Xara X vs. Illustrator

[digitalmineral]

I use Illustrator to create digital illustrations and have had some decent results. I did not know that Xara is a vector program and have not heard about it until reading how someone with an outstanding ultra-realistic vector portfolio uses Xara - I found that amazing. What are the pros and cons of using either Xara X or Adobe Illustrator if you've used both professionally for illustration (drawing) purposes?

[digitalmineral]

I use Illustrator to create digital illustrations and have had some decent results. I did not know that Xara is a vector program and have not heard about it until reading how someone with an outstanding ultra-realistic vector portfolio uses Xara - I found that amazing. What are the pros and cons of using either Xara X or Adobe Illustrator if you've used both professionally for illustration (drawing) purposes?

[Klaus Nordby]

Why bother with what other people think? Why not just get their demo and TRY it out for yourself? Your needs may not match other people's needs.

That being said, I'll just add that I use XX1 for 95% of my vector work and AICS for 5%.

[digitalmineral]

Hi Klaus,

Good point. It's just that I find using software I've never used before is overwhelming and I find that I get just a feel for the interface, not an analysis of what it's like to use it in the real world. I will download the trial in any case and see how it feels. I am interested in photo realism effects. Thanks for replying.

[gwpriester]

Yael

Learning any new application is a bother. But if the software is really good, then the learning curve is worth the bother.

I have Illustrator CS, CorelDRAW 12, Cancas 8 and Xara X1. I'm not going to say I'm predudiced towards Xara X1, because I am. Big time. But for good reason.

As a vector drawing application, Xara can run circles around Illustrator for several reasons.

Xara uses an on-screen interactive interface which CorelDRAW attempted to copy in version 7 onward.

Xara can create 7 varieties of gradient transparencies and several non-gradient transparencies while Illustrator can only create a flat transparency, unless you create a grayscale image and apply the transparency to this shape.

Illustrator has in essence, one type of transparency which is similar to Xara's Mix Transparency. Xara has 10 types of transparency including additive, subtractive, contrast, saturation, and brightness.

This is very helpful to creating photorealistic images and highlights. I can recreate these images in Illustrator, but it is a lot harder to do so.

Check out The Xara Xone Featured Artist Gallery. You'll see a wide range of creative images that really demonstrate the versatility of Xara X created by artists from all over the world. Klaus even has some pretty incredible images created many years ago when Xara first came out.

And in the Xara Xone, you'll find over 8 years of monthly step-by-step tutorials, plus the Workbook series of shorter tutorials. There is an incredible amount of educational material there that I doubt you will find with any other vector application.

But then as I said, I am predudiced http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Gary

Gary

[Klaus Nordby]

Yael, give it a shot! Learning XX1 is not rocket science - but learning AI sure is that! So you're already well prepared.

Gary's points are all God's Divine Truths, I can hereby confirm. And unlike Gary, neither God nor I are ever prejudiced. :-)

[inabottle]

I just like XaraX better... !! I think both can achieve wonderful results, I just think its easier in XaraX, easier interface, and its just faster! So yah, but my opinion is very biased, because Im in love with xarax...!!

[jclements]

Ease of use and learning are definite features of Xara. I would also emaphasize SPEED. This really facilitates experimentation and the creative process.

You may find that Illustrator and CorelDRAW have better/more extensitive node editing capabilities. But that doesn't preclude users from still producing some pretty detailed work.

You'll just have to play with it for a while. I think you will find that it grows on you.

[John Rayner]

Hi Yael,

Watch the movies that come with the program. You will be able to "hit the ground running" after the short demo movies.

AI runs like molasses compared to xara x1. Lean, mean and easy to learn. I have the other ones also and use x1 95% of the time. The other 5% is just to port the drawings to something print shops will want to play with.

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Hello Yael...

I'm not biased at all toward any specific programs. I'll tell you exactly what i think.

For me it comes down to just a few specific reasons as to why one is prefered over another. And my reasons are most likely not the same as anyone else's; which goes for each individual user. So keep your own needs in mind when listening to other people's opinions.

There are several things about AI i like over Xara. One being how it handles the whole vector brush functionality. I actually prefer AI's brush abilities over Xara's. I just feel it's more advanced and capable (at this time). The Blend Modes offered also, are extremely useful.
I also like some of the plugins made for AI. Xara needs to get going with the whole "3rd party" aspect of program making. Everyone and their dog is doing this nowadays. It's one way of helping to ensure survival in this industry.

In the same breath however, there are several things i absolutely hate about AI... way too slow and memory intensive; poorly designed interface setup if you ask me, palette structures need to be refined; too confusing and cumbersome to produce simple things like special gradient/fill effects and applications, too many steps needed and the palette layouts don't help clarify the functions easily enough; in general, there's a huge learning curve to the program.

Same goes for Xara...
Limited brush capabilities (for my liking); a little shy in the "Web Design" area, compared to other 'similar' programs, like MM Fireworks(go see the FW features movie for specific examples); lacking some type editing functions/features (like paragraph editing, small caps, etc), not such a big deal though.

And in the same breath...
I love Xara's transparency and fill capabilities -- both in application and ease of use/understanding; it's extreme quickness -- not only in loading but in performance; practically non-existant resources use -- which makes it very pleasurable to use while running other programs that may be mem hogs (like Photoshop or a 3D app); it's unrivaled interface design/layout that just screams "look no further, everything you need is right here!" -- i honestly think they should get some kind of product award for this aspect of their program, i really do, it's that good; it's ability to handle large files without skipping a beat in performance; as Gary mentioned... he has a practically unlimited supply of tutorial and resource material from which to learn -- and just as importantly, a great place to discuss, understand and learn more about that material; and Xara's 'Template' functionality -- it saves a lot of time having to setup a document for specific purposes.

It may not be real evident here which program i actually prefer, so i'll say without hesitation that it's Xara... and by a long shot. Although AI has some great features i really want to have in Xara (like the Photoshop-like Blend Modes), it's a worthwhile tradeoff IMHO. Something to keep in mind is that AI is much older than Xara. However in the real world that means squat. Knowing that doesn't help me get my job done any sooner/better. It's just something to keep in mind for comparison sake; and if you're looking to be a loyal supporter of one specific program.

Anywho... that's my take. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif