PSP & Painter...Same?

[mitchman]

This is my first post and I did not see any relevant topics for this particular question... so at the risk of seeming redundant... I have Painter 8 by Corel, though I use it seldom (I favor Photoshop and curently use CS 1), anyway I have been confused for some time about the different programs referenced in this and other forums (like Renderosity). What, exactly are the differences between Painter, Photo Paint and Paint Shop Pro? Are they essentially the same graphics package sold either bundled or targeted for different markets, or are they actually different programs?
Additionally, do the Tubes, brushes, etc transfer seemlessly from one application to the other? For instance, if I find PSP Tubes, will they import directly into Painter as well?
It seems as if many folks using PSP have never even heard of Painter... so any clairification here would be helpful, thanks.
Mitch

[earnyla]

Don't have and have never used Photo Painter, so cannot comment on that. As a long-time user of one graphics program or another, sometimes simultaneously, I can discuss some of what you are asking, semi-intelligently (LOL, depending on who is reading this!). Painter is a "whole different animal" from Paint Shop Pro. PSP is more comparable to Adobe Photoshop. I think that is why Corel bought PSP from Jasc earlier this year. I have both, I use both (Photoshop on Mac, PSP on PC). Some major differences are cost, though that may change with Corel's acquiring the company; the absolute plethora of free tutorials. resources, and learning groups providing REAL value training for little to no money, vs the always-expensive training and books you need for Photoshop.

Recently, PaintShopPro (JASC before selling the company), came out with an add-on program to add more painterly effects to the program. I haven't fully explored it yet, though I did purchase it. It's currently no longer being offered. The PSP Tubes you mentioned are totally unique to PSP and are NOT usable in Photoshop or any other program that I know of. (someone please correct me if I am wrong).

These programs are a serious example of needing more than one software for the job, depending on what you are doing. I wouldn't dream of doing all vector drawing in PSP, though it does do vector layers. I prefer Illustrator for that. If your "thing" is painting, then I feel Painter is probably going to continue to be the best program for your needs. That said, PaintShopPro offers a LOT of great features for a great price, and their one-step photo fix is great. (speaking of version 9 here, the last of the Jasc products). Corel is releasing Paint Shop Pro 10 later this month; I've ordered the upgrade, but it will be interesting to see how much they've "Corelized it".

Hope this helps! Suggest you look into version 8 or 9 of Paintshop Pro, and give it a try. It's a bit easier learning curve than Photoshop, as well, and the groups and camraderie is great.

[HaraldHeim]

Photo-Paint was originally developed by Corel, but Painter and Paint Shop Pro (PSP) have been acquired by Corel from other companies. Painter was previously developed by Metascreations and PSP was developed by Jasc.

As a result you can't simply transfer tubes, brushes and other materials between the three. Maybe that will be possible in future versions of these applications, but I seriously doubt it, because all three are based on different technologies.

Photo-Paint is currently only available with CorelDraw and is aimed at pros (so it is in the same league as Adobe Photoshop), PSP is aimed at semi-professional and amateur people (like Adobe Photoshop Elements) and Painter is for digital artists. All three are basically for different markets, although the differences between the three will certainly become smaller with every new version.

[mitchman]

Thank you both for your replies... since my work is primarily creative rather than corrective, I feel I have made the right choices. I am only marginally impressed with the Corel product line, but my experience is limited. Adobe products have been difficult to learn, but have paid off handsomly. Painter will eventually be added more and more I am sure (to my work), but PS will remain the backbone due to versatility, cross-application compatabilities, continued product updates and enhancements... not to mention the availability of plug-ins!

Harald: kudos for your newsletters and this website resource--Thank you.
Mitch

[HaraldHeim]

You can use most plugins in all three mentioned Corel applications, although a small percentage of plugins won't work. Painter is an application which doesn't have a counterpart on the Adobe side, so it is definitelly highly recommended for digital painting.

I agree that Adobe products may Appear more difficult for novices, but for pros who have to perform complex task they save a lot of time.

[earnyla]

I also agree that, once you have used and mastered Photoshop, nothing else will do. It's an "elephant gun" for those who need only a fly swatter, but I won't give it up. I simply cannot afford to keep it on both platforms! Harald is right, and as I said before, Painter has no comparable competing product... not really. I think they both have their uses. If you are doing creative work, I believe you need to have both.

Truly, as more and more move into digital art forms, from whatever background, most of us find that no one software product meets all our needs. As in other art media, unless you restrict yourself to say, oils, you are reducing the options that you would have available if you'd stocked your studio with watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, silk screen printing supplies, etc. Some folks can work entirely in one media and never exhaust the possiblities, while others like the freedom of switching or combining media to produce their best work.

Enjoy the possibilities!

[HaraldHeim]

Yes, most professional people won't restrict themselves to just one or two products. I myself have Photoshop CS, Photoshop CS, PSP 7, PSP 8 and PSP 9 installed and use the one or the other depending on the task.

[earnyla]

I'm curious... I too have PSP 7, 8, and 9. At one point, I had them all installed on the PC, but since purchasing a new one, I am just now re-installing. I'd be very interested in knowing what it is about keeping all 3 versions installed? I thought about just version 7 and version 9, and of course, we have version 10 coming this month. And You said you had Adobe Photoshop CS and Photoshop CS (but I suspect you meant PS 7?) installed.

Why do YOU keep all 3 versions of PSP installed? Granted, it's not that much HD "real estate", especially if you are sharing the plugin folders between programs, but what advantage do you find? I never did settle into version 8 all that well.

And why two versions of PS?

Thanks,

Elaine

[mitchman]

In my own experience, sometimes an upgrade to an app requires both versions installed in order to function. When I worked at a newspaper, we had that happen while upgrading from PS 6 to PS 7, I seem to remember the same problem with Quark at the time. I don't think that is still true of PS though.

I did have both PS 7 and CS on my Mac for awhile, but it was due to disk redundancy... I have an entire backup of my boot drive on another volume. In fact, I do this when I upgrade operating systems in order to have a fully functioning system, should something happen, until I am satisfied with the new OS. Right now I have both Panther and Tiger on my machine while I make the switch. This time it is taking awhile because Tiger still has some slow-down issues with PS CS, and especially CS 2. Until all that is resolved, I won't be upgrading to CS 2 or completely making the switch to Tiger.

I think Harald has other reasons for his duplicates, and I am interested in hearing about it. I am not all that familiar with the Windows side of these programs.

Mitch

[HaraldHeim]

Sorry, I meant Photoshop CS and Photoshop CS 2. I actually like Photoshop CS better than CS2, so I usually use CS. But there are a few things which I need from time to time (like the multiple image feature in Camera RAW) that are nice about CS2. I used RAWShooter Essentials previously, but noticed that I produce unacceptable flat-looking images, so I'm back to Camera RAW in CS 2, which produces much better results.

I guess I could discard of PSP 8 and only keep PSP 7 and 9, but I may need to test some plugins in PSP 8, because it behaves a bit different with some plugins. I try to have as many applications installed for testing plugins.

I have OS9 and Jaguar on our Mac and recently added Tiger just for testing the new ColorWasher for Mac plugin.