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fuck it . kanamori cat

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hold babie gentle

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Hahaha I’m a functional adult that can use the phone no problem, yep, definitely *sweats*. In all seriousness, I’ve had a huge problem with doing phone calls most of my life and have made huge progress with it to the point that I can sound almost normal during them. The build up to a call is still pure agony though.

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Top 12 alternatives to Photoshop for digital painters and illustrators

Hello there!

Yes, we haven’t done this in a while… but our inbox and chat are swamped with questions on the subject, so this article was very much needed.

it’s a simple list of art apps, but we know you love those :D

Enough with the intro, here it is, a list of twelve art apps you may want to check out.

ArtRage is an art program for beginners and professionals. With its minimal interface, it’s easy to keep the essential tools at hand without stealing space from the canvas. Panels can be moved around and tools can be customised. We all know how important it is for digital artists to be able to modify brushes!

Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; essential tools from professional apps available; available for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac

Cons: it may get sluggish with big files and when using big brushes, but performances also depend on the running machine; limited selection of editing tools if compared to Photoshop - ArtRage is more of a painting program rather than an editing one.

Paid

ArtRage Lite is a different version at a cheaper price, mostly for beginners, but also for professionals if they need the essential.

Now free, Sketchbook is the famous app created by Autodesk for various platforms.

Pros: clean, friendly interface; easy to use; professional features; autosave feature

Cons: lack of official tutorials; doesn’t offer as many tools as other apps (it’s down to the essential); paid subscription in Adobe style for Enterprise License

Free and paid

Black Ink is a powerful little program few actually know, but there’s a reason: this isn’t your classing drawing app. What’s cool about it is the vast selection of special brushes, completely non-realistic, and definitely able to boost your creativity.

Pros: vast selection of customisable brushes; excellent performance

Cons: not very easy to use; non-intuitive interface

Paid

This is probably the most complete software for painting, drawing and animation. It was originally known as Manga Studio, but with its updates and addition of features, it became Clip Studio Paint. 

This doesn’t say much about the quality of the features themselves considering the affordable price (if you haven’t used the app yet, that is), but among graphic apps, this one is the top seller.

Pros: professional features for illustrators; layout tools for comic/manga artists; 3D reference models; customisable tools; various sales with special prices

Cons: the interface may not appear intuitive at first; the program may lag (again, performance also depends on the running machine)

Paid

GIMP is the famous open source image editor originally created for GNU/Linux and available for OS X and Windows. 

Best known as Photoshop’s main competition, this is a manipulation program for both beginners and professionals who love design.

It offers many professional features, making the program a powerful tool.

Pros: professional editing tools; supports different formats; supported by different platforms; active community

Cons: in spite of the simple design, many options are hidden and it takes time to discover all the features; slow startup

Free

Krita is an open source painting app created by artists for artists.

Pros: easy to use; intuitive interface; great brush workflow; brush stabilizer; customisable brushes; general good performance; very enthusiastic, although small, community

Cons: it may be slow or even crash depending on the running computer and the app’s version; very few editing tools compared to Photoshop

Free

MediBang Paint is a free and light app for drawing and painting, perfect for manga and comic creation.

Pros: vast selection of brushes; cloud sharing; friendly, minimal interface (non-desktop app); also available for iPad, iPhone and Android

Cons: requires an account to use all features; non-intuitive interface (desktop version)

Free

Mischief is a sketching app with essential tools, useful for brainstorming and ideation.

Pros: infinite drawing canvas; friendly interface; easy to use; cheap pro version

Cons: few updates; offers only the essential (but that’s the point); no editing/adjustment tools

Free and paid

Corel’s jewel, Painter is the most famous software that offers digital tools able to give a traditional feel to brushes and canvas.

Pros: different selection of media; many professional features; PS-friendly

Cons: certain brushes may work slow; not easy to use at first; the software may crash (this is the most common report); pricey

Paid

Paintstorm Studio is a professional software for digital painting. It’s focused on the use of brushes and blending, which makes the software a little gem in the digital painting field.

Pros: good brush workflow; brush stabilizer; “close gap” feature; customisable interface and tools; professional features; affordable price

Cons: non-intuitive interface (desktop version)

Paid

Procreate is the powerful drawing app for iOS. 

With the very sensitive Apple Pencil, Procreate is so easy to use that many artists chose the iPad over the most famous graphic tablets.

Pros: friendly interface; makes it easy to organise files; excellent brush workflow; customisable brushes; video recording; affordable price

Cons: hidden features; only available for iPad

Paid

SAI is a simple app for artists who want to focus on painting and drawing. 

It’s well known for its good pressure support and its essential tools for manga artists, but SAI can be used by any kind of artist who wants to paint.

Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; light software; customisable brushes; tons of (non-official) tutorials

Cons: limited selection of tools, even basic ones; limited canvas sizes and uses; it might crash from intensive work, especially with big canvases and brushes; supports only RGB colour mode; lack of support

Paid

HONOURABLE MENTION

Many call this app an advanced PaintTool SAI, and for a reason. FireAlpaca offers almost everything PTS has and more.

Pros: friendly interface; brush stabilizer; lineart selection; customisable brushes

Cons: no colour slider; limited brush control; although more advanced compared to PTS, the features are quite basic.

Free

We hope you’ll find this list useful. 

If you think there are other apps that should have made this list, don’t hesitate to let us know!

Thank you and peace out,

G&M

Other articles:

10 inspiring and helpful YouTube channels for digital artists

6 inspiring Art Podcasts for digital artists

7 amazing Photoshop extensions and tools for digital artists

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Two job-hunting resources that changed my life:

This cover letter post on askamanger.com. A job interview guide written by Alison Green, who runs askamanager.

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how to be okay when I see my deadname

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kitty talk (mbmbam animation!)

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re-creation of one of my favorite audio posts (which is now broken)

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OMFG.

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Previews of my pieces for the Heart of the Valley zine!

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skeletons

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did u know: according to scientists, in October the mitochondria turns into the frightochondria and becomes the haunted house of the cell

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Shitty Warlock Patron

Todd Howard, The Uneditable One

You have made a pact with Todd, a being of dubious morals and unknowable goals. Sometimes you feel as though dominion over your body is not your own; as though your limbs are being controlled by some otherworldly force. 

Expanded Spell List:

Todd, in his benevolence, lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the list of warlock spell list for you:

1st level: Mage Armor, Catapult

2nd level: Levitate, Warding Bond

3rd level: Phantom Steed, Haste

4th level: Dominate Beast, Giant Insect

5th level: Passwall, Geas

A Glitch in Time:

Starting at first level, you feel your pact with Todd begin to alter reality. As a bonus action on your turn, you can choose to roll on the Glitch Table (d8). The glitch will affect you until the end of your next turn in combat. 

Glitches:

Your limbs bend at strange angles, causing you to drop anything you were holding. 

Choose one object you can see that weighs 1-10 pounds; this object multiplies by 20.

Your senses alter, leading you to believe that you are in water. You must now swim everywhere. 

You can clip through solid objects by running at them. This does not include other creatures. 

The next hit you take sends you flying, either to the edge of a room or 120 feet, if you are in an open area. 

Physics is altered for you; you can walk up walls and sheer cliffs normally. 

The features of all other people shift disturbingly, revealing lidless eyes, lipless teeth, or perhaps disappearing altogether. Make a Wis save against your own spell save DC. On a failure, you become frightened. 

You teleport to an empty space up to 60 feet away.

Chess Proficiency: 

Starting at 6th level, you gain +2 to all Intelligence rolls. You also gain advantage on all chess-related rolls. 

Glitches Galore:

Starting at 10th level, Todd will allow you to impose your glitches on other creatures. Choose a target: that target must succeed on a Wisdom save against your spell save DC. On a failure, they must roll a d8 and assume the corresponding glitch. 

It Just Works Somehow

Starting at 14th level, you can invoke the name of Todd to perform spectacular feats of spellcasting. Make a DC 20 Charisma check; on a success, Todd will allow you to cast one spell of a level available to you. This spell can come from any list, does not cost a spell slot, and does not require any materials to cast. Once used, this feature cannot be used again for 3 days.