Hey everyone! I have seen quite a few questions and comments of people asking which drawing or photomanipulation programs are good and which they should use so I figured I would make this post to help you all in deciding which program is right for you and your purposes. I have also listed a few programs which I have been using, used or enjoy with pros and cons of each. It is important to note that everyone's style is different and I use a drawing tablet. I started out using a mouse, then a tap pad and then moved to a wacom bamboo tablet about a year into digital art. I highly recommend getting a digital art tablet. They aren't too expensive and are worth what you pay for them since I feel you can more effectively navigate different programs. There are some exceptions however and it comes down to preference :)

PHOTOSHOP:

Adobe Photoshop is a photomanipulation and digital art program commonly used by professionals and or people who are attending a school while taking a digital art class of some sort. Photoshop is not free and definitley not a program I recommend for hobby artists who are just doing art for fun rather than a source of income. This is because the price for this program for a single year is quite expensive though some schools offer student discounts which you can talk to your teacher or professor about if you are attending school.

The price for this program varies depending on the "package" you are buying. For this particular program, there are several plans or options you can go with. You can pay per month or per year though there use to be a lifetime subscription that was offered. If you are paying monthly for PS it will cost $20.99 USD per month for a basic package which is just the photoshop app itself. This does not include storage or anything else that you may require such as the icloud. If you are wanting a year membership for just the app, it is $239.88USD/yr which is quite a steep price in my opinion especially for one year of just the app. Another plan Adobe offers is called the "Creative Cloud Photography Plan(20GB)" which is the photoshop app and an additional app called lightroom and is $119.88USD/yr. The third plan option includes all adobe creative apps and is $599.88USD/yr.

From this I am sure you all can kind of see how expensive the subscription can get and there are still other plans out there from what I know but these are just the main ones.

Pros:

Adobe photoshop is named the best photomanipulation and digital art program offered. There are many tools offered and it is not likely to crash on you. When I was using this program, I noticed it's default(no plug ins, add ons ect) was everything you need to do anything at all for any digital art related project you decide to do. You can always purchase or add on more brushes as needed and it is very easy to find free or one time purchase brush packs on google. The images and art created will without a doubt be high resolution as long as you use good stock photos. Either way, stock photos can be painted over if needed for detail ect.

Cons:

It is definitley not an easy program to navigate. Even when I took classes, watched youtube videos and played with the program there was always something new to learn on it. There are a ton of short cuts that you would really need to learn to navigate the program properly and unless you are really dedicated and spend hours at your computer, you aren't going to be able to learn everything.

Although the program is less likely to crash on you, in the digital art class I had taken(we used mac computers and PS), there were days when photoshop would just crash on everyone and wouldn't save things or wouldn't open. Which - with the money you are spending on the program - isn't very helpful and it makes the program useless until you can figure out how to get it up and running again. You may or may not have these issues. It may have just been a school thing or it may not have been but it is the reason I switched over to using a free program since I was missing out on my work some days which put my assignments behind by days.

Do I recommend it?... No. I do not exactly recommend this program if you are just a hobby artist making art for HEE coms. If you take into account the price and the fact that a free program could potentially do the same thing, Photoshop is just not worth it. However, if you can afford the program and have a newer ipad, good laptop(hp or mac - chromebook laptops don't support the program) or a PC then this may be the program for you. Just keep in mind that youtube videos will probably be your best friend when you start out.

GIMP:

Gimp is a free photomanipulation and digital art program that has a design similar to photoshop. This program can be downloaded at gimp.org or if you just google gimp, you will find their website to download it.

This was the program I actually got first in place of photoshop since at the time it was the only program I had really heard about that was free and decent. I heard about it through a youtuber and digital artist by the name of Vizseryn who is known for her beautiful equine digital paintings. I learned quite a few tips and tricks from her since she does have a few tutorials on the program on her youtube.

Pros:

Gimp is completley free and open source. I find the program much easier to navagate in comparison to Photoshop and it is slightly more customizable. You can choose where you want your task bar to be and tool box and things like that as well as what you want displayed. You can create detailed pieces with the program and in the event that the program does crash, there is a recovery option which allows you to open up the image from where you last left off as long as you do not close or shut down your computer right after the program crashes. You can find brush packs, plug ins and add ons if you need or would like it but I have not needed to do that yet. Gimp updates somewhat regularly (around once a year) and there is always something new added.

Cons:

The program crashes somewhat frequently especially if you are working with a piece that is around 1000 px by 1000px or larger. This really also depends on your device since you really can't use this program on a phone and I don't recommend it be used for a tablet either since some of the tools and options just aren't designed for that. Though you can have some level of detail in the images, it is definitley difficult to have high resolution images and have multiple tabs or active apps at once. I have been able to play music and have HEE open as well as image source tabs and a max 3 GIMP tabs open at once without it crashing until maybe 5 or 6 hours into the piece if I am on it for a long time and if it is a larger 1000px piece. I have not had an issue with layers though so you can have as many layers as you want or need which is super helpful.

As far as add ons and plug ins go such as brush packs, they are super difficult to find especially if you are looking for something specific such as a grass brush pack. You will most likely have to buy these add ons(which are relatively cheap) if you can not find a free one. This kind of defeats the purpose of having a free program but it is still better than having to pay a super high price yearly or any price for the program at all. Another important thing to note is that despite the program updating almost yearly, you have to download the new version since it doesn't automatically update. You also won't recieve an update email so it is something that you will have to check about once a year to see if GIMP has a new update. I had an older version then found out there was a new version then downloaded the new version and deleted the old version since i didn't want the old version. If there is an update however, make sure you use the updated version for a day before deleting the old version since sometimes updates can be quite confusing and can even be worse which no one wants.

Do I recommend this program...? As a free program, yes I would recommend it but it is definitley not the best program that is free that you could be using. It is not able to function on tablets or phones properly which may be inconvinent for some people who do not have anything other than a handheld device. A great thing about this program though is that is a user friendly, beginner friendly program with a few useful shortcuts and several tutorials making it an excellent choice for hobby artists looking to do smaller pieces such as horse avatars or even larger images that can fit within the default canvas on GIMP(1200 x 1000 px I believe).

PROCREATE:

Procreate is an apple only, pay to use digital art program only used on the ipad acompanied by the apple pencil. The program has gained popularity over the last year since it is cheaper and more easily naviagted in comparison to photoshop. It was originally a one time price of $9.99USD but I have heard that it may now have a monthly fee as well after roughly 6 months of its release.

My sister who is a logo maker for local buisnesses uses this program for her art. She does art for fun as well and spends a ton of time on this program. I have used this program as well but not as much as she has and so I have asked her opinion on the app. Rather than doing pros and cons for this particular app, I will just write some things below about the app and notes I have taken from my time using it and from my sister.

The app is not at all designed like photoshop or any other photomanipulation program we have ever seen or used. It isn't the best for photomanips but is great for detailing and drawing. So if you are planning on just using a program for photomanips, this is probably not the best app for you. Again, this app can only be used on the ipad and bought in the apple store. You can make small, 2d animations on it but you are limited on how many 'slides' you can have. My sister says the app is definitley worth it for what she uses it for and she really enjoys it but she sometimes gets confused with the eraser or 'reverse move' shortcut since you have to tak your pointer and middle finger and tap the screen twice. Sometimes she accidentally draws all over her images when she just isn't thinking about it. It was really difficult in the beginning when just getting use to using the app.

My sister has said that she would really like to find add ons and brush packs and that a program like GIMP is better for photo manips and more realistic style drawings. She actually ended up getting a second manip and drawing program for fun rather than procreate which she uses more.

Do we recommend this app?... it depends on what you are doing and looking for and if you have the ipad and apple pencil. The app won't be as effective if you don't have the apple pencil and since you have to have the ipad to even buy the app, it looks a bit pricy in the long run but is still great if you do have access to those things.

KRITA

Krita is a free photomanipulation and digital art program that has gained popularity over time. It is used by animatiors on occassion for concept art and imports from blender but I have found this program best for concept art and it works really well for photo manips as well.

An example of an animation that used Krita for concept designs is the short animation called 'Spring.' I have found that this program works best when used with other programs rather than on its own but it is just as effective to use it on its own.

Pros:

you can get really high resolution, detailed images from using this program properly. It is great for photomanips and more close to photoshop than gimp. It also doesn't crash and you have the option to download older versions of the program if you'd like though I enjoy the newer version of the program. I have found that there is no need for brush add ons at all since you can make your own brushes more easily in comparison to gimp or PS and they already pretty much give you all the brushes you need.

Cons:

Similar to photoshop, there are many shortcuts that you will have to learn but I have found it difficult to find effective tutorials on how to properly use this program. It is more effectively used on a laptop or pc and similar to gimp, it would be best not to have it on hand held devices.

Depending on how you like procreate, i view this program as somewhat similar to the app such that there are functions and things very specific to the program itself so it isn't 'universal' like photoshop or gimp where the functions are practically the same. This makes it somewhat difficult to figure out if you are new to it all.

Do I recommend this program?... Yes! Absolutley but you will definitley need more experience, lots of practice and you will have to dig through some youtube videos or guides to figure this one out. As I said earlier, this program is definitley best for a laptop or PC. You can download it by searching Krita.org

I will be adding more programs shortly!

Since the first post was incredibly long, I thought I was going to run out of word space and will be posting more in this space here tomorrow or when I have time. (edit: more info added)

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PAINT

Paint is a default painting or art program on most windows running desktops. I have seen some people use this program for photomanips and digital painting but there really isn't much to it and that is why I will not recommend this program at all for photo manipulations or other digital art. Their pixels are all off in terms of text and it is difficult to get any desired function to work. I view it as more of a kids game or doodling program because you will hardly ever see a professional or hobby artist use this program as a source. People have actually turned this program into an artist challenge where you use the program to try and make something look nice or draw something realistic. In the end this program is way to difficult to use, there are no layers and you won't ever really be able to achieve a clean, blended image. This makes it not ideal or optimal for any artist other than if you are just sketching and even then, it comes down to is this program worth actually using at all.

Do I recommend this program?... No. It may be a default program on most computers that you can find simply by searching on the computer's search bar but it is not at all worth the trouble it will cause you from what i have found. I guess the main thing with this is the layers or the lack of being able to add layers and see them. You may be able to do this, but from what I have seen, you can not and if there is a challenge out that has to do with just using this program in general, you can bet that it is not easy to do the simplist things on. This includes drawing manes and tails.

SKETCHBOOK

This is a cheap program that is not very well known. It is not free and can cost $4.99 per month or I believe it was around $30 per year. From what I have seen, it isn't really preferred or used by professionals because it doesn't appear to make clean, well blended images. They are however clear and very easy to see in comparison to GIMP which has images that come out pixelated.

I have never used this program, I have heard about it maybe once but upon doing a bit of research, I didn't find anything about this program too intriguing that would make it worth paying a monthly or yearly fee for. The images look somewhat cheaply put together and I haven't seen anything really well blended. From what I have seen, however, is that the program does look like an excellent choice for concept art and drawing so if you are an artist looking to have several programs for different purposes and or are in need of one for drawing or over paints specifically, you may want to take a look at this program.

Do I recommend it?... Yes and no. I would not recommend it for photo manips specifically but I do think it would be great to use for painting and details and concept art if that is something you are interested in. Again, I think this program would do best on a computer or laptop and not on a phone or tablet.

MEDIBANG

Medibang is a free program that my sister uses for fun. She has said it may not be the best choice for photomanipulations but is great for painting in specific styles. She has said this program is used by anime artists and they do host contests sometimes if you are interested in showing off your art skills. This is a fun way to get into the art community. They are currently running a contest which you can take a look at if you are interested.

Similar to sketchbook, this program isn't exactly equipped for photomanips of a great quality and you would probably be best off using this program for over paints, drawing and sketching. I prefer the products of this program over the product from using sketchbook. The programs are very similar but there is the price difference. This program is free.

Do I recommend it?... Yes and no. Similar to sketchbook, this is best for drawing rather than photomanips. Despite this, this particular program is an excellent way to get into the art community more since they do host art contests.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A LAPTOP OR PC?

A few people have said that they don't have a laptop or pc or even a tablet and most of the programs I have listed so far are best used on a laptop or pc. So for those of you who have only a hand held device for your photomanips and art, here are some apps you can download that I have checked out, downloaded and trialed just to see what may work best.

ERASER

There is an app in the app store called eraser. This program is purely for erasing backgrounds and is super easy to use. It is free and does its job very well. We all know that erasing backgrounds can be a bit time consuming and this app doesn't make the process any faster so that is something to keep in mind. However, this app is still excellent for erasing backgrounds and I totally recommend it for those of you who need to erase backgrounds very cleanly.

SNAPSEED

Snapseed is a free app that you can find on any device including a laptop or pc but, it is designed for phones and tablets. It is super easy to use, navigate and produces beautiful, high quality photomanips. It looks almost like if photoshop was mobile(which it is) but this version is just free and definitley worth taking a look at. There are tutorials on how to use the app for those of you who are unsure and there are plenty of fuctions for blending ect. Though there is an erase the background thing, I still would recommend pairing this app with the eraser app for better outcomes and I find it easier to use the eraser app for erasing the backgrounds.

INFINITE PAINTER

If you would like to paint manes and tails or would like to touch up images, over paint them or add your own style twist to your images on mobile, Infinite Painter is a program I 100% recommend for that purpose. There are in app purchases such as the pro versio but the free version works just as good for painting what you need. You can add as many layers as you need or want which is helpful when making those little details and if you really wanted to, you could probably use this to manipulate the photos themselves though I would probably just use this for drawing and painting alone.

There are several other painting apps you could use but this one was one of the best free ones that I could find. Just know that each one of these apps will have ads in them sometimes or around the screen and if that bothers you, you may want to just purchase the pro versions for a low price. I would use all three of these together rather than just using one alone. You can't use eraser for anything other than erasing backgrounds so that app would have to be paired with another. But, as I said, for the best outcome, I would recommend using all three.

Regarding GIMP, the tools are very pixelated and the quality to export is trash. I highly recommend Krita instead of GIMP. The variety of brushes from Krita can make it a fun experience.

Shivering Sea said:

I would like to add some things:

Photoshop crashes only because the hardware of the computer is trash. Not every computer can run every editing program and in most cases, if the computer is weak, it's going to crash yes or yes. I had also a graphic design course and the Adobe programs would take ages loading, even if the computer were Mac. On my gaming laptop that cost me a small fortune, I can run Photoshop and it won't crash once. I can even run Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all at once and they never crash.

Regarding GIMP, the tools are very pixelated and the quality to export is trash. I highly recommend Krita instead of GIMP. The variety of brushes from Krita can make it a fun experience.

Daranyx said:

Shivering Sea said:

I would like to add some things:

Photoshop crashes only because the hardware of the computer is trash. Not every computer can run every editing program and in most cases, if the computer is weak, it's going to crash yes or yes. I had also a graphic design course and the Adobe programs would take ages loading, even if the computer were Mac. On my gaming laptop that cost me a small fortune, I can run Photoshop and it won't crash once. I can even run Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all at once and they never crash.

Regarding GIMP, the tools are very pixelated and the quality to export is trash. I highly recommend Krita instead of GIMP. The variety of brushes from Krita can make it a fun experience.

And I totally agree with this. Despite the computers in my school being Mac, they seemed to be running on an outdated system hence why they kept crashing(something i should have added so thank you for mentioning this ;)). For high quality programs, they will run better and faster on high speed, quality laptops or computers/devices which i can totally agree with you on that.

I slightly disagree with you about the gimp tools but I do recommend Krita over gimp if your laptop or computer can run it. The thing with Gimp is that your piece can come out a high quality if you paint over it and certain aspects of it but then other times it can come out trash like you had said when exporting it. That is why if you choose this program, stock is very important since higher quality images(which can be somewhat difficult to find) are your best bet for a better outcome when exporting.

Shivering Sea

Not just when exporting. The tool themselves can make a real mess xD I started with GIMP and then moved to Photoshop with the time. The quality difference is abysmal. The blur tool was really really bad in GIMP, while Photoshop one is another world.