CorelDraw Graphics Suite by Jennifer A. Ray

I’m no artist. I want to be. But, I’m not. I do, however, have a need to create and customize graphics, especially for websites now.

So, I picked up a copy of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4.

I’ve used Adobe Photoshop in the past, and although I know it is the industry leader among graphics software, I find it difficult for a novice like myself to learn.

When I call myself a novice, it is strictly in the realm of computer artistry. I’m very adept technically, and work in the IT industry as a senior systems engineer. I know software.

I figured that with the tutorials and help system in the CorelDRAW software, I should be able to easily learn what I needed to know. Corel didn’t disappoint me.

Not only are the commands a bit more intuitive than those in Adobe Photoshop, but the help system has quickly answered all of my questions so far regarding how to do anything I’ve needed. Watching the video tutorials has helped teach me graphics concepts that may never have occurred to me to explore on my own.

The tools in this suite have aided me in creating custom banners, graphics, and editing pictures. I’ve found the process to be easy and fun.

The program is a bit slow to open, even on a PC with a 3 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM. Once open, however, it responds very well. The slowness to launch seems to be standard with such programs, however, so I am not sure it is really a fault with the software or if it is simply the nature of the beast.

There you have it - an amateur’s perspective. I’m not knowledgeable enough with graphics to review every little nuance, but for those of you who hope to be able to muddle your way through graphics creation, as I hoped, you will find this a useful and informative tool.