Microangelo Creation for Windows

This basic icon- and cursor-creation tool packs solid tools into a very nice interface. Microangelo Creation uses a flexible work area with floating palettes you can rearrange for convenience. The tool icons hide a number of variations on their basic theme, which you access by clicking and holding the icons. Each tool also triggers contextual toolbars over the work area for even more options. Layers and opacity help you make complex images suitable for Windows XP. You'll also find a tool for automatically filling an object with color.

In a major improvement over earlier versions, the New Format command lets you create icons in the standard size formats, from 16x16 to 48x48. However, each cursor set needs a standard arrow, text selection, window resizing, timer, and so on, on which the application still doesn't provide guidance. Also, the program doesn't support the ability to create animated cursors. Design tips are hidden away in the Authoring Topics subsection of the Reference Information help section, and if the program mentions how to install icons and cursors in Windows, we couldn't find it. Despite those bobbles, Microangelo Creation offers first-rate drawing tools for power users.