     
     InstantArtist
     Review by Gary W. Wodka, Madison PC User's Group

     In the beginning, there was PrintMaster.  And it was good.  Then 
     Broderbund created Print Shop, and it was better.  Then Print Shop 
     Plus appeared, and it seemed that the state of desktop signs, 
     banners and cards was as good as it was going to get.  And, for a 
     while it was.  Then came Windows, and it was a whole new ball game.  
     Well ... not exactly.  There didn't seem to be this genre of program 
     available for Windows.  Until now!

     Autodesk Products of Bothell, Washington, recognized the void.  
     Sure, those old programs would work in Windows as a DOS application, 
     but that isn't really what the people wanted.  If they could develop 
     a true Windows program that everyone could use -- from kids to 
     grandparents -- they'd really have something.  Enter InstantArtist, 
     a true Windows application that takes advantage of your already-
     installed Windows fonts and other graphics.  To be completely 
     accurate, InstantArtist was developed by the same folks that
     created Print Ship and Bannermania.  In fact, it comes in a DOS 
     version as well as a Windows version.  I reviewed the Windows version.

     It's hard to classify this software, since it really isn't just a 
     graphics package.  It's not just a fill-in-the-blank-and-get-a-card 
     package, either.  I suppose the best way to describe it is to call 
     it "instant design software."  What it does is provide the tools and 
     layouts to create stunning signs, banners, letterhead, certificates 
     and greeting cards.

     InstantArtist (IA) will occupy 5 MB of hard disk space.  It installs 
     itself in a directory called WINIART and, quite naturally, works 
     through Windows.  You don't have to be a graphic design artist to 
     use IA.  All the tools are provided, along with several hundred 
     templates (ready-made samples) that are easy to modify to produce 
     that "perfect message" for that certain someone.

     The software comes with two manuals: a User's Manual (of course, 
     you'd expect that, huh?) and a manual called Instant Imagination, 
     which contains copies of the over 700 graphics shipped with IA, some 
     sample documents, and lots of tips and techniques for making your 
     project the best it can be.

     The User's Manual has a 40-page tutorial that will walk you through 
     the basics.  However, if you have kids (or are one yourself) you 
     know how boring manuals can be.  My 11-year-old daughter wanted to 
     get at the computer as soon as I loaded IA and "kick it into high 
     gear."  She's always liked these design packages, from the first 
     PrintMaster through Picture Wizard.  I don't think she's ever read 
     a manual, and has gone through reams of paper making cards, signs 
     and banners (and several toner cartridges, I might add!).  When she
     started IA, she found a 21-icon toolbar across the top of the page, 
     which she didn't understand.  I guess she'll have to read the book, 
     huh?  NOT!  She's an adventurous soul so she began clicking icons to 
     see what would happen.

     IA helps a little by changing the cursor as you move it around the 
     document. The shape of the cursor gives a clue as to what it can do 
     in certain modes. For instance,  the pointer will darken when it's 
     resizing capabilities are enabled.  It will change to a clock when 
     waiting (pretty common in Windows apps) and will change shape for 
     pasting, rotation, skewing or text functions.  But Autodesk could 
     have made the learning curve even shorter by indicating somewhere 
     along the bottom of the screen what an icon does when you pass the
     pointer over the icon.  My daughter didn't seem to mind the "hunt 
     and peck" method, though.

     The first thing you'll do is select the "Document Type" from the 
     selection box.  Here you have a choice of signs, business cards, 
     letters, certificates, greeting cards, banners, postcards, and 
     envelopes.  Each selection opens a window that lists the templates 
     available for each type of document, as well as a thumbnail sketch 
     of what you'll get.  In addition, you have the option to view and 
     create either in color or monochrome (which is great if you don't
     have a color printer yet), so you can see exactly what your finished 
     product will look like.

     As new documents are created and saved, IA automatically adds an 
     extension to the file that is descriptive of the type of project 
     you are working on.  For example, SGN indicates a sign, BC a 
     business card, BAN a banner, and so on.  This makes locating your 
     work much easier than looking through a list of 400 documents to 
     find that sign you created last week.

     Once in the program, the desktop acts like a graphic artist's 
     worktable, with a sheet of paper on it and all the necessary tools 
     nearby.  Every object in a document is surrounded by a frame (which 
     is visible whenever the object or text is selected).  The handles 
     on the frames permit the movement, reshaping or editing of the 
     contents of the frame.  Here is where it's important to know what 
     the different versions of the pointer mean.  If you've worked 
     in programs that end up all distorted after movement, you'll 
     appreciate IA.  When you move, resize or rotate in IA, the 
     proportions of a graphic are kept constant, so there will be no 
     distortion.  If you want to distort a graphic, you'll have to use 
     the skewing function or the alignment and shape functions.

     Just like most of its DOS cousins, IA gives you the graphical 
     "pieces" you'll use as building blocks in the form of graphics, 
     shapes, symbols and fills.  But once selected, you can twist them, 
     overlay them, color them, and otherwise abuse them to get just the 
     effect you're looking for.  Manipulation of text and graphics is a 
     breeze, and the ways in which to abuse these things is almost 
     limitless!  You can change the shape to any one of 20 predesigned
     shapes (banners, doughnuts, lines, receding shapes, rising shapes, 
     falling shapes, etc.) and in a myriad of colors and color 
     combinations.

     IA also includes a lexicon of notable quotes, from austere to the 
     humorous, from Confucius to Fred Allen (you remember him, don't you?).  
     These quotes can be inserted into any of IA's styles.  When using 
     text, you'll also be able to select any one of a number of text 
     styles, after you've chosen the font and size.  You'll be able to 
     choose from staggered (up and down), wacky, tilted, italic (different 
     from tilted), as well as the usual selections: plain, bold or 
     underlined.  If you're not sure what size type you want, you can use 
     the handles that appear when text is selected to resize, move, skew 
     or rotate the type.  You'll have full control over justification 
     and letter and line spacing, and you'll be able to wrap text to 
     certain shapes for special effects.

     When it comes to coloring your documents and cards, you have a 
     wealth of choices here, too.  You can fill, layer, blend, shade and 
     shadow to your heart's content.  You can zoom, twist and spiral your 
     text with phenomenal control, resizing, shaping and moving it to 
     create just the right effect.

     Once the creative juices have stopped flowing, you'll probably want 
     to print and save your creation.  Since IA is fully compatible with 
     Windows (I use 3.1), it is compatible with all Windows printers, 
     including the newest color lasers and inkjets.  IA will save your 
     graphics creations in its native GFX file format.  What if you want 
     to send it to some other application?  Well, you could use the 
     clipboard, since you're in Windows, or you can save the graphics in 
     another format by exporting it to a file.  You have the options of 
     saving the file as a TIF, EPS, BMP or WMF file for use in other 
     programs.

     What if you get stuck?  Well, you can get help in one of three ways.  
     The most obvious is to refer to the User's Manual (personally, my 
     last choice!).  No matter where you are in the program, you can get 
     online help by pressing the F1 key.  If you can't find the 
     information you need either in the online help or the User's Manual, 
     you can call technical support.  Autodesk provides free technical 
     support (a toll call, but tech time is free) from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00
     p.m. PST.

     Like any new program, InstantArtist takes some getting used to.  
     But after using it, I've freed up some hard disk space by removing 
     Print Shop Plus and Bannermania.  I'm also thinking of removing 
     Picture Wizard, but my daughter says she'll disown me if I do.

     InstantArtist retails for $79.95 (though its available at stores 
     for under $50) and is a product of:

     Autodesk Retail Products
     11911 North Creek Parkway South
     Bothell, WA 98011
     (800) 228-3601
         