of the line and it is cheaper, component by component, to buy a Mac than a PC with the exactly the same configuration.

Have you looked at the configuration of a current Mac Tower? -It's an insanely powerful box. Steve Jobs must want the folks at Pixar to do animation on Macs.

As far as which program is more efficient. I'd be happy to take a vector task and do it in Illustrator in a timed competition with someone using Coreldraw to do the same thing.

But the truth is that I'm expert with Illustrator, any way it's less than perfect I know how to compensate for from knowing it so well.

And a Coreldraw expert would have the same advantage with Coreldraw.

It doesn't really matter, both programs are professional top quality vector graphics applications. Choose one, learn it well and you'll do excellent work.

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dann

Quote: Originally Posted by myk5 Mactintosh computers work well because they make their own hardware. The same reason a Sony Playstation always works. The Apple hardware is top of the line and it is cheaper, component by component, to buy a Mac than a PC with the exactly the same configuration.

Not true. Like I said, Intel makes macs. And they aren't cheaper component by component. I built my own tower and dropped maybe 400$ on it. And strictly from a hardw