I did read it all. But I'm not in any way obligated to contribute to all the questions. I chose the topic I had something to say about (which was this question of yours: "Does anyone else hate Photoshop like I do?") and gave my statement. That it wasn't to your liking is not my problem. If you wanted answers for only one specific matter, make that clear.
You sound very frustrated about Photoshop.
I've been using Photoshop CS, CS2 and CS5 since 2005 and sure, in the beginning the software were really difficult to use, but as time goes (and software upgrades) you learn the program and also know how to change the layout of it.
(Like, moving around the windows and such, the bar is usually just set and you've gotta learn it the hard way by clicking around)
Now, I'm not at all familiar with CC and I probably won't get it either (because I'd like to buy the program instead of having it on a subscription and right now that seems to be impossible).
You said you've got a pen & touch function on the tablet?
Have you tried turning off the touch function?
That could actually be the cause of your problems, I've noticed the same thing on my wacom Intous Pro M, even though I ran it with a MAC.
The Touch function made everything weird, sometimes the pen pressure changed, the brushes were deleted and what not D:
And as others has stated, Photoshop was mainly made for photo editing, but lately have understood that artists enjoy working with the software (as do I) and thus started to advertise it as a program for artists as well.
So it's made for 3 different groups of artists, painters, graphics and photo editors. Hence why there's so many tools you probably won't even know there is.
Paint Tool SAI and others, like Clip Studio are completely made for artists and which is why those programs run a bit different and are easier to learn and understand as all the tools are developed by and for artists.
(And I don't think Photoshop sucks? When I used it on windows, it was laggy as hell, it took forever to start up and it was overall terrible. Switched over to MAC, and it ran perfectly?? Takes less than 10 seconds to start up, saves fast and isn't laggy!)
Yeah, after a bunch of troubleshooting it's finally starting to work a little more smoothly. I could barely use it until I turned off pen & touch. Hopefully I'll be able to adjust to it now. I was just getting super frustrated earlier because I didn't understand what was happening.
It actually runs pretty fast on my Windows 10 but on the computers at school it is so slow it literally takes a good 10 minutes just for the window to open. 15 or so to become usable. Photoshop at school is a whole other issue. Imagine trying to learn how to use a software in a language you can barely read.
I honestly believe that hand drawn bubbles look more lively anyway. Being able to see the artist's hand is subtle and lends a lot of character to the dialogue.
Actually, I'm personally more comfortable coloring in Clip Studio. There's just things offered in Clip that aren't there in Photoshop. Like I can set a layer to clip to a group/folder of layers but in Photoshop I can't do that to groups just individual layers. This helps me since in Clip, I have a group for each character containing a vector layer with lineart and raster layer with colors. I can set another raster layer to clip to a character's group of layers and freely color ontop of the lineart and fill color creating interesting rim lights, shadows, and effects.
Also Clip has a tool that I just discovered and figuring out how to effectively use it, the Contour line paint. It looks interesting where you can dab swatches of color and then use this tool to have them automatically blend for you.
Plus, I can adjust the magic wand tool to automatically expand 3px instead of in photoshop having to manually expand each time. And the Paint Bucket tool has a setting for closing gaps so I can quickly color things even with the lines aren't fully closed. And there are sub tools that can fill in those few white pixels that get left unfilled in points and peaks of drawings. AND I'm a fan of the Glow layer blending option for an added effect of glowy magicness.
Honestly, I only use photoshop these days for formatting images. If it needs to be a special size for print or online or creating a quick ad with image assets.
And side thought on Adobe, in general it's really ridiculous with it's monthly charges for using it's software. I rather SmithMicro's system of you pay and you get the program. Eventually with Adobe's utility people start paying more than what the one time charge to buy the program used to be.
Clip Studio has spoiled me : P
It might be worth it for you to take watch a few tutorials about Photoshop. It can do so much and the interface isn't very intuitive. Just having someone explain how it all works, or even seeing how another artist is actively using it can help with your own workflow. I have been using it for awhile and I still pick up tricks, shortcuts, and new features whenever I watch a tutorial.
On another note, switching to Clip Studio Paint for illustrating has really gotten me better results. My lineart looks better and the program is really tailored for drawing. I don't really like to do digital painting in it so I for really photorealistic stuff I still use Photoshop. I would suggest that if you do try it out, look up some tutorials because the tools were not very intuitive when I transferred from Photoshop.
If you're using Photoshop to do your line art, it doesnt have a stabilizer built within(goes back to @carloswebcomic mentioning it being a photo manipulation program from the beginning of its conception). You can get a program such as Lazy Nezumi to work in conjunction with it(act as the stabilizer).
I just mainly use Photoshop to color. All my line art I do in Clip Studio, because it has a built in stabilizer and I like the line art quality.
I'm still scratching the surface with Clip Studio. I'll eventually figure some things out, but in no rush to. Right now I'm doing okay toggling between Photoshop & CSP.
Hm, I haven't used CC so I'm not too familiar with it.
Sometimes just googling specific issues can help. I'm aware that Windows 10 can be problematic with some softwares. Hopefully people out there have made plug-ins to smooth things out.
Best of luck to you!
Just wanna pop in and say, hot keys work great for that!! I have my expand selection set to F2 because I got tired of having to crawl through menus to expand my selection nearly every time I select something. So now I literally just select, F2, enter. Saves SO much time.
Pops back out so thread can stay on topic
That's fair, however the wand tool is already automatically expanded depending on settings choice without needing to use a hotkey. Just BOOM, click and fill. lol
There are just certain things I find easier and more streamlines in Clip than Photoshop.
imo paint tool sai is one of the best for coloring since it has brushes specifically built for blending. i've not tried clip studio but transitioning from sai to photoshop with painting is extremely difficult. i can't do half the things in photoshop that i can do with sai when it comes to painting.
however i really do wish sai was at a higher resolution because photoshop gives a crystal clear image as opposed to sai's slightly softened quality.
Ive gone from sai, clip tool, before sticking with photoshop. Painting in sai is much more streamlined from what I remember but I still prefer to do it in photoshop because it helps me compare values in the color picker itself vs sai.
I do agree that photoshop's interface is cluttered to all hell and makes it difficult to figure out exactly what you need and where it is, but you get used to it after a few years. I like using the program because neither sai or CSP has brush functions like photoshop (and trust me i tried to find some. csp adding the opacity option to pen pressure recently was little too late.) as well as photoshop having more options with layer modes (sai failed me on this) I don't have issues with wobbly lines/needing stabilizer because I have line confidence like hell which is what frankly frustrated me about CSP - even at the lowest settings the brush stabilizer was still moving wayy too slow for me.
it does have its problems. eating up a ton of memory if you're working on something big. sometimes the program crashes on me when im picking colors from the color wheel and other times it deletes all my set preferences if I shut my computer off before it completely closes, but I still prefer it way more than sai or clip studio.
Okay, the short answer of it all is, whether you're content or not with your art ability in Photoshop, what do you expect us as Tapastic users to do about your troubleshooting errors?
If you hate using it so much, just stop using it. But you're not gonna get anywhere by complaining about its functionality and yelling at anyone who gives a reasonable answer.
Just stop using it. Go find another program that works for you. If you have any legitimate issues with the program or how it runs that just come down to "I hate this program and I'd like to see it fixed" (outside of what we are able to help you with as a community of webcomic artists) then send a complaint letter to Adobe or something. After that, again, just go use Clip Studio Paint or something. There are a lots of drawing programs outside of Photoshop and you're not obligated to use it (I don't use it either, I just hate the textures of the brushes and it doesn't run well on my computer - so I switched to Clip Studio Paint).
I love Photoshop...and I find it easier to use than other drawing programs and much more beginner friendly than something like Illustrator. Mind you, I was introduced to the program when I was 12 and now I am 26. I've tried to use other drawing programs but because I am so used to Photoshop, I get really frustrated when short cut keys don't work.
The most I can say about learning the program is to take time and see what the different functions do. I originally took classes as well as looked at tutorials. If you need help with something little, I can help.
