Favorite art program?

[Smitty 22]

Ok, so most everybody here draws MLP... Whether it be sketching or computer art. So, for all of you people who use computer art, what art program do you use? I'm just using paint right now, because I can't find another good one.

 

P.S. Post a link to the download if you can!!

 

(Sorry if there is already a thread on this!!!)

[zDashiez 496]

http://painttool-sai.en.softonic.com/I use paint sai its a very good program and a bonus is its free.

If you feel like being a pirate you could torrent cs5 or 6 just be careful with viruses. But I think Sai is better.

Edited November 9, 2012 by zRevenantz

[Bohtty 1,775]

I prefer Paint Tool SAI for digital paintings although Paper by FiftyThree for the iPad is pretty fun. Most of the time I do my drawings in a Moleskine notebook.

Edited November 9, 2012 by Bohtty

[NekromantiaFox 270]

What program do I use? Well then, I have a bit of a selection.

 

There is pencil for one...or perhaps pen or even paint.

 

Any of these fun devices can be found on the program known as myself.

[Nohbdy 4,108]

Art programs are a funny thing. Some are outrageously expensive and have tons of features. Others are free and have fewer features.

 

And then there's MS Paint. I never go anywhere without it.

[Clarity 3,094]

I use Photoshop. Quite a powerful program, although expensive and really, really complicated. I'm glad that it was originally on my laptop before, or it would've been a waste of money.

[Starflower 323]

Photoshop and Illustrator are two of my preferred art programs, though I use Photoshop more than the other one. I find it more professional and very useful whenever you want a quick signature done or a quick edit in a picture. I use it all the time xD

[Jokuc 8,174]

Photoshop and Paint Tool SAI for drawing, they are obviously the best drawing programs out there.

Though GIMP and Paint.NET works fine too if you don't need advanced features and tools.

[ponywise 78]

(cleaning up old posts! ignore please. )

Edited September 3, 2016 by ponywise

[Naphthol 7]

Photoshop for painting, and drawing. No contest on this one, it's the best.

 

Plastic Animation Paper for animation - the classical kind.

[BatteryBiscuits 0]

So far I'm working and experimenting with both Paint tool Sai and Firealpaca (which is supposedly a mix of photoshop and SAI)

[Retro*Derpy 3,196]

I use GIMP. It is quite easy to use, and has some complex features you can use. It is all I really need, if I was THAT into making art work, I would probably get something a little bit better.

[Lacey Shadows 164]

I'm pretty set on using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Illustrator CS3. I just use Photoshop in general, but lately I've been sketching OCs (non-pony) more than anything.

[Koori 156]

I use Paint Shop Pro X2... *sighs* which doesn't seem to be popular at all among digital artists. Everyone prefers Photoshop or Flash... or SAI. Every one of those programs are hard to master so it's a shame I can't use them. Mainly because I don't have Photoshop, Flash or SAI.

 

In any case, drawing on a paper, then scanning and drawing the entire thing on Paint Shop Pro X2 works pretty good for me.

 

Tried GIMP too, but I couldn't master it at all.

 

... How I wish I had Flash so I could try out animation. ... Though at the same time I think it doesn't matter since I can't draw well enough to make an animation.

[: Fluttersweet : 60]

I use GIMP. It's free and not that complex, and the free brush packs you can download for it are pretty magnificent. I tried Photoshop, but couldn't really get the hang of it. My tablet came with Photoshop Elements 9, but it crashes and freezes so I don't use it.

[Lightning Fluttershy 1,844]

I prefer to use Inkscape. It's what I made this with and it's free, easy to use, and effective. Most of the art I do I make with Inkscape.

 

Here is a link to the download page.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Death the Kid

[PonyEcho 1,610]

Pencil and Paper like a boss

 

i prefer it over using a computer, also i can't afford photoshop or a tablet so make do with what you got.

[leogal 74]

I use Illustrator...just because I learned it in school and probably wouldn't be able to use anything else

I used to use paint as well, but I hated not having the tools for things like opacity, blur and layers...

[Night Shine 769]

Microsoft Office Powerpoint.

 

Yes, I am completely serious.

 

I have zero talent for legit art (sketching, shading, etc), but I'm kind of a whiz working with intricate groups of Autoshapes, ever since I used to make a lot of short Powerpoint cartoons in middle school.

 

Oh yeah, and when I DO need an actual drawing program, I use either MSPaint or GameMaker8's sprite editing program.

 

 

...yes I am very wierd, but mostly I'm just too lazy/cheap to try and find better programs than the ones I already have.

[Twilight Circuits 603]

Ok, so most everybody here draws MLP... Whether it be sketching or computer art. So, for all of you people who use computer art, what art program do you use? I'm just using paint right now, because I can't find another good one.

 

P.S. Post a link to the download if you can!!

 

(Sorry if there is already a thread on this!!!)

 

I have to ask; where did you get your profile pic and do have a link to a bigger size? I might have cool use for it in the near future! As for paint programs, i suck at those. It seems not matter what program I try I have a hard time figuring it out. I should take photoshop lessons. lol

[SinisterBronyz 13]

I'm sorry to be THAT guy on this forum but photoshop CS6 I got a discount cause i'm a student so it was WAY cheaper but ya im tat guy XD

[Celtore 2,770]

I like to use inkscape and gimp. Sure, they are inferior to photoshop and illustrator, but the pain on the wallet is significantly less and they are fine for the work I do. They also both work on linux without needing to do some kind of ritual to get them running with wine and are also fine examples of free and open source software.

[K3WRO 79]

THAT GUY who uses Paint because I'm too poor and Gimp just hates me.

 

My favorite art program is paper, I always use the pencil tool!

[CloudFyre 848]

I have to ask; where did you get your profile pic and do have a link to a bigger size?

 

It's the "Ferrarity" logo designed by Kloudmutt on DeviantArt. (On a related note, check the link in my banner. You might find it interesting.)

 

 

Anyhow, here's the list of usual programs for drawing:

 

Raster (Bitmap) Graphics Programs:

 

Adobe Photoshop

Price: $700 (for CS6)

Hands down, it's the heavyweight industry standard. It has more power and more tools than anything else on the market, but it's probably more than anyone will really need. It has a relatively complex layout, and takes a considerable amount of time to learn it's features. Compared to some of the other programs on this list, it's rather CPU intensive, but it can handle tablets (like Wacom's Bamboo series) with ease, allowing you to do pressure sensitive drawing and more.

 

GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program)

Price: Free

GIMP is one of those rarities (Raritys?) in the tech world. It has most of the features of Photoshop, but is 1) totally free and open source, and 2) is relatively lightweight on the CPU draw. Even with it's minimal draw on the CPU, I'd still classify this as a heavyweight program. It will do virtually everything you want it to, all without a complaint, in a manner very similar to Photoshop. (I'm surprised that they haven't gotten any lawsuits from Adobe yet even though they have a strikingly similar layout.) That being said, it's still fairly complex - it'll take you a while to learn, all of the ins an outs. It's what I used exclusively for everything image related before I got Photoshop, and I still use it to do quick projects. It's not quite as friendly to tablets as Photoshop is, but it'll work with some tweaking.

 

Paint tool SAI:

Price: Free

Another free program, SAI is a lightweight contender that also support pressure sensitive inputs, such as tablets. It covers all of the basics and a bit more. It won't have nearly the power that Photoshop or Gimp can supply, but it's enough for most people.

 

Microsoft Paint:

Price: Free

The classic painting program, Microsoft Paint gives you the basic tools and lets you run free without having to worry about messy and complicated details. Like SAI, it won't have nearly the features as Photoshop or Gimp, but what it does do, it does well.

 

 

Vector Graphics Programs:

 

Adobe Illustrator:

Price: $600

The heavyweight program for vector images, it acts as the Photoshop of the vector world. Lots of power, lots of features, but with a high price tag. With that comes the same process of learning how to control it, but that comes with time.

 

InkScape:

Price: Free

Inkscape is comparable to Gimp in the vector world. It has a high number of features, a diverse amount of uses, but is totally free to download.

 

 

What's the difference between "Raster" and "Vector" art?

Raster images are what you see everywhere, all of the time. They're images made of tiny boxes of color (pixels). So in a HD desktop background you'll have a 1920 pixel wide by 1080 pixel tall image, making 2073600 individual boxes with their own unique color data.

 

The problem? Raster images can't be scaled up, or else you'll start to see the individual boxes of color information. The solution is vector images.

 

Vector images don't save data in small boxes, but instead save the relative location of invisible lines, and then fills the spaces between the lines with the specified color. This means that you can scale an image as large as you want it, and it will still look crisp and clear no matter how large you make it.

 

The difference in file sizes are negligible, so that's not an issue to worry about.

 

 

Anyhow, I think that's enough for the moment. I'll add more art programs later if needed. (I own all of the programs listed with the exception of SAI, since I really didn't need a fourth raster image program.)

 

I hope this helps!

[clue 31]

http://www.getpaint.net/

 

I use Paint.Net, it has almost all the uses as something like Photo Shop. Plus, it is also a photo editor so it has a lot of uses. I mostly use the classic pencil and paper because I don't like how long it takes for me to finish a picture on the computer.