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Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

affinity.serif.com

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Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#21

Post by Osmium »

I'm looking for something with solid EPS import and export. So far, I've found Sketch flakey (some things imported incorrectly, other things cause visual glitches), OmniGraffle great except when I export a document as EPS which has other EPS-imported elements embedded in it, they appear to be rasterised (which defeats the point). And that's pretty much it–Pixelmator, despite becoming more of a vector tool, doesn't support EPS at all. Inkscape works flawlessly except that it's awkward to use on a Mac, especially without retina support (which is somewhat crucial for an graphic editor).

I've just tried Affinity Designer and it seems like it has good EPS import support (all elements editable etc.) and EPS export, but the exported EPS appears rasterised. When I open it up again in Affinity Designer, it's no longer editable. But maybe I'm just doing something wrong...

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#22

Post by notasmartman »

nyar wrote: post #14

It isn't an alternative. Illustrator runs on Windows and Mac, this runs on Mac. I don't have a mac, nor do I want one, so this is unusable. Now tell me about how design has to be done on a and how the sleek $2000 plastic encasing the computer helps you do it.

The dictionary defines Alternative as: one of two or more available possibilities. This is available, and it is a possibility, even if it's a possibility with a low probability based on your inherent bias. So, by definition, in english, this is certainly an alternative. So I'm curious about your motivation for the comment. You come out swinging, create a strawman, and introduce an error, all in one sentence. You're either a troll, or you're an idiot, and I'm honestly curious which, because I would like to assume the former, but your post makes no sense, even as a troll message. What was your motivation?

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#24

Post by mike_ivanov »

nyar wrote: post #14

It isn't an alternative. Illustrator runs on Windows and Mac, this runs on Mac. I don't have a mac, nor do I want one, so this is unusable. Now tell me about how design has to be done on a and how the sleek $2000 plastic encasing the computer helps you do it.

If you're looking for a Windows alternative, Xara is still hanging around.

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#25

Post by gulpahum »

egypturnash wrote: post #8
sbarre wrote: post #3

I wonder how this compares to Sketch? There seem to be a bunch of Mac-only vector apps coming out in recent years.. Not just these direct Illustrator competitors, but HTML5 animation tools too like Hype, Paintcode, etc.. that provide vector drawing and animation tools, and are coming from small teams and cost very little (relatively speaking)... Is this because there are more powerful native components in OS X that m…

I think a lot of it is that Adobe's UIs have gotten so relentlessly fucked-up. They have their own cross-platform UI toolkit that always feels just a little wrong. And they keep on making things worse; the latest release of AI, for instance, has a truly horrible new font dropdown menu due to their desire to integrate a 'buy fonts on Typekit' button into what once worked quickly and elegantly.

I know that Mac users are very sensitive towards all cross-platform and non-native UI toolkits. I have always wondered why I haven't seen many complaints about the Adobe non-native UI on Mac. So, its interesting to hear that it does feel a bit wrong.

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#26

Post by tumultco »

sbarre wrote: post #3

I wonder how this compares to Sketch? There seem to be a bunch of Mac-only vector apps coming out in recent years.. Not just these direct Illustrator competitors, but HTML5 animation tools too like Hype, Paintcode, etc.. that provide vector drawing and animation tools, and are coming from small teams and cost very little (relatively speaking)... Is this because there are more powerful native components in OS X that m…

One of the founders of Tumult Hype here --

When we started out Adobe was still sticking to their Flash guns. As HTML5 was the only method to make animated web content on iOS, it was clear someone needed to make tools aimed at graphic designers, so we decided that someone should be us! Luckily with no other competing apps around, we didn't have to deal with an uphill battle on feature parity unlike these vector editors do with Illustrator. So I wouldn't say we were disgruntled, just trying to fill in a hole. And, on a personal note I had a need for such a tool for a side project I was working on.

OS X is a great platform to develop for generally speaking. We naturally leverage WebKit, and Quartz and CoreImage frameworks I'm sure do a lot of heavy lifting for the vector-based tools. Also keep in mind a larger percent of graphic pros use a Mac than the general population, so if you're building a tool it is a safe bet to start on the Mac.

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#27

Post by pessimizer »

notasmartman wrote: post #22
nyar wrote: post #14

It isn't an alternative. Illustrator runs on Windows and Mac, this runs on Mac. I don't have a mac, nor do I want one, so this is unusable. Now tell me about how design has to be done on a and how the sleek $2000 plastic encasing the computer helps you do it.

The dictionary defines Alternative as: one of two or more available possibilities. This is available, and it is a possibility, even if it's a possibility with a low probability based on your inherent bias. So, by definition, in english, this is certainly an alternative. So I'm curious about your motivation for the comment. You come out swinging, create a strawman, and introduce an error, all in one sentence. You're e…

By your logic, it should be safe to describe surviving on a concentrated stream of spiritual energy emanating from the Godhead as an alternative to eating food, even if it's only available to the 12 Ascended Masters.

Saying that this is only an alternative on a Mac is not trolling, not a strawman, and not an error, it's a clarification that people looking at thread titles to click on might appreciate. You're either a troll, or you're an idiot, and I'm honestly curious which, because I would like to assume the former, but your post makes no sense, even as a troll message. What was your motivation?

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#28

Post by hnha »

teilo wrote: post #15

What with the Adobe CC subscription fiasco, my company is already looking for alternatives that we can use wherever it makes sense. Adobe, as part of their new subscription model, is trying to force us unto paying 40% more per seat than an individual license would cost. At that price we would be paying significantly more than we did when we just purchased upgrades. (We have upwards of 80+ seats.) So far I have manage…

with that much money, have you thought.about paying inkscape developers to accustom your needs?

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#29

Post by fred_durst »

notasmartman wrote: post #22
nyar wrote: post #14

It isn't an alternative. Illustrator runs on Windows and Mac, this runs on Mac. I don't have a mac, nor do I want one, so this is unusable. Now tell me about how design has to be done on a and how the sleek $2000 plastic encasing the computer helps you do it.

The dictionary defines Alternative as: one of two or more available possibilities. This is available, and it is a possibility, even if it's a possibility with a low probability based on your inherent bias. So, by definition, in english, this is certainly an alternative. So I'm curious about your motivation for the comment. You come out swinging, create a strawman, and introduce an error, all in one sentence. You're e…

Can people please stop saying strawman over and over and over again. We get it, you read about it on Wikipedia by way of Reddit and now it applies to every single time someone disagrees with you.

Re: Affinity Designer – Illustrator alternative

#30

Post by peapicker »

mike_ivanov wrote: post #24
nyar wrote: post #14

It isn't an alternative. Illustrator runs on Windows and Mac, this runs on Mac. I don't have a mac, nor do I want one, so this is unusable. Now tell me about how design has to be done on a and how the sleek $2000 plastic encasing the computer helps you do it.

If you're looking for a Windows alternative, Xara is still hanging around.

It isn't an alternative.

Illustrator runs on Windows and Mac, this runs on PC. I don't have a PC, nor do I want one, so this is unusable. Now tell me about how design has to be done on a and how the MS operating system on the computer helps you do it.

(Tongue firmly in cheek...)

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