 
Draft of an article by Solomon Swift, as first published in Feb, '90 MOAUG newsletter.  This is intended to be the first in a series on graphics software.  The spacing is off because it was transferred via modem.........  I can fix it but it doesn't STAY fixed!  PJH

       
 
I'M NO ARTIST 
 
by Solomon M. Swift
 
 
To me, the single most intriguing aspect of the home computer is that i t means so many different things to such a diverse group of users.  To some it is pure entertainment used solely for gameplay.  To others , it provides an intellectual challenge in creating programs tha t perform specific tasks.  Many employ it as a word processing tool.  A few are deeply steeped in CP/M and rarely even consider exploring the enormous gamut of available software.  Others utilize the syst em strictly for telecommunications. 
 
But the largest portion of us ADAM owners dabble in virtually every asp ect of computer usage.  One of the most exciting fields of usefulness is graphics.  You can enhance your documents with artwork, design eye -appealing newsletters by mixing text and graphics, print artistic add ress labels, create colorful screens for your own computer games, print signs and borders, and have lots of FUN!! 
 
And ... best of all, you DON'T HAVE TO BE AN ARTIST.  We have an abundance of pre-drawn artwork ready to be printed.  And, if you can't draw a straight line or a perfect circle, don't worry; the computer handles these tasks for you with ease.  There are two fundamental areas of graphic software for the computer:  design/print utilities and existing artwork.  In this series I'll examine the bulk of available products in both areas, and provide addresses and phone numbers of the vendors in the concluding segment. 
 
Most of the existing artwork is in he public domain, ie, it can be freely copied and disseminated.  The PD artwork is either converted from other computers for use on our system or created specifically for ADAM by our own artists.  We are most fortunate to have a few very talented artists in our corner.  Seven immediately come to mind for me:  David Carmichael, James Casey, Ricki Gerlach, Patricia Herrington, Jim Notini, Tony Patterson, and Anthony Yulo.  We all owe these artists a debt of gratitude for their numerous contributions.  And, they typically receive little to no remuneration for their labor, so be sure to thank them whenever possible.  We'll take a closer look at the specific volumes of artwork after exploring the offerings in the design area. 
 
By far, the two best selling pieces of non-Coleco software for ADAM are Sign- SHOP by Strategic Software and PowerPAINT by Digital Express. SignSHOP allows you to print signs, banners and greeting cards right on the daisywheel prin- ter.  You can choose from three sizes of text as well.  The graphics are not as sophisticated as is afforded by bit image capabilities with a dot matrix printer, but the results are certainly eye-appealing. Strategic Software has another excellent graphics package for those who have only the ADAM printer, NewsMAKER.  This program uses SignSHOP-type graphics allowing you to mix text and art freely on the same page in multiple columns. These two fine pieces of software require only the standard ADAM system.  But, PD modifications are available that allow you to use them on a dot matrix too. Also, there are volumes of artwork created for SignSHOP and NewsMAKER. 
 
Next month we'll explore the area of bit image screen design & print programs.



 
 
ieces of non-Coleco software for ADAM are Sign- 
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