I crossed the Atlantic – I´ve been to Corel HQ, home of CorelDRAW

In late November / December this year 2012, I got the super nice opportunity to travel to Corel HQ in Ottawa, Canada for a visit with COREL. Corel is the company that develops CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Suite including CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. And the same company that develops Corel PAINTER.

Image use courtesy Corel & Photographer Mark Adam
Ottawa, Canada Dec. 2012

Read my text I wrote to Corel to their official blog Corelblogs.wordpress.com

I use all the programs daily in my work as an illustrator and graphic designer. Mostly I use CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT and I love all the programs the same way that I love my favorite pencils, sketch pads, markers, paints, brushes and my Wacom Intuos tablet and so on. I Can imagine that anyone working creatively with images understand what I mean by the love of his tools.

I’ve been using CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, since 1997 almost daily. 1997 was also the year when I registered my own company as an illustrator, artist and graphic designer. It was also the first program I gladly paid the license to use, and that already in 1997. Mind you, the year 1997 people in general actually almost looked down on you, as if you were a fool to pay for their software licenses. When I paid my license for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 1997, I felt proud. I had worked to start my own company with my own money, and felt proud and happy that I could buy my first computer, second hand one, and a scanner, and CorelDRAW by myself. It was my way of telling myself that I did this with a serious intention to make it my own way as an illustrator and artist. It was a sort of proof and a pat on my own shoulder ”Stefan, you did it. Lets Rock”. I have paid for all licenses since, those that obviously are payed for software. I only talk for myself, but to me and my own self esteme it was certainly a nice feeling to pay for the paid software, I saw it as some sort of recognition of my progress and intention to my own work. And of course I think it’s totally okay to use the free to use program, open source, who are legally free.

Many people ask me how to become an illustrator and graphic designer and artist. To me this is part of that process, to feel good about paying and respecting others work. And who´s work make it possible for me to create and make money through my own work. When I go to an exhibition or somewhere else and see other creative peoples work, I can somehow feel the work and feelings behind their work. I dont have to speak with them as many of them dont necessarily like to speak about their own work, which isnt the most natural thing to do actually. But it feels good to respect their work. This year for example I saw on CNN how in India a few Indians had started to try saving the great artwork of movie posters for Bollywood movies. To hear about the artists work and how finally someone tried to save their work as part of Indias cultural history. And especially important these days when so much is done digitally.

It really warms my heart to see these people respecting and preserving the great Indian poster art. Before it is totally lost. Thank you for saving them!

To finally meet these great people creating the  Corel software, CorelDRAW, PHOTO-PAINT and PAINTER was a fun, interesting, rewarding and simply a wonderful experience. And it felt extra good to see the how great the people behind ”my” software were. I miss them already.

Read my text I wrote to Corel for their own official blog Corelblogs.wordpress.com

Ps. Reading my text on COREL´s official blog ”corelblogs.wordpress.com”, link above, the TATTOO shop I mention, I believe it was Planet Ink Extreme at 174 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Canada.

Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator, painter, graphic designer
www.canvas.nu