Best software for doing fancy lettering? (for logos etc)

bongomania · #1 05-08-2011, 10:48 PM

I know Illustrator is one of the industry standards for graphic design, but frankly I hate Illustrator. Totally non-intuitive and teeth-gnashingly frustrating. Which is weird because Photoshop and Imageready are both quite decent to use. But anyway I used to have an old PC program in the Corel family that was super great for building and modifying fancy lettering, with easy tools for the purpose. As an example, I still like this (somewhat cheesy) banner I made with it:

It took all of 10 minutes to make, and that was in 1999. Surely there is something out there which is even better now, and just as easy to use? I run both Mac (10.4.11) and PC (Win7 32bit).

Selta · #2 05-08-2011, 11:24 PM

I like the GIMP myself.
GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program

Auzzie-Phoenix · #3 05-09-2011, 01:06 AM

You're probably talking about coreldraw,R.A.V.E., or photo-painter. New versions can be found in Corel Graphics Suite. I would recommend version x4 rather than the newest one. If you need R.A.V.E., you'll have to go back to versions 10 or 12 of corel graphics suite, since R.A.V.E. was eliminated and its functions were added to coreldraw.

MakiSupaStar · #4 05-09-2011, 01:10 AM

Have you tried newer versions of Illustrator? CS-4 and CS-5 are very close to photoshop now as far the way you would handle layers and such.

bongomania · #5 05-09-2011, 07:35 AM

Interesting, no the only one I've used is a few years old. I'm just reluctant to shell out the shekels for a legal copy of a program that I already hate, even if it might be way better now.

L-A · #6 05-09-2011, 07:46 AM

In the free world, there's Inkscape.

sloasdaylight · #7 05-09-2011, 07:58 AM

My Boss uses Xara Pro for a lot of the logos we make. They turn out pretty well most of the time.

i_got_a_mohawk · #8 05-09-2011, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

I like the GIMP myself.
GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program

Can you do vector based images, such as you can in Illustrator, with GIMP?

I use GIMP, but see it more as a Photoshop alternative.

Selta · #9 05-09-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Can you do vector based images, such as you can in Illustrator, with GIMP?

I use GIMP, but see it more as a Photoshop alternative.

No, no vectors in GIMP, but OP just asked for an easy way to make logos/fancy lettering. Doesn't really get any easier, IMO, than with the built in script-fu. If OP needs/wants vector based, I'd go Inkscape.

Unrepresented · #10 05-09-2011, 09:04 AM

I use photoshop for band fliers and logos and such. Have you tried the many, many free fonts available out in the interweb? They can make things look a lot more professional than the banality of Comic Sans, especially with some additional processing.

bongomania · #11 05-09-2011, 09:07 AM

That "Xara Pro" is looking like a good bet so far...

sloasdaylight · #12 05-09-2011, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

I use photoshop for band fliers and logos and such. Have you tried the many, many free fonts available out in the interweb? They can make things look a lot more professional than the banality of Comic Sans, especially with some additional processing.

bongomania · #13 05-09-2011, 09:12 AM

Oh dude it's not about fonts, I have hundreds of fonts. I want the ability to manipulate those fonts like vector images, and modify them seamlessly. Like with the banner in the first image--I took a free font off the web, filled it with a wood grain pattern, popped it into 3D (with full control over the depth, lighting, etc), and lifted it off the page with a shadow, again with full control over everything about the shadow. Yes photoshop can be used to create the same effect, but not with anywhere near the quickness and ease of the program I used.

Unrepresented · #14 05-09-2011, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

I'm glad we share an appreciation of non-standard fonts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Oh dude it's not about fonts, I have hundreds of fonts. I want the ability to manipulate those fonts like vector images, and modify them seamlessly. Like with the banner in the first image--I took a free font off the web, filled it with a wood grain pattern, popped it into 3D (with full control over the depth, lighting, etc), and lifted it off the page with a shadow, again with full control over everything about the shadow. Yes photoshop can be used to create the same effect, but not with anywhere near the quickness and ease of the program I used.

Cool. Wasn't sure what particular part of puzzle you were trying to solve.

sloasdaylight · #15 05-09-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Oh dude it's not about fonts, I have hundreds of fonts. I want the ability to manipulate those fonts like vector images, and modify them seamlessly. Like with the banner in the first image--I took a free font off the web, filled it with a wood grain pattern, popped it into 3D (with full control over the depth, lighting, etc), and lifted it off the page with a shadow, again with full control over everything about the shadow. Yes photoshop can be used to create the same effect, but not with anywhere near the quickness and ease of the program I used.

Dude, you should seriously check out Xara Pro. My boss makes these killer 3-D vector based images with lighting, shadowing, texture, and depth in literally about 15 minutes. It's stupid powerful and absurdly easy to use and wrap your head around. So much so in fact that for anything we do from scratch as far as design is concerned, we no longer use photoshop, and just use Xara.

Selta · #16 05-09-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

Dude, you should seriously check out Xara Pro. My boss makes these killer 3-D vector based images with lighting, shadowing, texture, and depth in literally about 15 minutes. It's stupid powerful and absurdly easy to use and wrap your head around. So much so in fact that for anything we do from scratch as far as design is concerned, we no longer use photoshop, and just use Xara.

Holy crap, it's $300

sloasdaylight · #17 05-09-2011, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

Holy crap, it's $300

<--- Genuinely confused. Is that a Holy crap, it's [only] $300, or a Holy crap, it's [God awful expensive at] $300.?

I don't know what line of work you're in, so I don't know how exactly to gauge that response, lol.

Selta · #18 05-09-2011, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

<--- Genuinely confused. Is that a Holy crap, it's [only] $300, or a Holy crap, it's [God awful expensive at] $300.?

I don't know what line of work you're in, so I don't know how exactly to gauge that response, lol.

I just do this stuff as a hobby, so for me that's "holy crap, I'm not spending that, I don't need it". I can easily see though for a professional it would be worth every cent.

MakiSupaStar · #19 05-09-2011, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Interesting, no the only one I've used is a few years old. I'm just reluctant to shell out the shekels for a legal copy of a program that I already hate, even if it might be way better now.

While I figured out the older versions of Illustrator (I've been using it since 1.1), I can't imagine tackling the creation of logos or any kind of lettering without Illustrator. Man, I do everything in Illustrator (web design, layout, print, logos, etc). Not trying to convince you or anything, but it's pretty much the industry standard for what you're doing. The newer versions are almost exactly like Photoshop as far as the way their palettes are organized (or at least close enough so that the things specific to Illustrator don't really clutter your overall understanding of things). Some of my biggest complaints about illustrator have been eliminated or made much better. I'm using CS5 now and Illustrator is just amazing.

sloasdaylight · #20 05-09-2011, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

I just do this stuff as a hobby, so for me that's "holy crap, I'm not spending that, I don't need it". I can easily see though for a professional it would be worth every cent.

Ah I gotcha. Yea for us it's a huge time save, and easily worth the investment. It's the kind of thing that really pays for itself with the amount of time you save.