The only reason I’m still in Windows is because I use Clip Studio Paint as my main art program (and while it is on Wine, the compatibility is extremely poor) and I also play certain FPS games with anti-cheat that’s incompatible with Linux. If those two problems are solved (which is one thing I’m banking Valve to do with SteamOS) then I’ll ditch Windows permanently. Until then, maybe the next time I install I’ll use Win11 LTSC which doesn’t come with any of Microsoft’s AI bullshit (or even the Microsoft Store at all) with the only downside being new versions taking 3 years to arrive instead of one.
BTW: If ya’ll are in Windows 11 against your will and want to remove all AI features, check this out. Essentially it’s a script that will delete all AI from your system. I would recommend reading the documentation, but all you need to do is open Terminal/Powershell as admin and run this command:
I’m pretty much in the same situation you’re in. I use Clip Studio Paint and a 24-year Photoshop user, and finding a suitable alternative to both is a crapshoot. I’m gonna try GIMP and Krita again, but I’m not optimistic…
Affinity is much more usable than the gimp. I hear good things about it with crossover (commercial wine). If you’re willing to spend a bit of money (not an exorbitant amount).
No ability to save a workspace or have it be cohesive across projects. Searched online to see if there was a fix for it and there’s not, you just have to set up your desired workspace for every single new project you start. Controls are not intuitive, i.e. right click does not bring up brush size menu. Can’t select parts of the drawing and just flip horizontal/vertical, you have to put it on a new layer and do a bunch of extra stuff to flip it. Also tried to import my PS brushes into Affinity and a lot of them had broken or mangled textures or just, did not operate the same and no amount of finagling could restore them to how they were.
I really wanted to like it but it’s still got some kinks that need to be worked out.
When GIMP’s version 3 came out, it got a lot of great reviews. I can’t tell you what’s different or better, but in using it myself since then, it doesn’t “feel” as daunting. Very subjective, but definitely try it out again; it might work for you this time around.
Going from Photoshop to GIMP 3, it’s just not the same. I have a lot of respect for the project, but there are so many rough edges that it’s demoralizing at best.
Here’s an example: in Photoshop, I select an object with the smart select brush (not available in GIMP), copy and paste it and it ends up on a new layer. I can drag the new layer around and draw on it. In GIMP, I paste a rectangle and the layer bounds are exactly locked to the paste area, so if I do something like feather the edges or try to draw on it I get a block of pixels. Without looking it up, can you tell me how to make the active layer size match the canvas size? And if I drag that layer, will it move the pixels or will it offset that layer and force me to rerun the “layer to document size” process?
Not that Adobe hasn’t done a ton of Enshittification, but CS6 was pretty great for me.
A far better script for all in one Windows debloating and software installation (literally avoid opening Edge at all) is this, it can also handle removing copilot:
Honestly my video game addiction is the reason I’m still on Windows. I play league and they only support Windows now. I’ve tried dual booting but it’s just not a smooth experience. I’m going to end up on Windows to play league at some point and sometimes I want to squeeze in a cheeky game during the day and not just at night.
I haven’t figured out a solution that works for me yet but I’m open to ideas. I also don’t have a solid solution for playing TFT or league on my steamdeck besides dual booting Windows and that’s not going to happen.
The only reason I’m still in Windows is because I use Clip Studio Paint as my main art program (and while it is on Wine, the compatibility is extremely poor) and I also play certain FPS games with anti-cheat that’s incompatible with Linux. If those two problems are solved (which is one thing I’m banking Valve to do with SteamOS) then I’ll ditch Windows permanently. Until then, maybe the next time I install I’ll use Win11 LTSC which doesn’t come with any of Microsoft’s AI bullshit (or even the Microsoft Store at all) with the only downside being new versions taking 3 years to arrive instead of one.
BTW: If ya’ll are in Windows 11 against your will and want to remove all AI features, check this out. Essentially it’s a script that will delete all AI from your system. I would recommend reading the documentation, but all you need to do is open Terminal/Powershell as admin and run this command:
I’m pretty much in the same situation you’re in. I use Clip Studio Paint and a 24-year Photoshop user, and finding a suitable alternative to both is a crapshoot. I’m gonna try GIMP and Krita again, but I’m not optimistic…
GIMP has always been kinda ass tbh. I used it back then to make gifs and that was the only thing in that program that wasn’t a pain to do.
Affinity is much more usable than the gimp. I hear good things about it with crossover (commercial wine). If you’re willing to spend a bit of money (not an exorbitant amount).
I’ve tried Affinity, it’s got a few dealbreakers.
No ability to save a workspace or have it be cohesive across projects. Searched online to see if there was a fix for it and there’s not, you just have to set up your desired workspace for every single new project you start. Controls are not intuitive, i.e. right click does not bring up brush size menu. Can’t select parts of the drawing and just flip horizontal/vertical, you have to put it on a new layer and do a bunch of extra stuff to flip it. Also tried to import my PS brushes into Affinity and a lot of them had broken or mangled textures or just, did not operate the same and no amount of finagling could restore them to how they were.
I really wanted to like it but it’s still got some kinks that need to be worked out.
When GIMP’s version 3 came out, it got a lot of great reviews. I can’t tell you what’s different or better, but in using it myself since then, it doesn’t “feel” as daunting. Very subjective, but definitely try it out again; it might work for you this time around.
Going from Photoshop to GIMP 3, it’s just not the same. I have a lot of respect for the project, but there are so many rough edges that it’s demoralizing at best.
Here’s an example: in Photoshop, I select an object with the smart select brush (not available in GIMP), copy and paste it and it ends up on a new layer. I can drag the new layer around and draw on it. In GIMP, I paste a rectangle and the layer bounds are exactly locked to the paste area, so if I do something like feather the edges or try to draw on it I get a block of pixels. Without looking it up, can you tell me how to make the active layer size match the canvas size? And if I drag that layer, will it move the pixels or will it offset that layer and force me to rerun the “layer to document size” process?
Not that Adobe hasn’t done a ton of Enshittification, but CS6 was pretty great for me.
A far better script for all in one Windows debloating and software installation (literally avoid opening Edge at all) is this, it can also handle removing copilot:
https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil
Honestly my video game addiction is the reason I’m still on Windows. I play league and they only support Windows now. I’ve tried dual booting but it’s just not a smooth experience. I’m going to end up on Windows to play league at some point and sometimes I want to squeeze in a cheeky game during the day and not just at night.
I haven’t figured out a solution that works for me yet but I’m open to ideas. I also don’t have a solid solution for playing TFT or league on my steamdeck besides dual booting Windows and that’s not going to happen.
Not dual booting will cure your League addiction.