Photoline - anyone here using it? If so, thoughts?

tj_1ca9500b

Hey!

I'm a very proficient Adobe Photoshop user, even though I haven't updated since PS7.  I'm not a huge fan of Adobe's current subscription model though.

I've tried using Gimp, but it annoys me due to how you interact with it.  Sure, they can't copy Photoshop's methodology too closely, but I've grown quite used to Photoshop's methodology for interaction, and in fact like it a lot.  Blender annoys me for the same reason BTW (non-intuitive interface, for me anyways).

I used Aldus/Macromedia freehand on the Mac back in the day, along with Pagemaker (up until about 2003), and still miss those programs.  I still have the Mac in question, but moved over to the PC world long ago, and would have to 're-learn' how to use the 'older' Mac again, assuming that it could still fire up, then figure out how to transfer stuff over to the PC side.  Adobe eventually acquired Macromedia after a 10 year waiting period imposed by the FTC, and promptly stopped supporting Freehand.

There are still a number of diehard Freehand users out there.  Those that have used the Freehand program can attest to how easy it was to use (back in the day) and the diehards aren't Illustrator fans for various reasons.  They still have a support group of sorts here:

Anyways, a few of the members there have been talking about Photoline, which is similar to Photoshop and in addition incorporates a nice Vector Graphics capability.  They claim that Photoline is pretty much on par with Photoshop as far as photo/image editing goes, and that the vector graphics component is a worthy successor to Freehand.  Anyone that has ever designed a logo, etc. using vector graphics will understand why VG is a great way to do this.

I once designed an Origami 3D Mk V Ogre using Freehand...  I.E. print out the 2D template, then cut/fold/paste and voila! 3D model.  But I digress...

So, a program that does both well?  Hmmm... Its a Euro thing though, so I'd need to research how my CC company handles that (i.e converting USD to Euro).  Anyways, anyone here have experience with Photoline? It's up to version 20 now.  I'm curious as to your experience, and how it compares to other software out there that you may have used.  There is a free trial apparently, but I'm looking to hear about real world experience from anyone here that has uses/has used Photoline...

Daz is all about Adobe Photoshop, sure, but it's nice to know some things about the alternatives that are out there.

Richard Haseltine

I've not tried it, but I have seen mostly good comments. Another oen to look at is Affinity - Photo/Designer cover the Photoshop/Illustrator pairing though with more overlap than PS/AI.

BradCarsten

I've never heard of it, but thanks for brining it to my attention. Photoshop can be expensive, so it's good to have some alternatives. 

You can also look at paintshop pro x9. I used an earlier version and it was also pretty good. better than Gimp i'd say.