Review by C. Jong

I am not an artist. In fact, you could dance the entirety of my artistic skills on the point of a pin and still have enough room for hors d’oeuvres. I do like to pretend though…

I own the current and past versions of Sketchbook Pro and have been generally pleased with it. I think the user interface is clean and stays out of my way. Sketchbook Pro isn’t a Corel Painter replacement by any means, but it is also less than a forth the price, and honestly, with the exception of a few tools that I would like from Painter, Sketchbook Pro does everything I want. It’s performance seems quick and responsive, and the user interface is pleasingly simple.

Some of the new features in Sketchbook Pro 2011 that make it worth upgrading are an improved toolbar, layers have been improved, in particular blend modes, it seems easier to make complex selections in this latest version, there are new parameters on the brushes to give you better control of your drawings. I also think the ability to have text layers is new. I don’t remember than being in the last version.

I’ve owned two versions of Sketchbook Pro, and not only would I recommend it to people who like to draw, but I’d also recommend this upgrade for owners of the 2010 version.

Another good sketching program to look at is ArtRage. I own both Sketchbook Pro and ArtRage and have been impressed with both.