Five Apps: Create business graphics with these tools

Five apps for creating business graphics

This\r\ngallery is also available as a TechRepublic Article.

Businesses large and small periodically need to create\r\ncustom graphics for marketing and other purposes. Although Photoshop is often\r\nthe tool of choice for creating business graphics, it is far from being the\r\nonly tool available. This article discusses a variety of graphical tools that\r\ncan be used to create varying types of business graphics.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Corel Painter 1

Five Apps

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1. Corel Painter

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Corel\r\nPainter is a relatively high end graphics editor. Even so, it is\r\nsurprisingly intuitive. Anyone who has a minimal amount of experience with\r\ngraphics editors should have little trouble using this utility. Even so, there\r\nare plenty of advanced features thrown in for good measure. Some of the more\r\nadvanced features include layering, effects, and the ability to create\r\nanimations.

\r\n\r\nCorel Painter sells for\r\n$429, but a 30-day trial is available for download.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Corel Painter 2

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Corel Painter 3

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Corel Painter 4

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Corel Painter 5

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Actual Drawing 1

2. Actual Drawing

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Actual\r\nDrawing isn’t what you would normally think of as an application for\r\ncreating business graphics, but in the interest of variety I wanted to talk\r\nabout it any way.

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Actual Drawing is a Web development utility. The reason why\r\nI chose to include it is because often smaller organizations struggle to create\r\nvisually appealing Web content. Actual Drawing allows you to build Web sites\r\nwithout writing any code. Of course there are plenty of tools that do that. What\r\nmakes Actual Drawing unique is that it places a very heavy emphasis on\r\ngraphics. The application has its own graphics editor that even offers features\r\nsuch as effects and layering.

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Actual Drawing sells for $59.00, but a free trial version is\r\navailable for download.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Actual Drawing 2

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Actual Drawing 3

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Actual Drawing 4

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Actual Drawing 5

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Scanahand 1

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\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Scanahand 2

3. Scanahand

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Scanahand\r\nis a utility that can be used to create custom fonts. Sometimes a graphic just\r\nisn’t complete without just the right font to go along with it. When you can’t\r\nfind the font that you need, you can use Scanahand to create it. The software\r\nworks by providing you with an empty template. You can print out the template\r\nand then draw the letters for your font. As an alternative, you could use a\r\ngraphics editor to create the letters. Once the template is completed, you can\r\nscan it and then create a font.

\r\n\r\nScanahand sells for $59.00,\r\nbut a free trial version is available for download.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Scanahand 3

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Scanahand 4

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Scanahand 5

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Chasys Draw IES 1

4. Chasys Draw IES

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Chasys\r\nDraw IES is a free tool that rivals commercial tools. Although it is\r\nprimarily a graphics editor, Chasys Draw IE5 can also be used to create\r\nprojects such as animated cursors, videos, and screencasts.

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As a drawing or photo editing tool, Chasys Draw IE5 will\r\nlikely be suitable for all but the most demanding applications. The application\r\nis extremely feature rich and can be extended through the use of plugins. Those\r\nwishing to use Chasys Draw IE5 for marketing purposes will be happy to know\r\nthat it is capable of producing print quality CMYK images.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Chasys Draw IES 2

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Chasys Draw IES 3

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Chasys Draw IES 4

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Chasys Draw IES 5

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Photo to Cartoon 1

5. Photo to Cartoon

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Photo\r\nto Cartoon is a utility that can convert a photograph into a cartoon. This\r\ntype of application makes it easy to create graphics even if you have no\r\nartistic talent.

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The interface is simple. You merely load a photo and then\r\nuse slide bars to control the complexity of the outline and the number of\r\ncolors. You can also add a speech bubble or edit the image.

\r\n\r\nPhoto to Cartoon sells for\r\n$25.00, but a free ten use trial is available for download.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic

Photo to Cartoon 2

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Photo to Cartoon 3

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Photo to Cartoon 4

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Photo to Cartoon 5

Disclaimer: CBS Interactive Inc. is\r\nnot responsible for the content of the publisher’s descriptions or user reviews\r\non this site. We do not encourage or condone the use of any software in\r\nviolation of applicable laws. CBS Interactive Inc. does not sell, resell, or\r\nlicense any of the products listed on the site. We cannot be held liable for\r\nissues that arise from the download or use of these products.

\r\n\r\nCredit: Images by Brien Posey for TechRepublic