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Pixelmator 1.0 is out today, I received an e-mail from the app’s site which contains an announcement and a trial download link. I have waited for the final version of this app for nearly 2 months now and I’m so glad it finally made it to the final release. So without double-thinking I downloaded it.The app is contained in a single .dmg file which is 29MB in size. Very compact for an extensive graphic app. It is said that Pixelmator is based on GIMP, optimized to utilize all power there is on a Macintosh. Its graphics processing tasks are performed on the GPU using CoreImage and OpenGL, so it’s blazing-fast, leaves the CPU to do something else. It’s the first app that has this kind of feature.

First Run

The Pixelmator loads VERY FAST! Loading Pixelmator from clicking the dock icon to a ready-to-be-used workspace, only takes around 2 seconds. The dock icon bounces twice, and there is it, the workspace! I can’t help but awe at the speed of which it loads. It’s sure much faster than GIMP which uses X11. Soon after, the Welcome Screen greets. There’s fewer items here compared to the Beta versions, the User Guide is removed since it’s available as a separate download (free PDF) at the website.

User Interface

The user interface is designed as all-black semitransparent windows that float on the desktop. The floating windows are movable everywhere, creating a totally free workspace layout. Though I prefer the new sticky windows of CS3 apps. Some of the toolbox icons are rather hard to see, such as the Crop Tool, Move Tool, and Text Tool. They should have a brighter icons.

Features

There’s 55 filters available, and a set of advanced color-related correction tools. It has layers functionality, and masking capability. Although they aren’t as powerful as Photoshop’s but it should suffice for casual editing needs. Pixelmator currently supports many import/export image file formats, including Photoshop’s PSD files. So if there’s a need for a more advanced features of Photoshop, just export the work to a PSD file and open it in Photoshop. This support for many image formats sure come in handy. It also has a support for built-in iSight camera on recent Macs.

Conclusion

Pixelmator is a must have software for a casual graphics editing needs. The interface are pretty though it could use some more fixes. It’s fast, small, and powerful. What’s more to say?his review is only a quick glance of what Pixelmator is. I have missed much details, but you can continue exploring Pixelmator by downloading it and reading its User Guide at PixelMator Website. Meanwhile, here’s an artwork I created with Pixelmator in less than 5 minutes.