Computer drawing program recommendations?

[xSuperMario64x]

so for my next major purchase I would like to buy myself a Wacom Tablet, since I want to get more serious about digital art, and while my current Lenovo tablet does the job it's not quite professional quality. with that I would like some recommendations for computer drawing programs!

here is the criteria I have to (or would like to) meet:
- my computer is currently running Windows 8 so it has to be able to run on that OS.
- I would strongly prefer a one-time buy, no "subscriptions". or if there are great free options I could do that too (I currently have GIMP).
- I would like a program that is very user-friendly, or at least has a lot of instructional videos or how-to articles that might help me get a feel for it.


lay em on me!

 

[bestfriendsally]

so for my next major purchase I would like to buy myself a Wacom Tablet, since I want to get more serious about digital art, and while my current Lenovo tablet does the job it's not quite professional quality. with that I would like some recommendations for computer drawing programs!

here is the criteria I have to (or would like to) meet:
- my computer is currently running Windows 8 so it has to be able to run on that OS.
- I would strongly prefer a one-time buy, no "subscriptions". or if there are great free options I could do that too (I currently have GIMP).
- I would like a program that is very user-friendly, or at least has a lot of instructional videos or how-to articles that might help me get a feel for it.


lay em on me!

maybe, krita? :>


i use it on the pc sometimes... it's pretty good once you get used to it :>

 

[BungoTheElf]

I highly recommend clip studio paint! Currently, it is around $50 but it goes on sale for 50% off a lot so I would say just keep an eye on it. There are a ton of assets and brushes you can get for free, and imo pretty user-friendly but like every program, you just have to get used to it. I would compare it to be like photoshop but for art. Also paint tool sai, which is very easy to use and very user-friendly, probably more than csp but it can be tricky sometimes when it comes to making brushes with textures. I started out digital art with sai, and even though I tend to use clip studio paint more often I go back to sai sometimes because of how comfy and nicely it runs.

For clip studio paint I believe there are a ton of official videos and instructional videos, but for sai they are more user-made ones out there.

There are other programs you can use for free too or just look for quick comparisons to others, check out the art programs thread :]

 

[pipty]

Seconding csp, I used ps before I tried csp on sale and my only gripe was it had no liquify but they recently added that too. Csp also has tons of assets to dl and use and I think it's quite easy to get those from the program itself for free

 

[jadetine]

I see that Bungo was already here, but they worked hard to compile a thread on Art Programs and summarized the points of each overall.

☆ Art Programs ☆

Hello Artists! This is an updated version of the old Art Programs! thread. Here are some user-recommended art programs that have been tested, tried, and true! Included are free drawing softwares to other paid applications. Hopefully these recommendations will offer you the right tools to use at...

www.belltreeforums.com

I have used Photoshop, CSP, and Gimp on my computer. I would also endorse Clip Studio Paint, unless your Windows 8 copy comes with Autodesk Sketchbook, which is free and a good starting point before jumping into Clip Studio Paint. They no longer support downloads, though.
As far as resources go, CSP has plenty of tutorials and the software even links you to the info!

 

[Raz]

I highly recommend clip studio paint! Currently, it is around $50 but it goes on sale for 50% off a lot so I would say just keep an eye on it. There are a ton of assets and brushes you can get for free, and imo pretty user-friendly but like every program, you just have to get used to it. I would compare it to be like photoshop but for art. Also paint tool sai, which is very easy to use and very user-friendly, probably more than csp but it can be tricky sometimes when it comes to making brushes with textures. I started out digital art with sai, and even though I tend to use clip studio paint more often I go back to sai sometimes because of how comfy and nicely it runs.

For clip studio paint I believe there are a ton of official videos and instructional videos, but for sai they are more user-made ones out there.

There are other programs you can use for free too or just look for quick comparisons to others, check out the art programs thread :]

Also, someone who buys a wacom tablet may get clip studio for free. I got it a few months ago when I updated my Intuos S, and I bought it almost 4 years ago.