Feb
13
2008

Sketchbook Pro 2009 announced!


Woohoo!
I’m finally allowed to say something about this but Sketchbook Pro is being updated! The new app was announced at Autodesk’s 2008 World Press Days We were hoping it would be called Sketchbook 3 but it looks like it will be called Sketchbook Pro 2009 to keep with Autodesk’s current naming convention scheme.

Sketchbook Pro 2009 will be released on April 2nd and will be available for Intel Macs as well as PCs!

I was lucky enough to be part of the beta team and although I can’t comment specifically on what the new features will be, the crew at Autodesk has added some nice features to an already awesome program!

I am very excited about his development because Sketchbook Pro consists of 80% of my drawing arsenal these days.

Yay Autodesk!

Written by Mike Milo in: Computers |

26 Comments »

  • salaryman says:

    Is this for real and not some April Fools?

    This is great news!

  • Mike Milo says:

    Yeah it’s for real.. I beta tested the program and everything. I’m not allowed to say what’s been added but it works well and although it’s a minor update it’s great to see it’s back up and running as I’ve have bits of trouble with mine over the last year.

  • salaryman says:

    Great, glad to know it’s still being supported.

    Thanks.

    C.

  • Jacob says:

    hm,
    it isn’t released yet, and there are no informations
    about when this will be.

  • Mike Milo says:

    Hi Jacob,
    Yes it was released yesterday. It can be found here
    http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=6848416

  • Niloy says:

    Nope, still not there, checked the site, its still sketchbook pro 2, not 2009

  • Mike Milo says:

    It’s there but I can’t find a way to buy it just yet. You can see it here with this link
    http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=6848416

  • Niloy says:

    I still didnt see it but i guess your right, its not up for grabs yet, i cant wait until it is though!

  • Mike Milo says:

    Trust me… me too! The demo that I have works but it has issues with my tablet so it’s really not usable. It works great on the Cintiq though! I have an email into the guys at Autodesk so when i hear where you can get it I will post a link.

  • Niloy says:

    Thanks a lot!

  • Jacob says:

    thanks for your reply.

    but it looks that we all have to wait more time.
    i think it will be available after the Autodesk 2009 launch tours.

  • Niloy says:

    Yup, checked today, still not there, now I am all depressed

  • Mike Milo says:

    It’s there now… Check the newest post!

  • Jacob says:

    i don’t get. the site is still the same!?
    the trial version is 2.0

    do you have another link than the official autodesk site???

  • Jacob says:

    sorry, didn’t check your latest post.
    my fault.

    thanks

  • Mike Milo says:

    It’s official now, I even got an email from Autodesk telling me so… It will take a bit to roll it all out but it’s certainly official. Did you get one?

  • Jacob says:

    up to now, i didn’t get any response.
    it’s listed in the shop, but the item is out of stock. not only at autodesk. seems we have to wait a bit longer. but the good news is, that the trial of v2.0 has disappeared from the autodesk site. maybe we will get the trial of v2009 soon.

  • Jacob says:

    the trial is up at autodesk and i have downloaded it. i really have to say, that i’m very angry about autodesk that they sell software like this as a new full release. the “new” functions are NOT worth to talk about. it is really disappointed. don’t know what you think about this. i’m really interested in your opinion.

    greetz

  • Mike Milo says:

    Hey Jacob,
    Well, I agree that the new features are not revolutionary but honestly this is just a rebranding of the product with a few added features. It’s now an Autodesk product and not an Alias product. I for one, am mostly excited to see that the product itself is still alive. For over three years it seemed to be dead. I’ve used my sketchbook 2 copy and loved it and it’s really indispensable to me for the type of work that I do. That said it had a few flaws and issues that impeded my workflow from time to time.

    True there are not a terribly advanced amount of new features but the color palette saver, the new brush editing and the the import/export to Photoshop with retaining layers are all very much welcomed in my arsenal.
    Honestly what is revolutionary is the fact that they got the paint bucket to work at all with the anti-aliasing SBP does inherently. Yet it works well enough to use it professionally. that alone makes the product worth an upgrade in my book.

    Don’t worry Autodesk is listening and they’re planning more revisions for the next version. I have been asked to be part of the beta team for the next iteration and have a ton of features I’d like to see; most notably the ability to distort and transform on a point.

    Is Sketchbook Pro 2009 worth upgrading to if you already have Sketchbook 2? Maybe… I think it actually is but if you don’t wait for the next version. Remember we’re talking about $200 instead of $600 for Photoshop you can’t expect the moon each time.

  • Jacob says:

    hey milo,
    i agree in some points with you, but there was a very big thread at the old alias discussion forum (about 179 pages or so) where artists wrote down their wishes for a next release. i think that autodesk has read this too. i also know that sketchbook should be no photoshop or painter clone.
    i thought they would put some sketch features from studio into sketchbook, like the symmetry options, etc. the “new” features like the color things are nice, but they didn’t put in the gradient option where you choose a color and get 10 steps from light to dark (which isn’t much programming work).
    so if you look at the price , here in germany this
    thing cost 235 euros which is compared to artrage too overprized.

  • Mike Milo says:

    Hey Jacob!
    Well as I said before I think that this round was basically to rebrand the product, show us it wasn’t dead and add a few small features to get accustomed to the program themselves. That said, I have just started working with Autodesk on the next version and that will be a big update. I will suggest the things you asked for and we’ll see if they get in there. Just remember that SBP is not intended to be Photoshop so it’s not going to be a huge bloated program. It’s simple, easy to use and supposed to emulate a digital sketchbook which it does now. You really can’t compare it to anything else on the market in my book. And Artrage? Yeah it’s cool but the pencil on it is lacking in my opinion. It’s a different animal which I use for true painting but not for drawing in general. In fact I typically draw in Sketchbook Pro then import the drawing into ArtRage to paint.
    I got my copy of SBP 2009 and I’m happy with it! Did I want to see more features? Sure! But this version is worth it to me anyway and I don’t think it’s overpriced. What’s 235 euros? About $115 American these days right? I’ve spent that in a pub in one night! LOL!

  • Jacob says:

    hey mike,

    sounds good that you are working on with autodesk.
    hope you will be able to push them into “a next level” ;).

    ps: 235 euros = $375,03

    greetz

  • mike says:

    Is this just for PC’s? I’m using 2.0 on a mac @ work & an Intel @ home and wanna upgrade. Thanks

  • Mike Milo says:

    Hey Mike!
    Nope it’s for Mac AND PC!

  • hello Mkie:
    My name is daryl. I have bought sketchbook pro2009. I am not a painting artist or drawing artist; I am a musician. However, I was told I could use this program to track some art work and bring it into photoshop to use for a logo. To my surprise the program does not have a manual or a electronic document to explain how the program works or a tutorial. Can you or someone out there on your website help to to get started or understand this program and it function.
    I have contacted autodesk. They say they do not have any kind of manual – electronic or etc.; and that they can not help me with instructions on the program.
    I appreciate any help I can get.

    Sincerely,

    Daryl Meshack.

  • Hello Mike:
    I for get to give my email address. it is “masdaryl@gmail.com”. Once again this is daryl meshack.
    Thanks,
    daryl.

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