CHAMPAIGN, IL — Artlandia, Inc., developer of pattern design software, has released Artlandia SymmetryWorks 6, a major new version of its popular Adobe Illustrator plug-in for professional pattern design.
The new version automatically produces balanced, pleasing to the eye counterchange patterns by combining symmetry operations with color reversals. Although this technique has been employed by designers through millennia, it has only now become available in the off-the-shelf software.
Artlandia SymmetryWorks pioneered the creation of live, interactive patterns in its first release in 2001 and over the years has matured into the most versatile pattern design tool in the arsenal of surface, industrial, textile, apparel, fashion, and greeting card designers as well as illustrators, sculptors, artists, crafters, and creatives in other industries.
As compared to Illustrator's own pattern maker, SymmetryWorks provides a number of essential additions that include:
- Automatic creation of patterns of all the seventeen symmetry types (the Illustrator's patten maker uses a single symmetry, a simple shift)
- Retention of active components, such as brushes, symbols, blends, compound shapes, effects, nested patterns, and others (which Illustrator expands, preventing live edits in subsequent sessions)
- Replicas (live copies), multi-replicas, and layouts that let the user automatically generate new classes of patterns
Additionally, SymmetryWorks 6 makes it easy to create all the 46 mathematically possible counterchange symmetries as well as customize color reversals in repeated cells and tiles and introduce instant color reversals within the main repeated unit itself. The plug-in offers both live color inversion and readily customizable harmonic color schemes.
SymmetryWorks 6 requires Illustrator CS6 or the latest Creative Cloud version, Illustrator CC. For users of earlier versions of Illustrator Artlandia provides the previous version of the plug-in, SymmetryWorks 5. The plug-in costs $249 (download) and is immediately available for all Mac OS and Windows platforms. In combination with LivePresets (SymmetryWorks 6LP), the plug-in costs $364. Regular upgrades from SymmetryWorks 5 and earlier versions to SymmetryWorks 6 and SymmetryWorks 6LP are available for $75 and $190, respectively. SymmetryWorks can be also purchased in packages with Artlandia SymmetryShop. The bundle pricing starts at $489.