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  1. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    Lancaster, CA, USA
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    3,080

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    I found the textures interesting but the interface needs work.

    There is not output for CMYK or Spot Color. So it is lacking things.

    Xara has customer support even though the Spot Color and CMYK isn't there either but Xara is fun, fun, fun.

    And the tools work predicatably so if you want to make something or go back to an old drawing and pick up from where you left off, you know what you were doing.

    One I have tried lately that I really like is Deep Paint. It is a great stand alone program. It isn't about the sorts of drawings Xara does, it is more about texture. As a plugin it is fantastic.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Birmingham, England / Javea, Espana
    Posts
    2,343

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    Sally
    Your right about it not being complete; there are things missing that hopefully will be addressed, which is the point of releasing it now for road testing I assume.
    I must admit the more I try to use it, particularly for drawing, the less well I get on with it, partly because Xara has spoiled every other applcation for me.
    At the moment, if I had to pay for it, I wouldn't bother.
    My ldeal is a PC with an operating system on it and Xara, but a Xara I can do all I need with.

    derek

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Boulder Creek, California, USA
    Posts
    6,193

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    Derek,

    I don't know anything about spot color, however, there is a ccl with a txt extension in the application folder. You can change the extension and load it as a ccl. I have made a few CCLs just for the experience. I have been rebuilding all of my maps, too. Rich

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Israel
    Posts
    2,538

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    Can someone please post a screenshot of the program? Thanks

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Boulder Creek, California, USA
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    6,193

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    With a few of the tool boxes. Rich
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  6. #46
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Israel
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    2,538

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    Thanks Rich

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Placitas, New Mexico, USA
    Posts
    41,650

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression) - A Review

    I just wrote a review of Expression Graphic Designer (Acrylic) for Communication Arts Magazine. The review will appear in a few months.

    I asked my media contact if they were targeting this product to professional designers and art directors and she said yes.

    If this is the case, then I think Microsoft has its work cut out for it.

    About 87-90% of design professionals work on the Macintosh platform. They use Illustrator because that is the tool they learned in school and is probably going to be the tool they stick with no matter how much they like or dislike it. It is a tool that they use to create with. No more no less.

    Professional designers and art directors working in Windows use primarily CorelDRAW and Illustrator, and those with any sense, Xara X :-)

    As a program designed to be used by professional artists and not software junkies such as we, there is precious little here to attract a DRAW or Illustrator or Xara X user to use Acrylic as a design tool.

    Unlike many of us software junkies who really get into software, read the manuals, buy the how to books, and of course, love to download and play with beta versions and provide feedback to the maker of the product, professional designers could care less about software. Most love their Macs and would die before they would use a Windows computer, never mind how great a Windows software proudct is. For the most part, they don't read the manuals, they do not buy the how to books, they do not subscribe to computer or software specific magazines (AdWeek, Communication Arts, Print, Graphis yes) and they are not part of on-line software conferences. The have a job to do, and the software they use is no more or less the tool they use to do their job. For these people to switch products, it has to offer features that relate to their job and are just clearly a quantum leap forward. A good example of this is Adobe InDesign vs QuarkXPress. And even though Quark is finally seeing and responding to the errosion of their user base by InDesign, the majority of publishing designers are still using Quark. They learned how to work in Quark and do not want to take time they do not have to learn another product, even if it is superior.

    Acrylic's text handling capabalities, one of the major considerations for any designer or art director is a joke. I might be wrong, but I could not find a way to close the line spacing, short of individually moving a line at a time. Most of the text editing tools that I needs as a designer are missing.

    Standard Windows keyboard editing shortcuts, such as Ctrl + right arrow key for skipping a word at a time, or Ctrl Shift + right arrow key for highlighting a word of text at a stroke just puts the text into a kind of floating state. This is just so wrong.

    For a designer, the ability to use text is not a feature, it is a fundamental requirement. Acrylic's text capabilities just does not cut it.

    I did like the warping grid and the bevel used with the Lighting Tool. And even though it is a feature that Illustrator has had for some time, the Eye Dropper tool for copying attributes is something I hope Xara will someday adapt.

    Those who have used the photo stitching feature have been very impressed with it. I did not have time or space to address this.

    If I were going to design a tool to woo users away from their current product, I would make the user interface as close as I could to the product I was trying to attract users from. White there are some functions of the UI that are familiar to software users, there are some that are downright nighmarish. In an attempt to unclutter the main menu, many functions have been hidden inside inappropriate tools where I would never think of looking for them. In my opinion, the UI needs to be totally redesigned.

    In short, as a tool for people who like to learn new software and who might enjoy some of the features and tools, Acrylic is OK. But if Miscosoft is trying to dislodge Illustrator and CorelDRAW from their domination of the design and publishing software roles, they have another think coming.

    On the other hand, I never thought Internet Explorer would replace Netscape. What do I know?

    Gary

  8. #48
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    9

    Thumbs up Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    I have quit using Xara since Acrylic was first released as a beta. In all regards Acrylic meets my needs. It is both a vector and bitmap editor, a painting and a drawing software at the same time. It is very efficient in both aspects and I can do a lot more in Acrylic than I ever could do in Xara.

    I have used Garys "The Xara Tutorials 1996-2001 & The WebXealot & On-Line Xara X Manual" -CD as a reference for a long time. A great piece of tutorials and tipses & trixes. I don't need it anymore and no Xara tuts anymore. I use Acrylic from now on.

    Acrylic moves ahead of Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw, Xara and the rest. Acrylic is like combining Expressions3 and Painter IX. Acrylic feels like Future while the rest feels like the Past.

    The picture was made with Microsoft codename Acrylic (beta).
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  9. #49
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Chelmsford, Essex, UK
    Posts
    220

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    Sweedie - lovely image

    Thank you for showing what Acrylic can do. I use Acrylic/Expression for most of my vector artwork. I use Xara for web graphics but it can't match Acrylic/Expression, IMHO, for ease of use in creating painterly images.

    I'm currently doing an educational project that is based in Flash - I do most of the artwork in Expression and then import in Flash. Unfortunately, the Flash export facility is not available in Acrylic - a big disappointment for me.

    Amanda

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Posts
    3,220

    Default Re: Acrylic Beta (Expression)

    Very nice pillows

    ah, I don't really the "one app for all" bit fits anywhere anymore... we get stuck in what we utilize the most, for sure, but when the need arises it is always good to have other tool sets at one's disposal... including 3D tools as well, and for that matter, if it is web related then some code experience will save some bandwidth for table design as well

    So, depending on the application of the graphic, the style of graphic required etc, sort of determines the toolset to use... well, this and workflow of course

 

 

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