Consider this a kind of PSA on being considerate of what kind of art program and equipment you use.
Earlier this year, I had to replace my computer, and along with that, I had to buy all new art stuff as well. New tablet, new drawing program, new everything, because apparently my old stuff doesn't work on the new computer for some reason. The experience has been very educational.
At first I got a basic Small Intuos tablet, thinking I could save desk space and have something more convenient than my old Medium Intuos 4. Not true. The new Intuos lacks a lot of functionality I had gotten used to, and the smaller drawing surface took a lot more getting used to than I expected (the lack of an eraser button on the pen and touch wheel on the tablet threw me off the most; it's still possible to work without them, but it takes a lot longer, which makes the process annoying after a while). I ended up buying a Medium Intuos Pro, which works almost exactly like my old tablet, but with the addition of a wireless option that I never use.
Now we get to the drawing program. On my old computer, I mainly used Photoshop Elements 9. A bit bare bones in features, but it was smooth and responsive, and I was able to get into a good workflow with it. I also had Manga Studio 5 (the old western version of Clip Studio Paint), but found it to be a bit laggy and sluggish, so despite Manga Studio having better features, I usually went with Photoshop Elements for its better performance.
Sadly, I don't have Photoshop Elements 9 anymore, so for the new computer, I instinctively bought the new version of Photoshop Elements... and now it's laggy and sluggish, which I later found out is a common complaint about newer versions of the program. I also found that some features just don't work, like adjusting certain brush settings, or trying to expand a selection area with Magic Wand. I tried to install Manga Studio 5, but since Clip Studio Paint is now owned by a different company, my Manga Studio disc is now useless. I spent months then, just doing practice pictures in Photoshop, hoping I could get used to it. The experience gradually got a little better, but it never really felt good.
Cut ahead to Christmas this year, and a family member gave me Clip Studio Paint EX as a gift. Upon installing it, one of the first things it does is have you start using your tablet to adjust the pen pressure. So I start scribbling... and the program is buttery smooth, responding in real time. I finished the adjustment and started trying out different pen, pencil, and brush tools. Everything works exactly as it should. I could almost cry tears of joy. And one of the first things I thought is, why can't Photoshop do this? I wasn't even doing anything fancy, just scribbling, and it already felt a hundred times better in CSP than with Photoshop. I mean, jeez, Photoshop was the gold standard for decades. For a while, I thought maybe my computer wasn't powerful enough, but the program is just crap now. And Adobe puts out a new version every year. Shouldn't fixing the basic functionality be the top priority? Especially considering how well it worked in the past? I'm not even asking for extra features, just get the damn thing to WORK like it used to. (my only real complaint with CSP is that the text is really tiny and hard to read, and I haven't found a good solution aside from changing the resolution on my monitor, which I don't like to do because it changes how everything else is displayed)
Now obviously, any set-up you use is going to have a learning curve, and even in Clip Studio Paint, I'm still making adjustments here and there. But this has been a really eye-opening experience in terms of finding out what works for your workflow and identifying what you need to be as efficient as possible. If you're struggling to get into artwork, it might be a personal motivation thing, or it might legitimately be that your equipment doesn't feel good to use. For me, something as simple as a couple of buttons on my pen and tablet can make a huge difference, and having a drawing program that works smoothly is way more important than having extra bells and whistles (though luckily, while I had to choose between one or the other in the past, it seems like Clip Studio Paint offers the best of both things right now).
Going forward, my New Years resolution is to be more productive with my artwork, and I think that's going to be a lot easier now. I hope to have some new stuff to show you guys soon.
