Recommended Art Programs and Tablets? First time looking to buy.

[PaladinAzumarill]

I've been thinking of getting into digital drawing as a hobby since drawing with traditional paper, pencil and pen simply isn't for me. But with so many programs & drawing tablets to choice from, finding the right one for me won't be simple on my own.

Since art is about preference, there isn't a true answer for a topic like this, however, I will state what I'm looking for in a art program from highest priority to lowest.

1: To add, remove, and change transparency between layers. For example: if I put someone on a layer just for that person, but want to save a copy of the image without said person, I could simply turn the transparency for that specific layer to zero, save the image, then turn transparency on said layer back to normal. Please note what the max number of layers one can have per piece per program.

2: Obviously, the program must be compatible with drawing tablets. Speaking of that, what drawing tablets would work best? I can't give further elaboration on this since, again, preference. Bear in mind that why the program and tablet should be compatible with Windows 8.1, it would be wise to have them be compatible across different OS's if it is possible in case I wanted to change to a different OS in the future.

3: Ability to save the image at any resolution in PNG format, the max being at 10000 x 10000. For example: I finish drawing a piece and want to save it as both a Desktop Wallpaper and a Messenger Icon. If that is possible, what program can do that?

4: A very diverse amount of tools and colors that allow for, provided the artist in question has the skills and time for it, multiple art styles ranging from innocent, crayon like drawings to rustic, realistically breathtaking works.

5: Ability to add filters to the image, such as sepia or negative and so on. Both during and after drawing.

6: Not sure if this applies here, but I have a Laptop that uses a touchscreen, so, assuming I use the program for both my PC and Laptop, what stylus would be best to use for a Laptop for a right handed person like me?

If the program is software that is paid for, my limit would be $50 USD, don't exclude paid programs that go over this, I might shell out a a little more.

My apologies if this post comes off as way too vague, I but don't want to randomly pay for a program and tablet only to find that it doesn't suit my needs.

So feel free to list multiple programs and tablets that you, or better yet, artists across different demographics found useful in terms of productivity, quality and ease of use, noting pros and cons. The more resources and critic opinion from tech reviewers and professionals artists alike, the better.

 

[basroil]

1) Unless your touchcreen has a digitizer, a "pen" is pointless. Read your manual to see if it has a digitizer and what pen is required.
2) $50 is far too low of a price point
3) Try looking at Clip Studio Paint (Manga Artist is the same program), it is pretty amazing for drawing/painting

 

[PaladinAzumarill]

1) Unless your touchcreen has a digitizer, a "pen" is pointless. Read your manual to see if it has a digitizer and what pen is required.
2) $50 is far too low of a price point
3) Try looking at Clip Studio Paint (Manga Artist is the same program), it is pretty amazing for drawing/painting

1: The touchscreen on my Laptop does have digitizer, but it's passive. So even if I had one, it wouldn't work. It has also come to my attention that I forgot to say what type of stylus I am using. At the moment, the only type of stylus I have is a non-electronic one, a Targus brand stylus like this one: http://targus.com/us/slim-stylus-for-smartphones-silver-amm1205us

Obviously, this stylus isn't good for any serious drawing. Could be useful in making rough drafts though.

2: I should be expecting these types of answers now when it comes to price points by now, I underestimate costs so much, it is not even funny anymore. So, with that aside, you, and by extension, others may as well name programs and drawing tablets without bearing cost in mind.

3: I had a look at those, along with some tutorials of the programs on YouTube. Very impressive and promising, but I want to hear of other programs before I make a decision. Those two surely aren't the only drawing programs to choice from. Remember, the more resources, the better.

 

[basroil]

1: The touchscreen on my Laptop does have digitizer, but it's passive. So even if I had one, it wouldn't work. It has also come to my attention that I forgot to say what type of stylus I am using. At the moment, the only type of stylus I have is a non-electronic one, a Targus brand stylus like this one: http://targus.com/us/slim-stylus-for-smartphones-silver-amm1205us

Obviously, this stylus isn't good for any serious drawing. Could be useful in making rough drafts though.

2: I should be expecting these types of answers now when it comes to price points by now, I underestimate costs so much, it is not even funny anymore. So, with that aside, you, and by extension, others may as well name programs and drawing tablets without bearing cost in mind.

3: I had a look at those, along with some tutorials of the programs on YouTube. Very impressive and promising, but I want to hear of other programs before I make a decision. Those two surely aren't the only drawing programs to choice from. Remember, the more resources, the better.

1) A digitizer is different than a touchscreen. That pen you linked is NOT a pen, rather a fake finger to activate the touch screen. If the laptop doesn't state Wacom or N-Trig for the digitizer, you do NOT have one, and will not be able to draw properly.
2) Since you don't have a proper digitizer, you'll need something like the Wacom bamboo, which can be found with Clip Studio Paint bundled in some places.
3) There are other programs, but unless you get a digitizer none will actually matter.

 

[PaladinAzumarill]

1: The touchscreen on my Laptop does have digitizer, but it's passive. So even if I had one, it wouldn't work. It has also come to my attention that I forgot to say what type of stylus I am using. At the moment, the only type of stylus I have is a non-electronic one, a Targus brand stylus like this one: http://targus.com/us/slim-stylus-for-smartphones-silver-amm1205us

Obviously, this stylus isn't good for any serious drawing. Could be useful in making rough drafts though.

2: I should be expecting these types of answers now when it comes to price points by now, I underestimate costs so much, it is not even funny anymore. So, with that aside, you, and by extension, others may as well name programs and drawing tablets without bearing cost in mind.

3: I had a look at those, along with some tutorials of the programs on YouTube. Very impressive and promising, but I want to hear of other programs before I make a decision. Those two surely aren't the only drawing programs to choice from. Remember, the more resources, the better.

1) A digitizer is different than a touchscreen. That pen you linked is NOT a pen, rather a fake finger to activate the touch screen. If the laptop doesn't state Wacom or N-Trig for the digitizer, you do NOT have one, and will not be able to draw properly.
2) Since you don't have a proper digitizer, you'll need something like the Wacom bamboo, which can be found with Clip Studio Paint bundled in some places.
3) There are other programs, but unless you get a digitizer none will actually matter.

1: That's why I said it was a non-electronic stylus. Of course it's basically a fake finger meant to avoid smudging the touchscreen. I only brought my Laptop up for the sake of wondering IF it was possible to make use of the touchscreen as a substitute if I didn't have a drawing tablet handy. Obviously, given what you stated, I can safely say I can forgot about using my Laptop's touchscreen for any serious drawings. So, disregard anything with touchscreens.

2: Does it matter if say, assuming I get Clip Paint Studio: I use that program for my Desktop PC, which, should go without saying, should not have a digitizer, can it be safely said that in that case: a drawing tablet like the aforementioned Wacom Bamboo must be used to compensate for the lack of a digitizer?

3: Could you elaborate on that? What do you mean by "unless you get a digitizer none will actually matter."?
It seemed very vague to me.

 

[basroil]

1: That's why I said it was a non-electronic stylus. Of course it's basically a fake finger meant to avoid smudging the touchscreen. I only brought my Laptop up for the sake of wondering IF it was possible to make use of the touchscreen as a substitute if I didn't have a drawing tablet handy. Obviously, given what you stated, I can safely say I can forgot about using my Laptop's touchscreen for any serious drawings. So, disregard anything with touchscreens.

2: Does it matter if say, assuming I get Clip Paint Studio: I use that program for my Desktop PC, which, should go without saying, should not have a digitizer, can it be safely said that in that case: a drawing tablet like the aforementioned Wacom Bamboo must be used to compensate for the lack of a digitizer?

3: Could you elaborate on that? What do you mean by "unless you get a digitizer none will actually matter."?
It seemed very vague to me.

1) A digitizer has pressure, touch doesn't, which is why I said it's pointless. You can still use it like a fixed width pen, but unless you're really into that sort of thing it's not fun. A mouse will do the same. Some capacitance pens have bluetooth pressure sensing, but they are more like markers than pens
2) If you plan on drawing, regardless of the software, you'll need a digitizer, either built into the screen (Wacom Cintiq, Surface Pro 3/4, etc) or stand alone (Wacom Bamboo/Intuos). The minimum you need is pen pressure, though if you paint tilt is good

 

[PaladinAzumarill]

1: That's why I said it was a non-electronic stylus. Of course it's basically a fake finger meant to avoid smudging the touchscreen. I only brought my Laptop up for the sake of wondering IF it was possible to make use of the touchscreen as a substitute if I didn't have a drawing tablet handy. Obviously, given what you stated, I can safely say I can forgot about using my Laptop's touchscreen for any serious drawings. So, disregard anything with touchscreens.

2: Does it matter if say, assuming I get Clip Paint Studio: I use that program for my Desktop PC, which, should go without saying, should not have a digitizer, can it be safely said that in that case: a drawing tablet like the aforementioned Wacom Bamboo must be used to compensate for the lack of a digitizer?

3: Could you elaborate on that? What do you mean by "unless you get a digitizer none will actually matter."?
It seemed very vague to me.

1) A digitizer has pressure, touch doesn't, which is why I said it's pointless. You can still use it like a fixed width pen, but unless you're really into that sort of thing it's not fun. A mouse will do the same. Some capacitance pens have bluetooth pressure sensing, but they are more like markers than pens
2) If you plan on drawing, regardless of the software, you'll need a digitizer, either built into the screen (Wacom Cintiq, Surface Pro 3/4, etc) or stand alone (Wacom Bamboo/Intuos). The minimum you need is pen pressure, though if you paint tilt is good

I see. I believe I heard enough on this matter. Also, thank you for educating me about digitizers.