Drawing software.

[Fiji]

I'm just getting business set up and need some free/cheap software to design logo and do adverts on.
If you can recommend anything that's easy to use ?

 

[pedrobedro]

You can still get Microsoft paint free from Microsoft store, it's quite usable.

 

[rich_c]

As lovely as MS Paint is... you really need a vector drawing program for logos and page layout, Inkscape is free and open source. Plenty of tutorials on the inkscape site too

Inkscape - Draw Freely. | Inkscape

Inkscape is professional vector graphics software which runs on Linux, macOS and Windows desktop computers.

inkscape.org

 

[ukracer]

I'm just getting business set up and need some free/cheap software to design logo and do adverts on.
If you can recommend anything that's easy to use ?

Treat yourself to the affinity suite.
At worst get the Designer and Photo.
They did have an offer on for the whole package. But to be honest if you are going into business you will find the programs very useful.
You can get a month's trial if you need it.

Affinity Publisher – award-winning page layout software

Optimised for the latest tech on Windows, Mac and iPad, Affinity Publisher has everything you need to create spectacular layouts ready for publication.

affinity.serif.com

 

[Newlands]

Another vote for Affinity, although you need Affinity Designer for logo and vector drawing rather than Publisher. I started years ago with Adobe software, but ditched it when they moved to subscription-based pricing. Designer is just as good, and incredibly cheap in comparison. More importantly, if you want to hand your files over to a printer to get cards and letterheads printed, probably best not to give them a MS Paint file, you’ll never live it down

 

[Dr.Al]

I mostly use CorelDRAW for this sort of thing (I bought a very old version - v12 - for not much money) and it's hard to beat. However, it's not cheap for the full version.

sK1 is free and is supposed to be very good in version 2 (if I understand correctly, it's based on the CorelDRAW "user experience"). Alternatively there's Inkscape as @rich_c suggested, which is very capable but is a bit clunky compared to CorelDRAW.

I haven't used Affinity Designer so couldn't comment on that.

As an aside, the drawing package that comes with LibreOffice is good, but more for block diagrams than logos (for which it's nicer to use than Visio in my opinion).

 

[Fiji]

Thanks everyone, I'll have a look at all the options.

 

[Onoff]

If you want a free, vector based package for basic drawing this is worth a look:

Download nanoCAD Free – Professional 2D/3D CAD Software at No Cost

Download nanoCAD Free, a professional-grade CAD software offering comprehensive 2D and 3D design tools with native DWG support. Ideal for engineers and designers seeking a free, reliable solution for creating and editing technical drawings.

nanocad.com

As a total aside I've subscribed to the full Adobe "all apps" package for my graphics student daughter. Got it at a student discount rate. Has full Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, After Effects etc. £16/m rather than £50/m.

Have you a student in the house?

 

[skotl]

Another +1 for the Affinity range. I only have Photo but I like the incredible range and capability and, crucially, the assured upgrade path (opposite this drive to monthly or annual subscriptions)

Edit: just checking my purchase history and remembered that Affinity's upgrade clause is for "the current major version", so I paid £24 for V1 and "unlimited upgrades to V1" in 2020 and then £36 for V2 with "unlimited upgrades to V2" in 2022.
Current V2 pricing for Photo is £68 which, presumably, includes upgrades only until V3

So I'm going to qualify my earlier answer; Affinity make great products but I'm not a fan of their upgrade policy after all.

 

[Newlands]

I'm going to qualify my earlier answer; Affinity make great products but I'm not a fan of their upgrade policy

Fair point, but on the other hand you don’t have to upgrade and your original version will keep working. And it’s still a better deal than the subscription method that Adobe use now - even the student pricing means you pay £208 a year.
Looking at it from the sellers point of view, they have to make a living so I think free lifetime upgrades might be a bit too much to ask. Lightburn (cnc laser software) does the same as Affinity - free upgrades, with a paid-for upgrade for a major version change. They also do special offers - my last upgrade was 50% off.

 

[Onoff]

- even the student pricing means you pay £208 a year.

No choice really here as that's what she uses at college.

 

[Newlands]

No choice really here as that's what she uses at college.

Yes, Adobe has been the industry standard for a long time, so it makes sense for colleges to follow that. My brother is a graphics/illustrator by trade and has always used Adobe. As a freelancer though, and going semi-retired, he changed to Infinity because of the subscription pricing - he can still produce files in Adobe format for stuff that goes off to printers - all his work now is producing signs for mountain bike trails in SW Australia, freelancing for the local shires (= counties in U.K.-speak). Nice work if you can get it - 100 AUD an hour, plus printing costs, and he also charges for going out and installing the signs on the trails so he gets paid for a day out on the bike!

 

[Mart63]

+1 for Inkscape. Totally free and an ok replacement for illustrator. I use it for living hinges as there is a free plugin.

 

[outofthefire]

I've just succumbed to photoshop after the discount they were offering the last prime day. I've used light room for years for processing photos, but for actual editing I used gimp completely free and very good. For vector designs I use inkscape again very good and perfect for logos.
I bought affinity 1, but rarely used it preferring gimp for nearly everything except focus stacking. Affinity 2 was better and I had started to use it more then I swapped to photoshop and realistically I doubt i'll go back to anything else.