Illustrator or Corel Draw? Clash of the Titans!

Barring the DC vs Marvel, which is better, debate; nothing has quite vexed the minds of people as the timeless uncertainty of CorelDraw or Illustrator. When it comes to these two vectors based software most of the graphics community draws a clear line as to which one triumphs the other.

Illustrations are always quoting that theirs is an industry standard while Corellers maintain that just because something is an industry standard it doesn't necessarily mean its the best. Like how Goliath was the standard of strength and courage only to be knocked out by a much smaller and smarter David.

People who say Illustrator is an industry standard, mostly quote what they read online or for that matter, talk about it on an international level. Those with hands-on experience in Indian industries would know that CorelDraw is still used in a lot of firms.

I always maintain that a design software is like a pencil. You hold a pencil and it does what your brain tells it to do. That connection is a make or breaks for a fine artist or calligrapher. The output should be the representation of a visualized input. That being said, I'm sure no one would like to draw with a bad quality pencil if there's a better one around (though I've seen a very good friend just pick up flaky, brittle charcoal sticks and churn out masterpieces).

Corel and Illustrator are both big names. They've been tried and tested and quality wise, both are equally awesome. But like DC, Illustrator seems like it has to carry the weight of humanity around while Corel like Marvel has adapted to what the market needs.

Everything aside, when it comes down to a clash of the Titans and you have to bet your demonetized currencies on a savior, here's my unbiased opinion:

1. If you work is going to be mostly web-based, choose the illustrator. The best part about it is that you can copy paste an illustration straight from Illustrator to Photoshop. It's magic.

If you want to make print stuff, Corel away, as it is extremely friendly when it comes to large-scale type treatment and layouting (here's where InDesign comes into play, but we're strictly talking Illustrator vs Corel).

2. Do you like gradients in your work? Hail Corel.

3. Is your work predominantly illustrations? Choose illustrator, as it is very good for 'pen to paper-paper to digital' conversions.

4. Illustrator, if you're the type of person who likes to take a canvas and Picasso away.

5. Corel, if you like keeping a sketch pad and use different pages to visualize and reach your final masterpiece.

6. User Interface? Corel.

7. Exporting different file formats. They'd say its illustrator, but Corel is as good.

9. Diehard print fan? Corel

10. Color Management? Illustrator.

The list is long and I don't want to keep typing forever, so I'll stop at ten (as general lists go). So in conclusion, both are equally good for all said above as I've done pretty much everything on both and it's just a personal choice as to which glove fits your hand the best.

Deep down, I feel the Indian graphic universe isn't really black and white where Superman or Batman would easily swoop down and tackle a problem, but manifests itself a lot in the grey areas.

That's why I'd bet on Wolverine.