The Secret Life of Alien Dogs

Hello there!

Yes, we haven’t done this in a while… but our inbox and chat are swamped with questions on the subject, so this article was very much needed.

it’s a simple list of art apps, but we know you love those :D

Enough with the intro, here it is, a list of twelve art apps you may want to check out.

ArtRage is an art program for beginners and professionals. With its minimal interface, it’s easy to keep the essential tools at hand without stealing space from the canvas. Panels can be moved around and tools can be customised. We all know how important it is for digital artists to be able to modify brushes!

Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; essential tools from professional apps available; available for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac

Cons: it may get sluggish with big files and when using big brushes, but performances also depend on the running machine; limited selection of editing tools if compared to Photoshop - ArtRage is more of a painting program rather than an editing one.

Paid

ArtRage Lite is a different version at a cheaper price, mostly for beginners, but also for professionals if they need the essential.

Now free, Sketchbook is the famous app created by Autodesk for various platforms.

Pros: clean, friendly interface; easy to use; professional features

Cons: lack of official tutorials; doesn’t offer as many tools as other apps (it’s down to the essential); paid subscription in Adobe style for multiple licenses

Free and paid

Black Ink is a powerful little program few actually know, but there’s a reason: this isn’t your classing drawing app. What’s cool about it is the vast selection of special brushes, completely non-realistic, and definitely able to boost your creativity.

Pros: vast selection of customisable brushes; excellent performance

Cons: not very easy to use; non-intuitive interface

Paid

This is probably the most complete software for painting, drawing and animation. It was originally known as Manga Studio, but with its updates and addition of features, it became Clip Studio Paint. 

This doesn’t say much about the quality of the features themselves considering the affordable price (if you haven’t used the app yet, that is), but among graphic apps, this one is the top seller.

Pros: professional features for illustrators; layout tools for comic/manga artists; 3D reference models; customisable tools; various sales with special prices

Cons: the interface may not appear intuitive at first; the program may lag (again, performance also depends on the running machine)

Paid

GIMP is the famous open source image editor originally created for GNU/Linux and available for OS X and Windows. 

Best known as Photoshop’s main competition, this is a manipulation program for both beginners and professionals who love design.

It offers many professional features, making the program a powerful tool.

Pros: professional editing tools; supports different formats; supported by different platforms; active community

Cons: in spite of the simple design, many options are hidden and it takes time to discover all the features; slow startup

Free

Krita is an open source painting app created by artists for artists.

Pros: easy to use; intuitive interface; great brush workflow; brush stabilizer; customisable brushes; general good performance; very enthusiastic, although small, community

Cons: it may be slow or even crash depending on the running computer and the app’s version; very few editing tools compared to Photoshop

Free

MediBang Paint is a free and light app for drawing and painting, perfect for manga and comic creation.

Pros: vast selection of brushes; cloud sharing; friendly, minimal interface (non-desktop app); also available for iPad, iPhone and Android

Cons: requires an account to use all features; non-intuitive interface (desktop version)

Free

Mischief is a sketching app with essential tools, useful for brainstorming and ideation.

Pros: infinite drawing canvas; friendly interface; easy to use; cheap pro version

Cons: few updates; offers only the essential (but that’s the point); no editing/adjustment tools

Free and paid

Corel’s jewel, Painter is the most famous software that offers digital tools able to give a traditional feel to brushes and canvas.

Pros: different selection of media; many professional features; PS-friendly

Cons: certain brushes may work slow; not easy to use at first; the software may crash (this is the most common report); pricey

Paid

Paintstorm Studio is a professional software for digital painting. It’s focused on the use of brushes and blending, which makes the software a little gem in the digital painting field.

Pros: good brush workflow; brush stabilizer; “close gap” feature; customisable interface and tools; professional features; affordable price

Cons: non-intuitive interface (desktop version)

Paid

Procreate is the powerful drawing app for iOS. 

With the very sensitive Apple Pencil, Procreate is so easy to use that many artists chose the iPad over the most famous graphic tablets.

Pros: friendly interface; makes it easy to organise files; excellent brush workflow; customisable brushes; video recording; affordable price

Cons: hidden features; only available for iPad

Paid

SAI is a simple app for artists who want to focus on painting and drawing. 

It’s well known for its good pressure support and its essential tools for manga artists, but SAI can be used by any kind of artist who wants to paint.

Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; light software; customisable brushes; tons of (non-official) tutorials

Cons: limited selection of tools, even basic ones; limited canvas sizes and uses; it might crash from intensive work, especially with big canvases and brushes; supports only RGB colour mode; lack of support

Paid

We hope you’ll find this list useful. 

If you think there are other apps that should have made this list, don’t hesitate to let us know!

Thank you and peace out,

G&M

Buy us a coffee ❤

Other articles:

10 inspiring and helpful YouTube channels for digital artists

6 inspiring Art Podcasts for digital artists

Therapist: the fact that you care so deeply about being a bad person is proof that you’re actually good. Bad people don’t mind being bad.

“Let me be absolutely clear, I’m not a victim here at all. I’m lucky, okay? I can criticize my own government without any fear or repercussions, but those freedoms don’t exist in Saudi Arabia. Dozens of activists sit in Saudi jail, many without formal charges. So while I can make a joke about being a “cybercriminal”, this is no joke for many Saudi activists.”

The Perfect Explanation of Privilege – In One Powerful Punchline

“The Pencilsword” is a comic strip by Toby Morris, an illustrator from New Zealand. His most recent comic, “On a Plate” hits hard at the heart of the issues of concerning wealth and privilege.

How many times have you heard the “I’ve never been handed anything on a platter” argument in regard to social security and other social benefits?

Toby wrecks this argument by showing how two children can grow up, be loved and supported, and yet still have two very different outcomes.

Above is the first photograph of a planet outside of our solar system - MCY 70117a, or “Planet Tennis Ball”

MCY 70117a is a Saturn-sized gas giant orbiting the binary brown dwarf Luhman 16, which is only 6.5 light years from our sun. It was photographed on July 1st, 2017 by amateur astronomer Marshall C. Yarnblob of rural Cornwall, England. 

“I built my telescope from some spare computer parts and a common bathroom mirror,” said Yarnblob, “It’s slightly better than Hubble due to the curvature of the mirror, which I discovered only after I had built the ‘scope. I built it to spy on my neighbor, who I’m pretty sure is some kind of Satanist, but when I pointed it to the stars, I realized its resolution was, by pure chance, flawless.”

Yarnblob offered his telescope to NASA and the ESA but was declined by both, who didn’t believe his claims. One thing is for certain- They believe him now. They also afforded him the right to name the planet, which he promptly called “Planet Tennis Ball” owing to the yellow hue and white curvy line around its equator, which experts believe is an atmospheric band of methane.

The Yarnblob Telescope is currently being moved - very carefully - to Dungeness beach where light pollution will not affect it. Said NASA head Lauren Logllamadachshund, “We hope to view the system’s other planets within the week, and to observe the exoplanets of Proxima Centauri in even greater clarity.”

Yarnblob has declined all offers of money for the telescope, stating that science is its own reward. He asked only for a conventional telescope in exchange so that he might further spy on his neighbor. “He’s up to something, I know it. The police won’t listen but I saw him building an altar, and I saw him wearing black robes. The man sacrifices babies, you mark my words,” said Yarnblob.

When asked for comment, his neighbor Aleister LaVey stated that he was not a Satanist, and that he only ever sacrificed one baby once when he was in college as part of a frat dare.

This movie is way too under appreciated in my opinion… The fandom is practically non-existent…

And I don’t understand why? The plot was fantastic.

All of the characters were lovable.

There was no one that you absolutely could not stand.

The “bad guy” was actually the main character, Kenai. Which was an interesting twist for Disney.

But by building a bond with this young cub (Koda), and seeing the world through the eyes of a bear, he realized that he (as a man) had been the monster… Not bears.

I mean, talk about character development…

Koda: Those monsters are really scary… Especially with their sticks.

And for me, this scene right here was one of my most emotional Disney moments. You can’t even here Kenai telling the actual story… But you can see their facial expressions and you can just feel it. You know exactly what he’s saying to Koda.

Kenai: Well, I have a story to tell you.

Koda: Really? What’s it about?

Kenai: Well, it’s kind of about a man… and kind of about a bear. But mostly, it’s about a monster.

… Koda… I did something very wrong.

Okay, but on a lighter note?

The animation was incredible.

Amazing.

It was a powerful movie about brotherly love, guidance, and responsibility, and it truly is one of my favorite Disney movies ever.

Not to mention the soundtrack is amazing. You can’t go wrong with Phil Collins.

The fandom will never be huge, but the movie definitely deserves more credit. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it.