Graphics Sketching Software Advice

millarboy

Hi - I'm a support teacher in a secondary school.  One of the pupils I support has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and has chosen Graphic Communication as one of his senior subjects.  Looking for any advice on sketching software people may have used in the past.  We have approval from the exam board to use ICT for the practical element of the assessment - now we just need to find the best software.

Thanks for any help/advice you may be able to give?

Alex

Hi @millarboy,

Welcome to the community. @Ryan_Assistive and @Andy_Assistive - is this something you might be able to help with?

Markmywords

Do you have any more information @millarboy ?

Freehand 2D sketching?
Complexity/features/training time available?
PC/Mac/tablet?
Mouse/stylus/accessible input device?
Budget?

Andy_Assistive

Hi @millarboy
I need a bit of info about what you are thinking about running the software on is it for a computer or a tablet and what kind of assistive tech (if any) is the student using? thanks
Andy

millarboy

He uses a PC with a joystick instead of mouse.  Training time is not an issue as we have him in the dept for additional study 3 x 80 minutes per week. Budget would be limited to sensible local authority level of funding.  I can find out more about the features but if you cold suggest any options I can run them past the subject specialist and see what he thinks (I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to the  specific requirements of the Graph Comm course!) 

Markmywords

Well a professional Graphic Designer or Illustrator would use Adobe Illustrator @millarboy although that may be overkill. There are educational discounts though.

You'd want both raster and vector capabilities, layers, posterise and watercolour filters I expect. Freehand drawing with a joystick would be very tricky.

From Google, there are six free alternatives for students here approved by the New York Film Academy. These cover a range of complexity and features.

I am a professional technical draughtsman which is a different kettle of fish and I use AutoCAD. I use a gamepad with it which mimics single and multiple key presses. I can more than keep up with a non-disabled operator.