Seems like forever!
I was using CorelXara until ...
21 May 1998 purchased Xara Webster.
08 June 1998 purchased Xara3D 1 Unlock code.

I only used Webster for animated gifs and it was when Xara X was launched that I began some serious illustration.
Prior to that I had been using P'shp ... now I rarely use it. It seems so cumbersome in comparison.

And I never did have the patience to get my head around Illustrator.

This is one of the first animations I made in Webster:


Today I'd make a far better job of it - both the drawing and the animation.