Alternatives to Photoshop now that it costs a monthly fee?

[West_Winds]

I want a good at program and I'll most likely be learning Photoshop in school. I looked at the Photoshop site today to see how much a copy of Photoshop would cost and to my disappointment they no longer sell licenses for it, rather they seem to rent it to you for a monthly fee. The price isn't terrible but I had a hard time understanding what I would be getting at the different price points. All I want is photoshop. I don't care about mobile apps or anything like that.

So I want to know, what are some good professional programs that are similar to Photoshop? I want to buy something that will last me a while that I can use for making my own art for RPG Maker, and other projects as well.

 

[Iavra]

GIMP is probably the most used alternative to Photoshop and completely free. I only ever used it to put existing graphics together and editing minor things, but so far i have been able to do anything i needed with it.

 

[CrazyCrab]

I've been using GIMP for ages, it's free and I think that it's got everything most people could ask for.

It's got all the tools I needed so far and I haven't had any problems with crashes or anything.

 

[Matseb2611]

Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 is what I use and have used for years now, and there are still things I discover in it to this day.

 

[Fernyfer775]

GIMP for the win.

 

[Andar]

Or, if you want to keep using Photoshop, purchase an older version from ebay or one of the software trading sites - I got a full CS2 premium for around 80$ a year ago.

 

[Aurorain]

Speaking of CS2, there's also the free version available. It does pretty much anything you'd need out of an image editor.

 

[Jesse - PVGames]

Definitely GIMP.

 

[Lunarea]

The price isn't terrible but I had a hard time understanding what I would be getting at the different price points. All I want is photoshop.

If all you want is to draw and edit with, you just need the lowest tier (which is 10$, I believe).

 

[Candacis]

It really depends on what you need the program for. As already mentioned, Gimp is free and very useful, it mimics a lot of the photoshop features and can even use photoshop brushes. CorelDraw is always a nice alternative.

If you want something to draw, for instance, portraits etc. I recomment Paint Tool Sai or Manga Studio (both not free, but no monthly fee).

Or, as already been said, get an older photoshop version.

 

[Andar]

Speaking of CS2, there's also the free version available. It does pretty much anything you'd need out of an image editor.

Absolutely wrong - if you ever had taken the time to actually read the licence of the CS2-Download, you would have known that that version is NOT free, but only licenced to people who purchased CS2 and can't use their original version any longer due to the shutdown of the original licence servers.

It can be downloaded from Adobe by anyone, but it is NOT licenced free and most probably never will be.

You can use it, but it's the same as using a pirated copy with the single difference that Adobe won't bother checking whether you have a licence or not.

But for people who want a legal licence, CS2 is not free.

 

[EternalShadow]

You can actually get PS on a one-time fee, but that specific purchase page is well-hidden.

 

[dungeon diver]

GIMP is good, and ArtRage($50 last I checked) is pretty fun to use.

When I want to do pixel art though, I've used GraphicsGale for years. It has pretty much everything you need for delicate operations and the paid version has useful tools for sprite animation.

 

[Sharm]

BTW, Krita is pretty cool too. I haven't played around with it a whole lot, but it handles tablet support better than photoshop and is free as well. It's got this really cool canvas wrapping feature that's useful for making seamless tiles.

 

[West_Winds]

If all you want is to draw and edit with, you just need the lowest tier (which is 10$, I believe).

Thanks, I was pretty confused by it. I would really like to just use Photo Shop.

I used GIMP once and I tried downloading it recently but they swtiched their download method to bit torent and I can't get the thing to download right.

 

[Aurorain]

Absolutely wrong - if you ever had taken the time to actually read the licence of the CS2-Download, you would have known that that version is NOT free, but only licenced to people who purchased CS2 and can't use their original version any longer due to the shutdown of the original licence servers.

It can be downloaded from Adobe by anyone, but it is NOT licenced free and most probably never will be.

You can use it, but it's the same as using a pirated copy with the single difference that Adobe won't bother checking whether you have a licence or not.

But for people who want a legal licence, CS2 is not free.

O-Oh...err, well then, I stand corrected.

Hmm..how about Pixlr? It doesn't have nearly as many features as Photoshop does, but it's right on a browser so that means no downloading. :v

 

[Candacis]

BTW, Krita is pretty cool too. I haven't played around with it a whole lot, but it handles tablet support better than photoshop and is free as well. It's got this really cool canvas wrapping feature that's useful for making seamless tiles.

This is why I like Manga Studio (4 or 5), because it has a built in stabilizer, if you are drawing with the tablet. Makes for some smooth lineart (the same goes for Paint Tool Sai). Very nice for drawings, not just mangas/comics. The name of the program is a bit misleading, but I think, it is a great software all around.

But if you just want to do small stuff, some tile or sprite edits or texts effects here and there, go with a free program. Gimp does have a normal download, too. Look under downloads and for an alternative link for when the torrent doesn't work. It really offers a wealth of photoshop-like options and it is compatible with a lot of photoshop resources (brushes, patterns etc.).

But as with all programs, you have to invest a bit of time to get used to it. Gimp can look complicated at first glance, but so are photoshop and other graphic softwares.

edit: uhhhh, krita has a wrap around tool! Didn't know that. I have to look that up!

 

[Sharm]

Yeah, it's funny how these days most art programs are better than photoshop at tablet support. I've been using Clip Studio Paint for all my illustrations lately, I think it's a successor to Manga Studio. I really like it.

 

[West_Winds]

This is why I like Manga Studio (4 or 5), because it has a built in stabilizer, if you are drawing with the tablet. Makes for some smooth lineart (the same goes for Paint Tool Sai). Very nice for drawings, not just mangas/comics. The name of the program is a bit misleading, but I think, it is a great software all around.

But if you just want to do small stuff, some tile or sprite edits or texts effects here and there, go with a free program. Gimp does have a normal download, too. Look under downloads and for an alternative link for when the torrent doesn't work. It really offers a wealth of photoshop-like options and it is compatible with a lot of photoshop resources (brushes, patterns etc.).

But as with all programs, you have to invest a bit of time to get used to it. Gimp can look complicated at first glance, but so are photoshop and other graphic softwares.

edit: uhhhh, krita has a wrap around tool! Didn't know that. I have to look that up!

Thanks. I didn't notice that little link before. I have it now. I still think I'm going to get Photoshop though since it looks like $10 a month will get me what I want.

 

[Candacis]

Yeah, it's funny how these days most art programs are better than photoshop at tablet support. I've been using Clip Studio Paint for all my illustrations lately, I think it's a successor to Manga Studio. I really like it.

Agreed. Photoshop is good, if you want to make really in-depth photography manipulations, matte painting and what have you, but it is beaten by a looot of other programs regarding actual drawings.

I haven't tried out Clip Studio since I got Manga Studio 4 free with a tablet purchase, so I kind of stuck with it (even though it is difficult to grasp it), but will look at the feature list of Clip Studio and maybe check out the trial. Krita though sounds definitely appealing and it is free