Microsoft releases Acrylic Graphics Design program

Microsoft's answer to Photoshop

Thursday, June 9, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News

Microsoft has launched a public beta for a new piece of software, code named 'Acrylic'. Acrylic is a design tool that will feel reasonably similar to anyone familiar with Adobe Photoshop. Acrylic offers the more advanced editing features (layers, etc) not currently found in the standard imaging program bundled with Windows, Microsoft Paint.

Microsoft describe "Acrylic" as "the codename for a new professional design tool that brings together the richness of pixel-based painting and the flexibility of editable vector graphics for a more fluid and flexible creative workflow. With Acrylic you can create sophisticated designs and graphic elements for your on-screen, Web, and print projects.."

Microsoft is offering the software on a 180 day trial basis, and are welcoming feedback via their online forums. for an extensive list of features, click 'read more'. Microsoft's long term plans with the software are somewhat unclear; the company already offers a photo editing product, and has imaging capabilities in other programs. They have have yet to make clear whether it would be sold as a standalone product, or bundled with a future OS release - i.e. Longhorn.

Source: Neowin.net

18 Reply 15 Referrals
Fourth Letter
Reply #1 Thursday, June 9, 2005 7:12 PM
Looks like they finally developed Creature House Expression (which they bought last year) into a graphics suite , maybe they're gonna bundle it with longhorn to ape Apples ability to roll so many useful programs into their operating system.

thomassen
Reply #2 Thursday, June 9, 2005 7:34 PM
Hmm. I got to try this. Wonder how it's like. Find it a bit odd to see a "professional design tool" from Microsoft. Now don't get me wrong, I like Windows, I think it's very good, but a graphical design tool from Microsoft just seems a bit odd to me. Is it really something usable for a professional designer, or is it just a something in the middle between Paint and PhotoShop meant to the average joe user. If they are taking on the professional design market they are up againt quite a few companies that's been in the graphics business for a long time. Can't help but think "stick with what you know". In MS' case operating systems. (Yes, I know they make more than just OS.) Well, at least I am going to give it a try.

DesignCaddy
Reply #3 Thursday, June 9, 2005 7:36 PM
interseting concept. would it be bundled with windows?

apple boasts how when you buy a mac, you get ilife and don't need video editing software, photo stuff, etc..

windows could win back some designers by going a different rout in bundeling design productivity software.

unckle fester
Reply #4 Thursday, June 9, 2005 10:43 PM
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... veddy intadestinck...

sounds like it might be a good thing...

i'll be trying it out in the morro...

if it's bundeld with longhorn it might be a good thing for students who don't have photoshop, if its compatable...

this might be interesting....

Good night Dick...

47songs
Reply #5 Thursday, June 9, 2005 11:41 PM
I just downloaded it and tried it for a minute or two. I know that's not enough time to properly gage it's complexities, if any, but from what little I've tried, it seems to be more along the lines of an advanced paint program rather than a complex design program, ala Illustrator or CorelDRAW.


I think what'll be most revealing, will be the price for the program.

ama02
Reply #6 Friday, June 10, 2005 12:57 AM
Same here, I downloaded and tried it for a bit. It took me a while to realize their "pixel layer" is the same as raster layer. Few other items (so far) that I'm not used to, since I use Paint Shop Pro. I already have a list started of issues/suggestions/questions.

I agree with 47, it seems to be more of a painting app than a web-graphics design app. It has a decent selection of filters, and the vector tools are so-so, but I still think Paint.net is a little "friendlier". I'll keep playing with it though.

Erk.
Reply #7 Friday, June 10, 2005 5:04 AM
Thanks for the info on this, Brad.

Taking a little look see at it. See how it compares to the software I use now.

Either way, it's got 180 days on it ...which should be enough time to know whether it'll be up to the job at hand ..or not

Cheers.

Island Dog
Reply #8 Friday, June 10, 2005 8:02 AM
This is just an updated version of Expressions which Microsoft bought several years ago. The program has been free for a while and I posted about this before. Microsoft changes the name, adds a few features, and now adds a price.


dj_cityboy
Reply #9 Friday, June 10, 2005 10:26 AM
Hmmmmmmmm? as well ......

i'm downloadin it right now and goin to give it a try over the weekend to see what its all about...i actually hope that its a cross between photoshop and paint....which will:

1.make it more in depth than paint
2.make it a lil easier for people that cant really grasp photoshop

i for one have had photoshop for quite some time and still dont know all the ins and outs of the program....on top of that...paint looks to kindergarden for me and would like to have a bit more as far as effects and such.

if this program is goin to be packed with Longhorn i will gladly accept it....if this is goin to have a price tag like most people are sayin so far...THAT SUX...i think they just to treat this as an attempt to upgrade the now "old crappy Paint"

either or its done downloading.......must install and edit away!!!!

cityboy

dissimuloorator
Reply #10 Friday, June 10, 2005 11:59 AM
This program dates back to Fractal Designs and MetaCreations Days. Ummm..say around 1996 if I remember correctly.
I have every program Fractal Made, and still think Painter never receives the recognition it deserves.

Matchbook
Reply #11 Friday, June 10, 2005 1:14 PM
meh, seems like a cheap Photoshop wannabe knockoff "trying to be more than it is" kinda software. The filters themselves are basically photoshops - only less effective. Spent an hour in the application and barely got some text how I wanted it. Coulda done better in photoshop, blindfolded, with my feet. If this is free [or packaged with Longhorn] it's certainly a step up [or a few flights] from mspaint. I suppose it's redeeming qualities end there. It loaded faster than my photoshop does. I suppose there's two. Glad this is still in it's beta stages because I hope by the final release it's more intuitive and less cluttery than this because there's little windows everywhere - almost one for every task you do. I'd also say this thing needs more "drag and drop" features. From deleting a layer style to adding a texture to a BG or shape. Makes things easier.

Sembetu
Reply #12 Friday, June 10, 2005 5:15 PM
Does anybody remember MS Image Composer? You culd do quite a bit with it, and the price wasn't too bad (this was back in 96 or so). I remember getting this program from a buddy, and trying it out. At that time I didn't know anything about image editing. To me this program seems kind of similar to that program. Pretty simple, but robust enough for the average joe. I guess it has a place in the market, but I agree... if you have to pay for it, why bother? If you don't want to invest in a true professional program, you can download PSP9 for $89.00, and for it's capabilities, it is a far better deal than anything Microsoft could produce at a similar pricetag. Anyway, seems to me to be a waste of time for Microsoft unless they are upgrading Paint.

unckle fester
Reply #13 Friday, June 10, 2005 6:03 PM
Well after I have tried acrylic...

1. I like Adobe Illustrator CS for vector images; at least it has the pen tool!

2. It is a good paint program as far as I can see. It’s not as complex as Adobe Illustrator CS but I guess it would be a good entry level program for anybody interested in graphics design.

3. It would be a great partner program for ms paint. Not a good replacement though if it finds its way into longhorn. I like ms paint because it's a simple raster program when that’s all you need and I can use Adobe Photoshop CS


p.s. this is what i'm sending to microsoft

Corky_O
Reply #14 Friday, June 10, 2005 9:23 PM
Seems similar to the early Freehand program to me.

Certainly would be a step up if it replaces Paint.

Solosturm
Reply #15 Saturday, June 11, 2005 6:28 AM
it is a good starter attempt, but adobe is in no way threatened by this.

RPGFX
Reply #16 Saturday, June 11, 2005 9:34 AM
ugh... as a lifetime Coreldraw user...I was drawn in by it's promise to combine vector based graphics with pixel based graphics... but this was a headache. I've been trying to learn Photoshop recently, and this "acrylic" was like trying to learn Photoshop in a foreign language. It's certainly not better than Coreldraw, and I doubt it's better than Photoshop, so I won't be bothering to continue trying to learn it... One new thing on my plate at a time is enough... Pass the Tylenol please...

FGCUartist
Reply #17 Saturday, June 11, 2005 9:48 AM
NOT WORTH THE DOWNOAD

It crashed my Explorer.exe (not internet explorer... explorer: the windows shell)

never even got it to work, but by the sound of it I wont bother... I'll wait till i can afford Photoshop...and a mac... afterall how good can this thing be yet if they've made it a 180-day (6-month) trial...

if they want to improve something, they should add more faetures and another release of "Picture It!", thats all i use now and i'm fine... i just want transparent background support is all...

Griffinme
Reply #18 Tuesday, June 14, 2005 8:39 AM
Pros: It doesn't default to “foo copy.jpg” the way PS does.
Doesn't treat the edge of the graphic as a hard edge. If you have something that is outside the bounds it still thinks it is there. With PS it will ignore things that run off the edge and tends to treat the edge as the end of the graphic.
I like the way it does stroke. Currently I am doing something were I need to circle things and it is very handy.

Cons: The save dialogue takes getting used to.
Save defaults to save a giant image unless you set crop points.
I hate the dual layer thing. If all I want to do is crop it becomes a hassle.
JPG quality is not very good. I took a screenshot cropped it and saved it as a .jpg and used it in a word doc next to another screenshot done with PS. The text was fuzzy. Yes, this was at the highest quality setting, I checked it twice. I am not sure if this is due to the whole vector thing or the compression scheme they use.
No foreground and background colors. You select one color at a time. Not really a big issue but more a matter of convenience.

Overall: If you do vector based stuff it might suit your needs. If you do pixel based work look elsewhere.

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