Are other programs harder to use than Paint.net for you?

[Jasmineteax]

I'd say yes, because sometimes when I am forced to use photoshop when paint.net isn't around, I kind of struggle because Paint.net has features that I know how to use and photoshop makes things a little too... simple.

 

With SAI paint tool, I actually find myself knowing how to use it more than photoshop. But remember, that's just me. 

...Does this ever happen to you?

[Goonfella]

PDN is just so user friendly and so much easier to learn than other programs. I have been using Blender for a while now as well but I still have trouble with it. But, as with most thing, the more you use it the easier it becomes.

[Kemaru]

Paint.NET is the software I've used the most; I remember all the quintessential keyboard shortcuts and I know how things work, so it is the easiest for me to use. I know my way around Photoshop too, but I prefer Paint.NET to PS - Curves in PDN > curves in PS !!

[SAND33P]

Photoshop infuriates me, i know PTS is simpler, and im just not a fan of the Gimp layout. I will eventually get used to photoshop, due to its more powerful tools, but i hope that PDN 4 is released before i resort to that.

[pdnnoob]

GIMP is known for it's user-unfriendliness...and I can't say I disagree. Just the fact that it has more than one window drives me insane.

Photoshop is quite a step up from GIMP, but it is way more complicated than it needs to be. I had to take a class just to know where things are because some of the useful tools are hidden away in a few layers of menu.

Paint.net makes things much simpler because everything is organized logically. Plugins are organized logically because it is users and not developers that organize them. And I know where to find all my plugins because I gradually accumulated them and learned where they were as I went. Tools are in the tools window, layers are in the layers window, and everyone is happy.

 

The only other image editor I've seen that I liked was an online flash-based editor called pixlr. Needless to say, it is a lot like paint.net.

[HELEN]

I tried Gimp and Inkscape before and I didn't they were too user-friendly. When I opened up Paint.NET, everything went smoothly. It was user-friendly, a great forum, and the tuts are great. Photoshop, however, has to be my number one enemy although it's great in many ways, but it's overrated and to me, it makes me feel that the world will end if you don't have it listed on your resume as your software that you use often. And also, PS and Mac computers are more of a social class thing. 

[Kemaru]

I like PS's user interface, it's easy to customize to your liking. GIMP is just all over the place

[Jasmineteax]

Oh, and I'll point out another thing: Photoshop doesn't really have a community, so all their tutorials are kind of all over the place. But, with paint.net, this forum contains just about everything a newbie would want to know about. So if you're looking for community? Get paint.net and you'll NEVER have to search that much ever again.

Oh, and no offence, photoshop fannies...

Photoshop is a little lazy. I remember there was a tool like the paintbrush but it had soft edges. Why would you need that? Just select it, gaussian blur and you're done. Geez, not complicated at all.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Jasmineteax

[pdnnoob]

Photoshop is a little lazy. I remember there was a tool like the paintbrush but it had soft edges. Why would you need that? Just select it, gaussian blur and you're done. Geez, not complicated at all.

No offense, but you really haven't tried photoshop much, have you?

The photoshop brush system is probably one of the main things photoshop is used for. It is more than just a soft brush...you can have custom brushes (and paint happy little clouds and happy little trees in a single stroke) and there are a vast selection of settings you can change for the brush which makes photoshop the number one tool used for digital paintings in professional studios.

 

I definitely agree about the paint.net community, though...like I've said in other threads before, this is the single nicest forum I've ever been in. And that's no easy task.

[Jasmineteax]

I have tried it, but it's just that I didn't mention all the other brushes. In addition, some of photoshop's tools are USELESS... yes, useless. I tried one of the blur tools and it didn't do anything. (cough, cs4) It might be just me, but meh. 

 

And onto GIMP... I haven't tried it, but I might some time. (1 more paint tool on my computer = 3 downloaded total, EXCLUDING microsoft paint because I just don't use it,okay?)

Edited December 15, 2012 by Jasmineteax

[RedBeard]

Paint.net is my weapon of choice.  I've dabbled a little with GIMP and it's got some great features, but, PDN just keeps getting better all the time.  The user interface is pretty intuitive and the layout just flows.  Also, as a few have referenced before me, the community here is outstanding.  

 

Like Goonfella, I've also played some with Blender, but it's pretty unforgiving and the learning curve is so steep it quickly gets REALLY frustrating!  Still, the price is right...

Edited December 17, 2012 by RedBeard

[Rick Brewster]

InkScape and GIMP are just a huge dose of confusion ... their UIs just don't make much sense. At all.

[barbieq25]

I've tried a few but the only one I use now is PDN. It is more than just a program as noted above.

If not for PDN, I'd still be looking at other people's art & wishing.

Totally agree with Rick & others who noted the logical UI.

[taoyue]

GIMP is known for it's user-unfriendliness...and I can't say I disagree. Just the fact that it has more than one window drives me insane.

Photoshop is quite a step up from GIMP, but it is way more complicated than it needs to be. I had to take a class just to know where things are because some of the useful tools are hidden away in a few layers of menu.

Paint.net makes things much simpler because everything is organized logically. Plugins are organized logically because it is users and not developers that organize them. And I know where to find all my plugins because I gradually accumulated them and learned where they were as I went. Tools are in the tools window, layers are in the layers window, and everyone is happy.

 

The only other image editor I've seen that I liked was an online flash-based editor called pixlr. Needless to say, it is a lot like paint.net.

 

 

Photoshop is like a dozen programs in one -- you can do art, or you can do HDR photography, or you can do 3D modeling, or you can do vector graphics, or you can do publishing prepress.  The menus that you'd need for each task don't overlap all that much.  Throw them all into one program, and it becomes very confusing.  You basically have to pick your way through all the  features that you don't use.

 

Paint.NET doesn't have even 10% of the features that Photoshop has.  But the flip side is that the other 90+% of Photoshop isn't there to clutter up the menus.  When you open Paint.NET, you know exactly what you're going to get.

 

I hadn't heard of pixlr before, but it looks very interesting.  Even more interesting is that it is owned by Autodesk.  They seem to be moving into graphic design.  (Autodesk also happens to own Sketchbook -- probably the best sketching application for Tablet PC.)

[Goonfella]

The latest version of Gimp has the option for a single window mode now as well as layer groups. Layer groups are particularly handy for when you have an image with lots of layers. Makes things much easier.  What I also like is the fact you can use themes and make it look how you want it to look. Can`t do that with PDN (not unless you use a theme that changes the look of your whole OS.) I still find good old PDN far easier to use though, always have and always will. It`s just a shame it does not have a decent brush engine and layer groups Though. Hopefully they are coming in v4. 

[Aislin]

At home I will only use PDN, since it is user-friendly (the GIMP isn't) and my laptop can handle PDN, what I can't say about Adobe Photoshop...

 

Recently I do learn InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Bridge @ school (studying pre-press) and I must say that, after I have been using PDN for several years now and also had some study in MS Office, I find it easier to use than I usually thought... of course it is a lot, and confusing... but after a couple years of experience in MS Office and PDN, it's much more uncomplicated

[HELEN]

This may be a little off-topic, but is Illustrator worth looking into? I downloaded the trial version a few years ago, but I didn't like the interface and how it worked compared to PDN. I use Xara Graphic Designer to outline characters for children's books, but I don't like it as much, either because of its complexity. 

[Aislin]

This may be a little off-topic, but is Illustrator worth looking into? I downloaded the trial version a few years ago, but I didn't like the interface and how it worked compared to PDN. I use Xara Graphic Designer to outline characters for children's books, but I don't like it as much, either because of its complexity. 

 

I wouldn't know really, yet... In the 3rd module (in about a half year) we will learn illustrator, but I did had to make a test on it (to see if I was able to do the education) and there are some similarities, but yes, it does work very different from PDN, uptill now I still prefer PDN for it's simplicity, although it would be nice if smudge and custom brushes were not in other windows (but I thought those would be different at PDN 4.0???) anyway's, what I do like from Illustrator, is the fact that every object you create, you also can select apart from each other, even though they are on the same single layer, just by clicking them...

[IAMRCx]

In 2010 I retired from Truck driving. I took up simple drawing as a means of relaxing. I started with the paint that came with my computer. As I saw all of the artwork and photomanipulations, I decided I wanted to learn. I tried most all programs availiable at the time...and thought it was beyond me....I stumbled upon pdn at a time I was ready to give up. Of all of the paint programs out there, this was the easiest for me to learn. I learned mostly by playing around with it. Now it is the only editor I use other than photoscape which I use to animate with. I love this program. Thanks to all who have made it and who keep it running for those of us who want to learn and to share our inner expressions laid out in art form to others.

[HELEN]

^I feel the same about Paint.NET compared to other programs. Programmers should take a few lessons with Rick and everybody else who made this program happen.

[nitenurse79]

I can't get along with the confusion of Gimp, too many sub menus and it disrupts the workflow trying to find stuff.  Paint.net is by far the best program I have used and the plugins are very easy to install and run. Then of course there is this forum, help when needed, tutorials to help you grow.

[Beta0]

Hmm... Let's see the programs I use/used:

 

Raster:

 

MS Paint (Paint): Very simple. Perfect for quick, developed sketches for pure, digital images. The inconvenient: I don't have that patience to paint in gradients or try 'layers' (I can't explain the last one very well.) There's a lot of tricks I still need to learn. And it seems to not have any shorcut keys at all (which would be a lot of help since I'm slower than a snail when painting...sometimes.)

 

Gimp: Photoshop's open-source counterpart. It's perfect for trying digital painting, which is usually made in PS, Corel Painter or SAI, and make lineart. The paths tool (pen tool in PS) is easier to use since I don't need to rasterize everything, (shapes and/or lines.) It has more blending options than PDN (Sorry!) in layers and a few tools. It has plenty of textures, gradients and brushes. Also, I can make my own brushes. The inconvenient: The effects (filters). They take too much time. And the windows cover the image! In addition, the clouds render... What happened to it? I try to use it and..no clouds? And the gradients. I can't see it when I make one. Just a line and, then, it appears. If I did it wrong...I have to do it again. And I better not forget the colors. The swatches appear...when I click one of the two boxes with the current colors. Finally, when the program opens, I have to wait an 'eternity' for it.

 

Photoshop: The standard program for Graphic Design for work and college. It has even more blending options than Gimp and PDN (again, sorry!) Also, I can alter the brush to what I like. I even like that it has swatches ready (unlike Gimp.) And I can paint in channels (not the same as layers) as if I'm painting in one layer (good for practicing.) The inconvenient: It's too complicated. I've memorized almost every shortcut key from PDN and Gimp...that I get confused when I use PS. The pen tool is too confusing. It's like Illustrator just got into the program. And, if I don't rasterize the shape (because that's the only thing I got: shapes), I won't be able to edit it. When I paint in channels, it automatically creates a new layer. 'What?' That was my reaction when I couldn't use the brush set on burn or multiply properly. Then, I realized there were new layers.

 

 

Vectors:

 

Illustrator: Another standard program for Graphic Design. Useful to make simple drawings (like cartoons and 3D shapes) and logos. It has layers, swatches, textures, tools, etc. ready to use. And the results come out smooth and clean. The pen tool is easy to use, perfect for practicing in how to use it fast. The inconvenient: When pasting a copy of the selected shape/line into another layer...it's difficult to align them properly. A very small chunk of the copy makes it obvious. Especially when the opacity and blending mode are changed. And it saves your work, depending on how much space did you use to work on.

 

Inkscape: Illustrator's open-source counterpart. Like Gimp, it's free. But I didn't/don't know much about it. Only that it's possible to save an SVG file to edit it in Gimp. And one can make good lineart with it. The inconvenient: When I first used it...the program didn't last long and I got it out of my laptop. It was much more confusing than PS and Illustrator together. (Recently, I decided to give the program another chance. I better see what it has to offer since I enjoyed using Illustrator.)

 

My conclusion: I'd say...yes. Some have been very hard for me to use than PDN. But the advantages are worth it. 8]

 

Sorry if this reply it's too long.

And, once again, sorry...for writing all of this. It's just my experience. :s

Edited June 4, 2013 by Beta0

[Rick Brewster]

MS Paint does not have layers or gradients.

[Beta0]

MS Paint does not have layers or gradients.

Yes. That's true (and something I forgot to write.) But what I wrote about gradients (though not as clearly as I thought) is painting them. With the bezier tool and/or the spray paint. About 'layers', it's a trick I read in some MS Paint tutorials. (And it works.) I remember it was opening two windows of the same program and copying/pasting the image constantly as the person is working on it. And the background color has to be the same in both windows, while the selection tool has to be in transparency. One has to have patience for that. *nods*

Edited June 4, 2013 by Beta0

[teh501stSnoipeh]

Source SDK, definitely