Nomad AnchorIn development, milestone 15Updated Oct 13, 2026
Vector illustration, all the way to print.
Anchor is a desktop app for vector illustration and print layout, built on its own geometry engine. Bring in your PDF and AI files, draw with the pen and smart guides you know, and send the job to press as PDF/X-4.
Not out yet. Early-bird price at release: $39, then $59.
Don't mind rough edges?
Open the files you already have
Anchor opens PDF files, and AI files saved with PDF compatibility, with each page on its own artboard. You can also place a single page from a PDF into your document.
- AI with PDF compatibility
- SVG in and out
- Place a PDF page
- AI
- PDF
- SVG
Made for print
Work in CMYK with spot inks, check separations and overprint before anything goes to press, then export PDF/X-4 with bleed and printer's marks.
- CMYK and spot inks
- Separations preview
- Overprint preview
- ICC color profiles
- Bleed and printer's marks
- Package for the printer
- C
- M
- Y
- K
- Spot
A pen you already know
The pen, direct selection and default shortcuts work the way you learned them. Smart guides line a point up with the others as you draw.
Files
AI files open when they were saved with PDF compatibility. Anchor doesn't save AI or EPS files.
Opens
- AI
- SVG
Saves and exports
- PDF/X-4
- SVG
- PNG
- JPEG
- TIFF
- WebP
- GIF
- DXF
Also in Anchor
Live type
Set type on a path or vertically, use variable fonts, and keep all of it editable.
Build shapes by dragging
Drag across overlapping shapes to merge them or cut them apart.
Trace an image
Turn a bitmap into vector paths you can edit.
Mesh gradients
Color that blends across a shape from the points you place.
Effects stay live
Apply an effect and change it later. The path underneath stays as you drew it.
Crash recovery
Saves can't leave a half-written file. While you have changes, Anchor writes a recovery copy every 30 seconds, and after a crash it offers to bring your work back.
Switching from another vector app?
Anchor keeps the tool behavior and default shortcuts most designers learned on, so the pen and direct selection do what you expect.
Runs on
- macOSApple silicon and Intel
- Windowsx64
- Linuxx64, AppImage
Changelog
Full changelogMilestone 15 startedmilestone
The last planned milestone: fixing the known defects left over from earlier ones.
Questions
Can I open the illustrations I already have?
Yes, if they're PDF, SVG or AI files. AI files open when they were saved with PDF compatibility. Anchor saves PDF and SVG, not AI or EPS.
Will my shortcuts still work?
The default shortcuts and tool behavior are the ones most designers learned on, so the pen and direct selection do what you expect.
Can I send work to a print shop?
Yes. Work in CMYK with spot inks, check separations and overprint, then export PDF/X-4 with bleed and printer's marks.
What does Anchor cost?
Anchor isn't out yet. At release it's $39 as an early-bird price, then $59. You buy Anchor once. A license covers you on every computer you use and includes a year of updates, and the app keeps working after that. There's no subscription and no account.
Vector illustration, all the way to print.
Don't mind rough edges?