I recently(just last night) redid my computer with a system restore so I lost everything. I normally use Macromedia Flash MX '04 for making my comics but I was wondering if there was any other programs good or just as good as Flash for me to try out.

I know there is gimp and photoshop, but is there anything else? Also, not sure if this is useful but, I do have a wacom bamboo tablet.

If you're using Flash, then you may want to stick with something that uses vector images. If you want to go more powerful than Flash in terms of actual artwork, there's always Adobe Illustrator. I don't know of any free equivalents though.

Inkscape is, i believe, the top free open source (yadda yadda) vector art program. Havn't used it, but from what I'm told, its pretty powerful.....

Not sure if it works with pressure sensitivity from your wacom, though... that would be a bummer.

What OS?

Paint tool SAI has the best line quality for freeform drawing(with a tablet) and photoshop cs3 is the best program over all.

Some people like manga studio but i found it difficult.

Pixia is a good one, I find, when you get used to it. But that's mainly opinion.

Oh! For raster.... I use photoshop. I've tried others, keep coming back to photoshop. Depending where I'm at its CS, CS2, or CS3. All of them great as far as wacom pressure compatability and plain ol' features.

For free programs, I'd recommend paint.net. I've tried gimp with my wacom on both vista and XP, and was VERY disappointed. Gimp on OSX or linux-- I don't even think it supports pressure sensitivity.

You might notice PS is important to me. It is!

Oh... I tried Open Canvas 1.1 (the free one) and its okay... wasn't cool enough for me to get motivated to learn too much... Photoshop is just too ingrained into the core of my being!

mattchee
GIMP on OSX or linux-- I don't even think it supports pressure sensitivity.

Linux- yes
OSX-no

I (legally) own PS CS3, and yet I still find myself using the GIMP for quick touchups on images and even some more complex graphics. It's a nifty, though admittedly flawed, program that has a number of the useful features that one might find in Photoshop. (more than Paint.Net anyways). The interface itself is a bit of a pain for some, but it actually works quite well in most linux desktop environments (it's developed for linux and ported to everything else), as they have a "always on top" setting that you can use on the toolboxes, giving it a somewhat PS-like feel.


I'll admit that I'm not an illustrator, and find myself to be more of a fan of creating graphic design work, so my priorities for what a program should or shouldn't have are somewhat different. So the fact that I can't stand the terribly limited curves tool and lack of legit layer masks in Paint.NET, might not even matter to someone who just wants to draw. I didn't really notice much of a difference with my tablet on Paint.Net from the GIMP. (I've only managed to get my tablet to work in XP and Ubuntu,because Vista hates me)


Inkscape is an awesome application, which I enjoy using much more than Illustrator, for the most part. However, it has no features for wacom tablets, as far as tilt or pressure sensitivity goes. If you wish to do straight up pen tool vector work, especially if you plan on using the .svg (W3 standard for vector), I recommend using inkscape. Firefox 3 renders svg files better than Illustrator does, simply because Illustrator doesn't support a lot of the things that are included in the format, such as gradients on strokes and vector blurs.


This is a bit scary, I'll admit, but it's an example of a manual photo to 100% vector trace that I did in inkscape. Notice that the hair sucks, that's because I couldn't use pressure sensitivity directly in the program.That's the apps main flaw aside from it's rendering speed. All the shading was done with lurs and clipping masks, which is a simple technique that doesn't really work in illustrator, and in my opinion is much more straightforward than the gmesh tool in illustrator.


I don't believe I wasted any money in purchasing the CS3 design suite. PS is excellent, but I still love my free software.

Pixia is a good one, I find, when you get used to it. But that's mainly opinion.


I think most people ditch Pixia fast because it's so counter intuitive, especially if you're used to PS or Gimp.

I can't say I understand it that much myself, but if I use it to paint with some custom made brushes the results look better than Gimp or PS. Has anybody out there mastered this thing? Puffy?

gigatwo

mattchee
GIMP on OSX or linux-- I don't even think it supports pressure sensitivity.

Linux- yes
OSX-no

I (legally) own PS CS3, and yet I still find myself using the GIMP for quick touchups on images and even some more complex graphics. It's a nifty, though admittedly flawed, program that has a number of the useful features that one might find in Photoshop. (more than Paint.Net anyways). The interface itself is a bit of a pain for some, but it actually works quite well in most linux desktop environments (it's developed for linux and ported to everything else), as they have a "always on top" setting that you can use on the toolboxes, giving it a somewhat PS-like feel.


I'll admit that I'm not an illustrator, and find myself to be more of a fan of creating graphic design work, so my priorities for what a program should or shouldn't have are somewhat different. So the fact that I can't stand the terribly limited curves tool and lack of legit layer masks in Paint.NET, might not even matter to someone who just wants to draw. I didn't really notice much of a difference with my tablet on Paint.Net from the GIMP. (I've only managed to get my tablet to work in XP and Ubuntu,because Vista hates me)


Inkscape is an awesome application, which I enjoy using much more than Illustrator, for the most part. However, it has no features for wacom tablets, as far as tilt or pressure sensitivity goes. If you wish to do straight up pen tool vector work, especially if you plan on using the .svg (W3 standard for vector), I recommend using inkscape. Firefox 3 renders svg files better than Illustrator does, simply because Illustrator doesn't support a lot of the things that are included in the format, such as gradients on strokes and vector blurs.


This is a bit scary, I'll admit, but it's an example of a manual photo to 100% vector trace that I did in inkscape. Notice that the hair sucks, that's because I couldn't use pressure sensitivity directly in the program.That's the apps main flaw aside from it's rendering speed. All the shading was done with lurs and clipping masks, which is a simple technique that doesn't really work in illustrator, and in my opinion is much more straightforward than the gmesh tool in illustrator.


I don't believe I wasted any money in purchasing the CS3 design suite. PS is excellent, but I still love my free software.

WOW! Super informative! Answered a lot of questions I had been wondering about, actually.

I've been curious about getting into inkscape, now even more so, it just hasn't happened cause I use Illustrator all day at work, and then come home and do mostly raster stuff, so when i do want to use a vector program, Illustrator is very natural for me.

My recommendation of paint.NET over GIMP was based purely on pressure sensitivity response as it relates to (particularly my own) comics drawing-- not really the overall quality of the program. For me, the fact that GIMPs line weight response is so unsatisfactory, I wouldn't do any final "inked" line artwork using it. So while having the other features is nice (and believe me, i use a lot of their counterparts in Photoshop, where i do most of my work), for the specific use of creating my comic, they back up a primarily useless program.

And you're right about paint.NET. WHile it does give me the line work that I like... it greatly falls short in many other areas. Which is why I don't use it, other than recreational doodling and experimentation.

Anyhow, I wanted to thank you for sharing your incredible wealth of information and experience! once again: WOw!

A great natural media program that I use for what little color work I do is Art Rage.
Complete support (I believe) of pressure sensitivity, you just have to be comfortable with natural drawing and painting. There's a free version and a reasonably priced paid version. http://www.ambientdesign.com/

rhino577
A great natural media program that I use for what little color work I do is Art Rage.
Complete support (I believe) of pressure sensitivity, you just have to be comfortable with natural drawing and painting. There's a free version and a reasonably priced paid version. http://www.ambientdesign.com/

I'll vouch for the fact that I've used art rage on OSX (tiger), XP, and a couple vistas.... Good wacom support across all platforms.

The program itself doesn't really do it for me... mostly for my needs as a comic artist, if i had time to play with it... it seems fun. Its a little counter intuitive for digital artists, i'd say, since its goal is to replicate natural media (so far as to have a glass of water to clean your brush!). But.. yeah... seems fun overall, and for the right person, it might be perfect.

good tablet support tho! woo!

Haven't checked this for a while sorry everyone. So Sai, any free version or just a trial? I can't buy it though sadly but it seems like an ok program. I've been using Gimp for a bit but it's a bit frustrating, at least to me and also, confusing...to me.

I haven't found any other program I like but I might check out Sai.