forum Fellow Artsts/Animators/people-who-like-to-draw, UNITE!
Started by @Infinite
tune

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@The-N-U-T-Cracker

@TheHollyJollyMythFanatic FINALLY MY USELESS KNOWLEDGE ISN'T AS USELESS!!! I have tried more than 20 different free digital art programs (I'm broke and homeschooled so it's basically become a hobby of mine to download and test every free art program I can find) and I can give you a list of all the best and worst ones out there if you want.

@The-N-U-T-Cracker

Oooook here's a list of all the programs I have downloaded and tried: (Note: there are some websites you can draw with that I've tested but I honestly don't remember what they're called, so I won't be listing them.)

Krita: My favorite program in the history of programs, this one has literally every feature you could ever possibly need as a beginner or professional artist, there are simple things like layers and more complicated things like the ability to control the rotation of the brush tip by X tilt on a curve. (I only recently learned what that even meant) The biggest downside to it though is with all those features, it's kinda difficult to figure out, but I started using it at age 12 so it can't be too hard. 9/10.

Autodesk Sketchbook: My second favorite program, this one is good for just about everything. It works a little differently from the other programs, but it's very easy to figure out and while it does have a lot of features, it handles them in a way that doesn't distract you from your work, however, it's mostly made for use with Wacom brand tablets, and there are a lot of little things about it that get on my nerves, but it's still a really good program and my biggest recommendation for beginners. 8.5/10

Artrage Lite: This one is usually a paid program, but I got a free trial with my first tablet, and it's… Not bad. Not good, but not bad. I used it for about 8 months before I found Krita, and it's meant to resemble natural paints. I don't have much to say about it, It's good, but it's definitely not an 80$ program. 7/10

MS Paint: NO NO NO NO NO. THERE'S NO LAYERS OR PRESSURE SENSITIVITY, THE TWO MOST USEFUL FEATURES EVER. -40/10

MediBang: This one is really hard to review, my best friend swears by it and says it's the best thing ever, even better than Krita, but I hate it beyond any reasonable measure, and I don't even know why I hate it so much. I think it's the lack of brush features, I know they're trying to be simplistic but why is there an edge pen yet no difference between opacity and flow? I think this program would be best for cartoon and anime artists, but for me? it's garbage. Not to mention it has ads when you open it, and if you draw too fast it'll start making these weird geometrical lines. 5/10 from me, 10/10 from my friend.

FireAlpaca: same as above, but this one has animation features too.

MyPaint: It's a good program, a lot like Krita, only this one is made just for painting without all the complicated interface features. However, despite its aim for simplicity, it's a somewhat hard program to learn. Amazing brushes though. 7/10.

GIMP: This one is aimed more towards photo editing, and while it's a good program, it's REALLY HARD to figure out. As in REALLY HARD. I do not recommend it for beginners at all, and I would talk about its pros but unfortunately ever since I got my new tablet it's stopped working on me so I don't really know much about it. 4/10.

Verve Painter: Ok, maybe it's not the best drawing program, but if you're bored and want something that'll keep you entertained for forever, this is the program for you. It's made to simulate the looks and feels of real paint, and I dunno about you guys but I think watching paint swirl and blend together is probably one of the most satisfying things ever. Plus the program takes up less space than an image file, so there's really nothing to lose with this. Everyone should download it whether they're artists or not. 10/10

Artweaver Lite: I… Don't have much to say about this. It's not a miracle program but it's not garbage, It's just kinda average. Still better than MediBang though 6/10

Paint.Net: THIS HAS LAYERS BUT IS SOMEHOW MORE HATABLE THAN MS PAINT. -44/10

Inkscape: I can't actually judge this one because it's a vector based program, and I have no idea how those work. ???/10

Pixia: Basically the same as Phierha, only this one keeps crashing when I use it so I can't judge it. ???/10.

Pencil2D: This is an animation program, and not a bad one, but I'd still prefer Krita or Sketchbook for animation. 6/10

Pinta: THIS IS SOMEHOW MORE HATABLE THAN PAINT.NET. -50/10

Graphiter: I was super excited when I opened this, the pencils are super realistic and the eraser was, indeed, an eraser. Just one problem, if you want to add color or ink to your drawings, you have to pay money, which was very disappointing considering how good the pencils were. 3/10

SpeedyPainter: This is about what happens if you take Krita and trim it down to the VERY basics. It's a good program, however, the lack of a blender tool makes it hard for me to use, considering my very blended semi-realistic art style. 7/10?

Project Dogwaffle Free: As someone who sings Vocaloid horror songs in the shower and listens to creepypastas while I draw, I can safely say that this was extremely scary to download. My screen turned blue and black for a moment and wouldn't let me cancel the download. The grammar and spelling in the download bar were painfully incorrect, and I was absolutely convinced that I had downloaded a virus that would cost my parents thousands of dollars and break my computer, but no, there was no virus. Just a garbage paint program. 2/10

MS Fresh Paint: Not to be confused with regular MS paint, this one is actually somewhat good. It's supposed to simulate natural media, yet the only thing that actually feels like natural media is the oil paint, but then again I've never actually used oil paints. Also, I can't remember if it was this or Graphiter that wouldn't let me use it without Wi-Fi, but I'm pretty sure it was this one. I'm not sure what to rate this… 4/10? It doesn't have layers.

Tux Paint: Ok this one I downloaded as a joke because the age rating said "Ages 3-12". I was 12 at the time and wanted to see what people actually expected of me, and it's kind of a "so bad it's good" thing. It says it has "Fun sound effects!" but just imagine…: You've been given the most beautiful idea for a painting, something that could be worth millions, and you're ready to make your masterpiece. You get your reference, plan it out, and pick up your favorite paintbrush, and right as you place the delicate bristles against the canvas, it starts making a repeated beeping sound until you stop painting. You try to dip the brush into the paint, and the brush tells you that the paint color is "Dark Grey! Some people spell it, Dark Gray!". That's how it feels to use this. ???/10

Phierha: the older version of Pixia, only this one's harder to download. It's a lot like FireAlpaca/Medibang when it comes to the flaws, and there's a LOT OF FLAWS. However, despite being garbage, it's got a charm to it. I like it, but it's still not a good program. 5/10.

Mischief Free: There's not much to say here. It's got maybe three brushes and no ability to create more, and there aren't even layers. Maybe the actual program is better, but the free version is just plain pointless. 2/10.

Gravit Designer: Like Inkscape, this is a vector program so I have no idea what to say. ???/10.

Hope this helps! Also, I kept the reviews very shortened, so if there's one you want to know more about just let me know. (GAH THIS LIST TOOK FOREVER TO TYPE)

@_sleeby_rat_

I suggest one of the smaller wacoms. my first tablet was a wacom intuos draw if I remember correctly, and it worked wonderfully. however, I don't suggest any of the wacom pro tablets, as I personally had several issues with my wacom pro paper. I currently have one of the newer XP Pen models (I think it's the 16?) that is about as good and cheap as you'll get a display tablet

@_sleeby_rat_

dude, it's free again? it was free/cheap for like 3 dollars a few years ago, and it's a really good program that I would probably use instead of sai if it was totally free

@The-N-U-T-Cracker

do you have beginning tablet recommendations?

While I don't have specific tablets to recommend, I can give you some tips on how to choose a good one and what to look for:
#1: There are two main types of tablets, tablets with screens and tablets without screens. Screenless tablets are usually cheaper, and they're less likely to break, while screen tablets are easier to get used to and give you more control. There are benefits to both, however, you should probably do some research before deciding which type you want.

#2: Don't immediately go for the most expensive tablet you see, no matter how fancy the features seem. I have used both an Intuos Draw ($70) and an Intuos Pro ($350), and while I love my Pro tablet very much and definitely prefer it over the regular Draw tablet, that $280 difference is not worth it for an eraser on the back of the pen and tilt sensors. Not to mention the Pro one is harder to travel with because it's so much bigger.

#3: Stick with the popular tablet brands. Huion and Wacom are the two most well known. Why is it important to choose their tablets? Because not all programs work with every tablet. A lot of them (Such as Sketchbook and Gimp) are made specifically for Wacom or Huion tablets, and the pressure sensitivity will either glitch out or stop working completely if you use tablets that the programs don't support. I'm not sure why it's that way but it is.

#4: I know I already sort of said this, but DO. YOUR. RESEARCH. Watch tablet reviews, read Amazon reviews, figure out what tablet you want before you go buying it. This is an important step.

#5: Are tablets too expensive? Well if you have a Mac computer (Yes, must be Mac, not Windows or anything) and an iPad, you can download an app called AstroPad which will allow you to use the iPad as a screen tablet. You have to have a stylus though. (If you can't get a stylus, a piece of tin foil works. Might make weird sounds and isn't fully reliable but it works.) (Also, I've never actually used this because I don't have a Mac computer or an iPad, so I can't guarantee this will work)

Also, just a bonus tip if you do get a tablet: The pens require nibs which can be lost really easily, so if you happen to lose your last nib… Uncooked spaghetti noodles and duct tape can actually be used as a solution. I tried it once, it's a little odd feeling and if you're not careful you might scratch the tablet, but it really does work.)

@_sleeby_rat_

I would like to add that even though most smaller tablet brands have errors with lots of programs, XP Pen's tablets are cheap and high quality. Mine is one of the more recent screen tablets, a 13.3, and I have very few problems with it. It's on the big side (it's as big as my enormous laptop, and I'm partial towards larger devices anyways because I'm blind af so it's not a problem for me), and the HDMI portion of the cable is EXTREMELY breakable and the screen is a bit easy to scratch. Replacing cables is also a bit expensive, as you can really only find them for 20 dollars on amazon, but it's far better than replacing something like the pro pens for a Wacom Pro. Although I can't diss Wacom, I am a bit anti-Wacom due to my bad experiences with the pro paper tablet. they're also expensive af to try and replace different parts (my dog ate my pen. it cost like 40 dollars), but the display tablets are REALLY good

@The-N-U-T-Cracker

I would like to add that even though most smaller tablet brands have errors with lots of programs, XP Pen's tablets are cheap and high quality. Mine is one of the more recent screen tablets, a 13.3, and I have very few problems with it. It's on the big side (it's as big as my enormous laptop, and I'm partial towards larger devices anyways because I'm blind af so it's not a problem for me), and the HDMI portion of the cable is EXTREMELY breakable and the screen is a bit easy to scratch. Replacing cables is also a bit expensive, as you can really only find them for 20 dollars on amazon, but it's far better than replacing something like the pro pens for a Wacom Pro. Although I can't diss Wacom, I am a bit anti-Wacom due to my bad experiences with the pro paper tablet. they're also expensive af to try and replace different parts (my dog ate my pen. it cost like 40 dollars), but the display tablets are REALLY good

Yeah, the reason I got my Pro tablet in the first place was because I lost the pen to my old one and my birthday was coming up so my mom was just like "Here you're stressed about losing an important piece to your favorite belonging so have an even more expensive version so you can be even MORE stressed about NOT losing this one!" (Two weeks later my baby sister brought me my old pen and said "Look, Ella, I can color too!" so I have no idea where it was)

@Starfast group

heck females are hard to draw, I stick with bois

Yeah, I kinda feel the same way. Guys are easier for me, only because of the fact that I don't have to draw boobs on them. Boobs are hard.