Freehand MX or Illustrator CS?
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- 16 Responses
- xau
I can't decide which one is better. I've worked in both. I need an outside opinion. Thanks!
- ganon0
CorelDRAW
- Brookfresh0
just use Fireworks - much better
- xau0
Err... Uhm...
I said Freehand MX or Illustrator CS. I'm looking to purchase one or the other for my freelance work I do from home. I've worked in both at print and web houses. Yet, alas, I can't decide which one to buy.
'pinions about the two would help greatly. Thanks!
- tparsons0
MX all the way.
- Xentic0
I'm a Illustrator fan!
Haven't tried Freehand though... So I can't really tell you which one is the best...
- nessdog0
illustrator.
- industry730
I own both but i prefer Illustrator CS, mainly because of the Smart Guides feature and the scissors tool.
Also it just seems to be easier to use for what i need.
- xau0
'MX all the way.'
- tparsonspourquois?
- azyning0
illustrator is a great program, but mx can do everything illustrator can and more such as allowing you to put multiple pages in one doc, easier adjustments to lines, etc.
- rocha0
Freehand can do almost anything illustrator can do, but not everything. From what I can recall, Freehand does not have much support for gradient meshes and no support at all for 3-D type stuff included with the new Illustrator.
That aside, I find Freehand much more logical, straightforward, intuitive. Plus, Illustrator CS runs like a bloated slug unless you've got a fast machine.
I say Freehand all the way.
- brundlefly0
if you are ever doing print work, you will appreciate the purchase of illustrator much more, and the PDF engine inside, new 3d tools etc...
as for web freehand is quite nice, I am an illustrator lover, and it has always done me right.
- fruitsalad0
I tried illustrator and then freehand probably 20 years ago and found immediately Freehand made sense. Then I was forced into using Illustrator at work over the years... with Adobe sadly then killing off Freehand.
In the past few years I've not needed to create vector illustrations, and so my time spent using Illustrator has mostly been for type and layouts.
But.. having spent all day in Illustrator trying to do what it says on the tin, Illustrate... I'm now spending all evening seeing if I can get a cracked version Freehand to work, and trying demos of alternative vector softwares.
Came across this:
http://www.freehandforum.org/ima…
and it's this specifically that I miss:
Yeah, you can get a $70 plugin to add that sort of feature to illustrator, but I hate relying on 3rd party plugins for such simple functions. Especially when I'm paying a monthly subscription already.
What strikes me most about using Illustrator so close to the year 2017 is firstly it's core code architecture seems to be based on 20+ year old code. It's GUI / UI /UX is also antique and inconsistent.
If you were to list out all the users end requirements currently met by Illustrator, and then UX/UI out the process to get there you would not produce Illustrator as it stands today. If you suggested UX/UI features found in todays version of Illustrator you'd be laughed at.
Align to:
There's only 3 options in the drop down. Why not have 3 buttons in all that empty space taken up by that dropdown button.
And why not have it act a bit smarter - if you only have one object selected, it should default to align to artboard, as align to selection doesn't do anything with only one item selected.
Then there's this:
want to change a stroke weight? well Adobe have three UI methods:
A drop down of predefined widths.
A text entry box incapable of parsing out numbers and units from arbitrary text,or doing calculations as seen in Cinema4D.
And two teeny tiny up/down arrow buttons. Which on a 27" monitor are seemly impossible to quickly or repeatedly click on.
What a mess. Why not just a slider and text box? Or text box you can slide up or down like in AE with different modifying keys to tone down the increments?
In 2017 you wouldn't create such software UI. So why am I forced to use it and pay a monthly subscription for it. Seriously hate Adobe. can they give Freehand out as open source to the Freehand community that want to keep using it for them to update and keep going? Adobe won't lose revenue as most people are on a subscript for the full suite of adobe crap.
Meanwhile Adobe release a 3D app about 5 people will professionally use for Bleach bottle ads.
Come on Adobe, focus on UX and Ui and get your software into 2017, make them super intuitive and a aid to the user, instead of antique clunky pieces of bloatware.
- fruitsalad-1
This has slowed me down so much today. And infuriated me so much. What pain in the ass Illustrator is:
- You can use Illustrator with a Wacom and 27" iMac unless you move at glacial speed with robotic accuracy.fruitsalad
- "can not" meant to say.. so worn down from using illustrator all day...fruitsalad
- sted0
fruitsalad: inkscape is for you.
- Or buy a second hand W XP machine and install Fh MX on itOBBTKN
- yeah the windows solutions looks the most crediblefruitsalad
- Continuity0
^ According to Wiki:
'The interface of Sodipodi (Inkscape's predecessor) was based on those of CorelDRAW and GIMP. The Inkscape interface has been influenced by Xara Xtreme.'
Yuck. So, basically, this app packages all of three of the most disgusting design apps in one!
*two fingers up to CorelFuckingDraw*
- a_aachen0
Anyone using Gravit? I just looked into it and at first sight it makes sense.
I had the same problem – I used Freehand a lot back then but never really got into illustrator. it just never felt logical