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Adobe Photoshop

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Pros & Cons

Industry standard for creating digital art

Tons of functionality, can do almost anything

Works natively with other Adobe software like Illustrator and Premiere Pro

Very few digital art programs can compete with Photoshop

Priced more for professional artists than casual hobbyists

Can't just buy the program, have to buy a subscription

Vector graphics functionality is all in a separate Adobe program

Price

Plans start at $20.99 a month

Functionality

Photo editing, compositing, digital painting, animation, and graphic design

Platforms

Windows, Mac, iOS

Adobe Photoshop Full Review

Clip Studio Paint

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Pros & Cons

Excellent software for drawing, painting, and comics

Compatible with a wide range of tablets

Tons of useful brushes and presets

Great for both casual artists and professionals

High learning curve for a lot of its features

More expensive than other art programs (but less expensive in the long term than Photoshop)

Unsure if some tools aren't included or if they're just hard to find

Price

$49.99

Functionality

Digital painting, animation, and graphic design

Platforms

Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, ChromeOS

Clip Studio Paint Full Review

Affinity Photo

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Pros & Cons

Specifically marketed as a cheaper version of Photoshop

Lots of functionality, only missing a handful of Photoshop's features

Can open Photoshop files

Also offers programs to replace Illustrator and InDesign

UI is less polished than Photoshop

Selection tool is less good at capturing complex shapes like hair

Images take a long time to process and render

Price

$25

Functionality

Photo editing, compositing, digital painting, animation, and graphic design

Platforms

Windows and Mac

Affinity Photo Full Review

Procreate

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Pros & Cons

Excellent tool for drawing on an iPad

Tons of brushes, ability to make your own and download more

Very deep functionality, can replicate almost any analog technique

Animation features are extremely easy to use

Limited to iPads, no photo editing tools

Easy to learn, difficult to master

Stylus is basically a necessity

Price

$9.99

Functionality

Digital painting, animation, and graphic design

Platforms

iOS

Procreate Full Review

Krita

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Pros & Cons

Free and open-source digital painting program

Excellent for tech people who want more customization

Extremely robust and feature-rich for free software

Has special scripting to make better use of advanced graphics cards

Less polished in general than paid software

Often run into bugs and glitches

Fewer resources for learning the software

Price

Free

Functionality

Digital painting, animation, and graphic design

Platforms

Windows, Mac, and Linux

Krita Full Review

Digital Art Software