Choices and Compromises and New Formulas

Well, our new laptop arrived and I've been busy trying to set up everything the way we want it.  All the technical stuff is done but I'm totally undecided about an image/graphics editor.

I've been a very loyal user of Paint Shop Pro since its version 7 but the reviews for the current version are abysmal and I'm looking for a new software.  It would have to do all that PSP does but without the glitches, bugs and bloat!  lol

I've been researching PS Elements but its current version is not winning accolades either so what does that leave?

Serif's software, PhotoPlus, is getting great reviews but the company gets a D minus for its strong-arm sales tactics.  I've downloaded "free" & "trial" software from them and the nag screens are so cumbersome you can't even properly evaluate the software.  I'm told that in order to register any purchased software, you have to call and be subjected to an interminable sales pitch for add-ons before you get your registration unlock key to even use the software.  No thanks on that - that's a compromise as far as I'm concerned.

I know there's a lot of free software out there also & I keep downloading various ones but they just don't quite fill the bill.  I'm not against purchasing software - I just want what I want, especially if I'm going to pay for it (& I don't want to pay to listen to a sales pitch!)

Any suggestions?

On the topic of compromise and making choices, I just emailed to see if I could receive some samples of Derwents new pastel pencils.  You all probably know that I'm not a fan of the old formula pencils but I'm almost frantically hoping the new formula will suit me as the Derwent brand is available in places relatively close to me.  While I hate driving in congested city traffic, I don't mind mail order for my art supplies.  But, that requires planing ahead - something I'm not always so good about doing!  Right now, I need some new pastel replacement pencils to work on a couple of commissions and I'll have to mail order them.  It would be wonderful to be able to go somewhere local to get them.  (Well, you know nothing is really local but even 30 miles wouldn't be a burden to drive.)

Anyway, if I receive the samples of the new formula Derwent pencils, I'll be sure to review them here.  If any of my readers in the UK or elsewhere have already used them, please let us know what YOU think about them!

How Do You Learn?

"Cammie"
Monochromatic Watercolor
from a Wet Canvas tutorial
Copyright
Jan Gibson

I signed up for a sort of class on an art forum I belong to and have been wondering if I've done the right thing. I'm not someone who wants kudos all the time (although they're sure nice from time to time - grin) but I prefer real help and really want to learn as much as I can.

The reason I'm wondering if this class will be useful is because of the way I learn.

It only dawned on me today that I learn things a lot differently than many of my cohorts. I remember finally getting internet service way back in the year 2001 (hey, we're really rural!) and being utterly smitten with things called sig tags made in Paint Shop Pro. There were also neat greeting cards and beautiful designs on a variety of cyber objects and I just had to have this marvelous software.

Well, when I got it, I had no idea of how to even begin to use it. I had a couple of internet friends who said "the best way to learn it is to just play with it." Yeah, right - it's the best way for them since that's the way they learn but not me.

I finally found hundreds of tutorials online with step-by-step instructions with photos on how to do just about anything in this magical program. They were life-saving as I've discovered that step-by-step, in detail, is how I learn best.

Once I understand the basics of something, I can take off and fly on my own and even become pretty inventive but it's getting those basics in a way I can understand that is so difficult.

I must be in the minority when it comes to painting, especially with watercolor, as most tutorials aren't in a real detailed step-by-step format. And the WIPs that everyone else loves? They still leave me wondering "How'd you do that?!!"

I think it's important to know the way you learn best so you can match up workshops with instructors that fit your way of learning. It would also be helpful for workshop instructors to be specific about the way they teach.

So, my question is, will this class help or just increase my frustration? When I asked more about the class, I was told that it would be anything we wanted it to be. Now that helps, doesn't it?

OK, so how do you learn?