Why photoshop?

[Gousgounis]

Hi there! I used to repaint aircraft for WWI sims using PSP.
Its working really well but I see that most people use Adobe's Photoshop. Now why is that? Is it better in many aspects or just pure coincidence? I want to continue reskinning WWI crates which is mostly fabric. Is photoshop more efficient in fabric and generally in repainting? I see so many plug-ins and videos about photoshop that I think that maybe I should give it a try as it seems so popular. Wich version do you suggest? (CS3 out of the question). Also, which plug-ins are a must for my work?
Thank you

[adlabs6]

I would say that the artist is the more important than the software choice. There are many fine repaints, profiles, and other artworks which have been created with PSP and Gimp. I am now using Gimp for my graphics work. I make very little use of filters outside of the occasional default 'blur' variety.

There are a surprising number of amateurs (some rank) who will mention using the latest Photoshop versions. I am puzzled at this, since purchasing CS3 would cost more than my entire computer. Whether these people are laying out the credit card or stealing the software, I cannot say.

But either way, Photoshop has an incredible market share. This explains why you see so many support materials. Commercial graphics will very likely use Photoshop in some stage of their production, and the more refined plugins which are avaliable for sale often are targeted at the commercial workflow.

[BLOWHARD]

To add to what Adlabs says, it is the first and usually only choice for professional artists, and I mean in business to make a profit when I say professional. If you get a job in any art studio, production house, or anywhere art is produced on a commercial basis, Photoshop is used, 99% of the time, if not 100%. One reason it cost so much is because it is the industry standard and it's a professional money making tool. It wasn't designed with the home enthusiast, like most all of us here, in mind. When it comes down to it, any professional piece of software, Adobe, or otherwise, cost a lot, because it's generally sold to make money for it's users.
PSP, or any of the other cheaper programs are fine if they do what you need them to do, and they are cheaper because they are made for use on personal home computers, not businesses.

Is it better in many aspects or just pure coincidence?

Yes and no. It is better mostly because it's very flexible in how it can be use and how many things it can do. Many of those things might never even be used doing the kinds of things we do here. I'm not certain of what PSP offers but I think I can safely say that there are are hardly any limitation, if there are any at all, with Photoshop.
Right now Photoshop CS2 and CS3 do a great deal of things that fall WAY beyond anything the program sets out to do. Some of the things included in full versions of Photoshop might seem like "bells and whistles," or at least they do until you find you need them

Plig-Ins? I use very few, and even without any add-on plug-ins, Photoshop will do just about everything you can dream of. Plug-Ins are usually more personal taste. If you do decide to shell out the cash for Photoshop, use it for a while and then decide what you need that you don't have. Then hunt for Plug-ins that will do the job.

Which version? I'd say any full CS version. Any of the stripped down versions may not offer anything more that PSP does. I recommend CS just because it is the current version. CS1 through CS3 are fairly similar as basics go.

I got my original copy, a full version of Photoshop 4 for $100 extra when I bought an Agfa scanner. Since then all that's offered along with scanners, if anything, is a stripped down cheaper version of PS, like PS Elements.
But I also use PS at my job retouching photos.

For those of us who are Photoshop users, it's THE ONLY way to fly!

[ratfugel]

I'll add my two pennyworth if I may. Photoshop ( not somewhere where you buy pictures!) is by far the best painting program out there. I have used every version and it just gets better. The last two profiles I have made (I've only done five) have been in CS4 (Photoshop 11) and the improvements there have speeded up the work enormously. I agree that there are loads of plug-ins but frankly I reckon I can do most things in the basic program. The only add -on I would recommend would be Fluid Mask, which does a superb job simply because it takes the pain away from some intricate operations. Choice in these matters is entirely down to the user, of course. We all have our opinions, and different uses for the program.

[Kamikuza]

I always thought it was because PS users wished they were still on their Macintosh
Started using Paintshop Pro cos I found it less intimidating to use and never got around to adapting to PS or CS which I got free with my tablet. I've used Gimp but find menu's etc clumsy ... but I'm sure I could get used to it.

Plug-ins - you gotta have Bright for skinning, and I can't live without Alien Skin FX ... it's got a great noise generator

[ratfugel]

I always thought Mackintoshes were something you wore?

[KevinJarvis]

I think you'll find that the later versions of PSP are now more adaptable to the PS files and filters.

I started out on PSP b/c I was given my first version. Now I use PSP9 and I am able to load almost all PS files to use with it.

[JMSmith]

hi kevin,

i use PSP7 as my main program, then switch to PSP10( thats coreldrawX) mainly because 10 as brushes twice the size of seven and i can do more with the warp mesh, i also have CS3, but trying to use that is like understanding brain surgery!!!!

[BLOWHARD]

Oh com'on, it's not that bad, if I can figure it out anyone can

[Vigilante]

I'm going to have to make the switch here with my next upgrade - I'm still using PSP 9 and I don't want to upgrade because the company has been purchased by Corel. I use Corel Wordperfect at work every day and, let me tell you, it's the buggiest, crashiest kludge I've ever encountered. So I don't want to go there.

But I'm thinking about what Blowhard said about the price point on PS being set on the basis that users are professionals rather than amateurs. I wonder if it would be ethical to get a student version through one of my college-student children for my own use, so long as I don't use the program for profit? Any thoughts?