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  #1  
Old 02-20-2016, 08:40 AM
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GuyNoir GuyNoir is offline
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Default Drawing Programs for Mac?

I have a iMac i3 desktop with 8 GB RAM and a 21.5" monitor.

I'd like to try to make some of my own decals and am looking for an inexpensive drawing program.

I've tried some freeware stuff and didn't like the offerings.

I've not done any drawing or drafting, either physically or on a computer, so I'm looking for something really basic.

Any iMac users out there with recommendations?
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  #2  
Old 02-20-2016, 09:17 AM
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sandman sandman is offline
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With freeware you kind of get what you pay for.

What you have to find is a "vector" software.

Vector programs give you true angles and curve images, not a stepped image.

CAD programs and Corel Draw give you nice vector drawings but good CAD anCorel programs are not free or cheap.
Older Corel software is available from Corel for about half what a new program costs but they are still about $200 or $300.

The biggest drawback with these drawing programs is the learning curve.

Corel Draw, which I use, come with pretty basic instructions. They are not that user friendly to the novice.

You will mess up a lot of paper and ink before you get the hang of it.

You basically have a new hobby to learn.

Oh, just be warned, vector drawing programs are computer memory hogs!

The other issue is decal paper. This will have to wait until you get the hang of whatever software you settle on but I have been looking at Papilio products for ink jet paper. Their products look very interesting for decals or thin vinyl in jet papers.

Somehow Papilio was figured out chemically how to make ink jet ink water resistant.

http://www.texascraft.com/hps/White...-10-Sheets.html
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  #3  
Old 02-20-2016, 10:30 AM
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I use Inkscape, which is freeware. There is a mac version but not being a mac user, I can't comment on how stable it is.

As Gordon said, there's a steep learning curve with any software like this.
I've only scratched the surface but I get by (my avatar was done in Inkscape)
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Old 02-20-2016, 10:37 AM
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LeeR LeeR is offline
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I used an older version or CorelDraw a few years ago, when I had access to a laser engraver/cutter. The laser was older, and we only had drivers for CorelDraw, so that was what I used. I kind of cursed it until I got the hang of it, and once that learning curve was mostly over, I found it incredibly powerful. I never did decals, but I did a lot of thin ply centering rings, and some basswood fins.

If you can find a deal on an older version, I'd certainly think it would be a good way to go. The last time I looked, the new versions of CorelDraw were still incredibly pricey.
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  #5  
Old 02-20-2016, 10:42 AM
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kurtschachner kurtschachner is offline
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Despite the fairly high learning curve, I'd just go buy an older version of Illustrator and go with that. Any vector drawing program is going to have a learning curve, there's no way around it.

I have Illustrator CS3 I think but even version 10 will run on my Mac. All the decals I redrew on this site were done in Illustrator.
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  #6  
Old 02-20-2016, 12:47 PM
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SecretSquirrel SecretSquirrel is offline
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We use Adobe Illustrator for all our decal, package art, instruction and laser cutting files. You can always have the latest version for $19.99 / mo. That includes troubleshooting, access to the font library, a website and 20GB cloud storage.

https://creative.adobe.com/plans?pr...3KR7S1&mv=other
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  #7  
Old 02-20-2016, 03:27 PM
ManofSteele ManofSteele is offline
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I use Illustrator a lot these days, but for simple stuff, I find EazyDraw to be cost effective and easy to use. It is really an update of the old MacDraw program. Inexpensive, too.

Matt
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  #8  
Old 02-20-2016, 04:11 PM
PaulK PaulK is offline
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For simple decal drawings, I use OpenOffice for Mac, which contains a Draw program.
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  #9  
Old 02-20-2016, 06:04 PM
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Rich Holmes Rich Holmes is offline
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I use Inkscape if I have to do any vector drawing on a Linux machine; it works, but I don't like the interface. Last time I tried the drawing tools in LibreOffice (or OpenOffice, from which LibreOffice was forked) it was buggy and I didn't like the interface.

My preferred vector drawing program on the Mac is Intaglio. Of course that's partly because I'm a cheapskate and don't want to shell out $20 a month for Illustrator. Intaglio's not free but it doesn't cost much, and I find it a lot more comfortable than Inkscape.

(For some decals I've drawn up, though not yet printed, in Intaglio, see here.)
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  #10  
Old 02-20-2016, 09:36 PM
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Bunny,

I have found EazyDraw 8 a reasonable replacement for Claris Works, which I used for years. They let you download a trial version which is nice. I will have my MacBook Air with me at NARCON if you want to give it a try.

Steve
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