Smith Micro has released Manga Studio 5, an update of its comics illustration app. The new software features a reworked interface, attempting to put the most commonly used tools within easy access. Smith notes that the UI is also customizable, for instance letting users create their own brush shapes or canvas textures. Also included are new coloring, vector, and dedicated air brush tools, as well as support for 3D objects including reference and background materials.
The app’s underlying engine has been converted to 64-bit, which should allow it to better exploit RAM and multi-core processors. Manga Studio 5 is $80 new, or $50 as an upgrade from a previous version of Studio; no trial version is available yet. The Mac software requires an Intel-based system running OS X 10.6 or later. Smith Micro recommends at least 2GB of RAM, 2GB of hard drive space, and a video card with 256MB of VRAM. Drawing tablet support includes Wacom’s FAVO, Bamboo, Intuos, and Cintiq models.
