Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Sketchbook Pro 8 for free


Recommended Posts

Just wanted to let people know, Sketchbook Pro V8 is now free. You can download it from the App store or their web page. It makes for a great companion to Affinity.

Gregg

OS X Version 10.14.6 iMac 27" 3.2 GHz i5- 32 GB  Huion Kamvas Pro 20

iPad Pro 12.9" IOS 13

AD = OS IOS, AP = OS IOS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see anything on their web site about it being free.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice news. 

Please tell me, do i need sketchbook when I have Designer installed? 

What makes them of good teaming? 

I personally use APhoto + ADesigner for creations then I join Sketch 49 when it comes to web stuffs (UI/UX) 

I keep xD for learning purpose (I still need to learn more about Prototype technology from sketch) 

So,  I ask... Sketchbook teaming with Affinity? 

Never be the Same Again !
---
Dell Optiplex 5090 SFF
Intel Core i5-10500T @2.30GHz with 12GiB 2666MHz DDR4
Intel UHD Graphics 630 for 10th Generation
M.2 2280, 512 GB, PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4, Class 40 SSD

Windows 11 Pro x64 22H2 + LibreOffice 7.5.3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, MEB said:

@walt.farrell

It's free on the Mac App Store.

Thanks. I see that Sketchbook (not Pro) is also free on the Windows Store.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... Yes but what value sketchbook brings on the table when one have Affinity products installed? 

Want to know because I feel like I'm missing something here xD

Never be the Same Again !
---
Dell Optiplex 5090 SFF
Intel Core i5-10500T @2.30GHz with 12GiB 2666MHz DDR4
Intel UHD Graphics 630 for 10th Generation
M.2 2280, 512 GB, PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4, Class 40 SSD

Windows 11 Pro x64 22H2 + LibreOffice 7.5.3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Medical Officer Bones said:

AutoDesk burnt my fingers before

 

You've piqued my curiosity! Care to share what happened? ears.gif

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4 (iPad 7th gen)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Years ago I owned a freelance edition of Motionbuilder. Paid for it, and then out of the blue they pulled the plug on the license server, and sent an email stating that they wouldn't allow existing (perpetual) licenses to be re-installed if necessary. I and many others were livid. And the issues I experienced with AD forcing everyone (more or less) into rental plans, as well as them destroying Softimage (which I switched over to, but shortly after they stopped development).

Now I am a (very happy) Blender user. I won't ever deal with that company ever again. Fool me once...

Earlier this year they stopped development on Stingray, their much touted and publicized game engine. A friend of mine adopted that in all of his classes, only to find himself hoodwinked now by AD's 180 degree turns. Sad.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sketchbook going free merely means AD has decided to drop the app in the upcoming years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Medical Officer Bones said:

Years ago I owned a freelance edition of Motionbuilder. Paid for it, and then out of the blue they pulled the plug on the license server, and sent an email stating that they wouldn't allow existing (perpetual) licenses to be re-installed if necessary. I and many others were livid. And the issues I experienced with AD forcing everyone (more or less) into rental plans, as well as them destroying Softimage (which I switched over to, but shortly after they stopped development).

Now I am a (very happy) Blender user. I won't ever deal with that company ever again. Fool me once...

Earlier this year they stopped development on Stingray, their much touted and publicized game engine. A friend of mine adopted that in all of his classes, only to find himself hoodwinked now by AD's 180 degree turns. Sad.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sketchbook going free merely means AD has decided to drop the app in the upcoming years.

Giving that they are still developing the enterprise version, my guess is, they would just keep the current "pro" version as-is, maybe with some minor gimmicks, and shift the focus to intergrate the software into their product design lines. It would be a very bad news for artists who aren't product designers. I was never very into the software except on mobile platform (which I have no choice, I'm an android user) and now probably use even less of it.

 

I'm mainly a PaintToolSAI2 user, Affinity Designer got me into doing vectors but Sketchbook pretty much got me into nothing (well, maybe except their pencil textures are a bit better than other affordable software). Still waiting for CSP EX to have discount in China (EULA says Chinese user can't use any version outside China, and I don't want to pirate it), and Animation Paper which would has absolutely no ETA for open beta.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been around Sketchbook and Sketchbook Pro for years. When they switched over to annual renting ($30), I was very disappointed. I was finally going to stop renting this year, but now that it is free, great, I will keep on using it. It's free. Are you going to stop using Windows or Mac OS because of all of the underhanded things they have done over the years? All of the big software companies have their ghost in the closet. 

I am wondering why they chose to make it free. And I can only think they are coming out with something new. They bought iDraw and made a name change to Graphic and have done nothing with it. But I hear something is coming up soon.

So when it is free, another tool in your chest, I say, use it.

Gregg

OS X Version 10.14.6 iMac 27" 3.2 GHz i5- 32 GB  Huion Kamvas Pro 20

iPad Pro 12.9" IOS 13

AD = OS IOS, AP = OS IOS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting, thanks MEB. Things move fast in the software dot-com world.

 

Gregg

OS X Version 10.14.6 iMac 27" 3.2 GHz i5- 32 GB  Huion Kamvas Pro 20

iPad Pro 12.9" IOS 13

AD = OS IOS, AP = OS IOS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Medical Officer Bones said:

Years ago I owned a freelance edition of Motionbuilder. Paid for it, and then out of the blue they pulled the plug on the license server, and sent an email stating that they wouldn't allow existing (perpetual) licenses to be re-installed if necessary. I and many others were livid.

 

I’m not surprised! They must surely have known that wouldn’t endear them to their existing customers. :o

 

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4 (iPad 7th gen)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/5/2018 at 6:51 PM, Medical Officer Bones said:

Hm, no thanks. AutoDesk burnt my fingers before - not touching their software again.

Besides, I use Krita and Clipstudio for my sketching, drawing, and digital painting.

 

Is a general thing. Commercial software companies have to make decisions often that are not great for customers. And as is closed source, the thing goes to the trash, all your learning, projects, etc.  Reason why since a while I opt for mid to low cost software and/or open source. In the old times this was a bit harder to do ; Today the quality of this is good enough for even pro work.

 

On 4/5/2018 at 6:51 AM, Medical Officer Bones said:

And the issues I experienced with AD forcing everyone (more or less) into rental plans, as well as them destroying Softimage (which I switched over to, but shortly after they stopped development).

Now I am a (very happy) Blender user. I won't ever deal with that company ever again. Fool me once...

Earlier this year they stopped development on Stingray, their much touted and publicized game engine. A friend of mine adopted that in all of his classes, only to find himself hoodwinked now by AD's 180 degree turns. Sad.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sketchbook going free merely means AD has decided to drop the app in the upcoming years.

 

Maybe not Autodesk in this case, but this can happen always when a tool is offered as freeware and there's no income. Or even when it is. I recently had to edit the config of a lot of accounts just as lycos stopped their free mail service. Simple reason (which I respect and understand) from the company : The ads revenue just wasn't cutting it anymore. Open source has no risk of this kind. It can be that a project attracts less developers, but anyone can share the download, the code, even improve it, etc.  Indeed, even the most abandoned projects, if they are/were good apps, end up having some around, patching, caring, etc.

 

And yeah, I rememeber the XSI thing. After expending 500 bucks, getting super inspired with a ton of training in DVD format, a DVD for Win and another for Linux (thos ewere the days I yet had my multiboot install with even two distros), and getting to learn a very different (and so, difficult) UI and workflows compared to the thing I always use when contracted, company jobs, which is 3DS Max... just a bit after that,  in the middle of my training, it is made clear that XSI, that wonder, is going to be shut down for no solid reason (in relation to its quality). Acquired to be eliminated, plain and simple, by Autodesk.  

 

So, similar story here. I maybe even have to say thanks to them, as after suffering veeery similar issue with Deep paint 3D from another company (who's main original programmer I exchanged some mails with, even did some graphic for him, very decent guy, but you know what happens when companies are acquired and all those politics) , having paid 2000 bucks due to blatantly expensive shipping  -intermediate companies fault's, not the developer's-  , I had a revelation: Always if possible, for personal stuff, mid/low cost, permanent license and/or open source. Blender was a sad shadow of what is today, and even so, pretty capable, already was a solid bet for doing my 3D. So I did and now is rare to find a gig I couldn't do with it. Is funny how the initially worst looked by many pros (still is by a bunch. IMO, not fair neither accurate with what it brings), some free alternative end up becoming with time, improvements, and way of the dodo of some commercial companies, the safest, and more peace of mind bringer solution. In 3D it's solved for me with it, and my loved Wings 3D. In 2D, a mixed solution with mid cost and free software. (I'll be using Adobe and Autodesk high end stuff at any job, neither I have a prob with that... the boss is paying for all that... ;D )

 

On 4/5/2018 at 7:12 AM, FlameRat said:

I'm mainly a PaintToolSAI2 user, Affinity Designer got me into doing vectors but Sketchbook pretty much got me into nothing (well, maybe except their pencil textures are a bit better than other affordable software). Still waiting for CSP EX to have discount in China (EULA says Chinese user can't use any version outside China, and I don't want to pirate it), and Animation Paper which would has absolutely no ETA for open beta.

 

SAI, Krita, CSP, Open Canvas, they are all pretty fine for raster illustration, painting and drawing. I am very intrigued also with Animation Paper.

BTW, CSP had a 50% discount during a month, very recently, for the EX. I guess it was not for inside China...

 

On 4/5/2018 at 2:57 PM, GRScott said:

I have been around Sketchbook and Sketchbook Pro for years. When they switched over to annual renting ($30), I was very disappointed. I was finally going to stop renting this year, but now that it is free, great, I will keep on using it. It's free. Are you going to stop using Windows or Mac OS because of all of the underhanded things they have done over the years? All of the big software companies have their ghost in the closet. 

 

The problem is that I CAN keep using Windows. But I cannot use even a poorly updated version of my Deep paint 3D for all my texture painting works. And I paid around 2k bucks for it. Also, XSI got killed, another 500 bucks to the trash (BTW, is that cheap as I purchased the limited one, Foundation version) . And the list goes on. I decided I wont risk it, only mid/low cost tools kind of risk. And related to hours of learning, and linking projects to an specific tool, its native files, etc.... I'm rather more keen to do that with open source tools like Blender, Wings 3D and Krita. At least, less "great surprises" there. For software under the 100$ range... Well, the risk of getting shut down and your workflows and pipeline thrown to the trash is the same... But one can minimize that by saving one fully editable version with layers and all in a very standard format, together with a compatible flattened file.

 

Quote

 

I am wondering why they chose to make it free. And I can only think they are coming out with something new. They bought iDraw and made a name change to Graphic and have done nothing with it. But I hear something is coming up soon.

So when it is free, another tool in your chest, I say, use it.

 

 

is not only about the cost. If it gets shutdown we are in yet another tool that sooner than later is not even instalable in the whatever OS update as is not maintained anymore, and neither keeping up with the always evolving professional market needs. And this is a real thing, or I'd be using a pixel art editor like Deluxe Paint... (I do use similar editors, but because somehow, in its niche/nostalgic form, pixel art survived, thankfully) but ie, would use current tools even for that, not sth I'd need a DOS emulator, and probably the company is not selling it anymore since decades.

 

The story of the creation of Wings 3D (an amazing 3D modeling tool, specially good for low/mid polygon count models , which can be all models, if like me, you then load those into Sculptris, Sculpt GL, Blender or Zbrush, to add the crazy modeling detail ) is very related to the mentioned issue. The author of Wings could not be able to purchase Nendo. He tried in many ways, but kind of the company had silently crashed or something, and was impossible. So he programmed a tool with very similar functionality (initially, later it has evolved a lot) . That's another fun fact. Software superior in the times to anything else for modeling -the way I see  it- like Mirai (the expensive version that the company produced, still, Nendo was already great), and still the company had issues, did not survive like the other dinosaurs. A real pity.

 

Still, all of these are painters, Sketchbook Pro included. Super limited for anything else in what is image editing. I'd need A. Photo or similar tool,no matter what. So, to someone asking above, totally, painters are complementary tools to Affinity Photo. (and in some cases, even for A.Designer) . I'd love if I'd feel comfortable as well with the basic brush engine, so to be able to work only with A. Photo for my painting. There are some big advantages of doing so.  But if not, is not the end of the world, I still badly need all its image editing power, and (I/O, actually) exporting capabilities at its professional level, color managing, layers system, etc, etc.

 

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.