Hey, Mac OS X users, want to create and customize icons? Then Iconata from Fabricata is just what the doc ordered. It’s a tool that lets you create and customize icons with a drag & drop-based Aqua user interface.
To user Iconata, you just drop your images in the icon wells, and see the result instantly, according to the folks at Fabricata. There are several ways to create an icon. You can start just from an image and let Iconata frame it for you or let Iconata create a mask for the image, or start from the icon images and masks and assemble them with Iconata. The tool can create an icon for you by putting a frame of your choice around your image.
What’s more, you can pick a transparent frame for your icon, and Iconata will automatically calculate an 8-bit mask from the icon image. You can then use it as is or refine it with your favorite retouching app. Iconata automatically generates the necessary 1-bit masks for icons icon to work correctly in the Finder. Plus, your icons can have shadows, transparent areas and anti-aliased borders by specifying an 8-bit mask.
Iconata’s “element overview” lets you quickly see all the elements making up your icon (masks and images) and make sure they’re what you want them to be. An “instant preview’ feature lets you check out your work by using the Preview Area where your changes are reflected instantly. There’s also a “X-Ray view” that lets you see the details of an icon’s content.
Fabricata said that Iconata is written exclusively for Mac OS X. It offers an Aqua user interface and takes full advantage of the powerful Quartz graphics engine and the Cocoa object-oriented framework, the company said.
Iconata costs US$25. However, you can download a 30-day trial version (a 486k file) at the Fabricata Web site.