Alternatives to Photoshop now that it costs a monthly fee?

[Sharm]

Kyuukon, discussion of how to carry out illegal activities is not allowed.

 

[Zalerinian]

You can still buy the Creative Suite 6 version from adobe, which isn't a subscription based thing. It is very expensive, though. 

 

[Esrever]

As others have stated, Photoshop is still available under two flavors. The last pay-once / own-forever model is with the CS6 interation of Adobe's software and is available here. The second option is via their subscription based service, Creative Cloud. Under this SaaS you are offered free updates and support. The cheapest available option which includes Photoshop CC is under their Creative Cloud Photography package located here at $9.99 USD per month.

For those looking at alteratives, I've listed some below. Note that some of the software listed below is better suited for the task of traditional art / line art instead of building a complete alternative to the Photoshop toolset. Those listed last are specifically for sprite work.

Web Based

Free: Pixlr Editor (Requires Flash 10.0 or higher)

Free: Sumo Paint (Requires Flash 10.0 or higher)

Windows

Free: FireAlpaca (Also available on OS X)

Free: Serif PhotoPlus Starter Edition

Free: Paint.NET (PSD Plugin located here)

$25.00 USD: Mischief (Also available on OS X)

¥5400 JPY: PaintTool SAI (approx. $45.00 USD as of 2015.05.12)

$49.99 USD: Serif Affinity Photo (OS X only for the time being, but a release is planned for 2016) More info here, and below under OS X.

$79.99 USD: Corel PaintShop Pro X7 (on sale for $49.99 USD)

$99.99 USD: Corel PaintShop Pro X7 Ultimate (on sale for $79.99)

$49.99 USD: Clip Studio Paint Pro / Manga Studio 5 (these are the same products - also available on OS X)

$219.99 USD: Clip Studio Paint EX / Manga Studio EX 5 (these are the same products - also available on OS X)

OS X

Free: FireAlpaca (Also available on Windows)

$25.00 USD: Mischief (Also available on Windows)

$29.99 USD: Pixelmator (PSD Format Compatible)

$49.99 USD: Serif Affinity Photo (Free While in Beta - Photoshop PSD and Plugin Support)

$49.99 USD: Clip Studio Paint Pro / Manga Studio 5 (these are the same products - also available on Windows)

$219.99 USD: Clip Studio Paint EX / Manga Studio EX 5 (these are the same products - also available on Windows)

Cross Platform (Win/OSX/Linux)

Free: GIMP

Free: GIMP-Painter (Compiled Windows Binaries)

Free: Krita

Free: Pinta (Paint.NET Clone)

Free: MyPaint

Pixel Art Centric (Windows/OS X Compatible)

Free: Tiled Map Editor

Free: tIDE (Tilemap Integrated Development Environment)

$9.00 USD: Pyxel Edit (Free version is available for a fairly outdated build 0.2.22c)

$10.00 USD: Aseprite

¥1995 JPY: GraphicsGale (approx. $16.63 USD as of 2015.05.12)

$24.99 USD: Pickle Editor

¥4000 JPY: EDGE2 (Japanese Language Only - approx. $33.34 USD as of 2015.05.12)

 

[Matombo]

one to add open canvas: http://www.portalgraphics.net/en/oc/

also available on steam was on sale some time ago for 40$

also there is a free build out there v1.1 can find it on google i guess

also the trial lasts 3 month

but i personaly use gimp or game charakter hub

 

[mogwai]

The problem with once you've used Photoshop, you get a learning disorder to use anything else. I learned Photoshop in college and now if I try something else it's like walking in high heels. I've got the cheaper CC package for about $15 per month for just Photoshop and Lightroom, which I'm tied into with a year contract and for the amount I actually use it compared to my other paid apps, I'm regretting the cost. I'd be most interested in Gimp if they released a special version for designers with Photoshop Syndrome, that has all the features in the same locations as Photoshop, they could call it Gimp Shop or whatever, and it would really help to un-steep the learning curve.

 

[Candacis]

Meh, I don't know. There are enough tutorials out there to make GIMP look and feel more like photoshop, for instance this one: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-make-the-gimp-work-more-like-photoshop-1551318983 or this one http://www.maketecheasier.com/make-gimp-look-like-photoshop/

As with all programs you have to invest a bit of time to get used to a new workflow, but photoshop is certainly replacable. I would never shell out a monthly cost for a software, photoshop or not (but I'm not a professional either). I'm lucky, I have a old used CS version, but even with it I use more and more different programs than photoshop since some alternatives offer better features.

And right now I'm using GIMP since photoshop has made some problems for me in the past.

 

[Sharm]

How ironic is it that there actually is a version of GIMP that's set up for Photoshop users called GIMPShop?

 

[Kes]

@Sharm

I didn't know that!  That is so funny. I've always used GIMP, so have not had the migration problems that PhotoShop users have, but looking at GIMPShop, that seems to solve all their problems (I think). 

 

[Celianna]

As with all programs you have to invest a bit of time to get used to a new workflow, but photoshop is certainly replacable. I would never shell out a monthly cost for a software, photoshop or not (but I'm not a professional either). I'm lucky, I have a old used CS version, but even with it I use more and more different programs than photoshop since some alternatives offer better features.


And right now I'm using GIMP since photoshop has made some problems for me in the past.

I am stuck in my Photoshop ways, I don't really have any incentive to change programs, when I work really fast with Photoshop. I'd like to try out other programs, but then I think; why would I need to? It's not like I'm trying to do something that Photoshop can't do.


I also don't use my tablet to justify going with Paint Tool Sai or something. People are always so amazed when I tell them I'm only using a mouse ...


Basically, if you're used to one program and it does everything you need it to, just stick with it.

 

[Candacis]

Yeah, I admit that I'm faster with photoshop since I'm more used to it than gimp, but it didn't take me long to set up gimp the way I like. And right now my computer or (more likely) graphic card likes to screw with photoshop (have to figure out why..) and then gimp is a nice alternative. If I were stuck in my ways, I would have been lost and not been able to work at all. However, if I use my tablet for portraits/busts and the like I'm always using Manga Studio since it offers much more features for a tablet use and it really helps in making smooth lines. Not necessary for making or editing tiles really, I tend to do this with mouse anyway, but for drawing bigger things and people especially I'm not using photoshop.

But I still think it can't hurt to explore different softwares, find out what else is out there. For instance, I'm really curious to try out Krita. Just to see what it can do ^_^

 

[Esrever]

How ironic is it that there actually is a version of GIMP that's set up for Photoshop users called GIMPShop?

If anyone is aiming to try out GIMPshop, PLEASE be wary of where you are obtaining it. The official project may be found here. Do note that it has not received any updates for the past nine years, and thus is not likely a suitable replacement for most users.

I post about users being cautious as to where they obtain the software because someone has since purchased the gimpshop[dot]com and gimpshop[dot]net domains and is hosting the software with malware included. Do not download from these sources!

 

[Sharm]

Oh, had no idea. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Schlangan]

I might be out of place, but personally I use Paint and Paint.net; The latter is free, and at the scale of pixel art, there is no need for much more. Usually, I'm doing well enough with Paint, it only lacks the alpha values, that are for example needed for my animations.