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Sketchbook Pro is a very strong sketching/drawing software as the name implies. It has a minimalist interface and it runs very well - even on large brush sizes. It also has minimum and maximum pressure sensitivity controls for brushes (PS does not have this built in and you must configure manually), which is excellent for colouring because you don't have to press hard if you don't want to, so less nib eating. Artrage is another viable option and it has more tools available and is cheaper by a decent amount. However some think that Sketchbook Pro has a better pencil brush, like myself. I could never get into Artrage, but it's worth checking out. There's Manga Studio, which as the name implies, is geared towards manga. I know nothing about it other than that some people swear by it. Illustrator is not for everyone and it can be very picky at times. So many times it feels restrictive because of how different it is from raster software. So many mistakes are easily remedied in raster software, but with Illustrator it's not always so simple and many things have to be approached different. In spite of that, vector graphics still offer the cleanest lines you'll ever see and I've seen many great pieces made out of it. My main beef with it at times is how it comes off more as a technical beast, so it's not as approachable. If you use PS with it though, you can get some really awesome results. Photoshop is the obvious king out of the others I mentioned, especially that most software are compatible with it on some level. However not only is it expensive, it's usually does too much for what people would use it for. For drawing manga, it seems like it's overkill. So for that reason I wouldn't bother. My suggestion would be to download trials, they all have reasonably long trials and artrage has a free (but of course handicapped) version available. Hopefully I was able to help.
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Jan 16, 2011 12:29
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Yes, mine came with those as well - it's standard for buying any intuos4 tablet. I never used them because I already bought the creative suite, so I have no personal experience with them. I did read about them at length and of course they're watered down versions of the full software, but it comes free anyway. Difference between PS Elements 8 and PS CS5: http://photo-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/photoshop-elements-and-photoshop-cs3-comparison.html Difference between Sketchbook Pro and Express: Pro 2011 has unlimited layers, text features, and some layer blending features. Express obviously has none of those things and I read it has very limited layers, like 3 layers.
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Jan 16, 2011 23:05
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Good to hear it's working out for you. Sketchbook Pro is able to do some impressive things if you really get to know the software and start making custom brushes. I agree that it's feature lacking, it doesn't bother me because PS is able to compensate for any of it's shortcomings. It sure helps that they're cross compatible as well. As far as user friendliness goes, I agree it certainly could use improvement in this area and hopefully the next version will address this. The biggest problem I have with it is a glitch with the crosshair and the brush where they are misaligned when I have scroll bars enabled. I really hope Autodesk sends a patch to fix this. Photoshop certainly has a learning curve. It's not hard to learn, but it does take a []while[/] to learn and even more time to know how to make it's tools do what you want in a piece. If you ever become more serious with your hobby you'll probably find yourself getting this at some point, it's an excellent fallback to have even when it's not your main software. I say that because if something goes wrong or you need to do something really specific, PS is capable of fixing the problem or giving you that specific need. MS sounds like it's good and I hope to see some cool stuff from you!
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Jan 19, 2011 20:52
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Raenir Salazar posted:Lines and contrast problems. For drawing straight lines and getting the contrast you want, hold the shift key down and that works. In any software I know about anyway. Nobody should be expected to draw a straight line without a tool of some sort, that's why traditional artists use rulers. Shape tools can be useful and in my opinion..when you're working on digital art, the results are what matter, not the methods. The best advice I could give is pick what works for you and don't be afraid to use your creativity in methods. I started just about as beginner you can get in art only around a month ago. I couldn't draw anything right, even basic shapes like a circle were hard to achieve. People would laugh at my drawings and I took an 8 week art course. I had a terrible teacher, but even then I was the slowest in the class. That experience in general ruined art for me for a year. However I picked it up again recently and have been at it on a decent basis. I still draw and now making shapes isn't so hard and it's getting easier (things are actually looking like things now). The muscle memory and coordination will develop, be patient and give it time. Making truly perfect line quality freehand comes with much practice and patience. On line adjustment, you could try the smear tool. I don't know if MS has it, but SBP and PS do. To help line quality, remember that you can build upon lines and do soft erasing to remove parts of a line gradually. Such as when a line is too thick or high in contrast, or to even smooth out your lines. Never forget that you can use layers and lower the opacity/fill of your lines, this is handy for fading all of the line art on that layer in one adjustment.
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Jan 20, 2011 11:41
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