All artists should be hung - and Peter Shaw is no exception! His pictures may not make it to the Tate lust yet but with the help of Rainbird's Art Studio he reckons he's on his way.
    Now I know what you're going to say 'cos I said it myself. What? Another art package?. Well, it's gonna have to come up with something a bit special if it's going to drag me away from Melbourne Draw/PaintPlus/The Artist* (*delete as applicable). Well, prepare for a surprise.
    Art Studio, the new package written by OCP but marketed under BT's Rainbird label, has more than a few features to recommend it. The first thing you'll notice is the 'pull-down menu system' - and it's not just a gimmick but the basis of all that makes this program so user-friendly. Yes, I know that word's overworked but you'll find you hardly need to refer to the manual.
    So, how does it work? Well, it prints a menu bar across the top of the screen from which you can choose a comprehensive second menu that gives you access to the feature you want. Just move the cursor to your chosen option and press fire. If a feature has even more on offer, then you'll be presented with a third and sometimes a fourth menu on-screen. If you choose to use a joystick or even a mouse, you never need touch the keyboard at all!
    But all this is still not the be-all and end-all of an excellent art package. To challenge the current competition a new package must offer a wider range of features than the rest - and be able to perform them quickly. Art Studio comes out shining on both counts. In fact, it works on the Spectrum with all the charm of a program like MacPaint on the Macintosh. Not altogether surprising as that program was obviously the main source of inspiration for Art Studio - the same pull-down menus, many of the same features and all of the flexibility. Plus both programs can be operated with a mouse. More than likely you'll have come across the mouse before - it's similar to an upturned trackerball that you roll around the table top to move the on-screen cursor. The combination of Art Studio and a mouse will make it nigh on untouchable - and even without, the competition's gonna have to go a long way to beat such an excellent package.

Ratings given by other magazines

9/10    SU Review

Info supplied by the SPOT*ON database

YS Cross-references
		Art Studio/Rainbird	YS1	NEWS
Some info from Sinclair Infoseek+SPOT*ON