The winner of the TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award in drawing software is DrawPlus X5. DrawPlus is one of the most powerful drawing applications to work with. It is easy to use and has a visually appealing interface and exciting features. Accelerated Graphic Technology powers the X5, which is the source of this drawing software's power. This drawing software allows advanced features to function with optimal performance and precision. The Accelerated Graphic Technology took three years to develop, and according to the managing director at Serif, "The new graphics engine will produce superior quality results and handle CMYK with professional accuracy," The software has some features often seen in more costly, high-end software, including composite transparency, blend groups, knockout mode and isolated blending.
This drawing software also has tablet support, so you can create illustrations in a more traditional method, yet still receive the benefits of having your illustration generate on the computer as an editable design. Even if you don’t own a tablet, this drawing software is a joy to work with and will yield amazing results.
DrawPlus has some impressive features that go beyond the essential functions to extend your designing options. For starters, most drawing software has quick-shape tools for only the basic shapes, such as rectangles, circles, polygons and stars. DrawPlus X5 goes beyond the basic shapes to provide many more quick-shape options, including hearts, spider webs, smiley faces, swirls and more. With the Shape Builder tool, you are also able to join objects together and remove conjoining areas.
This drawing software also goes above and beyond in their selection of clip art. Most applications provide a limited selection of clip art or an abundance of cheesy, unprofessional graphics that don't usually belong in your illustration. Instead, DrawPlus gives you a wide selection of creative and aesthetically pleasing graphics. The clip art images in DrawPlus are not only classy and appealing, but you can easily edit them. Each object is made of individual shapes, but with the X5's Blend Tool, you are able to morph shapes together and blend around each of their paths. This is a great starting point for illustrators who don’t want to start from scratch but are not quite satisfied with the clip art as it is. The graphic selection ranges from animals and baby-related gear to artistic tree branches and symbols for interior decoration.
DrawPlus X5 has a creative feature not included on most drawing software applications – paper textures. Textures include canvas, cartridge, embossed, parchment and watercolor. Each of these paper textures will give your illustration a different feel.
Some other unique and helpful features include the 3D planes and the perspective presets. With the 3D plane tool, you can choose to show grids entitled top plane, front plane and right plane on the screen. These grids will help you to create accurate 3D objects by hand; although, there is a tool that generates equally impressive 3D objects automatically as well. The perspective presets will flip an object to a preset angle, so you won't have to manually shift an object to create a perspective angle.
Serif includes tools in their drawing software specifically for helping you easily create accurate illustrations. The align buttons are a great accuracy tool that allow you to align objects by their top, bottom, right and left sides, as well as by their horizontal or vertical center. The guidelines are another feature that provides accuracy. They will pop up to help you align objects as you create or arrange shapes. In addition to the guidelines, the measurements of the shapes also briefly appear on your screen.
In previous versions of DrawPlus, the filter effects were less impressive. In the X5, Serif Software definitely kicked it up a notch by adding new graphic styles and composite transparency. For more accuracy, X5 employs transparency and blend modes, which support isolated blending – a fantastic technique for applying effects to one photo or a group of photos. You are also able to add the following effects to your images:
- Drop and inner shadow
- Outer and inner glow
- Outline
- Bevel and emboss
- Color fill
- Feather and blur
- 3D effects
- 3D lighting
DrawPlus supports 18 standard file types. You are able to import Adobe, Photoshop and Illustrator files, as well as PDF files and EPS and CAD graphics. You can even export your creations as Flash files.
Compared to other drawing software, DrawPlus X5 is both enjoyable and simple to use. The toolbars and side panels are well organized, allowing you to find the features and perform the functions you need without getting frustrated.
Most of the tools are conveniently located on the toolbar. When you're working on drawing projects, you want to have all of your favorite tools right there by your side and ready for action. DrawPlus X5 allows you to customize your tool bar, adding the tools you will need for each project. You can also reposition the toolbar, so it's in the perfect location for you.
Serif provides excellent help and support for its drawing software. You can consult video tutorials, written tutorials, digital manuals and online forums to better learn how to use DrawPlus X5. To fix technical problems on your own, you can look at the knowledge base and FAQs page. If you need additional help to solve technical issues, you can contact the Serif support staff through telephone support or submit a question ticket. For simple questions, you can connect with Serif Support via Twitter and Facebook.
If you are looking for excellent drawing software that is easy to use, yet still offers the complex tools and artistic results of a professional application, Serif DrawPlus X5 is worth considering. DrawPlus is competitive in all the areas in which we compared drawing applications, most notably in its features and help and support. Once you enter the graphic design world with DrawPlus, drawing with pen and paper may never be enough again.
