While it may seem like there are few serious options when it comes to detailed design software, there are lesser-known titles that deserve more attention. With advanced features for drawing, photo editing, and animation, DrawPlus X4 definitely warrants the consideration of both amateur and professional designers. It may not entirely reach the level of design rivals Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW in some areas, but DrawPlus X4 has plenty of templates and tools for a host of design needs in a far more user-friendly interface.
Usability and Versatility
Suited for both novice and experienced designers, the DrawPlus X4 workspace is logical and intuitive, making it easy to learn and navigate. It features a Standard Toolbar and a Context Toolbar at the top with a Drawing Toolbar and Panels to the left and right of the page area – all of which can be collapsed and rearranged to meet specific workspace needs. While some advanced features may require additional searching, the most common functions are readily accessible and instinctive to use.
Another distinct user-friendly advantage is that DrawPlus X4 often shows rather than tells, with clear template option icon images and defined Layer panel thumbnail images. For additional guidance, the Help menu features a categorized list of detailed articles on DrawPlus X4 operations, while the Tutorials features links you to the DrawPlus website which tackles basic design functions with illustrated step-by-step instructions.
DrawPlus X4 includes many document types ranging from the creativity of pop-up cards to the practicality of ISO technical drawings, while the Custom Page Setup allows users to easily build more original project formats. For extra inspiration, the program also offers design templates featuring complete but fully editable designs from coloring pages and educational posters for children to logo templates and web banners for businesses. Regardless of their project needs, experience, or skill level, designers should have no trouble finding an appropriate document type.
Drawing Features
Along with basic design tools, DrawPlus X4 includes additional functionality for producing creative content. QuickShapes easily create a huge variety of more complex objects while versatile stroke or spray brushes and the Pressure tab add dramatic or hand-drawn effects with a few clicks. A wide variety of color and gradient swatches are just the start of the flexible coloring options in DrawPlus X4. A project’s colors automatically appear in the Document Palette for immediate access, and styles can be copied to a new object quickly with the Format Painter. Artistic text can be sized as it is created, while gradient and 3D effects can be edited directly on an object.
Exacting effects like precise dimensions and alignment take little effort with editing features that appear while placing and sizing objects. The Node Tool makes it easy to adjust individual object dimensions while Group and Ungroup buttons appear automatically as you select objects, allowing for convenient changes. DrawPlus X4 gallery items – from child-friendly clipart to electrical circuit elements – are completely editable and can be used as a template for new objects to be added to the designer’s personal gallery section. Grid overlays for Divine Proportions and the Rule of Thirds provide even more technical design assistance. There is however, one inconvenience – an actual workspace preview is not available while working in certain dialog boxes.
Animation Features
The animation side of DrawPlus X4 occurs in the same workspace, allowing all the same design features to be applied to animated creations. With various formats for both Stopframe and Keyframe animations, moving designs can be created and edited as easily as still images. In addition, an onion-skinning feature allows a designer to view frame-by-frame changes, and there are options for immediate updating of previous or forward frames to changes on a current frame object. These features enhance the convenience of a full set of design features within an animation program.
Photo Features and PanoramaPlus X4
In addition to drawing and animation features, DrawPlus X4 also features a good number of photo editing tools with the PhotoLab, available through the Picture Context Toolbar. With red-eye removal, spot repair, and filters for lighting and balance adjustments, it covers basic photo editing, while styles and effects like Pop Art and Impressionist take image creativity a step further. Within the PhotoLab’s separate interface, these effects have their own contextual menus for additional artistic control. Back in the DrawPlus X4 main interface, the Cut-out Studio gives the user several options for isolating part of an image, functioning similarly to Adobe Photoshop’s Magic Wand tool.
PanoramaPlus X4, an entirely separate photo program, is included with DrawPlus X4, and allows photographers to “stitch” together a series of images to create a panorama image. This software is simple enough to use – the software detects matching elements from the selected images to combine them into a single image which can then be adjusted and cropped. With the distortions of joining photos taken at different angles, the Straighten tool is key; unfortunately it is far less intuitive than DrawPlus X4’s editing features. The other challenging aspect of this process is likely collecting a series of images that PanoramaPlus X4 accepts as matching; even with its own sample images, it was unable to piece together two adjacent images out of the five.
Files and Compatibility
When it comes to file compatibility, DrawPlus X4 is fairly versatile, supporting eighteen standard file types. PDF import, edit, and export capabilities provide universal functionality to designs, while Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, EPS, and CAD graphics can be imported for use in the program. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) are supported for editable images that retain their details, while DrawPlus X4 supports exports in various file types suited for both print and web applications, including animated files. Although it may not be compatible with all design files, DrawPlus X4 does play well with a good number of formats, including the most common image types.
Summary
Overall, DrawPlus X4 packs a lot of functionality into one software program with drawing, photo, and animation tools. While it may not have all features or file compatibility of Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW, it lacks the frustrating learning curve of these better-known programs. It also has more than sufficient functionality for a full range of creative endeavors with significant support via Help and the DrawPlus community. Combined with the convenience of so many tools in one place, the impressive usability of DrawPlus X4 makes it a great value and solid option for beginning and even experienced designers.
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