Forums » Art & Creativity » Photoshop alternative?

Hey everyone!

My mom is looking to get into digital art lately, and I've been thinking about what options besides photoshop there are - I enjoy using photoshop, but I've also been using it for the past 14 years, I come from a time when there wasn't much else to choose from.

I've heard good things about Sai, Gimp, Manga Studio, PaintNET, and several others. What do you use? If you're a photoshop convert, how does it compare? Do you feel it accommodates your needs well?

I appreciate any feedback you guys can give! I don't really know what anything else but photoshop is like, and I'd like to introduce my mom to the digital art scene in baby steps (Which I have planned out).

Sai and Manga Studio are both extremely good programs. I've recently been exclusively using Manga Studio because the general variety of tools is much better than Sai (Sai doesn't have circle or text tools, for a start). In addition, Manga Studio is just plain good at inking - even better than Photoshop.

As I said, they're both really great programs. They're easy to use and provide a lot of useful features... but if I have to pick one it'd be Manga Studio.

A free alternative to Sai is Fire Aplaca

Gimp is a free alternative to Photoshop. I use it from time to time. Never couldg et the hang of it. I'v eused SAI and Fire aplaca more.

I have used PS elements and PS CS2 without a tablet, Krita both with and without, and Paint Tool SAI with only a tablet. As a rookie, Ishall gives all my infos 2 u.

PS elements is basically as photo shop as you get--it is mainly for editing pictures (fillters, tweaking, etc.)

PS CS2 is the one that Adobe is giving away for free (look it up, but it's ollllllllllllllld) Claine said that it was good enough for her (I will add that it took me a loooooooooooong time to get it downloaded and ready because of my wi-fi)

Krita, at least to me is PS's and My paint's baby. It's just as heavy on my computer as PS was, but had easier to find features. (Do note that it seems that lines aren't as smooth or nice as they could be.)

Lastly, SAI. I way this: It has awesome lines and super light to use, but I feel like it's missing the options that PSand Krita have. Soooo.... It comes off to me as "basic".

Claine has told me about MangaStudio, which seems to me SAI's man-baby, since it has more to it (?)

I would say to have her start with Sai, and have her use either CS2 or Krita for coloring. SAI is so simple to me, that Ifeel like everything is in front me at all times. Soooo... good starting point. Then move her on to the next ones to see which seems best.

I have heard that some artist use multiple programs for the same image. Nothing has everything that you need for every possible picture. Might need PS last (which I hear the most), maybe you need Gimp. Each have different features, so I sa

So I say, show her everything that you can, since she might like Gimp over PS, or SAI over MSPaint.*

I RAN OUT OF CHARACTERS, OKAY?????¿¿¿¿????

I briefly glimpsed at the layout, and it seemed very familiar to me, even as a former strictly adobe user. For me personally, I'll definitely give it a looksee. I used to be pretty elitist and a photoshop or bust kind of guy, but I'm well past that stage now. Pretty cheap for what it is as well, and I'm going to go off on a limb here and say a trial period is offered (could be wrong bet eh )

I've always wondered how krita faired tbh. I've still got to get her a tablet to draw on, although I may get an android tablet and figure out how to get it to communicate with her favored digital design program - I mean, I've been building computers for 15 years and restoring cars just as long, surely I can make an android applet so I don't have to buy a Wacom.

The responses so far are exactly what I was looking for, thank you everyone, I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions! Let's hear from some others, keep those responses pouring in!

There is a trial. Look up Clip Studio Paint. It is literally the exact same thing but for some reason digital and physical copies of Manga Studio have different names ??? I don't know why you'd do this, but okay. Manga Studio also occasionally goes on sale for $15 which is nice.

@Bags o' bone
Acould link you to the tablet that I got if you would like. I got it off of ebay for like... $62CAD (which came out toaround $40 USD. ) It's a Chinese Company, but seem to have good quality tablets. Not as good as wacom, but good the size to cost!

If you want to do a quick google goggle, look up "Huion" They has a cut little crown too

Yeah, for sure. Lay that link on me. It would benefit anyone looking for a cheap tablet

I use SAI and Manga Studio. I totally recommend the two! ^-^

I use SAI almost exclusively these days for everything except technical resizing and layout work, which I still prefer to do in photoshop. SAI is amazing for linework and painting. I also have Clip Studio/Manga Studio but I found it nearly impossible to use... the layout was utterly overwhelming. It really shone when I was drawing on a Microsoft Surface tablet and could make use of CS's touch capability. SAI wasn't designed for touchscreens at all and while it worked well enough, not being able to pan, zoom, and rotate easily was frustrating--in CS I could do all of those things using classic touch gestures (drag, pinch, etc) Gimp is the main free PS alternative that people talk about, but I never liked it at all.

I would like to state even know this is child's play to some experienced photo editors and such I've recently been drawn to a program known as 'Fotoflexer.'Here is the link!I would also like to state it has some creative features, such as fonts, and filters (to a point.) So if you are in a hurry and really need a simple or elegant font, Fotoflexer would be your program.

Perks of Fotoflexer can vary depending on what you need. I think it's lovely that is free and you don't need much editing background to understand the program.

FireAlpaca is another one that is reminiscent of both PhotoShop and SAI but is 100% free. Some of my favorite artists swear by it!

I personally use SAI and Gimp2 depending on what my current needs are. Both have their uses!

Ahm, crack CS5

Alright here is my art breakdown:

Elements 10- Was a great way to start and get into digital art. It came already on my PC and I used it for a long time. It was however horrifyingly slow and didn't have as many features as other art programs.

Sai- I use this for vector work, so anything that involves lineart. It is a great sketching program but it lacks the layer styles of photoshop, so I don't like it so much for colors. Photoshop also has greater brush versatility in my opinion.

CS5- I use this for all of my paintings. I love the layer styles, brush capabilities, the liquefy tool, everything. It is an amazing program, but incredibly expensive. There are alternative ways to get it, but they aren't exactly legal.