Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cool tools, Graphic Design
Pixelmator 1.2 "Draftsman" in the wild
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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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ryan Trevisol said 9:44AM on 5-12-2008
I would love to see the addition of polygon lasso (which I think I spy there), and of course, pipe dream includes vector drawing.
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babyfett said 12:40PM on 5-12-2008
Polygonal Lasso is there. Just click on show tools and you now have the option to use it.
Todd Sieling said 11:12AM on 5-12-2008
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.
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Mickey said 11:06AM on 5-12-2008
Are there Pixelmator-style (read: priced) alternatives to Adobe's other apps?
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Ryan Trevisol said 11:29AM on 5-12-2008
I'm not sure which specific ones you're referring to, but PDF apps are availble (free and cheap), plus there's the PDF support built into OSX. Freeverse's Lineform seems like a nice light alternative to Illustrator. As far as other apps, I'm not sure.
Blaktornado said 1:02PM on 5-12-2008
Panic's Coda is apparently a good little web developing app. Not tried myself but I've only heard good about it.
Unfortunately, Flash has no rival (that I'm aware of). You'll need the Adobe app for that.
Mickey said 1:25PM on 5-12-2008
Those are great! Thanks for the tips!
Roybertito said 12:12PM on 5-12-2008
I love PXM, but they really need to add a Magnetic Lasso tool.
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sleepcountry said 1:14PM on 5-12-2008
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.
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dampeoples said 6:08PM on 5-12-2008
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
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Sam Hall said 2:06AM on 5-13-2008
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.
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