For those of you with Sketchbook Designer – anyone with Design, Product Design, Factory Design, Plant Design, Building Design or Entertainment Creation Suite(s) – we have just uploaded a tutorial for the software on our Procad youtube channel. Being a Product Designer and having gone through university using Photoshop for all my presentation needs and conceptual mock up’s I can honestly say that Sketchbook Designer completely negates the role of Photoshop within the design process.
Sketchbook Design is a Raster and Vector based Digital Sketching Programme. Since it incorporates both of these it is a excellent replacement for both Adobe Illustrator (vector) and Adobe Photoshop (raster) for designers. You can export your linework as DWG curves and import it directly into Alias Design, AutoCAD and Inventor and use the linework to build 3d models. It is similar to Photoshop in use – layers, opacity, airbrush, same selection tools – so it makes for a smooth transition. The biggest difference – which makes Sketchbook so much easier – is the way in which you can manipulate your linework. In Photoshop you have to pull and drag CV points while in Sketchbook there are control points on the line which you move. Take a look at the tutorial below for a more in-depth analysis of the software.
While Photoshop is undoubtedly a great tool, it is ultimately a photo editing software. The way it is used by designers is not its primary function and it was not developed with this in mind. On the other hand you have Sketchbook Designer which is intuitive, effective and efficient in assisting designer in conceptualising their designs. So if you are a designer investing in a illustration/digital sketching software or a Photoshop user looking for a more intuitive tool then Sketchbook Designer should definitely be considered.
