who knows about Corel Draw 12

[JLockwood]

I'm calling for part-time Graphic Artist position tomorrow, and the company uses Corel Draw 12. They said illustrator and photoshop users will learn it fast. I've never heard of Corel Draw until now. Does anyone know anything about it???

[Bob]

I know enough to tell you that you can be prepared to be very frustrated and underpaid. And, in case you didn't know, it's PC only.

In the right hands, it's a very powerful tool. I've been using CorelDraw since ver. 1, in the early 90's. For anyone new to vector drawing, it's deceptively easy to get going in Draw. For anyone proficient at any other vector program like AI or Freehand, there's enough fundamental differences in the basic drawing stuff to cause a lot of UI-shock.

Good news is that Corel's UI is the most customizable one out there. That also allows you to load one of it's default Workspaces which emulates the AI interface fairly well, to at least let you work with familiar shortcuts.

In terms of day-to-day drawing and production tasks, properly setup and understood, a good Corel station can be very productive indeed.

[JLockwood]

well i dont care much about money, im only 19 i just want work experience.
is it anything like Corel Painter? because i used that program in highschool.

[Drazan]

I'm a CorelDraw user at work. It took less than a month to learn all the tweaks and what not from it, but I've been doing design and using tons of differnt programs for years.

Rule number 1 : Don't attempt to layout a catalog with it, after 20 pages you'll soon find your self with a +500MB file. That is was InDesign and Quark are for. Corel saves all files within itself. So if you are going to import images best to make them relative size to what you want. If you have Corel Photo-Paint and double click on a raster image, it will port into Corel Photo-Paint for simple adjustments.

If you need to use photoshop to bevel or fancy stuff, make sure the vector is up to size - for large format printing we go at the smallest a 1/4 scale which still can be +30 inches long at that scale.

Here's a tutorial I did up a couple months ago. It should help you go through the basic (and I do mean basic) tools and tips to get you started.

http://pownuke.com/corel/corel_tutorial.pdf 980K file size.

Corel does have a learning curve, so don't expect to do super vector cartoon anime with it right off. You can learn the basics of node editing, layout, etc from the tutorial - and search online for more corel tutorials. With enough practice you'll get proficient with it, just like any other program.

Tools are basically the same, the main difference is working mostly in vector vs raster. Painter uses the brush as a drawing tool and rasterizing the layers immediately. For CorelDraw think of Anime and cartooning were things are vector outlines and fills. There's some fancy stuff that you can do with Corel Draw, but if you want to do beveling and shading and cool fills, the best bet is to export to photoshop then import back to CorelDraw.


=)
Jade

[Logo-Mechanix]

Nothing to add that wasn't already mentioned, I also use Corel alot at work and in the right hands it's a great program.

[panzer]

yes its been said b4 as Logo says i have seen some really fine stuff from corel

[Booger]

Drazan's little help pdf is very useful starting out. It shows alot of good shortcuts and various tools that you will use through out Draw.

I've been using Draw for 2.5 years and found a few little tips in that pdf (thanks!).

Its a simple program to learn, and customizing it will make it alot more fun and easy to use. Removing certain items off the main workspace and adding others will help you out alot. There are several tools that are good to use hidden in the customize area.

I don't have much experience with Illy, or Photoshop so the Corel programs have become very useful to me. Photopaint works pretty well and you can figure it out if you know any photoshop (so I'm told), but i find it easier to use than working with PS.

When in doubt post up in here, as there are several members (like those above) that know the program very well.

[Bob]

>>well i dont care much about money, im only 19 i just want work experience<<

Be selective. Work experience in Corel can look like a gravy stain on the resume. It's not fair, but I'm just telling you the truth. It's better to gain underpaid experience in software that is connected to the good jobs, than in stuff that's connected to the bottom.

As for Draw's relationship to Painter-- minimal. Painter was acquired by Corel a few years back, and the UI still looks and feels mostly like the versions from the original publisher.

[Drazan]

We use Corel because of the person who's been there the longest. It's the only program he knows.

I've done a few things in Illy and am trying to learn more on it as well as 3D studio.

[Loopy Lisa]

Holy this thread was from forever ago but to add:
I love CorelDraw. always have. I started designing on it using ver. 7.0 and fell in love with how easy it was to learn...there are alot of cool features with it...I am learning Illy and InDesign too, just so I can broaden my horizons, but when it comes down to it I prefer CorelDraw. You just go with what you know, it's a comfort zone thing.

[Piscosour]

I use Corel in regular basis, pretty much every day and it is a great tool. I've been using Corel since the version2.. long time ago and I am totally in love with it. I tried to use Illy but I always go back to Corel I also use it for certain layouts, I feel more comfortable there. I also like the fact that you can switch from Draw to PhotoPainter the way you do it between Dreamweaver/Flash/Fireworks or Illy/Photoshop/Indesign.

[yes_is_yellow]

hello .. i use corel too.... i love it....only the fact that you can create pages sometimes is veeeeery usefulll!! i feel very comfortable with corel but i am sure that i still have a lot of things to learn because i use it for almost only two years...but is amazing..when i press P and i put my design in the middle of the page is my favourite...ehheh

[fingerPrint.Design]

Definalty not a hard program to learn if you know illustrator. I had never used it before, and now I work at a place that uses only coreldraw. I think you can google coreldraw adobe illustrator tool compare, or something to that effect and see a tool comparison.

There are some things that are better in corel than illustrator and vicea verca. But really not diffuclt.

I think you can download a trial version of the newest version on corels website if you have the right equipment.

Note* Corel is a pc only program

[Piscosour]

You can also customize CorelDraw X3 for Illustrator users..

[Avel]

anyway im in here now may i ask how to disable coreldraw recent work history you see in file down menu...?

[panzer]

want windows do that there is a nice free program "wincleaner" im sure it gets rid of all that stuff

[Java]

Hi J Lockwood,

If you are an AI user, you won't have any trouble learning DRAW. It is a vector program that does all the same things as Illustrator. It comes with Photo-Paint, which does all the same things as Photoshop. You can pretty much teach yourself and if need be ask the techs because they are just about the nicest techs you'll ever talk to. Or at least they used to be. I haven't had to call them for a long time, but they have these cute Canadian accents and are quite polite.;)

I have not used version 12, but have used versions 7, 9, 11 and now am on X3. I once used Adobe stuff on a Mac, but made a switch some years ago to a PC and Corel. It's a long story, but I'm not interested in working for anyone else, so it doesn't matter what I use as long as it does the job and the DRAW suite definitely does.

The main reason to do this job and use DRAW is to familiarize yourself with other programs. However, as Broacher says, there is this kind of snobbishness about Adobe if you're going to work for employers in this field. I have never really liked snobbishness, so I sort of like using something out of the mainstream and proving to people that yes you can do graphic design on a PC without using spendy Adobe products.

But like the company you're considering, there are a bunch out there who have found that DRAW is inexpensive and see no reason to buy Adobe. Only you can decide if this is a job you want to do, but as far as using DRAW, you should have no problem. You just won't find classes for it, so you'll have to just jump in and start doing stuff. The way I learned it is that right after I bought it, I had to produce a brochure for a client and had no choice but to use DRAW. Necessity is a great incentive.

The main differences you'll find are in names of things and menus plus finding the tools you want. But there are a whole lot of different ways to do things in DRAW and you'll have fun trying them out. Keep us posted.

Java

[Bob]

>>You just won't find classes for it<<

There are lots offered around here. The local school boards and colleges offer night courses. Only, be aware of the gap between what you might consider 'advanced' and their own definition of the same. They tend to be very basic as far as pro production is concerned.

[Java]

Corel classes??? That is a good thing -- people should be exposed to many programs. But we have not had any around here. I looked for them back when I started with v7, and found nothing.

I know there are online tutorials -- didn't discover those until I'd used it quite a while.

Java

[Piscosour]

Rule number 1 : Don't attempt to layout a catalog with it, after 20 pages you'll soon find your self with a +500MB file. That is was InDesign and Quark are for. Corel saves all files within itself. So if you are going to import images best to make them relative size to what you want. If you have Corel Photo-Paint and double click on a raster image, it will port into Corel Photo-Paint for simple adjustments.
=)
Jade

You can link bitmaps externally, you don´t need to embed pictures, same as InDesign. When you prepare your files for service bureau it will also save the linked files. So you won´t have a 500MB file to print.

[Drazan]

follow up Piscosour, please explain how?

[Bob]

When you import a graphic, there is an external link option checkbox.

Personally, I've found this okay--if you're printing directly from CorelDraw. Which brings up a host of other problems. As far as exported EPS/PDF link preservation and/or depending on links in a compatible postscript workflow with Corel, I have found this option too unreliable to... rely on.

[Piscosour]

Could you explain that Broacher? I have worked severl times with a service bureau that accepts Corel files and i haven't had problems at all, basically i didn't have to create a PDF or EPS files for them.

[Bob]

You've found an exception. What I'm talking about is when you have to deliver files to a printer or service who doesn't have/or doesn't know how to handle Corel native files. This is easily 98% of my Corel handoffs. If you're happy with the way they're handling your Corel files directly, that's great. Only, in my neck of the woods, anyways, that's not the way it usually goes.

[Piscosour]

Well. I have to save my files into Corel12, they don't have X3 yet :) Thanks God everything went fine last time.