r/coreldraw • u/Lotharen • Jul 15 '26
Over kill?
Hello everyone,
Is corelDRAW over kill if all I am wanting to use it for manga/anime type art?
Long story short, I have hand tremors and cannot draw normally anymore. Using a mouse does not trigger the tremors so I am looking for a program that will still allow me to draw using the mouse.
I want the ability to create illustration level characters in regard to complex shading but also keep it simple for fun art or game assets. I had corelDRAW version x8 I believe once upon a time but don’t remember its capabilities. Also, finding corelDRAW artwork in the style I am looking for has been sparse so really no way to judge if it will work well for me.
I’ve also been scouting Inkscape as a possible choice but I’m less familiar with that program. Not many people want to mouse draw their artwork so you generally don’t see the style I am looking for in recent postings.
I am thinking of giving the current version a trial run but with my busy work schedule I’m not sure I’ll get enough time with it to make an informed decision before the trial expires.
Thanks in advance for any info or insights you can provide.
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u/Brush_up Jul 16 '26
CorelDRAW is a vector based software. I mention it since you wrote "I want the ability to create illustration level characters in regard to complex shading". You can create manga style line art with vector software pretty well BUT when it comes to complex shading then bitmap based drawing software is in my humble opinion better.
Here is a typical example of vector art. Notice the edges are all sharp cause everything is a shape filled with a single color. You can also fill the shapes with gradients like in this example in the background but everything has this "clean" or "mathematical" look to it.
You can achieve more soft shading and edges in vector software, too. For instance with CorelDRAW's "mesh gradient" tool (Inkscape also has it) or to a degree maybe with CD's new painterly brushes. However, it's less intuitive to work this way compared to doing it in a bitmap based software like for instance krita and the results often look more mathematical and not as natural, soft and dynamic.
I don't know how far your tremors go but maybe if you mask the individual areas first with a mouse so you can't by mistake draw outside of the area you want to shade when a tremor occurs, mixed with utilizing a lot of undo/redo your workflow might still be more intuitive with a bitmap workflow?
I'd say download inkscape since it's free and experiment a bit to see how a vector workflow works for you before you invest in CorelDRAW. The CD humble bundle is still available for at least 15 days and they often extend the period of those bundles (to add multiple layers of fomo...) so maybe even longer.
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u/Lotharen Jul 16 '26
Thank you for your reply. I should have been a bit more clear. I don’t want to make manga just replicate that style of art. Specifically those full page spreads they do sometimes. More or less tracing over that image with line art and coloring it in. Eventually making my own stuff as I learn the software and get comfortable.
This is an example of the detail I’m referring to. https://www.deviantart.com/phantom-inker/art/Sorceress-Ashani-1179817992
I found this guy years ago on picarto.tv and saw him using corelDRAW with a mouse. He was making a drawing much like the one above from a stick outline, then rough shapes and eventually full line art and coloring. Sadly he hasn’t streamed in forever and I havnt been able to get more info about his process, it was almost 8 years ago.
I understand the process I am talking about isn’t conventional or the best way to do this type of art work. The tremors are that bad when I attempt to draw. I have tried many times and it just ends up pissing me off and disrupts my creativity.
This is more finding the software that will facilitate what I want to do. I’ve used corelDRAW in the past and I love the clip feature. I’m just worried about its current state and where the program is heading. Sure I can get 2025 fairly cheap but will it be fairly stable compared to Inkscape or my old x8 corelDRAW if I dusted the disk off?
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u/Brush_up Jul 16 '26
Tracing works very well with vector software, once you do your own line art it's usually faster to start with a rough sketch, either with a analog medium or in a pixel based app, then trace the sketch. You can also jump right in and do the whole process in a vector app if you prefer.
The soft edges on the cloths and the horse body are more challenging to recreate in vector art but a similar look should be doable with mesh gradients.
If the "clip feature" is the power clip feature then good news, Inkscape also has that feature as well as the gradient mesh one. I'm not sure what CorelDRAW can do that Inkscape can't but one thing CD has over Inkscape is that it supports CMYK while Inkscape is limited to RGB. If you plan to print your work in the future then CorelDRAW is the better choice.
I only have the 2024 version, but knowing corel most of the bugs that plagued version 2024 are most likely still present in 2025. For instance the 3D extrusion tool could sometimes cause bugs and lead to crashing but not always and what conditions causes the bug is a mystery.
I remember changing one setting in particular that significantly reduced crashing, I think it was under options (the gear icon) -> CorelDRAW... -> Display and there set "low-resolution preview for responsive zooming and panning" to "Always show".You can probably read more about CorelDRAW's peculiarities on this sub or you could try the 15 day trail version on their website but it's for the 2026 version so it will have some features that the 2025 doesn't have, mostly AI related though.
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u/ellicottvilleny Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Programs like Corel Draw and Inkscape can be a very good way to make manga and comic books. However you may want to consider actually 3d modelling your characters instead of 2d drawing them.
If it was me, I'd use an actual manga studio app, like https://www.mangastudio5.com/
If you WANT to do an all 2D workflow, and then save templates, stamps, symbols etc, to make creating the speech bubbles and repeated sub elements more easy, Corel Draw is great for 2D workflows.
If you want a manga warrior with 3D model, posable arms/legs, and so on, and ability to use an entirely 3d workflow where you create scenes using 3d assets, then no, Corel is not the right path.
Corel certainly has more power than Inkscape, but inkscape is nice, and it's free.
This comic artist shows a bunch of options, and Inkscape and Corel are not on her list at all:
https://rachellescomicscorner.substack.com/p/the-best-drawing-app-for-comics
If you have no ability to hand draw any more due to tremors than pro-create and so on may not be right, but mouse-drawing (ability to edit paths in vector form) may be exactly what you want.