Cheap Version of Canvas 7 for doing deckplans

[vutpakdi]

Digit Magazine (a British creative professionals' magazine) is giving away a full copy of Canvas 7 with its December issue (available November 13). Purchasing the December issue will cost 10 pounds online, though people have reported that a purchase from Barnes and Noble runs around $15-19.

Canvas is what I use for my deckplans .

Canvas from ACD Systems (formerly Deneba) is a jack of all trades graphics package designed mainly for technical illustration. Its core is a vector based drawing package, but it handles raster/bitmap images and light page layout very well. Canvas 9 is the current version, but Canvas 7 will handle deckplans very well.

Canvas is much easier to use than Campaign Cartographer.

The full version of Canvas 9 runs around $350.

Digit may be available at your local Barnes and Noble or Borders Books as an import magazine. Online ordering of this issue is also available.

If you are looking for an inexpensive, easy to use graphics package to do deckplans on Windows or a Mac (OS 9 only), I highly recommend that you take a look.

Ron

 

[RainOfSteel]

I've sent off for my copy, we'll see how it works out when it arrives.

 

[Tanuki]

I bought mine online, just after midnight, on the 13th -- I was at work. Or at least I paid for it then. Has anyone actually seen it yet?

 

[far-trader]

Hi Tanuki, I just got mine today. I think I ordered it on the 11th, maybe the 12th. So about 2 weeks from Great Britain to small town Canada, not bad. Now I just need to find the time to play with it

Nice zine too at first glance.

Thanks Ron Vutpakdi for posting the notice

 

[Whipsnade]

Gentlemen,

I've checked with my local B&N. They still have issue 67 of Digit on the shelves, in fact they just placed them there in the last week. Issue 68, the one with Canvas 7, is due in-store by the 2nd week of December.

The B&N staff assured me they'd have Issue 68 in stock and also informed me that computer rags from 'across the pond' usually get to them a wee bit later than normal.

This B&N is in Newington, NH next door to Portsmouth.


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[RainOfSteel]

My local Barnes & Nobles and Borders (I checked multiple stores) all do not carry Digit, unfortunately.

 

[far-trader]

Just a couple notes. First you'll have to go to www.deneba.com/cv7reg to register the software and for a serial number before you do the install. Mostly painless and likely won't produce too much spam Second you have to choose which platform to register as the serial number is specific to each. Not a problem unless you're like me and playing with more than one

 

[Tanuki]

Mine arrived Wednesday. I was going to install it last night but the darn serial number took several hours to arrive in my email. So I'll be putting it on my laptop tonight at work.

 

[vutpakdi]

If anyone would like, I'd be happy to email a basic file with the symbols and colors that I use for deckplans. We may have to go a couple of rounds of conversions (since I'm using Canvas 9), but that ought to get you started.

Please drop me a private message if you'd like me to email the file to you. I probably won't be able to get to preparing a file until Monday-Tuesday.

Ron

 

[RainOfSteel]

My copy of Digit has arrived. I'll be installing Canvas 7.0 tomorrow.

 

[vutpakdi]

I have prepared a starter and example file for Canvas 7-9. The file contains the symbols and colors that I use when I do deckplans along with the deckplans for the Ebon Rapturious (a 400 dTon Frontier Merchant) as an example.

The file has been submitted to the eLibrary (but hasn't shown up yet) and has also been uploaded to the Yahoo! Group Deckplans file section.

Please drop me a private message or post on this forum if you have questions.

Ron

 

[etherflyer]

How does Canvas compare to Illustrator and Photoshop?

(I have Illustrator 10 and Photoshop 7 at work, and usualy run OSX at home, so I'm wondering if this offer would be useful to me or not.)

 

[Whipsnade]

Gentlemen,

I picked up the Digit issue with Canvas-7 just before the holidays and have yet to do anything besides register and install it. I very much want to grind out deckplans, world maps, and other goodies with it. Sadly, because I am a cyber-dope and an old fogey, I need tech manuals!

Could anyone here point me to a tutorial for Canvas-7?

Many thanks in advance.


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[vutpakdi]

Originally posted by Larsen E. Whipsnade:

Could anyone here point me to a tutorial for Canvas-7?

There are good tutorials on ACD System's main website:
http://www.deneba.com/community/howto/default.html

Most of these tutorials are geared towards the fancier capabilities of Canvas. Some of the tutorials may be Canvas 9 only, but others should mostly apply to Canvas 7.

There is a community website called Wizaerd's Realm which also has tutorials as well as a community discussion board. Folks there tend to be quite helpful.

I'd also recommend looking at my example file. The file is currently most easily accessed at the Deckplans Yahoo Group files section . I've also submitted it to the eLibrary (but it hasn't shown up).

Also, please feel free to ask me any questions.

Ron

 

[vutpakdi]

Originally posted by Robert Prior:
How does Canvas compare to Illustrator and Photoshop?

(I have Illustrator 10 and Photoshop 7 at work, and usualy run OSX at home, so I'm wondering if this offer would be useful to me or not.)

It's been a while since I've used Illustrator, and I only lightly use Photoshop, so take these comments with a grain of salt.

Canvas is sort of a fusion of Illustrator and Photoshop as well as Pagemaker light. You get the vector graphics capabilities of Illustrator plus features geared more towards technical illustration (like dimensioning and scales). And, you get the bitmap editing capabilities of Photoshop, and a fair number of Photoshop compatible filters can be used in Canvas. Canvas also blends the two in its sprite effects features where you can apply Photoshop filters on vector objects. Finally, Canvas can serve as a light page layout application (very light).

Do you need it if you've got Illustrator and Photoshop? Probably not, but if you're using those at work, you might want to download the trial version of Canvas 9 to evaluate it for professional work (which is mostly why I have Canvas 9).

Ron

 

[Prometheus]

Okay I am biting on this subject. Here is an honest question, for a beginner what software to you recommend? I have CC2, yet it seems to be a pain the hoo hoo dilly to use.

 

[vutpakdi]

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff:
Okay I am biting on this subject. Here is an honest question, for a beginner what software to you recommend? I have CC2, yet it seems to be a pain the hoo hoo dilly to use.

I'm not exactly an unbiased reference here, but my preference would be for Canvas. Canvas just seems to generally work in a more intuitive fashion than CC2 (for me), but, then again, I've been using Canvas for many years, and it is based upon applications that I used before that (MacDraw and MacDraft).

CC2 does seem quite powerful, and it probably is a bit better for doing general maps and city maps (given its library of symbols). But, when I try to use CC2, I keep on expecting things to work like Canvas.

Other people swear by Fractile Mapper or AutoRealms. In some cases, the issue may come down to what try first and what you get accostomed to using.

If you want to give Canvas a shot, you might try downloading a demo version from ACD Systems. The trial version works for 15 days. The trial version is for the most recent version (Canvas 9), and you'll lose some of the newest features if you end up buying Canvas 7, but the trial version may be enough to give you an idea of how easy it is to use.

Ron

 

[Whipsnade]

Mr. Vutpakdi,

Thank you for all your suggestions, sir!

I belong to ct-starships, so I'll nip over and grab your file.

Thanks for sharing!


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[Prometheus]

I tahnk you sir and I think I will give it a try.