Question: Corel Draw or Illustrator?

[Marcus Hunt]

Ok, the time has nearly come to bite the bullet. I got my MacBook Pro and have a partition for Windows so I can run my old Photoshop 7. I have a copy of Corel Draw 9 but never really took the time to learn it properly. The thing is I really hate Windows as an OS and having to use it for Photoshop gauls me. I'm getting close to making a decision on Adobe CS4 but should I just get Photoshop or Design Standard/Premium with Illustrator bundled in or should I stick with my old Corel Draw? What advantage would Illustrator give me over Corel Draw?

 

[monk]

i've only used corel, but work i've seen from the pros who reallly know how to do it right,i'd say corel would probably have to take a back seat to a real expert user. i think photoshop can be pushed in more directions by an expert.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Marcus

I use CorelDraw 13 and it's a vast improvement on the previous editions simply because of the way it saves nodes and a few other things. The main reason I use it is because it does everything I need to do with it and because I know how to use it. Plus I can't be bothered changing software for the sake of it.

Again it really boils down to what you want to use it for and how much you will be using it. If it's for really basic stuff then you probabley are better off saving your money and using the Corel version that you have.

But if you want to get into some more advanced graphic applications and will be using it a lot then Illustrator is probabley the better way to go. Simply because Illustrator is pretty much the industry standard.

Probabley the best way to answer the question is to ask yourself exactley what it is that you want to acheive with the software. There's not a lot of point having expensive programs sitting on your computer if you are only going to do basic stuff with it.

But always keep in mind no matter what you end up with you still have to take the time to learn it and initially it's hard to get your head around no matter what programe you end up with.



Cheers
Andrew

 

[1941]

Illustrator is the standard of the graphics industry, as Mac is. I started with Corel, so I'm very comfortable with it. If you take college level graphics classes you'd be using Illustrator. There are some things you can do in Corel that you can't do in Illustrator; especially with text. Why not try both? Get your new computer with the Photoshop-Illustrator package, and install your Corel too. You can always delete the Corel if you decide not to use it. 1941

 

[Sam]

At the end of the day either program will work just fine, and neither one has anything super special over the other. They're both vector art programs with more features than most of us will ever need or use, and both deliver the same results with nearly the same feature set. Illustrator is the print industry standard, but Corel can export Adobe Illustrator files which is nice. Illustrator cannot export to Corel files.

 

[Mario Sarto]

I use corel since it vers. 3 till now (like Andrew i have 13). I have dabbled with others, but i always return. For me it is right - intuitive, it feels good and it is not so expensive like others. I made a lot pictures with it for our business and gave these files to professional print offices - never had trouble. I never missed something but i'm not a professional in graphics. I believe that Illustrator is a very good one.
You have to find out, what you want to do with. Where are your objectives?
Mario

 

[Leonardo]

Hi Marcus,

Great advice has been given here. I only would like to add that the more professionally you use the computer the more you hate Windows but, unfortunately and as a service business we have, we must think in the others (our clients).

From this point of view you will have more compatibility using Corel because you can share documents with all level users. Many people in the world use to have their computers loaded with a lot of programs (pirate copies, of course) that may never use until they need to commission a job to you so having more flexibility will carry fewer troubles to you also.

In my opinion, CorelDraw Graphics Suite is a powerful package and it exceed by large the engraving business needs so saving your money it is not a bad option, isn’t it?

All the best, Leonardo.

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Marcus, I think some good advises are already given.
I had a CorelDraw suite when I started using computers. Sure it will do everything you want it to. Problem is the updates, as computers became more powerful, also the software became more complicated.
I switched Draw to Adobe, as it is a standard, there are a lot of free plugins you can use with PS and Illustrator, they also work very well together in my version CS3.

When I first used PhotoShop, it was hard to do things, as it is different from CorelDraw. But I installed CorelDraw so I was forced to find things out in PhotoShop.
Another reason to use Adobe is that it was designed for the Mac, I don't know about Corel.

You can also find a lot of Tutorials online, how to use PhotoShop and Illustrator
And as I understand you have not much experience with the Corel Vector program, you still have to learn it, so starting with Illustrator don't makes it harder.

But I'm sure Corel is a good program, but I would go for Adobe

arnaud

 

[Chapi]

I am not too well versed in Corel, but I do know a little about Illustrator, and the one feature I am surprised I haven't heard about yet is that Illustrator will draw perfect spirals for you, so it would seem to be a breeze to layout any scrollwork backbones. This is more of a crutch than anything, but it might come in handy for laying out a lot of spirals that you want the same.

 

[jimzim75]

Hi Marcus,
I haven't really gotten into the new Apple programs that are suppose to be able to run
Windows programs all that much. I don't think you'll be able to work with Corel on an
apple that has a dual core.

As far as I know Corel 11 is the only version that will work on a single core Apple like the
G4 eMac I have. I tried loading Corel 11 on a MacBook Pro and it would not install.

So I would get a Copy of Abode Illustrator CS4 plus use your Photoshop with it.

I could be wrong about the new programs and what you can do with widow programs
on a Mac. I haven't upgraded again, with economy as it is, it may be a while.

Jim

 

[Mike Cirelli]

I personally like Photoshop cs3. It's easy to learn and maneuver around in. With a Wacom tablet it makes cutting and editing a cinch. I think the tablet is the key once you get the hang of it. Here's a before and after I did with the tablet, it took about a half hour or so. It could be done much better by someone who really knows the program.

 

[Kevin P.]

That's gorgeous work Mike.
I have the Adobe suite, but I've never used a Wacom tablet? If not too complicated can you tell me what it does for you? And if you know of a tutorial for the Wacom tablet that would be great.
Kevin P.

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Thanks Kevin
The Wacom tablet just makes things a lot easier, quicker and cleaner. It's like using an actual brush when blending and when using the pen tool to cut it's much easier than the mouse. If your not doing anything real complicated the pen & tablet really doesn't do anything that you couldn't do with a mouse. It takes a little time getting used to the pen, some never get used to.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Thanks for all your responses guys, and thanks Mike for showing the before and after images. Any other info is always gratefully received.

 

[Neo Dutch]

Illustrator will draw perfect spirals for you, so it would seem to be a breeze to layout any scrollwork backbones.

Corel does scrolls as well.