Vector Drawing at Its Best

Creating or editing vector images isn't a simple process, but you can use various applications to ease your work. DrawIt offers its users some powerful vector editing tools, making the image creation process a lot easier for amateur illustrators.



Vector graphics allow the use of geometric figures (points, lines and curves) for creating shapes that can be added to one’s drawing.

This technique gives an illustrator the means to add bitmap filters and effects to a project, and also increases the overall image quality. This can be observed especially when zooming your vector-based image.

DrawIt helps you create vector images from scratch, or customize the ones you already have by adding bitmap filters or layers.



The main target for the application are the users who create images containing many vector layers. DrawIt enables them to use their own, custom filters in order to add a lot of personality to a project. One can also use the included tools to further edit an image in order to obtain an unique result.

The Looks

DrawIt has a basic interface, with quick access to layers and vector attributes right from the main window.



Other functions, like masks, selection or text formatting can be reached from the menu bar. This way the application manages to offer its users a simple and easy to use interface, while still making it possible for more advanced users to quickly add changes and customizations to the loaded using the menu bar.

The Works



Vector drawing was always about using mathematical precision when creating graphic projects. DrawIt is based on this concept, allowing each figure you draw on the board to start from a precise point, that can be placed anywhere on the working area. 



An interesting feature here is that you can add predefined geometric shapes as a starting point for your project. In the main window you can also add shapes, images and text, features that give your work more depth and personality.

Personally, I like the idea of predefined shapes, because it saves a lot of time, and gives a good starting point for the drawing.

On the other hand, professionals will surely enjoy the fact they can add vectors anywhere on the working board.

 After drawing lines, an user can insert shadow effects to the vector image, thus giving a more realistic appearance to the project.

You can use any picture as background, an useful thing if you want to make a themed project. You can also insert other effects, like blur, darken and multiply in order to completely change the basic aspect of the image. Be careful though, as the image size will increase when using many filters or effects.



A user can introduce various effects and layers, giving a unique, customized aspect to the image. One can then create layer groups, that can be assigned to a certain working area, and also change their position, by bringing them in front or placing them in the background.

In some situations, pixel precision is a must, especially when trying to create a detailed image like, for example, a crystal, which has a lot of angles and a unique shape. In this case, zooming will let you visualize all the image pixels, although this process requires a lot of resources, especially if you applied a lot of filters to the image.

Another interesting thing about DrawIt is the fact that you can flatten or unflatten vectors. This gives an unique 3D effect to the drawing and can be found only in expensive graphics applications, like Adobe Photoshop for example.



You can increase the flattening effect by playing with lights and color burns. This will result in a darker or brighter environment, great for creating image effects and contrasts.

 You can rasterize the image, a process that will give you a cleaner output image.



After creating a vector image, users can easily duplicate it as many times as needed, a feature which seems to be quite useful for people who create ads or posters.



The Help menu includes some basic information and guides for vector image creation. It would have been nice if there were more guides and tutorials, created for all levels of experience an user might have.



The Good



Playing with vectors is quite fun, and it doesn't require a lot of experience, but DrawIt's true power can only be harnessed by professionals. While DrawIt offers ease of use to beginners, it also comes with lots of options that only highly experienced users can take advantage of for creating print ready vector images.



An interesting feature is the option to add shadows, which, combined with other effects, helps one give a more realistic feel to the resulting vector image and also provides the necessary means to create a simple 3D illusion.



The Bad

Beginners will have a lot to learn by themselves, since the training information included in the application is a little limited. This can be solved if future DrawIt versions include more guides on how to use the application and maybe even some samples.



The Truth



DrawIt is a great piece of software, that I surely recommend for vector graphics fans. It allows you to create amazing vector-based images and add various effects (especially bitmap filters) to the ones that you already have. Give it a try to see if it suits your needs.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: