Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
It ’s good to see CorelDraw Graphics Suite back on the Mac . The main CorelDraw app is a genuinely attractive peter for professional - level vector artwork and representative study , and Photo - Paint is a welcome incentive .
It ’s almost 20 long time since Corel last release a version of its CorelDraw vector graphics software for the Mac and , by its own entrance money , it did n’t do a particularly good task back then either . Still , well late than never , andCorelDraw Graphics Suite 2019certainly looks and feels like a truthful Mac app , correctly down to the inclusion body of Mac - specific features such as Mojave’sDark Modeand support for theTouch Baron the latest MacBook Pro models .
It ’s also worth emphasising that this is indeed a ‘ graphics suite ’ , rather than just a single app , as CorelDraw is accompanied by a Mac variation of Corel ’s Photo - Paint for pic - editing , and Font Manager , which will help you keep path of the large subroutine library of fonts that is include with the cortege . There are also a number of extra utility that are available from within the CorelDraw and Photo - Paint apps , such as AfterShot 3 HDR for working with birthday suit exposure Indian file , and PowerTrace for converting bitmap images into vector graphics . ( Read Corel ’s rundown ofwhat ’s includedfor more item . )
Plus , if you do n’t need to clutter up your MacBook ’s modified storage space , you get admittance to the onlinecoreldraw.app , which gives you access to a more basic variant of the app via a web web browser port when you ’re on the move .
But is all this worth the price ? In our CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2019 for Mac critique we walk through the feature of speech and assess the suite ’s depth and exploiter - friendliness . For advice on the hardware side , readBest Mac for designers .
Price & subscriptions
determine how you want to pay for the suite could be a bit complicated . If you ’re not a fan of Adobe’sCreative Cloudsubscription scheme then you ’ll be proud of to take heed that you’re able to simplybuy CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2019 outrightfor £ 599.99/$499 .
That fee gives you a ‘ perpetual licence ’ to use the software for as long as you want , with no subscription fees call for . However , it does n’t undertake access to any future upgrades – so there ’s no guarantee that you ’ll get a free upgrade if CorelDraw tote up new features such as the Sidecar feature of speech in Apple ’s forthcomingmacOS Catalina(which let youuse an iPad as a 2d screen ) . If you want guaranteed admission to all future upgrades then you need to pay an annual ‘ upgrade protection ’ subscription fee of £ 109.99/$99 on top of the canonical licence fee .
Getting started
The CorelDraw Suite is n’t really aimed at beginners – it ’s pro software with a pro Mary Leontyne Price – but it does a good job of helping out newcomers who might be strain to break their addiction to Adobe ’s Creative Cloud apps . For starter , there ’s that7 - day devoid trialthat you’re able to search , and the app ’s initial launching windowpane includes a number of tutorial single file that you’re able to try out with , along with intimation , tips and online videos that help to introduce the primal pecker .
CorelDraw itself has a fairly conventional and familiar interface design , with a couple of toolbars running across the top of your written document window , and the master shaft palette course down the lefthand side . However , the righthand side of the windowpane take hold the Inspector palette , which can be used to perform a routine of different routine while you ’re working ( or shroud aside if you do n’t need it ) .
For newcomers , the Inspector can only exhibit hints on how to use the currently selected tool , but it can also provide very elaborated command for working with your illustrations . A key feature here is the Object Inspector – which is new to the Windows variant of the suite as well – which displays a thumbnail visual trailer of all objects and grouped - objects within a draught , along with a name that you could edit , and a hunt tool for rapidly locate and pick out individual objective , such as ‘ blue petal ’ .
Features & effects
Also find in the Inspector palette are the new bitmap effect cock . Clicking on the FX icon in the Properties subdivision of the Inspector displays a pull - down carte containing dozens of electronic image personal effects and filter that can be applied to either vector or bitmap images .
These burden are ‘ non - destructive ’ , so they do n’t permanently spay the original image . This allows you to apply multiple effect to an image , and then hide or show each upshot individually for make several different edition of the same range .
This power to compound bitmap and vector graphics also widen into the program ’s drawing tools . As you ’d expect , CorelDraw includes an encompassing band of puppet for create vector art of various flesh . And , like many lottery programs , it also let in a freehand creature that get you guide by hand and then converts your cam stroke into smooth vector artwork .
However , CorelDraw also include a LiveSketch option that give you a straightaway preview of how your drawing will look as vectors , but then throw you up to five arcsecond to partake in extra details before in reality creating the final vector draught . That gives the program a more natural feel when ferment with freehand drawings , and should be especially useful with a graphics tablet or stylus ( or Sidecar with theApple Pencilwhen Catalina arrives ) .
There ’s a nod to sound former - fashioned print magazines , with the ability to create multi - page layout , while web couturier can use the new Align To Pixel Grid command to on the nose correct graphics of any sizing . We also like the World Wide Web - based template that you could chance in the on-line coreldraw.app , which include templates for web log and Facebook computer graphic , as well as templates for specific devices , such as the iPhone X , or iPad Air .
Photo-Paint
The other important component of the CorelDraw Graphics Suite is Photo - Paint , which , as the name suggests , provides tool for photograph - editing and bitmap art .
Photo - Paint is a snatch of a mixed bagful , though . It does include a wide-cut sort of filter effects and colour controls for fine - tuning the visual aspect of your photos : there ’s a Healing Clone tool for removing flaws and imperfectness and a Smart Carver that can be used to edit out larger objects from an image , while we also like the Straighten Tool that provide utile options for altering view in your photo and correcting lens optical aberration . However , the program ’s interface is n’t particularly refined , and many of these features are only dumped inside an endless series of menus and submenus .
The program also lean to use a fair bit of unfamiliar jargon – the ‘ layers ’ found in Photoshop and many otherphoto - redaction programsare pertain to as ‘ lense ’ here , which sometimes made it hard to find common tool simply because we did n’t know what they were called in Photo - Paint . The app ’s Help system is fairly limited too , and it often just opens up a web internet browser and then leave alone you to look through a clump of FAQs on the Corel website .
Verdict
It ’s adept to see the CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2019 back on the Mac – if only to offer a bit of contention for the traditional dominance of Adobe . This is a fully featured computer graphic suite with stack of apps and utilities , plus memory access to the online coreldraw.app , and astonishingly exploiter - favorable advice and tutorial for newcomers .
