Well, I've been trying to get back into some artwork this past week or so, mostly just some minor doodling in the evenings, which I might post later. But also picked up a couple clutch pencils to try. (2mm & 5.5mm, along with some leads) I also picked up the digital art program, Paintstorm Studio.
For the low price of $19, it was really a no-brainer. I had done some research for a few days watching videos & reading reviews, trying to see what the program was capable of. But even if I hadn't, I would have purchased it as soon as I tried it for myself! Some described it as a program that takes some of the best things from Photo Shop, Painter, Manga Studio, etc. and put it in one package. And as others had started, it doesn't have all the bells & whistles PS has, (Which I don't even use anyway) I can easily see where this statement is close to the mark. It is a pretty cool program!
- I can even see where some folks might jump over to using Paintstorm, over some of the others due to it's simplicity and customization. - I've only spent an hour or two with it last night mostly trying out the tools and such, and I swear the only thing you can't customize is your imagination!
And yeah, as with PS, there are things in Paintstorm I know I will probably never use. (mostly stuff I would think some would love for doing crafts and such) I think once one learns how to properly work with the settings and create some personalized tools, I don't see why anyone couldn't create some fantastic works as they could with any of the other programs mentioned above. And since it's completely compatible with PS already, and can open and save in .psd format, that's just another plus.
... I'm looking forward to trying it out here real soon on a real image.
Screenshot of the layout...