Review: DRAW-iT 2.2
August 9, 2000
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While standing in a local computer store this weekend - it beat going to the
shoe store next door with my wife - a man standing next to me said,
"There's no way I could afford to buy a program like this. I wish there
was an alternative."
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The program he held was CorelDraw 9, a great graphics program that would
have set him back $695. If he's out there reading this, a program called
DRAW-iT could save him $679 - this one costs $16.
No, DRAW-iT may not offer everything that the Corel suite does, but for
$676 most people could easily learn to live with the difference in programs.
DRAW-iT (version 2.2) offers a full set of drawing tools, twain interface
for scanning, textures, bitmap editing tools, and a wide variety of text
effects.
The program is great for internet applications because it allows for the
import and export of .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pcx, .png, .tga, .tiff, .emf, and
.wmf formats. Photos can be cropped, smoothed, blurred, sharpened, rotated,
and brightness, contrast, and color balance can be adjusted.
Users can easily mix drawn graphics with photos, add text to either, and
finish with a professional looking result with ease.
If you wish to attach type to a graphic, simply begin typing while that
graphic is selected. Later, if you move the graphic, the text will stay
with it just as it did when originally entered.
Unlike many graphics programs, DRAW-iT allows users to either tile a
background for a graphic or use gradients. Those tiles can be a variety of
the textures that come with the program or those imported.
Drawing tools are extensive: line, oval, rectangle, arc, round-corner
rectangles, open or closed polygons, pie slices, fancy shapes, or curved
lines.
Should you have a graphic that you cannot colorize because it doesn't
quite come together, you can choose to "close the figure" and the color
scheme you tried to previously apply immediately becomes the filler.
Graphics can also be rotated, snapped to a grid, stretched, or reshaped.
Users can zoom the graphic up to 16X for precise work.
Made by Poster Software, DRAW-iT's text effects number more than 100,
including 3D, gradient, shadow, wave, warp, arch, rotate, and stretch.
Users can apply textures to text, there is a spell checker, and all
True-Type or Type 1 fonts can be used.
Another good feature is the ability to create and edit tables within the
program, including adding background colors or graphics, individual cell
editing, and overall table dimensions.
DRAW-iT comes with several templates, including those for newsletters,
which can be created entirely within the program because it allows for
easy applying and editing of text.
While Poster Software does have a separate program (named Poster) for
making banners (such as those used on the web), you can also make them
quite easily in DRAW-iT.
Web builders can also make buttons, backgrounds, logos, or just about
anything else they might need for a web site.
Any Windows-compatible color or black-and-white printer will work,
including single-sheet or form-fed printers.
The program can be downloaded for a 21-day free trial. Registration
(which can be done online with immediate unlocking) costs $16 plus $2
shipping and comes with upgrades for a year, a disk with the latest
version of the program, and 100 fancy borders.
People using Photoshop or CorelDraw won't want to toss those programs away
and turn only to DRAW-iT, but if either of those programs are financially
prohibitive, DRAW-iT is a very good tool for any graphic workshop.
And, believe me, it sure beats shopping for shoes!
What is it called again? DRAW-iT 2.2
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How much does it cost? $16 plus $2 shipping.
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Where can I get it? http://www.postersw.com.
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How big is the download: 1.2 MB.
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| Is it worth it? Yes, especially for the price. |
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