It is true that art comes from artists. But the tools the artists use to create their art play a pivotal role in the creative process.
In the age of digital art this has become truer than ever before. The softwares that artists use today to create their magnificent art are a crucial factor in how close they can come to realising their vision.
Technology has come a long way and it is safe to say that it has finally caught up with the artist’s potential for translating imagination into incredible works of art.
Here’s a look at the leading software applications that make it possible for artists to create digital art that we so admire.
Photoshop CS6
Adobe’s Photoshop has been around longer than many of the young digital artists who are using it these days. Over the years it has steadily improved itself to the point where it is unanimously considered the industry standard for graphic designing.
Most graphic designing courses cover the coaching of this application with a singular focus. And rightly so, as a bulk of the final products in the graphic designing business tend to be PSD files.
Adobe has spent tens of millions of dollars and thousands of man hours in the development and marketing of its flagship in graphic designing. It is hardly a surprise therefore that the Photoshop Editor is as popular as it is.
Although there are alternatives out there, especially since Adobe has hiked the price of its products compared to earlier times, none can be considered a serious threat to the Photoshop. It is undeniably the king of the hill at the moment with no signs of being dethroned any time soon.
But as the its services become more and more revenue focused, it is possible that PS will become an unaffordable choice for individual amateur artists and digital art enthusiasts. But thankfully, there are more affordable alternatives in the market for such people, like the 2nd entry in this article.
Although many on the artist community cry out against the Adobe PS CS6 becoming yet another symbol of monopoly exploitation by the “The Man”, the fact of the matter is that it is and will remain the professional standard of the industry for the foreseeable future.
GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program or GIMP is a free, open-source, image editor, hailed as the open source alternative to the Adobe Photoshop. It is often set against Photoshop with the digital art community divided behind each of these two contenders.
While the later entries in this article are exceptional in a particular aspect – Sketchbook in drawings and Painter X3 in digital paintings, GIMP is the all purpose software that can holistically cater to the needs of the digital artist. From Photo manipulation and editing to free form drawings, GIMP can serve all with its versatility.
The hotly debated question however is whether or not it is a worthy alternative to Photoshop CS6. With Adobe now marketing all its products at a steep price, many amateur artists and enthusiasts have switched over to GIMP for a legal and affordable solution to their editing needs.
There are proponents of both softwares. While almost all agree that Photoshop, in some aspects is easier to use and and has some better features, there are trade offs to using PS that don’t sit well with GIMP followers, who are, one and all, supporters of the open source format.
But there are benefits as well as drawbacks of the open source medium. Since it is a community developed application artists can have direct input in subsequent updates but this also means that there is no quality assurance to fall back on.
As the debate rages on about the pros and cons of GIMP over PS C6, the fact remains that it is an extremely effective editor capable of performing anything from mundane editing tasks to advanced editing tasks and high end manipulations.
Try out this software if cost is an issue. Plus if you plan to switch over to PS in the future, it will be great practice as the GIMP interface is a strikingly similar to PS CS6.
Painter X3
As far as creating digital paintings goes, Corel’s Painter X3 is the unanimous leader.
While Photoshop, and even GIMP for that matter, are great for photo retouching and manipulation, the sheer depth afforded by the tools in Painter is sorely lacking in those two. As a software, Painter X3 comes closest to the real world tools used by artists to create their paintings.
An extensive colour palette, an inordinate number of features and tools make this application a must have for digital painters.
The brush search engine is a unique and excellent feature. Add to this the mixed media capabilities and the realistic pens and pencils and Painter X3 becomes an indispensable application for digital artists.
Whether you are drawing graphic comic or working on a single digital painting, Painter X3 proves itself to be a tool that will help get the job done efficiently and flawlessly.
Which is why amazing artists like Android Jones and Mike Thompson swear by the capabilities of this application.
Sketchbook Pro 6
Autodesk’s Sketchbook pro 6 is another excellent software that digital artists can rely on.
It works equally well for the amateur as well as the professional. Whether you are an enthusiast just starting out and looking to experiment or a professional with tonnes of projects and tight deadlines, this application can serve all your software needs.
Capable of a amazing versatility and equipped with a wide range of features, it can serve as the comprehensive platform to to carry our all manner of drawing and painting projects.
The latest version has been refurbished with the addition of a wide range of new features which have greatly enhanced its productivity.
Features such as multi monitor support, customisation options for your canvas, resizing options and colour management make Sketchbook Pro an ideal companion for your artistic explorations.
It produces truly amazing results when paired with a pen based input device and becomes the next best thing to drawing on paper with a pen.
It is compatible with all major formats used to import images like TIFF, JPG, PNG and BMP and is also compatible with PSD files from Photoshop.
A vast range of brushes, pencils, pen tools and over 100 artistic tools facilitate a smooth workflow and enable hassle free creative experience.
Many of the biggest names in Digital Art community have embraced Sketchbook Pro as their application of choice.
Would you like to add to the list? Tell us. Let us know which software you use or like and why.
