New art program version reviews
May. 15th, 2013 10:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkAdobe Photoshop CS6
I've been experimenting with this program for a while now, so I think I can talk about its strengths and weaknesses.
I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Adobe and thought their frequent software updates were a bit insane. For many years, I used Photoshop CS1-3 pretty much interchangeably, and while I know technically speaking there are differences for each version, having used Photoshop for both digital painting and image editing/web graphic creation, I've noticed basically no difference.
For once, though, CS6 is a difference. Aside from a different-looking UI (which is neither better nor worse than the old UI, in my opinion), it's got some enhanced digital painting functions. For one, it has better pressure-sensitive brush controls than before. Personally, though, I feel that the new brushes are "softer" as a result, and I wish some had a harder edge. For another, it has an array of new default brushes that aim to simulate natural media with greater success. While it's still no Corel Painter, the new brushes are definitely welcome, if not game-changing additions to Photoshop.
There's also the new Mixer Brush tool, which honestly was the reason why I jumped at the chance to get the new Photoshop in the first place. After some experimenting, though, I've concluded that it's not for me, although I know some artists swear by the Mixer Brush.
I can't really talk about the 3D functions, since I have no experience with those, but all in all CS6 is actually an improvement over the older versions.
Corel Painter 12
Corel Painter 12 is a pretty big difference from before (although apparently I've been using Painter 11 forever without realizing there was a service pack update that fixed some glitches).
For one, use of the transformation tool and rotating the canvas results in much smoother rendering of the canvas. In fact, in general, I think a lot of the rendering in Painter 12 is much less pixelated, which is a godsend when it comes to art.
The Real Watercolor tool, in my opinion, is a much more successful emulation of natural watercolor than the usual Watercolor tool, so that's also a bonus. The brush palette has been somewhat overhauled and a bunch of brushes have been combined together (Pastels now includes Pastels and Oil Pastels, Pencils includes Pencils and Colored Pencils, Charcoal & Conte and Chalk & Crayon have been lumped together), and some old brushes have been revamped (Acrylic brushes seem to be much more textured and 3D); on the down side, some old brushes have been removed (i.e. Artist's Oils), but thankfully Painter 12 allows for the option to switch to the Painter 11 brush palette, which is very thoughtful.
Painter has never had good opacity controls (which, I think, largely has to do with the fact that opacity is a wholly digital construction and can't really be emulated with natural media), but I think they've been slightly improved in Painter 12. I'm a fan of the new UI as well, and generally, Painter 12 is just a lot better than Painter 11.
I've been experimenting with this program for a while now, so I think I can talk about its strengths and weaknesses.
I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Adobe and thought their frequent software updates were a bit insane. For many years, I used Photoshop CS1-3 pretty much interchangeably, and while I know technically speaking there are differences for each version, having used Photoshop for both digital painting and image editing/web graphic creation, I've noticed basically no difference.
For once, though, CS6 is a difference. Aside from a different-looking UI (which is neither better nor worse than the old UI, in my opinion), it's got some enhanced digital painting functions. For one, it has better pressure-sensitive brush controls than before. Personally, though, I feel that the new brushes are "softer" as a result, and I wish some had a harder edge. For another, it has an array of new default brushes that aim to simulate natural media with greater success. While it's still no Corel Painter, the new brushes are definitely welcome, if not game-changing additions to Photoshop.
There's also the new Mixer Brush tool, which honestly was the reason why I jumped at the chance to get the new Photoshop in the first place. After some experimenting, though, I've concluded that it's not for me, although I know some artists swear by the Mixer Brush.
I can't really talk about the 3D functions, since I have no experience with those, but all in all CS6 is actually an improvement over the older versions.
Corel Painter 12
Corel Painter 12 is a pretty big difference from before (although apparently I've been using Painter 11 forever without realizing there was a service pack update that fixed some glitches).
For one, use of the transformation tool and rotating the canvas results in much smoother rendering of the canvas. In fact, in general, I think a lot of the rendering in Painter 12 is much less pixelated, which is a godsend when it comes to art.
The Real Watercolor tool, in my opinion, is a much more successful emulation of natural watercolor than the usual Watercolor tool, so that's also a bonus. The brush palette has been somewhat overhauled and a bunch of brushes have been combined together (Pastels now includes Pastels and Oil Pastels, Pencils includes Pencils and Colored Pencils, Charcoal & Conte and Chalk & Crayon have been lumped together), and some old brushes have been revamped (Acrylic brushes seem to be much more textured and 3D); on the down side, some old brushes have been removed (i.e. Artist's Oils), but thankfully Painter 12 allows for the option to switch to the Painter 11 brush palette, which is very thoughtful.
Painter has never had good opacity controls (which, I think, largely has to do with the fact that opacity is a wholly digital construction and can't really be emulated with natural media), but I think they've been slightly improved in Painter 12. I'm a fan of the new UI as well, and generally, Painter 12 is just a lot better than Painter 11.
