 Art Text from BeLight
May, 2007
By: Rick Curran
 Manufacturer: BeLight Software Limited
MSRP: $39.95 US Download
 Art Text is really a utility program that you use in conjunction
with other software. You create artwork with text and place it into other programs. You can create logos
in bitmap or vector format to use in your web page or blog, or add a banner to the top of your webpage;
place a graphic into your page lay out program and create decorative headlines for your text. It is the
perfect utility for scrap bookers to add color and text to pages. If you make greeting cards, you must
get Art Text.
Endless Possibilities
In Art Text, the possibilities are endless and the interface is easy to use. The interface
is broken into three areas. A large preview window is at the top left. Below the preview are the text
options, in which you indicate how much space is to go between each letter as well as how much space between
lines of type. You can select left, right or center justification () and pick the font you want to use. If
you would rather use symbols or dingbats, click on the corners of the font area and it turns to the symbol
editor. Art Text gives you a very large symbol library. If you don't see what you want, you can add your
own symbols.
The Interface
The right side of the workspace is the creative side. This area enables you to fill in text
or shapes with color, a gradient, or texture. You are given five different color pickers to use for fill,
stroke, and background color. You can also pick two colors for a gradient. If you want the edges of your
text to have a glow or drop shadow, you just pick the color, angle, amount of blur, and the depth of your
shadow or glow.
Choose Any Style
If you want your text to look like Apple's aqua style, open the draw on the right side of
your screen and pick OS X or one of the 34 other styles including, chrome, cherry, chocolate, bronze, gold,
steel, smoke, wood, and many more. You can also add your own styles.
Once the text looks the way you want, you can pick a transformation type to distort it.
Choose to arch your text, or give it the Star Wars look, or even a wave effect. It is simple to do, plus if
you don't see anything you like, you can make your own style. You can make your text's edge as jagged as a
lizard's back or as graceful as a swan's neck.
Export in Any Format
Your design can be exported as a PDF, EPS, TIFF, PNG, GIF, or JPEG file format. You can
even open and modify your artwork in Photoshop or other graphic manipulation programs. If exported as a GIF
or JPEG, it will place nicely into your web page, blog, or email.
Highly Recommended
This is a very easy utility to use. Let your creative mind go wild as you explore all of the
possibilities. Create images to go into your web pages, newsletters, or just see what you can create using
their objects or your own. The kids or professionals can use Art Text. Download a free trial copy to use in
Mac OS X 10.4, to gain a better idea of just how wild you can make your creations.
 The good ...
Easy to use interface. Lots of options. Lets you be creative. Free trial copy.
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 The not-so good ...
You can export your item as EPS, but cannot edit them in Illustrator.
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