I’ve used an old version of Photoshop for all of my crappy, makeshift graphic needs over the past decade. It’s served me well, but I’ve been wanting to get something newer for a while. More specifically, I wanted a vector drawing application. I’ve loved Photoshop, making Illustrator the obvious choice, but I’m not interested in the $600 price tag. Adobe does have more attractive, subscription-based pricing options, but I’d rather pay once and be done with it.
With that in mind, I headed to the internet to explore options. I found DrawPlus from Serif, which has a free-to-use Starter Edition. I downloaded it to check it out and liked it very much. What I liked most was the How To tab that changes as you select different tools. I’m far from a graphics pro, and I usually stick to the tools that I know. This gives me the ability to learn new tools on the fly. Serif also offers many online tutorials, which is nice.
I was trying this out last week, and Serif was running a sale where one-version-old editions were 90% off. I scooped up DrawPlus 4 for just $15, and I’m glad I did. From what I can tell, this sale is no longer in effect, but it might be worth checking in from time to time. Or maybe it’s a year-end offering that they do–who knows? You can get the latest version for $99, or you can just stick with the feature-limited Starter Edition if you have basic needs.
Oh, and if you’re looking for a less expensive alternative to Photoshop, Serif offers a product called PhotoPlus. It also offers a free Starter Edition that I’m likely to check out. Based on my limited experience with their software and my basic photo and graphics editing skill, I’m a fan of Serif!
adamprescott.net 