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Page name: gps [Exported view] [RSS]
2007-12-05 23:06:06
Last author: Yncke
Owner: iippo
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Graphics Program Spiels



This is a wiki to discuss the pros and cons of different raster graphics programs:
Photoshop
Paint Shop Pro
GIMP
Painter
MGI Photo Suite 8.1
Corel Photopaint
ArtRage
OpenCanvas
Something I missed? Tell me?

Free photoediting programs:
http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/imageediting/tp/freephotoedw.htm

The point is to express your opinions on the different tools and features in different programs and versions, get tips and help when having a problem with misbehaving programs and to be able to make an informed decision in case you want to switch into something else than your current program.

The only qualifications you'll need to participate are
-proper English (no 'u-speek', I can't understand that) 
-some previous use of a raster graphics program (you can ask questions even if you've never used one, if you want help to decide which one you should buy).


The discussion will go on in the comments, from which points and arguments will be lifted to the wiki for all to see. You can do that yourself if you want, if you promise not to get upset if I delete it (I won't, don't worry :P)


Programs to discuss
(Feel free to point out any I forgot. I don't think Paint qualifies, though).

+ Positive things are mentioned after a plus sign
- Negative things are mentioned after a minus sign
+/- Things that can be both positive and negative, depending from the view-point, are mentioned after plus-slash-minus sign

GIMP
+/- works on Linux, Macintosh and Windows
+ It's free :D [iippo]
- Program opens as several windows (one for the program itself, one for the image, one for the layers-dock, one for the brushes-dock, etc...) [iippo]
+/- Brush-size stays the same even when changing tools (so if you want a tiny smudge-tool and a massive burn, you need to keep swapping, but if you want to keep swapping between tools while not changing the size, it's handy) [iippo]
- Occasionally when clicking from the active drawing-window to the main-window to change the tool, you don't actually change your tool just activate the main window (annoying as hell when you go back to your work after thinking you did change the tool, when if fact you didn't). [iippo]
- No adjustment layers (yet?) [Yncke]
+ Infinite undos. [iippo]
+/- Saves as 31 different filetypes (including Photoshop's .psd)

Paint Shop Pro
+/- works on Windows
+ very efficient usage of screen estate (version 7) [Yncke]
+ fairly easy to use [Veltzeh]
+ affordable [Veltzeh]
- rough lines (with the brush tool) [Veltzeh]
+ very convenient zooming with only the plus and minus buttons on the right-side numpad [Veltzeh]
+ infinite undo (hard disk space permitting), with options to save single brush strokes or a collective usage of one tool [Veltzeh]
+ (infinite) redo [Veltzeh]
- slow file-handling when the image is very big [Veltzeh]
+/- Saves as 32 (PSP7) / 41 (PSP9) different filetypes (including Photoshop's .psd)

Photoshop
+/- works on Macintosh and Windows
- expensive [Veltzeh]
+ very smooth drawn lines (with the brush tool) [Veltzeh]
+ fast selection processing [Veltzeh]
- slow to load [Veltzeh]
- the tools subwindows are nearly always floating so that either a lot of the screen goes unused, they're very inconveniently over the drawing or are inaccessible [Veltzeh]
+ fast brush-size change with right-clicking on the drawing (version 7 and up) [iippo]
-/+ Zoom with the scroll-button thing. Sometimes a handy, fast and small-steps-at-a-time zoom, sometimes annoying as hell when you mistake it for scrolling or touch it by accident. [iippo]
- slightly inconvenient zooming with having to press Crtl+plus/minus on right-side numpad [Veltzeh]

Painter
+/- works on Macintosh and Windows
+ imitates all sorts of natural media almost perfectly without any special effort on your side (like creating custom brushes in Photoshop), none of that "CG-look" unless you want it [Nita]
+/- you'll probably need a tablet to use Painter to its full potential, but a tablet is good for any CG work anyway [Nita]
- expensive [Nita]

MGI Photo Suite 8.1
+/- Photo editing program. Also doubles as an art program. Not good for photo manipulations. Is okay as an art program. There are no pre-set textures or patterns. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+/- Utilizes a very nice spray-paint function with soft features. Underlying colour tends to bleed through though. Very different colours spray-painted one over the other will have a very noticeable border between them. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ All drawing tool points can be resized, 1 being the smallest and 25 being the largest. Drawing tool points include round, square, and angled (both right and left). [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ Has many different image effects such as swirls, blurring, reflection, water ripple, and scratch removal. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ Program has many different tone colour effects such as blue moonlight, sepia, fog, etc. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ Images can be resized using pre-set sizing or may be changed by the user. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ Colour palette can be changed from grayscale to 256 colours to 16 million colours. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ You can create magazine covers and place frames around finished pieces. [Dark Side of the Moon]
- Only one undo/redo is allowed. [Dark Side of the Moon]
+ Image colour/hue balance may be manipulated by the user. [Dark Side of the Moon]

OpenCanvas 1.1 (Older version.)
+/- Windows [Yncke]
+ Free. [Yncke]
+ Lightweight program. [Yncke]
+ If started from scratch, you can replay your entire drawing process. [Yncke]
+ Nice behaviour of brush strokes. [Yncke]
- Strange behaviour off add and substract layers. [Yncke]
- Very limited layer functionality. [Yncke]
- English translation not complete. (Mainly error messages, but it doesn't error a lot.) [Yncke]

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2006-05-01 [Yncke]: I just prefer the scroll zoom of PSP. :) Handy to navigate over the canvas too.

2006-05-01 [Veltzeh]: How do you use scroll zooms? My mouse doesn't have a scroll >_>

2006-05-01 [Veltzeh]: I added operating system info. That's kinda important ;)

2006-05-01 [iippo]: To where >_> To all of them? *confused* // And what do you mean "file type compability" ? Compatible with lots of file types, or other programs' file types (like .psds)?

2006-05-01 [Yncke]: With the mouse's scroll wheel. :)

2006-05-01 [iippo]: Yeah, like the blue thing there: http://www.ma-1.lv/ftp/images/mouse/trust/ami_siglescroll_f.jpg

2006-05-01 [Veltzeh]: Yeah, all of them, on the very beginning of the list. I didn't bother to check them, but that's what I know. X) And File compatibility means both that it's compatible with a lot of file types and other program's files.

2006-05-01 [Veltzeh]: Heh. I use the mouse with my left hand, so I can navigate and zoom very easily with the plus, minus, page up, page down, home and end buttons.

2006-05-01 [iippo]: Ah, so GIMP being able to both open and save as .psd (and a huge load of other weird stuff) counts as filetype compatibility <-- What a silly word. XD

2006-05-01 [Veltzeh]: I suppose a proper adjective should be added in front of it... like, "limited file-type compatibility" and "extensive file-type compatibility".

2006-05-01 [iippo]: That... or examples of the more useful/strange filetypes that it will open. If you use/have access to PS and GIMP, then you'll love the fact that GIMP opens and saves .psds. If your camera saves files as .plt (I made that up), then you'll like the one that opens it. Hmm, we could go for the "opens *number* of different filetypes"

2006-05-01 [iippo]: The rough lines makes me ask: can't you alter brush softness in PSP, or make your own brushes?

2006-05-01 [Veltzeh]: Yes, you can alter the softness and make your own brushes. It's still rough. However, the catch is that it's only rough at small brush sizes. If the brush is about size 20 or bigger, it's just as smooth as PS's, but at that size it's usually so that you have to make the image so big that computers have some difficulties processing them.

2006-05-02 [Dark Side of the Moon]: Just added MGI Photo Suite 8.1 to the list along with the pros/cons. :^)

2006-05-02 [iippo]: Mention one more thing about it [Dark Side of the Moon] - cost. :P I'll check somewhere what platforms it runs on.

2006-05-02 [iippo]: Hmm, keeps saying Windows-based, so do I assume that it doesn't like Mac?

2006-05-02 [Dark Side of the Moon]: I haven't any idea about the cost to be honest. I believe this program was included with the computer that my dad bought. I really don't know anything about it. Doesn't seem that too many others have heard of it. I'm thinking it's safe to assume that it only runs in Windows. I really don't have a clue when it comes to drawing programs. I'm a traditionalist and do all of my drawing and painting on paper.

2006-05-23 [iippo]: >.< I found a wiki which was done way before this one about the same thing: CG Programs.

2006-05-28 [Sheepy]: Ah, but it has been dead-ish for a while. Besides, the more the merrier. With more pages, more people are likely to find the information they need :)

2006-05-28 [Sheepy]: I hate MGI Photosuite :P It is default on many, many Windows PCs, but it's really only good for the most basic of photo editting tasks. It's really not designed for creating graphics at all. And you're missing a huge one! Corel Photopaint. Also, ArtRage is pretty damned spiffy for free software, but you definitely need a tablet to use it. it's sort of like a free, lightweight painter.

2006-05-28 [iippo]: :D Thanks, and feel free to add any plusses or minuses to those two (or any of the listed).

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