 The makers of The
Big Box of Art, Hemera, have released an exciting,
family-friendly software package filled to the brim with
good-quality photo clip art. These royalty-free images can help
dress up school projects, personal web pages, reports, and more.
The program's search engine and
interface are well done. Photo Clip Art 100,000 is easy to
use and performs well. When users run a search, the results
appear complete with thumbnails of  the
images (see screenshot at left). Users can browse
through the results and opt to view a larger preview or export an
image after responding to the prompt to place the appropriate CD
in the drive (there are 7 CDs in total). Of course,
disc-swapping can be cumbersome. Images are organized by keyword,
category, and collection. They are very easy to find, and a small
information icon accompanies each thumbnail offering users
relevant details about the image.
The images in the collection are
very easy to export.
Double-clicking on an image brings up an Export Wizard (see
screenshot at right) that guides
users  through the process. When possible, images can be resized
or flipped, and a background color selected, before exporting.
Alternately, images can be copied and then pasted into your own
image composer software, or dragged and dropped into other
applications.
This collection is
well-organized. Attached to each image is a number of keywords, and our experience with the program suggests that they
are logical and straightforward.
The bonus application, Greeting Card Creator,
is included with the program. If users register their product,
they can download another bonus application, Jigsaw Puzzler,
for free.
What is missing is a printed
directory of images contained in the collection. However, thumbnails of the
images are available for browsing on the computer screen.
This program is the Windows
version (Win 95/98/ME/NT 4.0/2000/XP). A Mac version is also available
(
HEMERA PHOTO CLIP ART 100K FOR).
If you are looking for a package
with a wider variety of graphics types (not just photo clip art), Hemera's The Big Box of
Art is an excellent choice--see our review.
**For more information,
user reviews, or to buy:
HEMERA PHOTO CLIP ART 100K US
at Amazon.com.
Note: Hemera clip art and photo clip art images are
now available at Clipart.com,
which offers a valuable subscription option so that users can
download unlimited clip art (including photo clip art and photo
objects) instead of purchasing a software title that contains far
more clip art than necessary. Users can sign up for a one-week
subscription and get exactly what they need for $14.95 US, or sign
up for longer. We recommend trying the one-week subscription.
This option is more cost-effective.
To get an idea of the kinds of clip art pictures you can find on
the site, run a search here:
Pros:
- Especially user-friendly
photo clip art program.
- Well-organized image
collection.
- Excellent search engine.
- Nice variety and range of
graphics, grouped by category and graphics types.
- Good-quality, realistic images.
- Beginners will find this
program very easy to use and understand, while the
collection is also appropriate for experienced users.
|
Cons:
- No hard copy image
directory.
|
| For Windows |
By: Hemera |
Ages 9-up |
Published: 2002 |
|
