photoshop vs autodesk impressions

[Jason Crisanti]

Is anyone familiar with some other product (software) that is comparable to photoshop but maybe works with autodesk, such as Impressions and can give you the look and effects that photoshop can provide? 

Thanks

Jason Crisanti

[Anonymous]

MColor.  I am not impressed with Impressions.  It is extremely clunky to set up and change.  MColor works with a cfg file in AutoCAD.  Set everything up in different layers and it applies colors, hatches, gradients, shadows, etc.  You get a preview of the rendered graphic and save it as a PDF, image, etc. 

[Jason Crisanti]

Thanks. Will check it out. Looks pretty good so far. Is there a lot of setup involved to get a standard setup?  Can you give any other options as well? 

[Jonathan P. Williams, RLA]

First I love your picture…GO Rams. 

Second what is your reasoning for wanting something different than Photoshop? It is a very robust program that has served me well. What are the end results you are going for? Are you painting, just doing collages, want to have shadows and perspective capabilities, layers, and so on. 

I would think having a better understanding of what you are looking for in a final product will allow you to search for alternatives better. 

The true honest answer is nothing will be the same as Photoshop. Each program has its own possibilities and quirks. 

[Jason Crisanti]

Thanks! Forgot I had that as my picture. 

Well mostly it is the cost associated with photoshop and need of its use around the office. I think I only know 20% of what photoshop really can do and i believe that most everyone in the office is the same way. So with that in consideration, is there anything that can give the same affects as photoshop without all the frills that we know nothing about? I have heard of elements but most people I talk to say it is not worth it. Obviously there are workarounds in autodesk but it can make it less efficient  to create. So i am curious if there is any other software out there that would be comparable to photoshop at much less price. We just naturally go to Adobe for products because they are ones used more common. There has to be some competition in the market. 

Cheers! J

[Anonymous]

As their website mentions, MColor is a presentation plotting software.  I didn’t personally set it up on my company’s network, however I have directly accessible through my AutoCAD workspace and profile.  I run AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014, although I have modified profile as a land planner as I don’t need all of the 3D modeling, report generations, profile creation, etc.  

Once the cfg. file is setup in a way you want, rendering is very quick for both previewing and producing a final image, in some ways along the same lines as layer states and layer translators.  Photoshopping an image can take hours to even days.  In my office, I do land planning for 1000-2000 acre master development communities for the client in AutoCAD with some hatches, tree symbols, etc.  The marketing graphic is a separate deliverable done by a different department using a .dxf file imported into AutoCAD.  Although it looks spectacular, in the 1-2 days it is completed in Photoshop the original land plan may have changed in different areas.  MColor cfg. files should be able to do the same work because they are plot settings rather than Photoshop work.  I am still working the tweaks out on my own .cfg file over the next few weeks. 

[Akin Adekile]

Corel Painter, Sketch Book Pro and Gimp are programs that come to mind. The last one I mentioned is even free. Hope that helps

[Stefano Ascari]

Both Painter and Sketch Book are solid programs. Just wanted to second that.

[Jason Crisanti]

Thanks 

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