Paint program
 

Can someone recommend a good art program for me? I'm looking for something I can use to create backgrounds from scratch, preferably free. For the record, I love MS Paint although it's functionality is limited, and dislike photoshop for starting stuff from scratch, especially the irritating layer function and the fact I can't seem to get it to make a simple white background transparent when pasting.

A vectory Program could be an idea, then you wouldnt have to wory about the white as being transparent when moving something.

You can use stuff like Flash, or Illustrator. But Photoshop pays off if you just take a little bit of time to learn it.

I'm not familiar with it myself, but my cousin says Project Dogwaffle is really good. The free version has limited funcionality, but you can still do way more with it than with paint.

Artrage is free as well as straightforward and easy to use. Give it a go, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised:

http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html

If you want free vector graphics, try Inkscape:

http://inkscape.org

Oh, if you want to get "serious" about painting on a computer, a Wacom Intuos is almost a must have :)

A wacom cintiq would be even better :P

But they are awfuly expensive :crazy:

Why don't you try the OGL and practically freeware GIMP?

Take a look here

Photoshop is by far the most powerful and fastest way to do anything with pictures. I'd only reccomend it if you have a fairly fast computer though.

Download the lastest Photoshop trial, then google search for a way to trial it forever if you know what I mean. ;)

OM!! I'm tellin!:D

You know the world is the best when you've got open-source vector programs, open-source paint programs and open-source 3D programs. Who the f*ck needs pirated software anymore?!

Try Photoshop 4, it's ease to use, small and fast.

And you might be interested in the tutorials posted by the creators of "Apprentice". Check them out here

Open source programs are clumsy and awkward (their user interfaces designed by a hodge-podge collection of geeky programmers), stuffed with strange features created only to meet the needs of those writing the programs (not those using them), and they crash about twenty times as often as their commercial counterparts (when they run at all).

If you want to get work done, go with Photoshop or even Paint Shop Pro (bloated and slow as it is). If you're too broke to afford them, you can give Inkscape or the GIMP a try.

GIMP is open source actually ;)

Yes, and so is Inkscape. That's why I recommend them only if you can't afford real programs (as a last resort).

Although it's a bit mean, I see what Yoda's saying about open source...
I think I'll probably end up hand-drawing, scanning, and colouring with photoshop.

That's what I'd do, if I had a scanner...

Yes. Just look at Firefox. World's most unsafe, unstable and unusable web-browser..