We reviewed some apps and platforms that are up there with Adobe Photoshop that deliver great results.
Today, the Adobe suite and particularly Photoshop can be considered as the mandatory references for graphic design, image editing, retouching and visual composition work.
However, an undeniable reality is that these programs are expensive and you don’t always have the opportunity to pay for them or have them immediately available to work on visual projects.
Fortunately, on the web there are multiple online platforms, free or very accessible, that allow you to carry out good graphic design projects with a quality comparable to that of Abobe.
We share here 5 alternatives that you should consider. Click on its name to enter the official site or in some cases start using it:
The 5 best alternatives to Photoshop this year 2023
GIMP
This piece of free access software licensed under the GPLv3+ license had its first version in 1996 and since then we have only seen the growth of this beast that could well be described as the cloned free version of Photoshop but 100% legal.
Its main disadvantage is that its consumption of system resources is not the most optimized and its interface could definitely be improved much more to look more similar to Adobe’s. But if there is no other option, this alternative is very functional.
photopea
The almost perfect clone of Photoshop and that also has the advantage that it runs on your browser using cloud computing technology, which considerably amortizes the consumption of resources.
On top of that, it is completely free and compatible with remote storage platforms such as Google Drive. You should stop reading. This is the program you should definitely try. In fact, we have already devoted more than one article to it .
ArtRage
ArtRage is another great option for those looking to create “digital painting” pieces that can pass for the real thing. Offers realistic oils, pencils, watercolors, canvas textures, and other traditional media painting tools.
In 2021 we had the release of its latest version, Vitae for Windows and macOS. It retains the same layered editing sequence, with blend modes, guides, grids, and perspective layout tools.
The software is also available for iOS and Android, although we must clarify, these applications are paid for separately.
Procreate
This software has become one of the most popular alternatives for professionals who have an iPad and are focused on the creation of illustrations or the intervention of bitmap images.
It is paid unfortunately, but it justifies every penny of your investment. Perhaps its biggest sticking point, which for now is exclusive to iOS and iPadOS, works fully only if you use an Apple Pencil and some advanced features are currently impossible in the program.
Although the results are usually brutal.
pixlr
A platform that has become tremendously popular in recent years. This program is ridiculously easy to use, anyone with a minimum of notions can achieve creations of good quality and visual impact, at least for projects that don’t require much effort.
Its great disadvantage is that its functions are relatively limited, at the same time that it does not support TIFF files.
BONUSES: Midjourney
Spatial Image Created with Midjourney Artificial Intelligence
This Artificial Intelligence has shown that it can create brutal pieces of illustration using simple text instructions.
Even professional illustrators with extensive technical knowledge are using it as a means to make their work more efficient by applying just a few extra tweaks.
