Art programs

[ThirstingHeart]

So I have Easy Paint Tool Sai as my standard art program. On the side I also use GIMP to add some special effects sometimes. But it seems that everyone tends to favor Photoshop. So here comes my question: If I were to obtain a Photoshop program, which version would be best?

[Topagae]

"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."

[Ren]

You don't necessarily need Photoshop, especially considering that you have Sai, I'd say something like Gimp painter or Paint.net is perfect to complement the program you already have.
Personally, I think most people use Photoshop only because most of the others do. All you'd need to fill the gaps in Sai (like not being able to save transparent gifs or pngs) can be achieved by Gimp painter and Paint.net.

Really, the latest version of Photoshop may be full of stuff, but most people don't use most of it.

[AQU]

You don't really need the latest version of Photoshop. Any old version is good enough for drawing and you can usually get them really cheap or for free if you buy a tablet or a camera.

[Topagae]

"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."

[IceD]

At least 6. It has everything you need to make decent art, although 7 would be the best choice, cause 6 is kinda outdated. Kinda, because 7 is also outdated but still, makes the job well. For example, Kanon's art was made with photoshop 5.0 and it still looks quite well, isn't it?

If you need more info about program versions, you may find a great comparision chart on wikipedia HERE.

[Jake]

And to be honest, if you don't know of any good reason you wouldn't be fine with Photoshop Elements, then you'd probably be fine with Photoshop Elements.

It's much cheaper, and contains all the basic functionality and a fair amount of the more-complex stuff as well.

[ForgottenVision]

I was all ready to get CS3/4 whatever it was only to find that it didn't support Vista Home Basic so I've stuck with Paint Shop Pro 9 ever since. I feel like the only person in the world using PSP, but I've been using it for such a long time I don't want to change

[Melkoshi]

I was all ready to get CS3/4 whatever it was only to find that it didn't support Vista Home Basic so I've stuck with Paint Shop Pro 9 ever since. I feel like the only person in the world using PSP, but I've been using it for such a long time I don't want to change

Hey now. I use PSP7! XD I bought it when I was 12. and tbh I'm so comfortable using it, I don't feel a need to buy photoshop.

I mean this an example of my sprites I've made in psp7. The lineart is done in another program(open canvas). But the cg is full psp7. http://melkoshi.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2adra1

[Blue Sky]

Photoshop is a great program for professionals. If you aren't one, you probably wouldn't get much use out of it anyway.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I'm at uni to be a graphic designer and since I didn't have any graphics programs, I went and bought the student adobe CS3 package because I got a discount, which gave me photoshop, illustrator and indesign. I am able to use all the programs and I am quite comfortable with these versions. I don't really like CS4 but apparently CS5 is the first time in a long time that the updates are actually worth getting.

[Verity]

Seconding Jake above. Photoshop Elements is basically Photoshop without a few of the bells and whistles—it doesn't do vectors or as much automation, but it's very comparable if you're just using it to draw and costs less than a hundred bucks—probably cheaper if you're a student. It's really quite good for what it costs.

(I'm assuming you're on Windows since you're using SAI, but if you have a Mac I'd also recommend Pixelmator, which is often on sale for thirty bucks and is pretty spiffy as well.)

[Pyonkotchi]

ehhh you're just fine with Sai and GIMP. GIMP can be just as good as PS ouo


when i draw, i do everything n sai until i need to make it transparent, which is the only time ill need another program o3o;

and unless you know exactly what you need and what you're doing, i doubt it'll make much a difference whether you have GIMP or PS
'sides, most people only favor PS probably because other people talk glorify it...and its expensive n_n