Photoshop vs Paint Shop Pro

[DavidR]

I am excited this forum has been created, ha, hopefully we can get some good discussions going on here.

The question of the topic is simple, which is best?

Personally, hands down, no contest I say Photoshop, I did use PSP but back in the day, about 2001, the moved to Photoshop and never ever opened PSP again. (Although I just purchased a copy so I could get Animation shop, but that's a seperate program, so it doesn't count).

I find the text tool just for starters in Photoshop gives a much better final result, for some reason text appears differently in both and I don't like how PSP does it. Plus so many other things.

What do you think - and for people who use PSP and Photoshop side by side, what would you say is the best feature of both. Like, you may do most of your work in one of the programs, but then import it to the other program to add a certain effect that works better in the other program. (Did you make sense of that?)

(Note: This is the first attempt at a poll I have made so this may turn out not to be a poll at all!)

[Selena]

I like PSP. Although photoshop probably has tons more effects than PSP, i find psp has a much more user friendly interface for me. I can do what i need and thats fine with me. Any tutorial i've ever read that applied to PS i was able to do what i needed in PSP, and personally i just find it much more user-friendly to me...

[Izzy]

I like PSP because to me...I think it's a lot easier to use, but I think PhotoShop is actually better because it's more 'professional', I really do need to start using that as well xD

[DavidR]

Any tutorial i've ever read that applied to PS i was able to do what i needed in PSP.

Yeh I have found that but visa versa. For the majority of basic things you can use either guides and work them for both programs.

[Tfdesigns]

I like both, PS is much better for professional looking stuff & for cutting PSDs.. whereas PSP is better for doing glitters or quick pixel text. PS did take a while to learn but it was worth it, the tools & effects are pretty good.

[mcfox]

Photoshop, without a doubt, is the superior product, particularly the image compression.

Having said that, I still use PaintShopPro on occasion, although mostly for screen captures.

Anyone tried Xara Xtreme Pro? I just downloaded a copy today to try it out. It has some dandy features but I'm not sure I can be bothered learning another graphics app.
http://www.xara.com/products/xtreme/default.asp?t=&v=

[treacle]

I think the decision comes down to price sometimes. I have Paintshop Pro and find it quite nice to use. I have just recently bought Photoshop too and need a crash course in it!

[GREGO]

I learned to design graphics back in the day with paint shop pro 6. oh how far graphic programs have come. I have pscs2 and psp 9 and I like photoshop cs(2) better than psp for sure. I would actually go as far as to say psp is just a cheaper copycat program kinda like how your grocery store sells cheaper cereal that looks and supposedly tastes just like the good cereals only they don't and psp isn't nearly as nice as photoshop.

[Greg-J]

I've updated the Poll to reflect to very important contenders: Paint.NET and GIMP.

Although my vote was for MS Paint just for kicks, chalk me up to a Photoshop user since version 3.1.

Ahhh the nostalgia of PowerMac/Performa days

[DavidR]

Although my vote was for MS Paint just for kicks.

I made the poll public to name and shame any real MS Paint users ;)

I did make the graphics for my first ever site in MS Paint though!

[GREGO]

I used to know a guy that could make some amazing artwork in paint. i mean some real bomb stuff. lol, as for the gimp, well at least it's free.

[DavidR]

I used to know a guy that could make some amazing artwork in paint. i mean some real bomb stuff. lol, as for the gimp, well at least it's free.

Oh yeh I have seem some completely amazing bitmaps made in paint, those are astounding.

I was just kidding about.

[LinkPromo]

Photoshop since 4.0!

[Christine]

I started off useing PSP.. A few months ago I ventured into the photoshop world, then I tried out CS which I prefer alot more. I prefer to make glitters, pixel text, borders and stuff like that in PSP, like Selena mentioned its well, user friendly. But in PS cutting PSD's is pretty good if you know how to use the pen tool properly. Although it isn't really that hard lol. Also the layers, I didn't really get into the whole layer thing until I started useing photoshop, and I'm glad I did. PS is deffinetly better compared to PSP for layers, and ofcourse has a whole lot more effects.

But eitherway, I can't vote because I use them both for different things & find them just as successful as I want in the graphics I make in each different one.

[Andria]

I use both and without them i'd be lost!


I use PSP for my glitters and PS for layouts and graphics.

[Helios]

Photoshop all the way, but only because I had worked at a print shop in highschool. Honestly, I've just never got around to trying anything else.
Been meaning to check out PSP for a long time...all those fans can't be wrong.

[Rhab]

I have always used photoshop. However I just came across this and thought it was perfect to introduce in this thread, simply amazing...

Using MS Paint of all things... ms paint god (http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1728017)

[MrWizard]

I have always used photoshop. However I just came across this and thought it was perfect to introduce in this thread, simply amazing...

Using MS Paint of all things... ms paint god (http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1728017)


Very impressive! The person that did that is an "ms paint" god for sure.

[DavidR]

I have always used photoshop. However I just came across this and thought it was perfect to introduce in this thread, simply amazing...

Using MS Paint of all things... ms paint god (http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1728017)

That is amazing. It gets to a point where you think 'wow' then when then when colour is added it's even more wow! I am checming out some other work: www.pixelgod.net

[Scilynt]

I have always used photoshop. However I just came across this and thought it was perfect to introduce in this thread, simply amazing...

Using MS Paint of all things... ms paint god (http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1728017)that reminds me of one I saw a while back that was just amazing. It was of a trainstation landing, if I rember correctly. I was silly the amount of hours he spent on it but obviously a thing of passion, and probably challenge. I't amazing what real artist can do with even the most basic tools.

There was another of a city on the river that was amazing as well.

edit: couldn't find the train one but here is the "river" which is actually Venice:

paint: http://www.deviantart.com/view/17908194/ (supposedly too him 500+ hours to do!)
reference photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppz/170387972/

[rick]

Photoshop all the way! I've tried a few of the other ones. I personally don't think anything can come close. Photoshop does cost a lot... but well worth every single penny!

[sshjustkissme]

I love photoshop. I think it's easier than any other programs. PSP took me seriously 30 minutes to make ONE glitter, while photoshop took a few minutes to make and animate.

[Tolman]

PS by far is the superior, I used PSP a lot back in the day (several years ago). It was definately great at the time, but PS you are able to do everything it did and more. You can always learn something new in PS.

[computernoob]

this topic usually invokes some flaming and wearing out the quote button so i'll be breif. basically i have been using PSP since it was version 3 on windows 3.11 and would now find it hard to re-learn and change over to PS. using PSP7 atm, it works, version 8 tried to look like (and was bloated like) PS and don't get me started on PSP "X" !!

[steveAR]

photoshop hands down. no competition at all

[Tombles]

I havent used them to their max potential but from what i have used when i created some designs i would say photoshop

[&&ASHLEH]

I like PSP. Although photoshop probably has tons more effects than PSP, i find psp has a much more user friendly interface for me. I can do what i need and thats fine with me. Any tutorial i've ever read that applied to PS i was able to do what i needed in PSP, and personally i just find it much more user-friendly to me...

That's like me.
I try so hard to understand PS, but I give up in the end :|

[widget]

Photoshop looks cool... but i could never get into it :(

I've always used Macromedia which is now Adobe Fireworks... its about the same as photoshop.. you can make w/e you want in it .. the only downside to it is that it doesnt have brushes or as much filters as Photoshop

[mrs brightside]

Have PSP 8/9 and PS 7. I think PSP is so much easier to use, I only use PS for making textures. Also when sites/people only provide brushes for PS and not PSP I make the PS brushes into stamps and import them over to PSP.

PS is complicated, too many buttons. It's only good for effects, and saving as .JPG .

[urheart]

I started out with the very first Paint Shop Pro 1.0, and stopped using it at version 6. Paint Shop Pro is very easy to use, but it didn't have all the features that Photoshop had. So I tried out Photoshop and didn't get it, and went BACK to Paintshop Pro thinking that I could just do without the effects that I wanted to use.

Then, I decided to buckle down and learn Photoshop 6 through tutorials online. Once I learned how to do what I wanted, I became better acquainted with Photoshop and stuck with that.

[RKGraphics]

eh. its always going to be a straight divide between the two. one is more user friendly, the other has more options.

believe me, i've been working with both in the past few days. im sticking with ps, but psp has an interface that looks like fun ;) so im going to get to know it a little (although all the same features can be recreated in ps)

[Enamour]

I've no doubt Photoshop is better, though I've never used it. I always hear about the amazing effects and things Photoshop is capable of, and I see the results. PSP is nice, but it doesn't like me much xP I voted for GIMP because that's the program I first started off with, and I felt I owed it at least a vote. I'd like to try PS some day, if I can ever get around to it.

I have always used photoshop. However I just came across this and thought it was perfect to introduce in this thread, simply amazing...

Using MS Paint of all things... ms paint god (http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1728017)
Wow... if I hadn't seen it done right before my eyes, I would've had a hard time believing that was done in MS Paint. I knew it was capable of a lot, but that's beyond my expectations.

[RKGraphics]

that is AMAZING. funny what you can do with patience, creativity and just color and shapes.

[MoreniTa]

I gotta go with PSP all the way!!!!!

[A N G E L]

I love PSP especially the X2 version.. but I do really wanna learn PS...

[GREGO]

lol This thread has dug it's way from the grave a few times now :)

well lets see, looking back at the post I made on this thread over a year ago.. I have to say I am now a photoshop only user.. I have banned psp from my designing all together.. once you learn photoshop it's actually more user friendly than psp and of course it has like 1000% more capabilities.


not to pick on anyone here.. please don't get me wrong. As a designer, you want to use what is easiest for you and what you feel comfortable with.. and I see some very talented designers around here who use PSP ..

BUT ....

I think it's funny how many people here are aspiring to be graphic designers for a company or commercially and arn't willing to touch photoshop.. I mean seriously, no respectful designing firm or company is going to be using Paintshop pro.. you might be hella good with psp but when you move over to photoshop (and you will have to) it's going to take you a few weeks to really re figure everything out.. I would suggest getting a free trial of photoshop and learning to use it if your serious about being a graphic designer..
</rant>

[reesecup215]

i agree with selena but psp is my baby but iuse both so hey

[xlove]

Paint Shop Pro all the way once i got
how to make pro layouts in psp, ps
went out the window lol

[mzkyie]

i used PSP when i started out but mostly to make glitters & sigs etc... I've since moved to PS and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it i use xara from time to time because I love the 3d text...but i edit it in PS haha

[mappy]

i prefer photoshop but yeah i do use psp sometime

[TaintedPearls]

Photoshop is better because of the quality of the finished product. I like the transform tool because it doesn't distort the image or text when changing the size of the image or text. I started with Paint Shop Pro 4 or 5 or something like that. lol can't remember it's been so long. I just recently got Photoshop XI and it's an improvement but I still like PS. I just wish that I could use my older PSP brushes with PS. Some I can and some I can't. I was told I could convert them by changing the .abr to .jbr or vice versa but it hasn't worked.

[brassdragon]

I would say that I prefer photoshop.

I used to only use Paintshop Pro but when I saw what photoshop could do I started using that. For the first week of using photoshop it was really hard to learn (cos of all the differences), but I think in the long-run the changeover is really worthwhile - my graphic skills have picked up enormously at the introduction of PS.

[sprinklesparkle]

I've only ever used Paint Shop Pro 7/8 (apart from when I first started and used Paint - but that was because I didn't have any other graphic programs). I'd love to have a go on Photoshop though.

[TaintedPearls]

I would say that in order to get the gist of Photoshop, do LOTS of tutorials. A few sites off the top of my head that I've used are www.good-tutorials www.tutorialized.com www.pixel2life.com

[mytam]

I like PS I find it easier and but PSP is like hard I ahve no idea how to use it

[JazzyJazzdotnet]

I have always used photoshop. However I just came across this and thought it was perfect to introduce in this thread, simply amazing...

Using MS Paint of all things... ms paint god (http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1728017)


Wow! Thanks for sharing, that is amazing!

And um, I use PSP9 right now.
I started out on Corel Photo Impact & Ulead, and just havent gotten around to getting Photoshop yet; but I plan to someday.

[MastaGrillz]

photoshop hands down!! you can find things easier for photoshop than any other designing program in my opinion.