Art progs

[likeafox]

It hits my as painfully obvious that I'm far too provincial with my experience using art programs when I see some great art and I ask someone "wow! That's great! How'd you do that!", and they say they used Photoshop(which I've never used) or something I've never heard of before.

So. I'm looking to expand my horizons some and finally try out some new ones.

Ones I'm familiar with are:

Gimp
Inkscape
open canvas
flash MX

Ones I'm thinking of trying out are:

Artrage
Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop


What do you guys use? Is there anything you recommend that I should add to this list? I do both vector and raster graphics so I'd be interested in both.

[Richard K Niner]

Having used Photoshop in the past, and using the GIMP since my first furry anniversary, I'm going to say that, by not using the former, you're really not missing much: there are very few features in Photoshop that I have not found an equivalent for in the GIMP. (And the only one I consider to not be completely irrelevant is grouping layers, which had helped with some tasks in the past.) Really, most of the tricks you see involve not much more than layers and some careful precision.

[Steve the Pocket]

There are actually some things you can do in the GIMP that you can't do in Photoshop, even. Such as set the eyedropper to only sample the current layer rather than the flattened image.

Personally I'd love to use the GIMP more, if only the Windows version didn't hate my tablet.

[Rooster]

I find Photoshop CS.8 does everything I want it to do, and is a hell of a lot easier to use than GIMP.

[Burning Sheep Productions]

Illustrator is about 10x faster than Inkscape and has a few more really handy developmental tools but is also lacking in various basic things like the amount of control you have over a node and gradients with transparency.

[Moddex]

I mostly use Fireworks MX. The pen tool is a bit more flexible and doesn't require anchors to bend and bow the shapes of the lines. On some rare occasion, I'll use GIMP for its filters. Together, the two do just as well if not more than Photoshop 8. I seriously don't see what everyone's raving on about this program. I can'd find anything Fireworks and GIMP can't do.

[Mista_B]

Familiarity, mostly, with Photoshop - it's what most schools use, its one of the most commonally pirated apps, most "FAQ/Tutorials" out there use Photoshop, etc.

Other than that *shrug* me, I just don't like messing around with a couple different programs when just one does most of what I want, and seems to be the de facto (ie., unofficial, just everyone seems to use it) standard for most people.

That is, Photoshop.

[osprey]

I myself have always used Photoshop, and I stick with it because it does everything I want it to, and I'm familiar with it.

[Angstwolf]

I use Photoshop, and I have used Illustrator, though I don't have that installed right now on this computer.

Of course, the stuff I make is utter shite in comparison to the stuff I've seen from other people 'round here.

[Richard K Niner]

Personally I'd love to use the GIMP more, if only the Windows version didn't hate my tablet.

What is the problem, just out of curiosity? Did you remember to set it up under "Extended Input Devices" from the input devices configuration tab? And lastly, ever considered moving back to Linux?

[Steve the Pocket]

I might not have. I'll have to try that when I get space freed up to reinstall the GIMP.

As for Linux, (aside from aforementioned lack of space) I don't know where to get a good driver for it that's easy to set up. The one I found only kind of worked. As in, it would only recognize input from the eraser.

[Richard K Niner]

Wait, which brand was it?

[Holley]

Gimp and Inkscape here, I'd like to have Illustrator but I'm a tightwad.

The Gimp occasionally mucks up with my tablet too, it takes the pen location ok but refuses the soft edges of whatever tools in use But then the next day it'll work ok

Don't want to have to take out a mortgage and get Photochop and Illustrator

EDIT: My tablets a Trust one BTW.

[CodeCat]

I use Paint Shop Pro X myself. Hasn't failed on me yet! ^^

[Steve the Pocket]

Wait, which brand was it?

Wacom.