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?

[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

[sajjadkhalid]

Illustrator strengths
1-Text handling
2-Blending modes
3-Effects/filters
4-Brush
5-Pattern brush for borders and corners
6-Versatile 3d engine
7-Better Professional Printing options
8-Better PDF support and integration
9-Better PSD integration
10-Automation/Actions, Dynamic/data driven design model
11-Table/Graph tool with excel integration

Xara Strengths
1-Ease of use
2-Intuitive
3-Screen Rendering
4-Speed
5-Single tool for web, graphics and some bitmap editing
6-Basic Animation
7-Basic Presentation
8-Easy 3d
9-Basic CMYK support
10-Extensive clip art organised in a better way
11-PDF, PSD and Excel integration

[pauland]

sajjadkhalid, fair comparison to a question asked almost TEN YEARS AGO!

[gwpriester]

I was thinking the same thing, Paul. I guess what was appropriate 10 years ago is appropriate today.

[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...!!

[digitalmineral]

Thanks for all the helpful feedback!

So, the main pluses of Xara are speed and transparancies and an easy-to-learn interface. Those are very important benefits.

So far, Xara is popular on this thread - but after all, this is a Xara forum http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

What impressed me about Xara is the gallery - the photorealism is astounding. I don't thing that Illustrator is easy to push in that direction (although I've gotten some decent results.) It's good to know that Illustrator is considered a 'harder' program to master compared to Xara. I think it would be more likely that I could learn Xara considering time constraints (I haven't learned a powerful new software program in six years.)

Really, I'd be interested in Xara for illustration - especially realism. Illustrator is terrific - but I think it's main power lies in layout. I use it primarily for package design for retail products. (I don't touch Quark or Indesign.)

I have to check out the tutorials as well - that is probably the best way to learn outside of a classroom.

[Klaus Nordby]

OK, Yael, enough talk - now go away and learn XX1! Then come back here in a week and wow us all with what you've got. :-)