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THERE have been graphics designer programs before - notably Melbourne Draw. Lightmagic takes ease of use a step further and provides a comprehensive package for would-be screen designers.

The program can operate using a joystick or cursor keys. The menus are exceptionally clear and easy to toggle through. There are five modes.

Pen mode allows you to draw on screen as if you were using a pencil, with the added advantage of a rubber band feature for odd angles.

Circle and Fill commands are also available, although the Fill command can cause weird results due to the Spectrum attributes. To overcome that there is a Grid command which produces a grid of 8 x 8 squares on the screen, avoiding colour clashes.

In Brush mode there are 10 types of brushes which range from solid to airbrush; spectacular results can be obtained with these, especially as brush size can be altered.

Block mode can be used to move, mirror and rotate blocks of the screen and Text mode allows the addition of text. There is also a UDG designer which makes graphic designing easy.

As if all that were not enough, there is an enlargement feature. A section of the screen can be magnified four times - useful for fine tuning. Adding and changing colour is done by pressing X and choosing another colour.

The facilities offered are impressive and it can be recommended without reservations.


Publisher New Generation
Price £14.95 Memory 48K
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Theo Wood