The world of art has changed rapidly over the last few decades, especially when we consider that an entirely new type of art – digital art – has quickly become one of the most popular ways of creating new kinds of art.
Thanks to the power of modern computing and skilled developers, we have a wide range of different digital art tools, programs, and applications at our disposal, each one offering something unique to the artist looking to break into the scene or expand their set of skills.
Corel Painter
Corel provide plenty of different software choices aimed at creative people, and one of the most popular is their Painter application. This is a great option for artists, students and designers, and it works across a range of different platforms.
There are different modes to choose from, with one even providing the artist with thick paint which they can paint across their digital canvas. Brushes come in all shapes and sizes, and the user can even create their own, customised palettes and brushes to fit their style.
Photoshop
Developed and maintained by Adobe, most people have heard of Photoshop. It’s a part of Adobe’s vast range of powerful creative software and is arguably one of the most well-known programs in the world. There’s not a lot that an artist can’t do on Photoshop, and there’s a reason that Adobe has come to dominate much of the creative sphere over the last few decades.
Photoshop is also easy to learn and use, and there’s plenty of great documentation available to become more acquainted with everything that it has to offer. Along with this, users can expect a great range of extremely powerful features aimed at artists of every kind, including designers and photographers.
Krita
When it comes to free and open source software, there are few better options than Krita. Developed by members of the KDE team, Krita is powerful creation and editing software that originally began as more of a Photoshop “clone” but has since developed into a unique application of its own. It works on a wide variety of platforms – although it performs best on Linux computers – and offers a great selection of modes, brushes, tools and more.
Krita is the go-to for any artists that also happen to have a passion for the open source world; but it’s also worth keeping in mind that due to the free nature of Krita, there is no official customer support being offered, so it might mean having to ask questions on a public forum and playing NZ mobile pokies until an answer is given.
Procreate
Procreate will be familiar among artists that use iPads and iPhones, as its exclusive to these two platforms. Despite its exclusivity, it has become a favourite among digital artists thanks to its tight integration with Apple’s software and excellent set of features.
At a cost of just $10, it’s among the most affordable options on the market, and remains a solid choice for most artists with the right hardware.
