AutoDesk has established quite a reputation for itself for its specialized drafting, illustration and digital painting software programs. SketchBook Pro is designed to render traditional dry media methodologies with precise detail in real time. It does not offer as many brushes, paint palettes or composition features as other applications; however, SketchBook Pro manages to make up for this by ensuring that the quality and strength of the features it does have are efficient, accurate and, as the name should imply, professional in quality. This is why we decided to give this program our TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award.
What SketchBook Pro has, it has in spades. It offers brush customization, color management, annotations, layers and rulers. In addition, this paint program also offers multi-monitor and strong tablet support. These features are worth consideration with any paint program, but it is when these various elements are brought together that their merit becomes evident.
Composition features like symmetrical drawing, which mirrors strokes on a horizontal, vertical or simultaneous horizontal-vertical axis, allow the early stages of conceptualization and construction. The built-in tools, such as rulers and grid features, help artists and designers refine their work. SketchBook Pro paint program also features seamless, intra-program email integration, making it possible to email finished or unfinished projects and get back to business without having to go through the always-tedious process of formatting, saving and exporting said projects.
Compared to other digital painting programs, AutoDesk SketchBook Pro could add a few more brush features. However, it is still light years ahead of the painting and drawing applications found in most image and photo editing software programs. Nevertheless, the brushes can be combined and customized to create brushes to meet the needs of any project. In addition, for its limited selection, the brushes are actually impressive; they're precise, detail-rich and everything else one would hope to find in a proprietary digital painting software program.
As mentioned in the Brushes section, for the brushes SketchBook Pro does have, the quality of their performance and the precision and effect of their digital rendering is very impressive. It doesn't resemble wet and dry media as closely as other paint programs, which can be a deal-breaker for digital artists and designers with training in those respective fields. Instead, it is more reminiscent of the media from which it receives its namesake: sketching. In fact, the tablet and stylus work just like a sketchpad, which is perfect for artists who love illustration. Not surprisingly, SketchBook Pro seems to be ideal for digital art projects using pen or pencil. Other media features, such as airbrush, make strong cases for themselves, but it is with the pen, pencil and other dry media tools that this application really makes an impression.
Few software-based designers and digital artists use one software program or application as their sole creative vehicle. With that in mind, it is imperative that digital painting software programs provide comprehensive image file support and compatibility, for both importing and exporting. Fortunately, SketchBook Pro does pretty well for itself, supporting common image file types, including TIFF, JPG, PNG and BMP formats. Finished or in-process projects can also be exported in those file formats. Of equal use and importance, SketchBook Pro can also import and export Photoshop PSD-formatted files, preserving any layers in the image. One particularly useful output feature is SketchBook Pro’s email integration: images can be emailed out from SketchBook Pro without the need to launch a separate email application. Though it may seem like a minor detail, this can really help streamline the process of creating and distributing artwork and designs in any stage of production without the additional hassle of formatting, saving and exporting.
All software programs' ease of use is nearly 99 percent a matter of the user interface and overall program architecture. All the tools and all the features in the world would amount to little if they were not organized, accessible and comprehensible. Like its other illustration and photo editing software programs, AutoDesk SketchBook Pro strikes a healthy balance between simplicity and robust functionality. Although the tools, brushes and composition features pale in comparison to some other paint programs, the included composition options and potential functionality are quite impressive, made all the more so by its customizable user interface and workflow, which can be made as simple or complex as the artist needs. SketchBook Pro is one of the few graphic design, illustration and, specifically, digital painting software programs that avoids the "devil in the details" without becoming an overly simplistic application.
No software can promise flawless operation all the time, so manufacturers should offer a healthy variety of useful resources to help users gain program knowledge and insight and troubleshoot technical issues and errors. Fortunately, AutoDesk does just that, providing solid support for SketchBook Pro with a FAQs section, user forums, product manuals and tutorials. Additional technical support can be obtained through email. Unfortunately, no telephone number is available for technical help and support.
One noteworthy aspect of AutoDesk's help and support features is its community. While the community is not exclusively focused on SketchBook Pro, the number of SketchBook Pro users that participate in the community is impressive, to say the least. This user-based community, with an occasional appearance by an AutoDesk SketchBook Pro developer, is a rich, albeit often overlooked, resource. Users can share tips, tricks, methods and finished artworks with one another, as well as making use of several step-by-step tutorials. With help and support features and resources like these, SketchBook Pro users can quickly and adeptly make use of the program and actualize their creative potential.
AutoDesk software programs and related products have a reputation for being simple yet powerful, clean yet complex, and always well organized. SketchBook Pro doesn't disappoint on those fronts, offering a variety of composition tools and features within a clean, responsive interface that has the odds, ends and overall brass to help digital artists, mixed-media artists and, more likely, designers and illustrators from inspiration to creation without the clean-up or preparation. Designers and drafters will find an indispensable tool, others a well-organized application that is import/export friendly. Both groups will find little in AutoDesk SketchBook Pro to complain about.
