# What art software do you use to make digital art?



## DawnStars1247 (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm using a kind of out of date program called corel paint essentials version 4, the last update for that was back in 2007. People I know use Adobe Illustrator, but it's way too hard to learn how to use it. Any recommendations on a program?


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## dinosaurdammit (Nov 30, 2011)

I have the old photoshop CS i use :/


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## Kalithe (Nov 30, 2011)

I sketch out all of my works and then use GIMP 2.6 to color, shade, etc.


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## Zenia (Nov 30, 2011)

I use Paint Tool SAI to sketch and outline in. It is sooooo sexy for those things. But then I switch over to PhotoshopCS4 to put (at least) my base colors on. It has a better magic wand/selecting tool (I like to use the 'expand' function to ensure total coverage of space). Then I will usually do my cel shading while still in Photoshop... but if I have any soft shading, I switch back over to SAI because its brush tool is way better. Special effects like glowing/shine are done in Photoshop.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6879367/ - This picture was done mostly in SAI, but the BG was done in Photoshop.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6640994/ - This picture had a lot of both programs.


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 30, 2011)

I use Corel Painter which is the full version of Painter. I was actually one of its beta testers for 12 (which the majority of my work is done)
I also use Easy Paint Tool Sai
I also use Autodesk sketchbook pro when I am using a tablet PC or portable device - great interface.
I use Open Canvas 1.1 quite a bit still
ArtRage Studio Pro (but I also use the portable version and other versions)
I sometimes use Photoshop but mainly for touchups or edits.

Doesn't matter the program TOO much (besides interface issues or certain things I need) 

http://d.facdn.net/art/arshesnei/1251452741.arshesnei_applecolorgroupfa.jpg


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## GingerM (Nov 30, 2011)

I use a really old version of Paintshop Pro, from when it was still JASC. Version 7, I think.


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## Smelge (Nov 30, 2011)

Sai for sketching, lines and colouring
Photoshop CS4 for textures, photomanipulation or stuff too large for Sai to deal with
Sculptris for making 3d character models
ZBrush for touching up the 3d models
Cinema 4d for polishing the 3d models, and eventually rendering and animating them
Google Sketchup for building 3d environments.


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## Littlerock (Nov 30, 2011)

I'll be honest, I absolutely hate Corel. It (Corel Painter Essentials 4) came with my tablet, and it's just so irritatingly buggy that I hardly ever use it. Honestly, I stick to Opencanvas 1.1 and the GIMP 2.4.1 for pretty much everything. The simpler the better!


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## RailRide (Dec 1, 2011)

An ancient (as in Win95-era) application called Picture Publisher, by Micrografx (since absorbed by Corel) is my primary "go-to" application for any "serious" projects (and I use that 'serious' very loosely)

Occasionally I'll employ Inkscape to produce smoother digital inks to import into Picture Publisher. Haven't tried to do colors with it yet, since I'm so far behind in personal projects that I haven't yet had the opportunity to do something suited to color in a vector application. In fact the only color vector images I've done were in Canvas--an old version of which I got from a UK magazine coverdisc--back around the time I first joined FA. I should have re-installed it on my new primary computer, but have yet to.

I did buy a license for Autodesk Sketchbook during last year's NY Comic Con, but hadn't gotten around to using it for any "real" projects by the time I was forced to switch computing duties to my newest system, and have yet to re-install it. 

In the meantime I did produce one pic with a freeware sketching program called SmoothDraw (which like SAI and Sketchbook, allows you to rotate the canvas), but haven't revisited it since. Not that it was bad, just didn't have enough free time to experiment more with unfamiliar apps.

---PCJ


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## Aikoi (Dec 1, 2011)

SAI and MangaStudio.

You can find examples on my FA.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 1, 2011)

barefootfoof said:


> I'll be honest, I absolutely hate Corel. It (Corel Painter Essentials 4) came with my tablet, and it's just so irritatingly buggy that I hardly ever use it. Honestly, I stick to Opencanvas 1.1 and the GIMP 2.4.1 for pretty much everything. The simpler the better!



Well yeah Corel Essentials is a stripped down version of the real thing. That's like complaining about decaf coffee.


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## Night-san (Dec 1, 2011)

GIMP. >_>


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## Littlerock (Dec 1, 2011)

Arshes Nei said:


> Well yeah Corel Essentials is a stripped down version of the real thing. That's like complaining about decaf coffee.



I never knew that! Probably because I've never shopped for any painting software. Oh well, I'm happy with my shistey gnu licensed software |D


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## RTDragon (Dec 1, 2011)

I use photoshop elements and opencanvas sometimes for my digital art.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 1, 2011)

I wanted to link some more interesting tutorials to this thread so people may find use. I know some controls won't translate because they're photoshop/program specific. However, quite a bit of these sites use brush settings that aren't complicated for most programs.

http://enliighten.com/

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/

I also like hecartha's demos on Sai Paint and Painter that let users see more capabilities than shiny desuuu weeaboo lineart 

http://www.youtube.com/user/hecartha?feature=watch#p/a


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## Selphius (Dec 1, 2011)

I use openCanvas 4.5e, Adobe Flash, and SAI. All for one picture, usually. I love to over-complicate everything.


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## FlynnCoyote (Dec 2, 2011)

Illustrator is no more complex than most other programs once you grasp the basics, it`s just learning that sucks. :/ 

I use PS Elements.


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## Sar (Dec 2, 2011)

I mainly use Paint Tool SAI because its easy to ink drawings with a mouse.
If I'm in a hurry, I just use Illustrator to Trace lines.
I also use MSpaint because SAI does not have a text tool for some obscure reason.


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## UnburntDaenerys (Dec 2, 2011)

Paint Tool SAI.  I obsessively collect brushes for it.

I have some version of Photoshop, but mainly just use it for stamps and text.

I tried Corel Painter 12, uninstalled it after it corrupted 3 pieces of art during the trial period alone.  Totally not worth the hassle.


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## Kailombax (Dec 2, 2011)

Well I personally use 2 art programs. 
Whenever I want to do digital inking instead of traditional, I use Paint Tool Sai as I find my lines are more smooth and less jagged then when I inking in Photoshop in the beginning. Also, I like how you can rotate the image in any angle because it makes inking much more easier in my opinion.

As for coloring, I use good old Photoshop for that though I use CS3.


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## kitsunekoneko (Dec 3, 2011)

SAI
touch-ups on Photoshop CS5
GIMP, _â€‹very_ rarely


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## FireFeathers (Dec 4, 2011)

CS5 for all my work, though I dabble In Painter 11.  I hate illustrator with a passion; it's really good at vector work, but it'll give you grey hairs in the process.


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## Arek (Dec 5, 2011)

If/when I draw I normally use Photoshop CS5 and/or Illustrator CS5. Quick question if I may. I've noticed a lot of my favorite artists use SAI. Is there anything that any programs from the CS5 Master Collection can't do that SAI can?


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 5, 2011)

Arek said:


> If/when I draw I normally use Photoshop CS5 and/or Illustrator CS5. Quick question if I may. I've noticed a lot of my favorite artists use SAI. Is there anything that any programs from the CS5 Master Collection can't do that SAI can?



Sai Paint has better blending than CS and Painter
It also tends to be good with line art and can easily convert to vector with little fuss
Rotation and Navigator are really easy to handle and you can add the rotation tools easily to your shortcuts on an intuos/cintiq
It's pretty much suited for people who aren't doing complicated layer modes and just illustrating

Issues with Sai Paint
Brush calibration is limited and confusing.
Limited layer modes and masking
Can't invert bleed (which is something I use a lot in Painter) - If you want further explanation just ask.
Only for Windows Users.


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## NerdyMunk (Dec 5, 2011)

Photoshop Elements 4.0. For mostly coloring sketches.


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## fawfulicious (Dec 5, 2011)

i sketch my stuff in a sketchbook, and then i scan it and color it on GIMP. :3


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## Kapherdel (Dec 6, 2011)

I use corel paint for more realistic or time consuming drawings.  
Occasionally I use gimp.
For cartoon styles I use paint tool SAI.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 6, 2011)

I actually noticed Corel Painter Essentials 4 is a bit more versatile for inking than people give it credit for. I'm not saying it's better than Sai Paint, but you can get good inks out of it if you don't have Sai or are on a Mac and can't use it.

To start inking in Sai you want to do the following.

Open the image you intend to ink in CPE 4
Now, Select All - CTRL (CMD)+A
Copy the selection 
(You may need to create a new layer)
Then Paste - it should paste your sketch into a new layer - Word of Advice rename it. You can also duplicate it and hide it for safe keeping. 
Go back to the Canvas image that you had the sketch on.
Select All again, Press Backspace or Just tell it to clear

That will leave you with a clean background layer and you're able to change the opacity of the New sketch layer 

The tool you want to use for inking is the scratchboard tool.
This tool is found under the icon for Pencils.

Depending on the size and resolution of the canvas you work on you want to set the inks to about 1-3pixels (larger if you have a larger image to work on).

There are several things to keep in mind to help you ink.

The three most important buttons are on the bottom left side of your workspace window.

The Zoom
Hand - Which is the Pan tool
The Circular Arrow - Which is Rotate.

I use these shortcuts frequently, either via tablet input express keys (with my intuos) but they being on screen is pretty helpful.

If you zoom in too much, just double tap the Zoom tool and it will center you right back in at 100%
If you use the rotate tool and you have no idea how to get back, same thing - double tap it.


Hope that helps anyone with inking. I'm still trying to figure out best results for coloring in Painter Essentials. I actually don't mind the limitation of tools because it makes me think on how to solve a problem better. Though Painter full version is really good.


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## subiaku (Dec 7, 2011)

Photoshop for blocking in shapes, texturing, and effects. Illust Studio for pencils, linework and coloring.


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## outcastermine (Dec 10, 2011)

I use Photoshop CS4 for_ everything_: sketching, line art, coloring, tweaking, effects.
It's what I taught myself with, so it feels very comfortable-however, people I've told this too usually don't like the learning curve on the program. I also very often run into the millions of layers problem.
I'd like to move into SAI at some point, but I'm an OSX user. merp.


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## voodoo (Dec 11, 2011)

I currently use Sai. I have a mini laptop, it's like 11 inches, so it helps make sharp lines when you can't work on a huge canvas. I'll (hopefully) be getting a mac of the same size with this years tax return though, so I have no idea what I'll use then :C


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## Delta.Dynamics (Dec 14, 2011)

I try out a few programms, but in the end I use PS and 3DSmax, because I`m to lazy to learn how to use other programms. At the moment I work very well with them.


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## Volkodav (Dec 14, 2011)

i use Easy Paint Tool SAI for my art and Photoshop 5.0 for text or gradients/layer effects


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## Mask (Dec 15, 2011)

I use Photoshop CS4.

I am in love with it.


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## sunandshadow (Dec 15, 2011)

Serpion5 said:


> Illustrator is no more complex than most other programs once you grasp the basics, it`s just learning that sucks. :/



Yes, there is nothing inherently brain-breaking about Illustrator.  Vector art is a bit different mindset than pixel/bitmap art, but both have roots in traditional art, and vector art actually has more in common with 3D art than pixel/bitmap art does.  I use Inkscape a lot, it is a free program similar to Illustrator.


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## drpickelle (Dec 17, 2011)

I use a mix.

Generally, I start in SAI for sketches and clean lines, than move to Photoshop Elements 5 for color, and Corel 11 sometimes for effects or coloring.


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## Kiva (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm winging it with a combination of SketchBook Pro 2010, PSE6 and Inkscape. T-T


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## gosia-firewarrior (Jan 6, 2012)

I use SAI mostly - I fell in love with pen stabiliser for lineart and the brush tool - it blends colors so beautifully! For finishing I use Photoshop. Texturing, backgrounds with custom brushes, clouds etc. Can't do it in SAI.


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## Bittertooth (Jan 8, 2012)

Gimp and Chibipaint.  The latter is surprisingly nice for an oekaki application.


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## kobuzero (Jan 8, 2012)

I use GIMP personally. I really like it, its not clunky, and it has everything that a $300 program has. Yes it doesn't have some of those, "click to make this look epic" features, but it does the trick.


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## Arshes Nei (Jan 8, 2012)

kobuzero said:


> Yes it doesn't have some of those, "click to make this look epic" features, but it does the trick.



More like "click to fail epically" 

I don't think there's ever a filter to make something "look epic" it's usually the artist that knows what he/she is doing.


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## Dreaming (Jan 8, 2012)

I scream and shout at GIMP for hours before giving up. Does this count? (I have MyPaint installed aswell but not given it a try yet.)


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## Suimin (Jan 9, 2012)

I've got Corel Painter Essentials 2 kicking around on my Windows partition. Just need to reinstall the darn messed up OS and I can be back at it again. I've got Photoshop CS5.1 on Mac side, but have no clue how to do anything with it. I've also got not tablet that will register on Mac side because my old one only plays nice with Windows OS.


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## Kalithe (Jan 22, 2012)

I use the GIMP: GNU Image Manipulation Program, along with a Bamboo Create drawing tablet that I recently got. The tablet took some familiarization, but was quick to become accustomed to. GIMP, however, took alot of testing. Eventually, I got the hang of it.


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## chewycuticle (Jan 29, 2012)

Gimp is very buggy for me and annoying to use. i wish i still had Photoshop...

what's good and FREE for a mac?


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## Zydala (Jan 29, 2012)

chewy - check out sketchbook pro; if you're still a student you can get it for free. It's a program with a pretty easy-to-use interface. That's the only one I can think of for now...


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## Angelsoft (Jan 29, 2012)

Right now I'm using Photoshop CS 5 because, well PS is what I've always used since i first started on 4.0. I've tried different programs but I'm so used to PS that I have little patience to learn anything new. The keyboard shortcuts are on auto in my brain right now and I can't imagine having to do any art without being able to use them.


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## Kitutal (Jan 29, 2012)

Microsoft paint. Yes, it's a simple program, but with the right effort, attention and practice you can do some quite good work in it. I am looking into more advanced programs, for when I want detailed, complex images rather than simple sketches, but those will take a lot of practice to get used to, might as well stick with what I know for now.


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## Egypt Urnash (Jan 29, 2012)

I use Illustrator. Been using it for like ten years now, so I'm pretty married to it - I do a comic directly in it nowadays; I went to a life drawing session for the first time in years the other day, and ended up busting out the Air and the Wacom because I'm so used to sprawling off the edge of the canvas.

It's kinda alien to every other tool but it has it's advantages. Here's some tips from a lengthy note I wrote recently:

--------




[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]I'm looking to try my hand at some vector based art. I've said before (if you even remember) that I'd like to push my style towards art nouveau. Aside from that I would also like to try my hand at other things like minimalism and blah-di-blah words.

I have essentially no experience with illustrator. Basically enough to know that I think the Pen tool IS FUCKING INSANE, but apparently it works? It's just not, as of yet, intuitive to me. So I figured I'd ask if you had any advice or a concept of what resources might be beneficial. I have a friend with some experience in the department but wrangling him to show me around the program may be difficult. But anyway, vector work seems like an absurdly valuable skillset that I'm neglecting to my own detriment. 

If you're not too busy with all the other entirely legitimate stuff that occupies your time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]

I have some VERY USEFUL TIPS for Illustrator!

1. Taming the Pen tool

Okay, the pen tool lets you click to place control points, and keep dragging out from there to pull out the curve handles, right? You can use shift, alt, control, and space to do things while you've got a curve handle pulled out. I can't remember which, beyond "space lets you drag a point by its handle" because space ALWAYS lets you drag around whatever you're pulling out in every tool, is which but my left hand knows. *grin* Meta keys also do OTHER things while you're NOT dragging out a point.

I have three rules of thumb for making elegant lines with the pen tool.
a. Never turn more than 90Âº between two control points.
b. Pull your curve handles out to about 1/3 of the section of arc they control.
c. Avoid S-curves between two control points.

Follow those rules and your fine control of paths will become MUCH better.

That said I don't use the pen tool anywhere near as much as I used to because I discovered...


2. How to make the Pencil tool not suck!

Double-click on the pencil tool (or press 'return' while you have it selected. I just discovered that THIS MONTH after using AI for a decade). A secret pencil tool prefs box will pop up! Turn on 'fill new pencil strokes' and 'edit selected paths', turn off 'keep selected'. This lets you very quickly knock out roughs with it, or final solid shapes. The defaults make it nigh-unusable; these settings turn it into something I never have to think about any more.

Also, my rule of thumb for the pencil tool: If I draw a shape with the pencil and undo it twice in a row because something's wrong with it, it's time to switch to the pen tool.


3. General theory.

I approach AI similarly to cut paper. All the various shape-making tools cut out chunks of colored paper, which I then arrange above and below each other to make an image. If you want to draw, say, a silhouette of a person, do NOT try to draw it in one path - draw a whole bunch of overlapping paths. You won't be able to see the seams. If you want to then put an outline on those paths, grab 'em all and go to the Pathfinder palette, alt-click on the 'Unite' icon, and suddenly they're all rendered as if they were one object. But they're still live and editable.

Also I always use "global" color swatches. Make a color swatch, double-click on it, hit the 'global' button. Draw some shapes, make some gradients that use it, draw some lines, whatever, then double-click on the swatch again, hit 'preview', and frob the sliders. EVERYTHING CHANGES. Illustrator's resolution-independence is all fine and dandy, but THIS is why I use it. THIS is what let me develop the color sense I'm known for, because experimentation and tweaking is SO EASY; I've changed entire color schemes at the last minute!

4. Other random crap.

- Hold down 'command' after grabbing a handle in the free distort tool to enter the secret perspective distort mode. Grab the stuff you want to twist in perspective and put a 1x1 distortion mesh on it, then do perspective distort on THAT, and the underlying art remains totally live and editable in a flat view. I lean on this a LOT for all the HUD text in Rita!
- Dashed lines are powerful. Do a dot of 0 and a dash of something close to your line weight, select round endcaps, and you suddenly draw dotted lines. (Stack up a couple more transformed copies at different line weights via the Appearance palette, and you can draw beads with highlights.) Draw a circle with like 1000pt stroke weight, make it a dashed line, and you have eye-watering Op effects.
- When making art for art/scatter brushes, I like to draw it in plain black - not a global swatch, just raw C0,M0,Y0,K100/R0,G0,B0 - and set the brush to "tint" coloring; this makes it take on whatever color I want.
- Trash the default color palette. It is an attractive nuisance. Make yourself pick EXACTLY the color you want instead of grabbing something super-saturated from the defaults. (I actually recommend doing this with EVERY art program.)

My initial learning of AI was by devouring "Real World Illustrator 8", everything since I've learnt by just fooling with it when it was a new feature. Good luck![/FONT]


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## lostfoxeh (Jan 30, 2012)

DawnStars1247 said:


> I'm using a kind of out of date program called corel paint essentials version 4, the last update for that was back in 2007. People I know use Adobe Illustrator, but it's way too hard to learn how to use it. Any recommendations on a program?



What is wrong with using an old program that is still working? Is there something you are looking for that your current software does not provide?


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## Syn (Jan 30, 2012)

I use a mix of 

Paint Shop Pro 6
Gimp 2.6
and Easy Paint Tool Sai. 

:3


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## kabiscube (Feb 12, 2012)

ATM I use ArtRage studio pro, Adobe PhotoshopCS5, Adobe Flash CS5, Adobe Illustrator CS5 and Paint Tool SAI.
Odd part is that the program I use the most is ArtRage, considering the costs I've had to put in I feel like I should use the adobe program's more but ATM it's mostly for vector work or effects/photo editing that the adobe program's help me through my work.


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## Neko-Maya (Feb 12, 2012)

Paint Tool Sai for all art related things: sketching, lineartin, painting, colouring etc.
Photoshop CS2 for adding text, scanning, photoedits, saving images as GIF of transperent PNG's.


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## neurodyne (Feb 12, 2012)

*Photoshop CS5* +* Lightroom 3* for additional FX.
For fast Image Browsing (good for Reference Pics and looking at PSDs without having to start PS) I use *XnView*. 
Some cool PS Filter Collection is* Filterforge 2*, which I use occasionally.


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## Teal (Feb 12, 2012)

I don't really do much with art programs, as I don't do digital art. But when I do I usally use GIMP or MangaStudio.


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## kingdomjacko (Feb 12, 2012)

Painttool Sai is the poor man's Photoshop. It's a wonderful program. Bought it and never looked back.


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## Zydala (Feb 12, 2012)

On my laptop I have Linux running so I have fewer program options.  I've started trying MyPaint out and I gotta say it is a pretty great program and I'm getting nice results out of it. I still have to do editing with GIMP but that's not much of a problem at all. http://mypaint.intilinux.com/ If anyone wants a free program, I'd check it out! It's for Windows as well.


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## Enigmasflame (Feb 20, 2012)

Alchemy, for idea generating. SAI for general usage. Will probably stick with MyPaint for sketching but the minimalist set-up pleases me. 
Will probably relearn some Photoshop, but that's generally what I swear by.


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## Pan (Feb 20, 2012)

I use Photoshop for shading and corel painter when I want to do some fancy painting effects and what not. ; )


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