Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2009 is now fully available for Mac OS X and Windows. There are free trial downloads for both both platforms and you can make both new and upgrade purchases from the Autodesk online store. Additionally, you can purchase SketchBook Pro 2009 worldwide from an Autodesk reseller.
Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2009 is a Mac Universal application that offers several ranges of new features and improvements. In addition to running on the latest version of Mac OS X (10.5) Leopard it also runs on Windows Vista. The program has new integration with Adobe Photoshop so you can now import Photoshop PSD files directly into Autodesk SketchBook Pro.
On the interface side there is a new look and feel to the app. An orange outline identifies the “active layer” which itself will display a variety of interface options such as a thumbnail views. A new shortcut key, T or Tab, has been added for hiding or showing all floating windows and the lagoon. Additionally, there are new arrows on the Color Editor for showing or hiding the color wheel and color palette.
Improvements have also been made to the brushes. Their maximum size has been increased (excluding the pencil). The Color Editor has changed and now has more of design-oriented look and feel. You can now create, save and retrieve custom colors by dragging and dropping them onto the Custom Color Chip.
Layers now support locking and transparency locking and a new location for the Layer Opacity slider.
Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2009 is one of a “limited” number of native Mac applications offered by Autodesk (Maya being the best known), acquired through the acquisition of Alias. Architosh has reviewed the previous version here. (see Architosh review, SketchBook Pro 2, 5 June 2006).
You can learn more about Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2009 here.
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