10 BEST ALTERNATIVES TO ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
If Adobe Illustrator does not fit into your budget or is too complicated for a casual user like you, don’t press the panic button as yet! Here are 10 great alternatives that are easy on the pocket and fun to use as well.
- Inkscape
This program is very popular with designers and illustrators because it can create the most amazing vector effects. Designed on a cross-vector platform, it allows for real time observation of the effects by the illustrator. It has all the capabilities of adobe illustrator and has advanced features like opacity, gradients and arbitrary transformations. It is compatible with Windows and Mac and the best part is that it is free!!
- Corel Draw
Many professionals believe that Corel Draw is the best alternative to Adobe Illustrator; unfortunately, it is almost as expensive and only compatible with Widows. Its features are similar as well and illustrators can experiment with brush strokes, compositions and colors and also get the full studio effect.
- Skencil
Most illustrators think of Skencil as a supplementary program. It is a free open-source program that allows file imports from Adobe and is compatible with both Windows and Mac OSX.
- Serif DrawPlus
This is one of the most exciting free software for digital drawing available in the market. It is a great tool for commercial editing and has many advanced intuitive tools like curve editing, smoothing and quick shapes. Drawplus offers the user a choice from a variety of templates and other resources but its drawback is that it is only windows compatible.
- Xara Xtreme
Xara Xtreme has both a paid version and a free open-source version but even the paid version is way cheaper than Adobe Illustrator. This digital drawing program is used widely for vector drawing applications; it has effective graphics, palettes and floating dialogs. It is exclusive to the Linux system and is only windows compatible.
- sK1
sK1 is a free program that allows for professional style publishing by providing color management resources like ICC color and CMYK color. It even has features that enable press ready PDF output.
- Creative Docs.NET
This is a Windows compatible vector program that allows illustrators to use a variety of styles in a single frame. The other useful features of this application are shape merging, drawing shapes and text along a curved pathway and a drag & drop feature which allows the user to move the drawings around on the page.
- GIMP
GMP is a free program that can be used for digital drawing despite the lack of vectors that are a common feature in such applications. The user interface resembles Adobe Photoshop and it does a pretty good job of functions like photo retouch.
- Karbon 14
This is a free and fun vector-based program that is ideal for a casual user or a novice. The program is easy to use for the basic functions like drawing, finger painting, illustration, image editing and image manipulation.
- Alchemy
Alchemy is another vector-based application that is suitable for a novice or a casual user. Although the program is unsuitable for complex and refined projects, it has a simple interface and an adequate sketching system which makes it ideal for brainstorming sessions and for honing a beginner’s creative skills.
Whatever your reason for keeping away from Adobe Illustrator is, it is easy to surf the net and come up with an alternative program that is perfect for you in every way.
