Pixelmator Pro update adds Motion exports, improved SVG handling

The last update for Pixelmator Pro in 2021 has been released, one that now gives users the ability to export files to Apple Motion, as well as updates to its SVG engine.

Updated on Wednesday, the art tool Pixelmator Pro has been given some changes that will make it more useful for video editors and motion graphic designers that use Final Cut Pro and Motion. The headline feature of the update is the added ability to export files in Motion format.

The Motion support includes text and shapes, complex shapes with holes, image layers, image masks, drop shadows, text on a path, and a non-destructive Gaussian blur that is preserved with the export.

There's also a smart SVG conversion feature, effectively allowing Pixelmator Pro to convert SVGs for use in Motion. There is also support for Shortcuts that could be used to export to motion, including a Convert Image action.

The SVG overhaul in Pixelmator Pro improves how the application reads and writes to the files, which can contain a lot of information, including images, text, path text, layers with varying blending modes, letter spacing, filters and effects, masks, clipping paths, and opacity data.

Based on tests for compliance with the file format, the new release has improved its support by a factor of four.

The team behind Pixelmator Pro say that they intend to continue improving support for SVGs as well as PSDs, and will turn towards other formats in the future.

Pixelmator Pro is available from the Mac App Store priced at $19.99 under its current offer. It requires a Mac running macOS 10.15 or later.

2 Comments

JinTech 9 Years · 1061 comments

About 3 years ago

These fine developers will stop at nothing. Easily some of the best software I have ever purchased from a third-party developer.

WilliamM 6 Years · 23 comments

About 2 years ago

Yes, it's pretty good but has some problems with EXIF tags.

I found that if the UserComment tag contains a non-ASCII character the character gets replaced with a question mark and sometimes the text gets chopped off although not at the character. You can see this by looking at the Info window for a picture with a non-ASCII character (for example an é <e acute>) in the UserComment. I reported this back in August and they hoped to sort it out for version 2.1.4 but it's still not fixed. Accented characters in the ImageDescription EXIF tag do not have this problem

I also think the application modifies GPS information on pictures, only by a small amount (probably less than a metre/3 feet) but I haven't had time to check this in detail.

To bypass these problems I changed my workflow to edit the picture in Pixelmator and then set the EXIF tags to the values I want rather than the other way round.

I realise neither of these will be a problem for most people and I'd still recommend the software.