Krita, GIMP or Pixelmator for digital drawings?
Sadly I had to say goodbye to photoshop for a month or 2 so I am looking for a new program in the meanwhile.
I am currently on a pixelmator trial and I like it so far because it's basically photoshop though there are some minor differences. (Can't seem to rotate my canvas and as expected not all brush functionality is in it and not all downloaded brushes do what I want them to do.) So far I am just not really feeling pixelmator, it's okay but I'm not totally satisfied.
What about Krita and GIMP? What do you think about those programs? How are they with tablets?
I want to try something a bit more illustrative and maybe even something more watercolor-ish as I'm trying to create a little book of drawings for my nan
I am currently on a pixelmator trial and I like it so far because it's basically photoshop though there are some minor differences. (Can't seem to rotate my canvas and as expected not all brush functionality is in it and not all downloaded brushes do what I want them to do.) So far I am just not really feeling pixelmator, it's okay but I'm not totally satisfied.
What about Krita and GIMP? What do you think about those programs? How are they with tablets?
I want to try something a bit more illustrative and maybe even something more watercolor-ish as I'm trying to create a little book of drawings for my nan
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I use GIMP quite a bit. Krita crashed a lot something about a bug with autosave, i trurbed it off but it crashed anyway. so I just said to hell with it. You can use photoshop brushes in GIMP too so there's thousands out there, I use Mypaint instead of Krita because it worked 
mypaint.intilinux.com/
mypaint.intilinux.com/
Thanks for the info and opinions! I will download all three programs and just check them out and draw a bit with them to see how it goes 
I see no loss in trying Krita and Gimp for yourself. Both are free and even with photoshop back you will find some things you could use from one or the other.
I haven't used pixelmator but it seems to be based very heavily on photoshop. On the other hand Both krita and Gimp are both based on completely different schemes. The one I use the most, Krita, is based around the idea of a painting application, so while it has helpers, like filters and that, most tools are incorporated into the brushes engine. An example is the eraser, instead of having a dedicated tool, you can turn any brush into an eraser by pressing "E". So instead of adding paint, you are removing it. Also you can set a dodge and burn brush or a blur brush. It's very flexible. So If you need a watercolor effect, you can get it by adjusting the brushes to paint in such a way.
Tablet models support is wide (some very specific models seems to have problems), and if the tablet has it, the software supports all sensors like pressure, tilt, assention, rotation, speed.
I haven't used pixelmator but it seems to be based very heavily on photoshop. On the other hand Both krita and Gimp are both based on completely different schemes. The one I use the most, Krita, is based around the idea of a painting application, so while it has helpers, like filters and that, most tools are incorporated into the brushes engine. An example is the eraser, instead of having a dedicated tool, you can turn any brush into an eraser by pressing "E". So instead of adding paint, you are removing it. Also you can set a dodge and burn brush or a blur brush. It's very flexible. So If you need a watercolor effect, you can get it by adjusting the brushes to paint in such a way.
Tablet models support is wide (some very specific models seems to have problems), and if the tablet has it, the software supports all sensors like pressure, tilt, assention, rotation, speed.
Krita can be a production powerhouse if you know how to use it, although on Windows its a bit sluggish still. Gimp is cool for editing pictures but not so much for artmaking.
Open Canvas has a 60 day trial so you might like to try that one out. www.portalgraphics.net/en/oc/
Open Canvas has a 60 day trial so you might like to try that one out. www.portalgraphics.net/en/oc/
Krita will be even more basic than Pixelmator. GIMP will have far more settings but its about as friendly to use as Excel whilst horribly drunk, and even then it lacks some tools which are considered basic in Photoshop (doesn't even have clipping masks!)
Honestly? I'd stick with Pixelmator.
If you want a more natural media looking drawing, try Corel Painter.
Honestly? I'd stick with Pixelmator.
If you want a more natural media looking drawing, try Corel Painter.