What can I do with Xara

[woodwater]

Hi
Since at the moment doing Comics is out of the question for me,what kind of professional work can be done with Xara extreme?
I heard that one can do most Graphic Design work with Xara alone. Is that true?
Illustration work. What can and what cant be done with Xara?

thanks

[Soquili]

Xara is only limited by your imagination and skill level.

When you look at images, graphics, etc in a magazine, on TV, on a Billboard, can you tell what program created it? Most people would assume it was done in Photoshop or Illustrator, but that is because that is what they have heard about. It could just as easily have been done in Xara Xtreme or Designer.

[gray]

Bill's spot on Woodwater. The biggest limitation with Xara is ones imagination. Xara gives you the tools to do most kinds of graphic work. Being vector based it's also scaleable to any size.

[sjukmidlands]

As an example, I use Xara Designer 6 Pro for designing all the ads in a regional newspaper, AND set out all 32 pages of the newspaper, all in one multi page Xara document. Sometimes I have to edit photographic images in Photoshop, but for simple image adjustments use Xara.

It's a very powerful and versatile application, obviously best for vector illustration, and any serious raster image (eg jpeg images) work would be best done in an image editor like Photoshop.

[Rik]

Well...!

Just have a look in the Design gallery that comes with Xtreme and Designer.

If you have either of these, then have a look.
Most of the drawings can be taken apart.

This is one of my favourites.

Not only does it show what can be done, but it also shows that you need to put a bit of work into it.

What this artist has achieved is just AWESOME in my opinion.
Every little thing in this pocket watch can be taken apart and shows what is required to achieve the effect.
As an artist with a paint brush, you would be mixing paints to get different shades and highlights.
Well, this drawing will show you that it can be done on a computer.

So, to echo what the others have said, "It's up to your imagination."

[Big Frank]

Lots

[masque]

It would be simpler to ask people to provide a list of things you can't do with it.
Derek

[Soquili]

I can't use it to stir my cup of tea, although I can use it to draw a cup of tea.

[Big Frank]

It would be simpler to ask people to provide a list of things you can't do with it.
Derek

Exactly

[jon404]

What you can do, what is so important at work, is make graphic art faster with Xara than with any other program. As noted above, you can use it to make any kind of art -- ads, brochures, multi-page documents, logos, designs, technical illustrations, fabric patterns, posters, outdoor billboard art... plus simple Flash animations, perfect for eLearning. Oh, and you can also make webpages and websites with it too... without writing a single line of HTML code Although you can add your own Javascript if you want.

In my last job, at a Fortune 500 high-tech corporation, I made everything from 20-px x 20-px icons for cell phone screens to large 4' x 8' trade show posters. Made tech graphics for engineering PowerPoint presentations, Flash animations that went into Adobe Captivate online courseware, and countless 'need-it-right-now' small graphics for intranet developers. Even worked in a few comics-style illustrations! What all these jobs had in common was immediacy. Like 'Hey, Jon, could you make this image by, like, 4pm?' And Xara gives you the luxury of usually being able to always say 'Yes.'

It's really all about production speed. Xara should kidnap the old MG car motto -- 'Quality, fast.' Using this program gives you an edge on competition from other designers, if you are self-employed. If you work for an ad agency or corporation, you'll get promoted faster and make more money if you use Xara at work. Hope this helps, and good luck with your career!