Chasys Draw IES
 | This article possibly contains original research. (March 2012) |
 Chasys Draw IES on Windows 10 | |
| Original author(s) | John Paul Chacha |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | John Paul Chacha's Lab [1] |
| Stable release | 5.30.01
/ 26 March 2024 |
| Written in | C, C++ and assembly language |
| Operating system | Windows XP and above |
| Size | 36.9 MB |
| Type | Raster graphics editor |
| License | Freeware |
| Website | www |
Chasys Draw IES (previously called Chasys Draw Artist) is a suite of applications including a
The software is developed by John Paul Chacha in Nairobi, Kenya.
Chasys Draw IES is currently released as freeware, and is available for computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is available in three distributions: the standard distro, a portable version and a Microsoft Store version.
The suite is coded in a blend of
History
Chasys Draw is a project that was started in November 2001 by John Paul Chacha, mostly as a hobby than anything else. The original Chasys Draw was a rather simple bitmap editor done in
Major updates to the graphics code in May 2002 resulted in Chasys Draw DTFx (Direct Tool eFfects). The new graphics code being referred to here was actually a miniature bitmap abstraction engine that allowed for fast per-pixel operations and direct image buffer access (much as the DIB engine does for GDI). The engine was named JpDRAW. This version was also done in VB, but was much faster than all the previous versions. The new graphics code allowed for more tools to be implemented than was ever possible before. Later on in 2002, the developer decided to completely abandon VB as a programming platform and moved all the code to C/C++. The move to C/C++ allowed the development of a full-fledged graphics engine which was named JpDRAW2. Chasys was renamed to Chasys Draw Artist, and the CD5 image format was also updated to reflect the new features. By coincidence, the module that implemented the file format was the fifth module to be added, so the format was called Chasys Draw module 5, retaining the .cd5 file extension.
- First public release
In April 2004, Chasys Draw Artist was released to the public via the internet for the first time (version 1.27). The release was done via betanews
The "chazy-glass" interface, from which the all later versions' user interfaces borrowed, was introduced in version 1.80. Chasys Draw Artist adopted
During the time when the versions 2.43~2.45 were being released, work was underway to create a new layer-based Chasys Draw, which was released as Chasys Draw IES (Image Editing Suite), with the initial version number 2.50. A new multi-layer tag-based image format was created to support layering and
By version 2.60, Chasys Draw IES was capable of loading
The concept of a "fully anti-aliased work-flow" was introduced in version 2.62, in which all drawing and selection tools were anti-aliased by default. Support for Photoshop plug-ins using Adobe's
- First freeware release
Chasys Draw IES went
IES 3.01 brought a new look and many breakthrough tools to the suite. It was geared toward touch and was fully compatible with Windows 7. The toolbox was reorganized, with some tools being grouped and new ones added. Some message boxes were replaced with a new popup system, and the working of the workspace was changed to use a
IES 3.05 brought the power of custom full-page gradients to the suite, supporting .ggr, .grd and .gra gradients. New gradient styles were included, as was support for Adobe color tables (.act), palette previewing, point color editing and a highly improved TextArt engine.
- Digital lightroom
IES 3.11 was introduced on 14 December 2009. It was done on a new development base and added a new application, raw-Input. This was a RAW image format processor based on dcraw. This application allowed the use of Chasys Draw IES in processing digital negatives, which are popular with professional photographers.
Chasys Draw IES 3.24 was released with a re-designed user interface, powered by a higher performance graphics core and better memory management. A history palette was introduced, as was a new screen capture function with video capability. The layer palette received drag-drop capability and unsharp masking got yet another upgrade. Soft proofing with ICC profiles was introduced in version 3.27. Full support for
- Conversion to Unicode
Chasys Draw IES 3.56 was the product of porting Chasys Draw IES from ANSI to UNICODE. It featured the first version of the Live Language Translation Engine, with multiple language support. A new, Unicode-aware "TextArt G4" engine was also introduced. IES 3.63 featured highly improved Photoshop 8BF support, a Silent Install option, Drag-drop to the Layers window, a censoring brush (under fx Brush), Improved RAW support, FastExternals 2.22 with a new callback suite (pi_StateStore), an external histogram window and a new Touch Gadget. It also included several bug fixes. Fault-tolerant file saving and taskbar progress reporting for Windows 7 were introduced in version 3.64.
- Recent versions
Recent versions of Chasys Draw IES have added high-end features such as adjustment layers, Power Management, jitter-corrected Video Screen Capture, video cropping, digitizer pen rotation (e.g. Wacom Intuos with 6D Art Pen), and Shell-out.
Design
According to the author, Chasys Draw IES is designed under the mantra of Unique, flexible and powerful, and takes a radically different approach to image editing with the aim of opening up new possibilities for those who dare to dream.
Layers
Chasys Draw IES uses the concept of a free-style layer. A free-style layer is one that can be positioned anywhere, including totally removing it from the image and keeping it aside. Chasys Draw IES Artist provides free-style layering as a way to enable people to work with images the same way they would if the images were photos placed on their desk - you may stack what you need together, while placing pieces that you are not currently using outside the stack but within reach.
Adjustment Layers
Chasys Draw IES supports adjustment layers, with support for multiple adjustments per adjustment layer and the ability to import adjustment layers from Adobe Photoshop.[6] Adjustment layers are special layers that adjust the information on the layers below them; they allow you to perform non-destructive image editing by applying adjustments to your image without permanently changing pixel values.
Image modes
The rendering (drawing) of layers in Chasys Draw IES Artist is dictated by a parameter called the image mode.
The default image mode, composite, renders the layers as a stack for the purpose of compositing. Two sub-modes are provided, a normal sub-mode that emphasizes free-style layering and a clipped sub-mode that clips the output like other image editing software.
In the multi-resolution image mode, similar copies of the image are made at different resolutions. The destination device then has a choice of images to choose from, depending on the intended display resolution. This mode is primarily used for creating icons and cursors.
The animation image mode is used for short videos, known as animations. In this mode, only one layer is displayed at a time, one after the other, after a duration of time dictated by the frame delay layer attribute. It is analogous to the way an artist can draw a slightly different figure on each page of a pad of paper so that when you flip between sheets rapidly, the drawing appears to move. This mode includes a sub-mode for onion-skin animation.
Layer attachments (metadata)
Chasys Draw IES can add descriptive information, such as the name and style of font used, path data, etc. to a layer. This information is called metadata, and is saved along with the layer. If the layer were to be opened for editing later, this information will be restored to facilitate easier editing.
File formats
Chasys Draw IES supports saving and loading a large number of different file formats, and support for others can be added using plug-ins. The software ships with plug-ins for over 100 different file formats, including PSD (native format for Adobe Photoshop, read and write), XCF (native format for GIMP, read and write), PDN (native format for Paint.NET, read only), CPT (native format for Corel Photo-Paint, read only), KRA (native format for Krita, read only), AFPHOTO (native format for Affinity Photo, read only), MDP (native format for Fire Alpaca), PXZ (native format for Pixlr), ORA (OpenRaster interchange format) and several RAW image formats. It also supports FITS, which is the most commonly used digital file format in astronomy. The native format is Chasys Draw Image (CD5).[7]
Latest Changes
- Quality Rollup for 2023 focusing on stability and reliability
- Optimized image file loading in Artist (up to 60% faster)
- TextArt 2.31 with many new features and enhanced performance
- Embedded Font support in TextArt (via layer attachment)
- Save frame animation to Motion JPEG (MPEG-4 container)
- Metadata rotation for Linked Layers (Smart Objects)
- Support for FireAlpaca's native file format (.MDP)
- Support for Pixlr's native file format (.PXZ)
- Support for re-editable text in FireAlpaca MDP files
- Support for re-editable text in Pixlr PXZ files
- Improved GIMP XCF file support (oversize handling)
- Improved Krita KRA file support (layout, text)
- Updated Camera RAW file support
- Updated Icon file support with auto-size
- Additional UNICODE ranges including latest SMP
Reviews
Reviews of Chasys Draw IES have been largely positive, with the editors at
Criticism
Chasys Draw IES has been criticized for its steep learning curve
References
- ^ "Chasys Draw IES Homepage". John Paul Chacha. 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Chasys Draw IES Documentation". John Paul Chacha. 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Chasys Draw Image format". File-Extensions.org. 11 September 2007.
- ^ "Chasys Draw Artist at Betanews Fileforum". Betanews. 9 September 2007.
- ^ "Chasys Draw Artist wins IEEE Expo". Centurion Systems. 9 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
- ^ "Chasys Draw IES Help: Adjustment Layers". John Paul Chacha's Lab. 8 August 2017.
- ^ "File formats supported by Chasys Draw IES". jpchacha.com. 2021.
- ^ "CNET Download.com review of Chasys Draw IES". CNET Download.com. 2011.
- ^ "The Top 5 Free Alternatives to Lightroom". enviragallery.com. 2021.