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Pixelmator 1.2 "Draftsman" in the wild

by Mike Schramm May 12th 2008 at 9:00AM

My picture editor of choice, Pixelmator, has updated to version 1.2 (as with many other applications, it's just in time for the Apple Design Awards deadline), which they're calling Draftsman. Among the new features are the much-awaited addition of rules and some guides to the UI (with a flashy little indicator as the mouse passes by), as well as the ability to edit color balance and the color curves. There's also a new Polygonal Lasso, and the Transform tool has been reworked "from scratch" to work faster and better.

Pixelmator continues to impress, and with every update, it's becoming a more and more robust little photo editor. Just recently, they laid out "a flight plan" on the blog for what they're up to for summer: the next release, 1.3, will be called Tempo, and focus on making the app just as fast as it is visually striking. And they make another bold claim as well: by the end of the summer, they're aiming to be "completely bug-free." Good luck with that.

But there's no question that development is rolling along for Pixelmator. The app is available as a free trial over on their site, or a full version for $59. If you're looking for an alternative to the 'Shop, Pixelmator is a great way to go.

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My picture editor of choice, Pixelmator, has updated to version 1.2 (as with many other applications, it's just in time for the Apple...
 

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Sam Hall

I love Pixelmator. It's not stout enough for heavy lifting. That said, I get frustrated now when I have to switch to PhotoShop.

I find myself making a rough draft of designs in Pixelmator, then porting it over to PhotoShop once I'm ready to fine tune it.

May 13 2008 at 2:06 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dampeoples

For Illustrator, check out VectorDesigner. As for the rest of their stuff, I really don't know. I like Rapidweaver, but from what I gather, it's not really able to be compared to Dreamweaver

May 12 2008 at 6:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sleepcountry

The tools in the palette are still too friggin' dark. There's no contrast. I'll continue having a hard time taking this program seriously until they fix that.

May 12 2008 at 1:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Roybertito

I love PXM, but they really need to add a Magnetic Lasso tool.

May 12 2008 at 12:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mickey

Are there Pixelmator-style (read: priced) alternatives to Adobe's other apps?

May 12 2008 at 11:06 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Mickey's comment
Todd

Congrats to the Pixelmator guys on their progress. While I'm not in the target market, it's a slick piece of software. I'm pretty sure John Gruber called it vaporware several times, and never had the wherewithal to apologize for doing so when it actually shipped.

May 12 2008 at 11:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ryan Trevisol

I would love to see the addition of polygon lasso (which I think I spy there), and of course, pipe dream includes vector drawing.

May 12 2008 at 9:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Ryan Trevisol's comment
Rick

Polygonal Lasso is there. Just click on show tools and you now have the option to use it.

May 12 2008 at 12:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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