Painting Applications

The next step on your digital art adventure would be finding a suitable painting application. There are different kinds of artists for different kinds of applications so you better keep that in mind, subsequently, I’m an artist that excels in illustration of characters so the basic painting applications are best suited for me, none of that editing jazz like Photoshop, though Photoshop is still a great program that some artists use to draw.

MyPaint

MyPaint (different from the normal Paint) is the very first painting program that I used.

It has a very simple interface that beginners will like, as opposed to Photoshop which will overwhelm you as soon as you open up the program and are met with tons of buttons and side bars that you can’t understand.

It’s very straightforward and I personally prefer it if I were to paint digitally, as referred to the very name of the program.

It has a ton of brushes already installed so you can experiment and choose which brush you prefer.

It’s more suited for straightforward digital painting rather than for editing drawings, so if you are the artist that loves to experiment with brushes, colors, and layers, then this program is for you.

Krita

Krita was the second program that I discovered and became my favorite until I met my next program.

It’s vibe is that of Photoshop, and it can also be used to edit pictures as it gives you more tools to experiment with on the left side bar as opposed to MyPaint.

It also has a ton of brushes already installed, but not as diverse as the selection from the previously mentioned program. Still, it is still a rather great program for you to start with.

My experience with Krita was wonderful, it offered more tools than that of MyPaint, namely the symmetry tool, grid tool, selection tools, stabilizers, and others. These, if properly utilized, can greatly affect the outcome of your illustration. No more uneven eyes, no more shaky and jittery lines, I had such a wonderful experience with it as I also learned more and more of what kind of an artist I am.

Paint Tool Sai

Paint Tool Sai was the actual second program that I discovered, but shrugged off as I didn’t really get it’s rather complicated interface at first glance. But at the recommendation of a friend and it’s need in the classes of my multimedia arts course, I went back to using it.

It’s my current favorite program to use for drawing as it’s editing tools are more suitable for my style than my previous favorite program which is Krita.

I believe that this is the best program for my kind of style, in which I prefer neat line art and also being able to edit said line art. It’s made possible with the tool ‘line work layer’ where the lines that you have drawn in the specific layer can be edited.

Though you only start with a few brushes, you have the option to create a new brush or edit an already existing one which calls for more experimentation. This greatly helps if you feel like a certain part of you illustration is off and it just needs a little bit more of that pizzazz.

Additionally, the layers can also be edited in which you can give it a papery texture or something else just so that the illustration you’re creating has more life.

In conclusion, all of the programs that I have mentioned differ greatly from one another, but as I have mentioned earlier in my opening paragraph, it depends on what kind of artist you are and what kind of program you need for your specific area of expertise. It just so happens that Paint Tool Sai is the program that I am most comfortable with, and as such it is the one that I recommend if you are the type of artist that draws characters and likes neat line art.

I am sure that there are more applications and programs to be explored rather than the three that I have mentioned here in my blog, but I will leave it up to you if you want to explore more or not, as these are merely my experiences that I am sharing with you.