Free Trial Buy now The state of the art of illustration. The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography,.
More on Vector Images Data Added 1: May 14, 2011 Release strategic and military games or Web sites faster with royalty-free Military Icon Set! Available in a multitude of resolutions and a variety of versions and file formats, the collection of military icons can be supplied in the form of raster or vector images. Including images such as Aim icon, Arrow icon, Maps icon, Dragon and Alert icons, the collection of army icons can enhance any game, product, or Web site. The collection of military icons has every image you need to build a.
Size: 1.2 MB License: Demo Price: $99 Keywords: -Data Added 1: September 20, 2012 SINFG is a resolution-independent image manipulation package, which allows you to create a wide variety of compositions including, but not limited to, fractals and vector images. Size: 227.6 KB License: Freeware Data Added 1: April 06, 2015 A collection of over a hundred royalty-free tab icons for Android developers, Android Tab Icons will enhance any Android app. Designed to conform to the strictest Android Icon Design Guidelines, the collection of Android icons includes raster and vector images in a variety of formats and resolutions.
PNG and PSD images are included in sizes of 48x48, 32x32, and 24x24 pixels (ldpi, mdpi, and hdpi resolutions), while scalable vector sources are supplied in AI, SVG, and PDF formats to. Size: 12.3 MB License: Shareware Price: 39EUR Keywords: -Data Added 1: February 18, 2013 EmfPrinter is a virtual printer driver for Microsoft Windows which allows you to print documents as EMF/WMF vector images or to more than 100 raster formats (JPEG,PNG,BMP,etc). Document conversion has never been easier! EMF generation virtual printer GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GPLv2) Size: 7.6 MB License: Freeware Data Added 1: August 02, 2014 VectorSNAP turns your photos into black and white vector images. You can scale them to any size and they will stay smooth and sharp. Apart from being generally amaze balls, they are great for making posters, T-shirts, logos, tattoos and graffiti stencils. Size: 7.7 MB License: Shareware Price: $0.99 Data Added 1: September 23, 2013 ONull is an image based vector generator for Linux and Mac OSX systems.
It allows the user to convert images into rasterized vector graphics. This tool was developed to give graphic designers the ability to transform small images from the Internet into printable and editable graphics. ONull is written in Java and uses the Processing core library as graphical engine. Here are some key features of 'ONull':?’A 16 Vector Shapes?’A Vector Controls (Size. Size: 1.9 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: November 09, 2013 The Java Vector Cut and Paste library provides:.
writing support for a number of Vector formats (WMF, EMF and MacPict), which can be used with Graphics2D. a simple class for copying vector images on the clipboard. Those images can be pasted in most word processors. Getting the source: you can download the latest version of the library with the command svn co Size: 1.1 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: December 27, 2010 Large Vector Icons is a collection of stock icons representing a variety of objects and concepts. They can be used in software interfaces or website design.
High-resolution icons (512x512 pixels) are perfect for splash-screens and can also be used in presentations and printed publications. Normal, highlighted and disabled versions of each icon are supplied. Each image is represented in 7 resolutions (16x16, 20x20, 24x24, 32x32, 48x48, 256x256 and 512x512 pixels) and 3 file formats (PNG, BMP. Size: 2.1 MB License: Demo Price: $49 Keywords: -Data Added 1: May 09, 2012 Download this Free Vector Diagram Icons Pack for your Website or Application.
11 icons in formats PNG, Windows Vista Format ICO And CDR Illustrations Format. FreeVectorDownload.com offer High Quality Royalty Free Vector Icons, More Icons Pls browse homepage Size: 919.0 KB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: April 01, 2018 Bitmap to Vector Converter is a try-before-buy software, you can try many times then decide whether to buy it or not. Features of Bitmap to Vector Converter: 1.Support all the window system including 32-bit and 64-bit. 2.Input formats: BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PDF, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, TGA, etc. 3.Output formats: PDF, EPS, Postscript, PS, SVG, DXF and EMF. 4.Support many kinds of paper size choosing.
5.Allow to rotate the converted vector images. 6.Allow you to set image width and height. Size: 9.2 MB License: Shareware Price: 100AED Keywords: - Data Added 1: April 03, 2018 BMP to Vector PDF Converter supports several kinds of output vector image formats, like BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PDF, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, TGA, etc. Features of BMP to Vector PDF Converter: 1.All Windows systems are supported. 2.Input formats: BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PDF, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, TGA, etc. 3.Output formats: PDF, EPS, Postscript, PS, SVG, DXF and EMF.
4.Support various types of paper size. 5.Allow to rotate the converted vector images. 6.Enable to set image width and height. Size: 9.2 MB License: Shareware Price: 100AED Keywords: -Data Added 1: April 05, 2018 GIF to Vector EPS Converter not only can help you convert gif to vector but also can help you edit the converted image property. Features of GIF to Vector EPS Converter: 1.All Windows systems are supported. 2.Input formats: BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PDF, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, TGA, etc. 3.Output formats: PDF, EPS, Postscript, PS, SVG, DXF and EMF.
4.Support various types of paper size. 5.Allow to rotate the converted vector images. 6.Enable to set image width and height. 7.Able to customize. Size: 9.2 MB License: Shareware Price: 100AED Keywords: - Data Added 1: July 29, 2017 Put the paints, brushes, and canvas away! Freehand Painter helps you create brilliant vector-based paintings on your PC. You can try different artistic styles in a single, easy to use application.
Just doodle on your touch screen PC to create realistic paintings with your fingers. You can achieve the expressiveness of brush strokes using vector graphics.
The simple user interface keeps everything at your fingertips. It is ideal for painting and drawing on your touch screen computer. Size: 6.5 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: June 23, 2012 Graphic design and illustration software With vector illustration, page layout, photo-editing and tracing software, CorelDRAWA® Graphics Suite X4 is ideal for professional and occasional designers tackling any type of graphics project. Precision design tools, market-leading file compatibility and high-quality graphics content help you turn your creative ideas into professional results. Create illustrations, logos, brochures, newsletters, flyers, signs, Web images.
Size: 298.0 MB License: Shareware Price: $429 Keywords: -Data Added 1: October 01, 2012 Introduction:- IndicPlus for Adobe Illustrator will further enhance the potential of this powerful vector graphics editing software with the most needed Complex Scripts support in it. Design Vector Images with Bi-Directional Texts:- IndicPlus adds the most needed support for typography in Illustrator involving Bi-Directional Complex Scripts such as Indic scripts and Right to Left Scripts such as Arabic Scripts. IndicPlus - Complex Script Support For Illustrator:- It enables the use of Unicode.
Size: 3.3 MB License: Shareware Price: $25.99 Keywords: -Data Added 1: January 08, 2014 Easily Draw and Create Graphic Images. DrawPad is an easy-to-use image composition and manipulation program, and an essential tool for all types of graphic design projects, including: Creating banner ads or invitations, Make sketches and paintings on your computer, Draw diagrams, icons and other web graphics. DrawPad is ideal for creating images, drawings, and for paintings. DrawPad features pencil and brush tools, raster and vector images, image layers for non-destructive editing,. Size: 539.0 KB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: July 23, 2014 Easily Draw and Create Graphic Images. DrawPad is an easy-to-use image composition and manipulation program, and an essential tool for all types of graphic design projects, including: Creating banner ads or invitations, Make sketches and paintings on your computer, Draw diagrams, icons and other web graphics.
DrawPad is ideal for creating images, drawings, and for paintings. DrawPad features pencil and brush tools, raster and vector images, image layers for non-destructive editing,. Size: 523.1 KB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: December 04, 2016 Easily Draw and Create Graphic Images. DrawPad is an easy-to-use image composition and manipulation program, and an essential tool for all types of graphic design projects, including: Creating banner ads or invitations, Make sketches and paintings on your computer, Draw diagrams, icons and other web graphics. DrawPad is ideal for creating images, drawings, and for paintings. DrawPad features pencil and brush tools, raster and vector images, image layers for non-destructive editing,.
Size: 1.7 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: November 16, 2017 Easily Draw and Create Graphic Images. DrawPad is an easy-to-use image composition and manipulation program, and an essential tool for all types of graphic design projects, including: Creating banner ads or invitations, Make sketches and paintings on your computer, Draw diagrams, icons and other web graphics. DrawPad is ideal for creating images, drawings, and for paintings. DrawPad features pencil and brush tools, raster and vector images, image layers for non-destructive editing,. Size: 7.2 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: March 23, 2009 TBarCode OCX (Barcode ActiveX Control) ADVANCED BARCODE GENERATOR TBarCode enhances all applications with professional barcode generating and barcode printing capabilities.
This barcode generator component can be used easily with Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access, Microsoft InfoPath, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Excel.) and in development environments. Just embed TBarCode OCX (an ActiveX control) with a few mouse-clicks into your document, worksheet and database. Size: 12.0 MB License: Demo Price: 84EUR Keywords: -Data Added 1: June 07, 2013 Spire.PDF for.NET enables your.NET applications to generate, open, draw, edit, protect, save and convert PDF documents without using Adobe Acrobat. It enables developers to build any WinForm or Web applications in C# and Visual Basic to manipulate PDF documents. The featured function: conversion enables developers to convert HTML(Website), Image and TXT files to PDF with high fidelity. And in this new version, other amazing conversion types are supported, incluidng conversion between PDF.
Size: 44.1 MB License: Shareware Price: $599 Keywords: -Data Added 1: April 06, 2012 Create maps of city infrastructure including the basic facilities, services, and installations typical for an urban or sub-urban community or society. Standard Infrastructure Icons depict objects of city infrastructure such as transportation, communication, social, governmental, industrial and emergency response systems, as presented by the Federal Geographic Data Committee of the Homeland Security Working Group. Unlike the latter, which are only available in black-and-white, Standard. Size: 6.6 MB License: Demo Price: 39.95EUR Keywords: -Data Added 1: November 27, 2011 Here is an App Tab Bar Icons for iPhone collection, which will help each iPhone or iPad application developer get his graphic user interface in order. The icons from this set can be used in navigation, tab bars and toolbars, as they specifically meet the icon guidelines for iOS application design. A wide range of images, including symbols for Dollar, Info, Help, Cut, Copy, Save, Search, Zoom, Help, Marker and Home, along with navigation arrows and lots of other general purpose graphics.
Size: 18.4 MB License: Shareware Price: 39EUR Keywords: -Data Added 1: March 23, 2014 The BarCode ActiveX TBarCode generates, prints and creates ALL 1D + 2D BARCODES (EAN, UPC, 2of5, Code128, QR-Code, Datamatrix.) in Office (Word,Excel,Access,InfoPath) and software projects (C, C, VB, C#, VB.NET, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, Delphi). BARCODE GENERATOR SDK The barcode ActiveX control TBarCode enhances applications with professional barcode generating and barcode printing capabilities. This barcode generator component can be used easily with Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word. Size: 19.7 MB License: Demo Price: 84EUR Keywords: -Data Added 1: August 31, 2012 Create online and printed matters of transport infrastructure. Standard Transport Icons are drawn in four angles, come in a variety of sizes and resolutions, and are available as 3D vector models for clear high-resolution printing. Standard Transport Icons are perfect to illustrate Web sites, brochures and presentations of any transport, logistics or shipping company, and can be used to lay out maps of transport infrastructure.
The smallest size of 16x16 pixels allows for cool PDA and mobile. Size: 7.9 MB License: Shareware Price: $99.95 Keywords: -Data Added 1: May 02, 2012 With this software you improve your Internet marketing, your websites. You find free images, you also create and edit images directly on dozens of Internet services. With Absolute Image Forge, you find: free PSD files, as well as free Toshop brushes, free ready banners and logos, or you create them.
Free ready buttons, including glassy ones, vector images, or you create them. Free ready icons, favicons, or you create them. You also create and edit videos, you create special FXs, 3D texts.
Size: 5.2 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: April 11, 2012 MagicPlot Pro is a handy tool for scientific and engineer data processing, plotting and nonlinear fitting. MagicPlot Pro is powerful enough and consistent.
Get MagicPlot Pro and take it for a spin to see what it can actually do for you! Advantages. Compact: Single file 2 MB. Multilevel undo function for all actions. Useful plot navigation and scaling. Visual nonlinear curve fitting.
Vector images export and copying. Automatic. Size: 2.2 MB License: Shareware Price: $79 Keywords: -Data Added 1: May 17, 2012 MagicPlot is a handy tool for scientific and engineer data processing, plotting and nonlinear fitting.
MagicPlot is powerful enough and consistent. Advantages. Compact: Single file 2 MB. Multilevel undo function for all actions. Useful plot navigation and scaling. Visual nonlinear curve fitting.
Vector images export and copying. Automatic formula recalculation on data change. English ligatures support in labels. Size: 2.2 MB License: Freeware Keywords: -Data Added 1: October 13, 2012 Spire.PDF for Silverlight is a PDF component that enables users to develop applications in Silverlight. With Spire.PDF for Silverlight, users can read, write and manipulate PDF documents without Adobe Acrobat. As a powerful Silverlight PDF component, it provides lots of featured functions. Spire.PDF for Silverlight supports standard PDF/ A-1b, PDF/X1a and even encrypted PDF documents.
Users can use Spire.PDF for Silverlight to do most PDF document operations like merge PDF documents. Size: 6.5 MB License: Shareware Price: $399 Keywords: -For searches similar to vector images see 'Related Downloads' under the categories listing. Products 1-30 Go to 1 page Categories Related Downloads Top Downloads New Downloads Latest Downloads Latest Reviews (reshim) Programmers feel the comfort of coding using ConyEdit which is capable to edit codes in batch. (harish) No need to go for a professional designer for the cover of new record, you can do it on your own. (Anthony) Scans software to find whether it is harmful for computer and also checks for updates of security. (Maxmuller) This just another awesome product from Comodo to protect your computer from unwanted inbound. (Redrick) This lets the data packets we send split into several packages which is convenient for many.
(Tensialar) This is a light weight software for viewing MS project files easily without the MS project. (Mortinus) I had difficulties with the pdf documents which needed to be edited before presentation, then I. (Nielsine) You can enable your guests book any room instantly through your website, also receive the. (Sokki) It gives good result of any keyword you are looking for compared to standard default file search. (Magaidh) Integrated pop up and ad block facilities, secure all the online transactions by protecting.
All software information on this site, is solely based on what our users submit. Download32.com disclaims that any right and responsibility for the information go to the user who submit the software, games, drivers. Some software may not have details explanation or their price, program version updated. You should contact the provider/actual author of the software for any questions. There are also user reviews/comments posted about various software downloads, please contact us if you believe someone has posted copyrighted information contained on this web site. Copyright © 1996-2015 Download 32.
Vector graphics software has an almost unlimited number of uses from graphic design to page layout to freehand illustration, but not all programs are created equal. Whether you’re new to the digital arts or just looking to upgrade your software to something newer, it can be hard to sort out which programs are worthwhile and which are a waste of time. If you just do a Google search for vector graphics software, you’ll discover a number of new options have emerged that call themselves vector graphics programs, but are really nothing more than glorified clip art creators. They allow you to mix and match pre-made elements to create a project, but that’s not even the tiniest fraction of what a real vector graphics program can do. A real vector graphics program will embrace your creativity from the ground up and allow you to create almost anything you can imagine. Because there are so many different possible uses for a vector graphics program, I decided to split the award for best vector graphics software in two: best for graphic design and best for artistic freehand. It may not seem obvious at first, but there are some major differences between the two goals, as you’ll see when we get to the two programs.
If you’re looking for the top of the line all-around general vector graphics program, you’ll discover that there are very good reasons why is regarded as the gold standard. It has a huge range of features for almost any vector-based task, whether you’re doing artistic illustrations, rapid logo prototyping or even page layouts. It can be a bit daunting to learn at first simply because there is so much you can do with it, but there is a massive amount of instructional and tutorial content available both online and offline. If you’re a freehand illustrator who wants to bring those skills to the world of vector graphics, the best program you can work with is. It’s one of the oldest vector graphics programs, but it’s still being updated after 25 years and there are some incredible drawing tools packed in. You can use it for more common vector tasks without a stylus, but the stylus-powered LiveSketch tool is an impressive way to quickly turn freehand drawings into vectors that is unmatched in any other program I reviewed. Quick Navigation // // // // // // //.
Why You Should Trust Me Hi, my name is Thomas Boldt, and I’ve been a practicing graphic designer for over a decade. I’ve used a variety of different vector graphics programs both for work and for pleasure, with varying degrees of success. I’ve used industry-standard programs and experimented with open source initiatives, and I’m here to bring that experience to your screen so you won’t have to wade through the rough for a glimpse of a diamond. Disclaimer: None of the developers listed in this review provided me compensation or other consideration for the writing of these reviews, and they have had no editorial input or review of the content.
It should also be noted that I am a subscriber to the Adobe Creative Cloud, but Adobe hasn’t given me any special consideration as a result of this review. What’s the Difference Between Vector and Raster Graphics? One of the most common questions asked by newcomers to the computer graphics world is just what a vector graphic actually is.
It’s not the quickest question to answer properly, but it boils down to how the computer creates the graphic image you see on the monitor. There are two basic types: raster images and vector images. Almost all of the images you see online are raster images, which consist of a grid of pixels just like your monitor or television screen. The color and brightness of each pixel are defined by 3 numbers ranging from 0 to 255 which each represent the amount of red, green and blue in each pixel. Together, they can combine to create almost any color the human eye can see.
The most common type of raster image used on a computer is the JPEG format: you take your Instagram snaps in JPEG, you save memes in JPEG, and you email JPEGs your friends and coworkers. But if you’ve ever tried to print out a picture you found online, you’ve noticed that it usually either prints out tiny, pixelated or extremely blurry. This is because increasing the size of a raster image doesn’t add any new information to the file, but rather just stretches out what’s there, and your eye sees that as blurring or pixelation.
Imagine the grid of pixels as a household window screen. If you could somehow stretch the screen to twice its normal size, you wouldn’t expect the distance between the wires to stay the same. Instead, you’d wind up with something more like chicken wire – all the gaps in the screen would just get larger. Each of the pixels would get bigger, but there wouldn’t be any new ones.
On the other hand, a vector image doesn’t use a grid of pixels. Instead, all the curves, lines and colors you see are stored in the image file as mathematical expressions. I didn’t do well enough in math class to understand exactly how it is done, but it’s enough to know that you can proportionally increase the scale of the image to any size you want and the result will still display with the same quality. In other words, you could turn a tiny image from your computer screen into a skyscraper-sized mural and it would still be sharp and crisp.
The flip side to this is that vector graphics aren’t very well supported by image viewing programs such as web browsers or operating systems’ built-in image previews. Depending on what vector format and web browser you use, you might be able to view a vector graphic on a website, but even if it loads at all it still might not display properly. Raster images in the JPEG format are supported by just about every electronic device created in the last 20 years, so it’s usually necessary to turn your vector graphics into raster graphics before you share them with the rest of the world.
Do You Need a Dedicated Vector Graphics Program? If you’re reading this article, the answer is probably yes – that’s what you’re here for, after all.
But if you already have access to an image editing program, it’s entirely possible that you’ve already got some vector graphics tools available to you. The most common example of this is Adobe Photoshop: it’s primarily an image editing tool, but Adobe keeps adding more functionality to it, including the ability to work with basic vector graphics. It’s nowhere near as capable as a dedicated vector program like Illustrator or CorelDRAW, but it can at least open most vector files and allow you to make minor adjustments. You probably wouldn’t want to use it for an illustrative masterpiece, but it can technically work with vectors.
Both print designers and web designers absolutely need to have a good vector graphics program for their work, as vectors are perfect for rapid prototyping and refining your designs. They also allow for complete control over typography, freeing you from the constraints of desktop publishing layouts and other design monstrosities. When it comes to illustration, vectors are often a perfect match for certain graphical styles. They’re not the only option for digital illustration, however, as Photoshop, Painter and PaintShop Pro also work very well with drawing tablets. These all create tend to use visual styles that recreate traditional offline media such as watercolors or airbrushing, and are not designed to create vectors of your work as you draw. Instead, you’ll wind up with a raster image that will not upscale well beyond the initial size of your creation. How We Chose the Winners There are many programs available that can create and edit vector graphics, but a surprising number of them are dedicated to extremely specific uses such as SketchUP for 3D drawing or AutoCAD for computer-aided engineering design.
I only considered the more general programs for these reviews, as they offer the most flexibility in how they are used. While it’s impossible to ignore the matter of personal preference when it comes to choosing your favorite vector graphics program, I tried to standardize the review process by using the following criteria: Does it work well with graphics tablets?
Many graphic artists first learned their skills using more traditional media such as pen and ink. If you’ve spent years honing your skills in the offline world, being able to transfer those skills into a digital drawing tablet and a vector graphics program is a huge benefit.
Some programs are more geared towards this purpose than others, but any good vector program should be able to work smoothly with graphics tablets. Can it simplify complex drawing tasks?
Of course, not everyone who wants to work with vector graphics is a skilled freehand artist (including yours truly), but that doesn’t mean that the world of vector graphics is closed to us. Even if you can’t draw anything resembling a perfect circle by hand, almost any vector program will allow you to create one simply and easily.
But what about more complex drawing tasks? Is it easy to adjust the shape and flow of each point, curve and line segment? Does it quickly allow you to rearrange, align and tessellate?
Can it easily trace outlines of imported raster images? A good vector graphics program will check all of these boxes. Does it handle typography effectively? Vector graphics are great for a number of purposes, but one of the most common is creating logos that can scale to any size while still looking great. Even if you’re not a professional designer you may still want to work with text, and a good vector graphics program will provide a complete degree of typographic control without forcing you into. After all, every digital typeface is already just a series of vector graphics, so it should be no problem to work with them.
Does it support a wide range of vector formats? As I mentioned in the explanation of vector vs.
Raster images, raster images are most commonly displayed as JPEGs. Unfortunately, vector graphics don’t have a similarly popular standard, and you often find vector files in Illustrator format, PDF, EPS, SVG, PostScript and many other formats. Sometimes each format even has a range of different versions depending on how old the files are, and some programs don’t handle them very well. A good program will be able to read and write a wide range of formats to meet any situation. Is it easy to use?
This is one of the biggest issues for any program, but it’s especially important when it comes to vector graphics programs. If you’re putting off work, wasting time-fighting the program – or pulling your hair out – when you need to create a vector graphic, you’re better off with a more user-friendly program that has a carefully designed interface. Does it have good tutorial support? Vector graphics programs tend to have an incredible number of features, and each developer has their own user experience design philosophies. This can make learning a new program difficult, even when you already have vector graphics experience. A good program will have a helpful introductory experience and plenty of training materials available to help you learn to use it.
Is it affordable? Graphics software has a history of being extremely expensive, but that reality has changed quite a bit over the past decade. Software subscription models have become a popular method of overcoming the initial purchase price barriers, although many users find this approach frustrating. There are still some expensive non-subscription programs, but there are also some newer, more affordable challengers that are changing the landscape. The Winner’s Circle Note: Remember, both of these programs have time-limited free trials, so you might want to experiment with both before you make your final decision. Best Vector Graphics Program for Design (Windows and Mac).
The ‘Essentials Classic’ Illustrator workspace If you need the best all-around vector graphics program, you don’t need to look any further than. After nearly 35 years in development, Illustrator has become an incredibly powerful tool for a wide range of uses. Since the initial release of the Creative Cloud version, Illustrator is only available as part of a Creative Cloud subscription and is not available for a one-time purchase price they way it used to be.
You can subscribe to just Illustrator for $19.99 USD per month, or you can subscribe to the entire Creative Cloud software suite for $49.99 USD per month. Illustrator has a wide range of tools for creating and manipulating vector objects which can create complex graphics with precision and ease. While Illustrator used to be a bit clumsy when it came to working with complex curved shapes, the new Curvature tool is a much-welcomed addition that offers additional curve and anchor drawing options. Fortunately, because Illustrator is widely considered the industry standard, there is a huge amount of introductory tutorial material to help you get up to speed.
Illustrator’s biggest strength may be its customizable interface system known as workspaces. Every single element of the interface can be moved, docked or hidden, and you can create multiple custom workspaces that are perfectly configured for different tasks. If you want to do some freehand illustration, you’ll want different tools ready at hand than you would if you were typesetting a logo. Even if your project requires both of those tasks, you can quickly switch back and forth between your custom workspaces and several presets that Adobe has configured.
It also handles typography flawlessly, allowing you a professional level of control over every detail of typesetting. If it turns out that a letter needs to be customized, you can simply convert the letters into editable forms and adjust them to fit your project. You can do everything from letterform design to page layouts, although it’s not designed for multi-page documents.
One of these is a traced image that Illustrator automatically converted into vectors using the Live Trace tool. Can you guess which? When it comes to simplifying complex drawing tasks, Illustrator excels in many cases – but not all. The suite of tools known as Live Trace and Live Paint allows you to take almost any raster image and quickly convert it into a vector format. Whether you want to convert a scanned sketch into a vector or you need to recreate a client’s logo in scalable vector from a JPEG, these tools can save a huge amount of time and effort.
While it’s a great illustration tool, the biggest area where Illustrator could use some improvement is how it handles pen/stylus-based input. It’s sort of amusing to me that a program named Illustrator didn’t win in the ‘best program for art’ category, but that’s largely because it excels at so many different functions that its tablet-based tools don’t seem to receive any specific focus from the developers. It responds to pressure sensitivity with no problems and you can use it to create some stunning illustrations, but if vector sketching is your primary goal then you may want to look at the winner of the other category before you make your final decision. If you want to read a more, you can find it here. Best Vector Graphics Program for Art (Windows only) Deliberately marketing itself to Adobe users frustrated with the subscription-only model, has taken the wiser path and offers both a subscription option and a one-time purchase option. The one-time purchase price is quite steep at $615 and you won’t receive any feature updates, but your license will never expire.
In order to stay current it may be cheaper to opt for the subscription, which is priced competitively with Illustrator at $18.25 per month (billed annually at a cost of $219). Included in the purchase price are a number of additional tools including Photo-Paint, Font Manager, Website Creator and more. Since CorelDRAW is a perfect choice for the tablet-equipped digital artist, let’s first take a look at the new LiveSketch tool. While the name sort of feels like a copycat of Illustrators similarly-named tools, the way it functions is completely different. When drawing with a tablet in most vector programs, you can create vector shapes based on your pen strokes, but LiveSketch actually maps out your sketches and creates the idealized line segments from your repeated strokes. It’s actually fairly difficult to explain, so apologies if that wasn’t quite clear, but Corel has created a quick introductory video that shows off how it works better than words can.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so a video at 24 frames per second must be worth a novel, at the very least. Strangely enough, there isn’t very much tutorial content available for CorelDRAW 2017, only for previous versions. This may be due to the fact that the core tools haven’t changed, but it still seems a bit odd to me. Fortunately, Corel has a fairly decent instructional guide with some tutorial content available on its website, although it would still be easier to learn if there were more sources. Despite what you might think from the name, CorelDRAW isn’t just designed as a drawing tool for digital freehand artists. It can also work with more common vector shape tools, and uses the same standard point and path system to create and adjust any object.
It can also be used for typography and page layout tasks, but it doesn’t handle these quite as well as Illustrator does. The developers have made the inexplicable choice to set the default typographic settings such as line spacing and tracking to use percentages instead of points, which are the typographic standard unit. On the other hand, it is actually capable of creating multi-page documents, but if you’re really serious about typesetting for brochures and books you will be much better off using a program specifically designed for those tasks. Corel has incorporated a number of additional features into the software that aren’t found in Illustrator, such as simple integration with the WhatTheFont service, which is a huge help whenever you’re trying to figure out what typeface was used in an image or logo. On the less helpful side, there is also a built-in store that offers a number of additional options for sale.
I don’t mind a company trying to increase their profit margins by selling additional software packs, but Corel also sells new tools for the program at incredible prices under the guise of calling them ‘Extensions’. ‘Fit Objects to Path’ and ‘Convert All to Curves’ are useful tools, but charging $20 each for them seems a bit greedy when they really should just be included. You can read a more in-depth here on SoftwareHow.
The Competition Aside from the winners reviewed above, there are a number of other vector graphics tools on the market vying for the top spot. Some are more successful than others, although there are a couple of free options in the list for those of you on a tight budget. They’re generally not as polished as any of the paid options, but you certainly can’t argue on the price. (Windows and Mac) Affinity has been making a name for itself with a series of affordable programs designed to challenge the industry leaders in both mobile and desktop photo editing as well as vector graphics. Priced at just $69 USD for a perpetual license, this is the most affordable paid program I reviewed, and you can give a test run for 10 days using the free trial. There are great point drawing tools, and I find their large friendly anchor points much easier to use than the Illustrator defaults.
There are pressure-sensitive stylus drawing tools available as well, although there are no specialized tools such as Live Trace or LiveSketch. All vector programs allow you to combine and merge multiple shapes into new shapes in a variety of ways, but Affinity Designer is unique in that it allows you to do this non-destructively. This flexibility allows for entirely new prototyping possibilities as you experiment your way through the creative process. In order to help it break into the professional market, Affinity Designer supports a wide range of file formats, from vector standards like PDF and SVG to proprietary formats created by Photoshop and Illustrator. Even with these advantages, it’s not quite ready to earn its way into the Winner’s Circle – but if Serif keeps aggressively pushing development, it probably won’t be long before Affinity Designer is ready for the spotlight.
(Windows only) Xara is nearly as old as Adobe and Corel, but it hasn’t fared quite as well against the overwhelming market power of Adobe. Designer Pro X costs $299, but it also incorporates a number of other features above and beyond vector graphics creation, including photo editing, page layout and website creation tools (with no programming required).
Unfortunately, this means that Xara hasn’t spent particular effort on refining its vector drawing tools. They include basic line and shape tools for creating and modifying vector shapes, but there are none of the time-saving extras you would expect in a more developed program.
There also doesn’t appear to be any special features for working with drawing tablets, although you can still use one as a pen-shaped mouse. Xara does a fairly good job of providing a lot of functionality without cluttering the interface, but the emphasis on keeping everything ready to turn into a website can be a bit limiting.
Sometimes, this intent to avoid clutter can also make this more confusing rather than less, as in the case of the typographic tools. While the basic control options are decent, each setting is unlabelled and relies on popup tooltips to indicate what it’s supposed to control. To their credit, Xara has done a good job of creating a large amount of tutorial content for Designer Pro X, but almost nobody else is making any. If you want a program that wears multiple hats, this might be for you, but the serious vector graphics artist will look elsewhere. (Windows, Mac, Linux). The interface could definitely use some polish, but that’s mostly just a cosmetic issue. If the high price tags found on the some of the other programs put them out of your reach, the open source software movement may provide an answer in the form of Inkscape.
It’s available for the extremely low price of free, and it offers an impressive level of functionality compared to what you might expect from free software. It includes all the standard vector drawing options, but also has the ability to respond to pressure information from a graphics tablet.
It doesn’t offer any fancy drawing features like our winners, but it does include a full set of filters that can perform some useful functions. Additionally, the program supports extensions written in the Python scripting language, which allows you to add features not found in the default version of the program. The interface layout is a bit different from what you get in other programs, as the open source community often has an unfortunate habit of ignoring user experience. For example, when you want to work with text, you have to dig through several tabs just to view all the different options, even though there is space to display them all in one place. Of course, Inkscape is still technically in beta (release version 0.9.2), but it’s also been in beta for the last 15 years.
Hopefully, if it ever leaves beta, the developers will get a user experience designer on board who can help smooth out some of those interface wrinkles. (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS). Gravit has a clean, clear and uncluttered interface that is quite easy to use.
Gravit is another free vector graphics program, but unlike Inkscape it’s not open source. Curiously, this seems to have spared it from the user experience issues that plague some free programs. It also has the unique distinction of being available for the widest set of operating systems, and it can even run in a web browser. I ran into a minor issue when launching Gravit for the first time, as the Windows version requires installation from the Microsoft store, which I never use.
It installed fine, but when I tried to run it, it told me that I didn’t have sufficient permissions to access it. I’m not sure if this is just because it’s the first Trusted App I have installed, but your mileage may vary. While it’s vector drawing tools are fairly standard, they do offer an excellent degree of control and ease of use. The interface is clearly designed and responds automatically to the particular tool you’re using, which is a nice touch.
It can’t respond to pressure information from a graphics tablet, and its typographic options don’t use standard units, but these are minor issues. Gravit can open a few standard vector formats such as PDF, EPS and SVG, but it doesn’t support any of the proprietary Adobe formats, which may be deal breaker if you’re trying to work with any of those file types. Even with that issue I’m still quite impressed with how polished the program is overall, considering that it’s free. If you’re just interested in experimenting casually with vector graphics, Gravit may be a good fit for you. A Final Word The world of vector graphics can be an exciting place full of creative promise, as long as you have the right tools. In this case, the tools are software programs (and maybe a good graphics tablet), but like artistic tools in the real world, personal preference can play a huge role in what works for you.
Illustrator may be the industry standard, and CorelDRAW may be great for some freehand artists, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to fit with your personal style. Creative processes are unique to each creator, so be sure to choose one that makes you happy! Did I leave out your favorite vector graphics program? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll be sure to check it out!