Stained Glass Windows Design Tool

4 best stained glass design software for artists

Milan has been enthusiastic about PCs ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Read more

Updated: Jan 20, 2021

Posted: April 2020

Our stained glass software selection allows you to design the model of your dreams and edit it in real-time.
Create random patterns with stained glass pattern generators such as Bevel Designer and Glass Eye.
Artlandia and Adobe Illustrator allow you to easily create nested patterns and raster images.
Pick from lots of Illustrator objects and symbols using our selected stained glass designer programs.

stained glass designer

Along the ages, people have used different types of materials and mediums to represent different elements of their psyche.

Starting with some of the most ancient cave paintings found across the globe (made with ash and red ochre), art has evolved into a more refined subject in time.

Today we have a wide range of types of art to choose from – painting, writing, drawing, acting, singing, dancing. Each of the types of art we mentioned above can be combined with a wide range of environments.

One of the most interesting currents of art evolution is to use stained glass to create beautiful patterns. In this article, we will explore some of the best software options that will help you create amazing art.

What's the best stained glass design software?

Adobe Illustrator

There is no secret that Adobe does a remarkable job when it comes to keeping up with the ever-changing world of content creation.

Adobe Illustrator is the best proof that an industry-standard vector graphics software tool can be what stained glass design professionals are looking for.

Illustrator basically puts the power of Adobe's famous design tools in the hands of those eager to create sketches, icons, flyers, product packaging, book illustrations, billboards, and so much more with ease.

Among the positive things about this program is the fact that it assures amazing results at literally any size you could think of.

Moreover, it offers you a wide range of templates and design presets to choose from. Also, keep in mind the major benefits coming from its integration with the Adobe Creative Cloud.

You are no stranger to other popular Adobe apps, so you'll find sharing your art projects extremely intuitive as well.

These are some amazing key features to consider before making a decision:

Snap to Pixel feature allows precise alignment to customized pixel boundaries
Layout customization features are here included too
Seamless workflow with other Creative Cloud apps like Premiere Pro and InDesign
Illustrator trial works on both Mac OS and Windows
Illustrator is on its way to iPad; don't hesitate to sign up and get early access

Adobe Illustrator

Create the most colorful, detailed, and amazing designs for your stained glass projects with Adobe Illustrator

Artlandia SymmetryWorks

Arlandia SymmetryWorks is not actually a computer program or a stained glass program per se. This is a plug-in designed for Adobe Illustrator that allows you to create an incredible amount of shapes and patterns to fit your stained glass project.

We have all heard about the endless capabilities of Adobe Illustrator, so in this article, we will focus on the features of the plug-in for creating stained glass patterns.

Even though this is not a stand-alone program in itself, SymmetryWorks contains an incredible amount of cool features that simplify the process of creating your stained glass pattern.

Here are some of the best features:

Can create patterns with one click of the mouse
Everything can be edited in real-time
Drag-and-drop features for adding new objects to your project
Has the ability to create replicas and multi-replicas
Supports a wide range of Illustrator objects, symbols, compound shapes, etc.
Can be used to create nested patterns including Guilloche
Full support for blends, swatches, and also raster images
Great harmonic growth designs – can create fractal-like patterns with ease

⇒ Get now Artlandia SymmetryWorks

Glass Eye 2000

Glass Eye 2000 is a great software option that can simplify the process of creating beautiful stained glass models, offering you a wide range of capabilities under a user-friendly dashboard.

This software can be used both by professionals in the domain, but also by people that have no experience and want to start creating easily.

You can use Glass Eye to preview all your designs before building them and apply a wide range of glass colors and even different material textures.

Even more, it automatically calculates the number of pieces you need to build the model and can print the model pattern at 1:1 size.

If you are curious to see some patterns created by other people that used this software, you can visit the official pattern library.

Glass Eye 2000 was released in a few different versions, each with its own capabilities. To see the complete list, click here.

You can also find a great tutorial and also the official FAQ page, by clicking here.

⇒ Download Glass Eye

American Bevel Designer

American Bevel Designer is another great tool to have installed on your PC that helps you create an unlimited number of professional-looking stained glass designs.

This software can be used to create windows, doors, or for your own personal art projects. To be more precise, you can create pieces of stained glass by using built-in Pre-drawn Shapes.

Then, choose from different types of levels, can create lines, arches, and circles, and also allows unlimited multi-level undo's.

This software also works on a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) type of text editing and different cool effects.

One of the best features found in American Bevel Designer is the fact that you can create custom pens that fit the needs of your current project, save them, and use them when needed.

In addition to this option, you can choose from a color gradient fills with 254 colors.

The patterns that create your design can be then printed in full size, allowing you to easily transform your model from a virtual environment to real-life.

You can also find a good range of downloadable patterns on the official American Bevel website.

If you are not sure about how to get started using this software, you can access the official tutorials page.

⇒ Download American Bevel Designer

In this article, we explored some of the best software options that can help you create amazing works of art using stained glass.

The features covered by these 4 top software options will surely help you get started in your art journey, or help you create a stained-glass project professionally.

We would love to find out what your experience with using this software was like. Please feel free to let us know in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make a stained glass pattern?
How do you enlarge a pattern for stained glass?
How do you make stained glass for beginners?