Draw Pro Views
Real-DRAW Pro is a one-off application that seamlessly mixes vector-based drawing and illustration with bitmap-based effects and painting and then throws in some unique special effects for good measure. I was amazed by the sheer range of power on offer in version 2 and my jaw dropped when I found out that the whole program was written by just one person. The author, Roman Voska, is clearly a genius - and he's been hard at work again.
You can combine these basic building blocks to build up more advanced creations using Real-DRAW's new Boolean combination modes and you can choose to break apart, simplify or un-combine the results at any point in future. Another way to create more complex shapes is to use Real-DRAW's brush tools to quickly paint an object and then use the new Convert to Polynome command to turn its outline into vectors. You can also trace imported bitmaps, for example to quickly vectorize your signature. This new tracing capability is useful but it's only designed to produce a single object so it's not up to converting continuous-tone photographs.
Once you've created your objects, you're ready to format them and this is where Real-DRAW really comes into its own. Where most drawing programs encourage the use of vector-friendly flat fills and gradients, Real-DRAW lets rip with a whole host of pixel-based formatting. With separate palettes for managing Colour and Texture, Outline, Transparency, 3D Bevel, Shadows and Effects and even 3D Lights you can quickly create amazing effects blending colours, textures and graduated transparencies with drop shadows, glows and realistic lighting!
Real-DRAW's pixel-based formatting power is dramatic and it's immeasurably enhanced by the program's ability to create bitmap objects from scratch, to paint on existing objects and to package objects up so that you can apply bitmap-based effects to them. It's this bitmap-based power that is the secret of Real-DRAW's creativity, but it means that the program isn't suited to producing scalable and pin-sharp vector artwork such as logos.
Draw Pro Images
