Macromedia freehand or Adobe Illustrator

[caloysam]

I've read various discussions about the comparison between the two programs, but of course, I wanted the opinion of you guys. I'm new into vectoring and I was wondering which is better or has the edge of the two? Advantages, disadvantages? By the way, I use freehand just so you'll know. Thanks in advance!

[super_ed]

i'm happy vectoring using Adobe Illustrator. so far i don't find any significant difference between the two apps, productivity does not depend on the application but more of the technique and sort of mastery drawing the lines and curves..

[chairman]

Well if you're using Photoshop already, I've found that Adobe Illustrator is easier to learn. They share a common interface which makes it easier to learn Illustrator. Also the integration of both apps is better. You can switch back and forth without much problems.

On the other hand if you're starting from scratch then Freehand might be worth looking at. Especially if you eventually want to learn Flash. The whole Studio MX of Macromedia integrates fairly well.

I suggest getting your hands on trial copies of both and trying them out. I know macromedia offers 30 day trials for Freehand. I'm just not sure about Illustrator. Maybe one of your friends has a copy and you can just play with it on his Mac.

[chinggay]

I have an easier time with Illustrator... but if you're used to working with the Macromedia programs, then you might like Freehand better.

[caloysam]

well, i've got the entire macromedia and adobe lines bundled when i got my ibook so i pretty much am torn between the two :evil:

[super_ed]

maybe you should try to compare using the pen tool of each apps, kung saan ka mas gamay..

[nemcy]

Well, I'm an Adobe user since I had my hands into graphics... but Illustrator "frustrates" me... pero tama si Chairman, if you're starting to learn... Freehand is easier and less frustrating... ngayon, du'n ko ginawa 'yung isang comic project ko...

Call that improvement!

Btw, Freehand doesn't import JPEGs right? Tiff lang...

[brianlim]

Freehand imports jpg and tif files. One thing to consider is color consistency as your work shuffles you from one app to the other (eg. photoshop for imaging, freehand/illustrator for assembly and object oriented work)...

[nemcy]

Originally posted by brianlim
Freehand imports jpg and tif files. One thing to consider is color consistency as your work shuffles you from one app to the other (eg. photoshop for imaging, freehand/illustrator for assembly and object oriented work)...

Freehand imports Jpegs? hmmm... that's weird... kasi my freehand is rejecting the jpeg images i'm importing... kaya ang tagal ko tuloy naghihintay uploading the images and waiting for a file to open na may mga tiff images...

what could have gone wrong?

[Carlo]

Originally posted by nemcy
Btw, Freehand doesn't import JPEGs right? Tiff lang...

No Nemcy, Freehand does import most file types.

Don't ask me what I prefer because I am for Macromedia Freehand MX all the way. It is a full-featured illustration tool with better lay-out capabilities. It supports multiple pages (You can actually make a 500 page book/magazine effortlessly with Freehand while Illustrator has to contend with muliple 'artboards' ). The controls that are more intuitive. Freehand's commands (ie; paste inside, scaling, transforming, etc,) are also faster to do since it is executed in less steps.Try masking objects between the two and you'll see what I mean.

And yes. it exports to all accepted file types including Illustrator. :beer:

(OT) Nemcy, have you seen Arnold's latest masterpiece? Grabe this guy is truly a drawing god. Click on the album cover.

[Edited on 4-30-2004 by Carlo]