Our lives as one starts now

Update from Tan Jiu, translated by Yaoi-BLCD.

TL note:  recently china’s been obsessed with organizing the trash into the correct categories for environmental friendliness XD, i think there’s penalties for not doing it the right way  (i guess sorta like how japan sorts their trash into a million categories)

ED note: you can read about it more over here!

yaoi-blcd general chatroom / Their Story fan chatroom.

Their Story Character Guide

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

So when Stiles exits the coffee ship he’s like 23% human, his brain is stuck on survival mode, and he’s clutching the biggest coffee cup ever against his heart (the barista sent him worried look while adding all the expresso shots).

Since his other hand is busy holding his phone—Scott is having a new “love at first sight” crisis—Stiles has to open the door of the cruiser with his hip. He sinks in the seat with a sigh, puts his cup between his thighs, rubs his eyes, and explains once again to Scott the concept of personal space and the thin line separating adorable and stalkerish.

When Scott only answer is a wailing, third description of the girl’s hair, Stiles decides that the subject is doomed and hangs up. He drinks some coffee again, humming in delight, and suddenly realizes how loud the silence in the car is.

In the millisecond it takes him to turn his head toward the driver, he realizes that, one, he doesn’t have a car in New York nor do any of his friends and two, his dad will never let him forget it if he gets arrested for trespassing on police property. 

The third realization comes on the heels of the first two, in the form of the hottest man to ever wear a uniform. And Stiles has some references on the subject: he has seen Parrish in a rain soaked uniform AND been invited to Lydia’s bachelorette party.

The man has arms, shoulders and eyes that Stiles is in no way alive enough to handle. Stiles won’t even think about the fingers wrapped around the wheel or the frowning eyebrows. Or the fact that the man politely waited for Stiles to finish his phone call.

“My dad is the sheriff,” blurts Stiles in the silence. The man’s eyebrows get frownier. “…in Beacon Hills?”

The criminal in the back of the cruiser snorts at Stiles. The man is in handcuff on the backseat and half-naked, with white powder all over his face and an eye swollen shut, but he’s still clearly judging Stiles’ entire life.

“Okay…” Answers should-be-a-stripper cop, with a slow, calm voice that Stiles knows is the “keep the manic suspect from going for a weapon” tone of voice.

“I am very tired,” finally adds Stiles when the silence reaches critical awkwardness. The cop nods immediately, like it’s obvious, but his lips are curling up a little. He’s absurdly beautiful.

There is a knock on Stiles’ window and they all turn toward the policewoman staring at them from the sidewalk, two cups of coffee in her hands. She’s smirking like a shark, heavy blond curls falling over an “officer Reyes” badge.

“Derek?” She asks, a laugh in her voice.

“He’s very tired,” explains simply too-beautiful-not-to-be-a-caffeine-hallucination (Derek). When Stiles turns toward him, the man is smiling, small but honest. Stiles may have to call back Scott and apologize for scoffing at the “whole love at first sight” idea.

(Erica finally takes the cruiser back to the precinct, and leaves Derek to walk Stiles back to his flat, for the good of the community. Just to be sure that Stiles doesn’t climb in another stranger’s car or ends up falling in front of the subway. They drink their coffees on the way, and talk about Stiles’ dad, and Stiles’ major, and Laura and Derek’s cat.

Derek calls the precinct to take a sick day five minutes before reaching Stiles’ flat.