You might give Canvas X a try. This was originally a competitor to
Illustrator and Freehand. But never gained market share because of a
bad reputation in dealing with Postscript. However that was a decade
ago. They seem to be nitch marketing to a technical and science
market now. But they have a free trial version. Cost about the same
as Illustrator, but is suppose to be an all-in-one tool.

I have not used it.

Britt



>I'm getting to the point where I need some software with which I can
>quickly design, resize individual components, add components, and
>join these various conveniently, without having to print and use
>manual overlays.  While most of my work has been very detailed, and
>basically overgrown scientific illustrations with a background,
>these are all rather large paintings where the design process was
>more in my head than on paper.  Tracing paper and Photoshop were my
>tools.  But now I'm involved in three ongoing projects, each
>requiring multiple pieces of work.  And as you might imagine, I've
>discovered slow and cumbersome is just that.  Slow and cumbersome.
>
>Illustrator seems the most likely candidate, but I'm not sure I'd
>need anything other than the basics of that program, and I couldn't
>find anything but the latest CS version on the Adobe website.  I
>don't want to buy pirated material, but just need a basic design and
>illustration program.  Are there others available?  Am I kidding
>myself about CS?
>
>Suggestions please, even if it's just a paper/inkjet printer combo
>that would give me tight printed lines on a paper I can draw on.
>
>Thanks much,
>Bruce
>
>--
>Bruce Bartrug
>PO Box 106
>Nobleboro, ME 04555 USA
>207 563-1867
><mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]


--
_______________________________________
Britt Griswold/WMAP Project
Infonetic/Maslow Media Group
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Code 665 Bldg. 21 Rm 063
Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001
(301) 286-3381
(301) 286-1617 FAX
(301) 286-7230 FAX
[log in to unmask]
http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov