Yea I know how you feel, I tried switching from sai to photoshop and I just couldn't stand it, I feel like I'm kinda stuck in sai too

With Clip Studio Paint and the pen strokes, have you played with the stabilizer? :o Because you have to start getting pretty up there in the numbers before it's kind of straight and pretty. XD

How beefy is your ram? I know that Clip Studio definitely uses a lot more ram than SAI and that might explain the lagginess

also possibly the jaggy lines in photoshop

I have 8 GB of ram, its a gaming computer and multitasks fine, so idk why it would lag at all ): ?? although I gotta be honest I'm kinda a computer noob so idk. lol

I have 4 GB of ram and it isn't laggy for me so it's probably not the ram then.

You and every Sai user :c though photoshop does have a stabilizer you can add on, it's called Lazy Nezumi; helps smooth your lines out...

Oh wow! Thanks for showing me this, might have to try this out sometime ^^

Photoshop + Lazy Nezumi Pro user here!

I used to use SAI for lineart and Photoshop for coloring, but I absolutely hated having to keep switching art softwares. It was like that until I tried Lazy Nezumi Pro and I can guarantee it's AMAZING.

I don't even know what SAI is anymore hahaha Photoshop supply all my needs!

Oh wow, I'm trying the trial out and what a MAJOR difference! This totally changes how you make lines on photoshop. This could be a game changer for me, thank you all for letting me know about this. ;w;

Wow thank you! I Find it so hard to to line art in Photoshop! I will be trying this out!

ahh you beat me to it lol. Lazy Nezumi is wonderful.

Agh damn! This looks amazing but it's only for Windows users *sobs dramatically*

Same on that
Though, many use sai for lines and some/all coloring n then move to PS or something to add finishing touches or w.e for brushes' s sake in most cases o:
Maybe that can be an idea?

I know your pain. I can only use SAI for drawing (for retouches, GIMP, but I dont draw with it).
And in my case its not about a computer being laggy. I simply dont feel comfortable using other software. Not even FireAlpaca, that comes to be a bit like SAI.

I've actually used all the other programs first. I recently discovered Sai, and I can't use anything else now. I only really use other programs now for after effects.

I suppose I'm lucky I'm starting out on Clip then? I'll never have to get stuck with Sai.

I know whatcha mean :c I use Photoshop CS5 and getting clean lines, if I do them by hand, takes quite a long time since there's no stabilizer. But I have an iMac and it's a lot of trouble for me to be able to run SAI, plus I don't know how to use SAI as well as I do with photoshop so just AUGH X'D

do you use a brush pack for SAI at all? the Onta brushes are pretty good.

but yeah i feel you on photoshop lag. my laptop should be able to run it just fine but the brush has always been laggy for me.

One setting to play with in Photoshop is the Graphics Processor under Performance.
The Advanced setting is for really high-end GPUs (even midrange gaming GPUs might not have enough juice to handle it) and the result is... Lag, jagged lines.
Try dialing down the Drawing Mode to Normal or Basic and see if that helps, as well as the other checkboxes to see if it helps at all.

I want PTS2 rilllllll bad ;-;

Paint Tool Sai 2 is a thing.. but it's japanese only. XD

I actually have made the move from Sai over to Clip Studio.. and I didn't like the way the strokes felt at first either.. but after some time and fiddling with the settings.. I've gotten used to it.. and I'm SO glad I did. I'd say.. if you get some time.. give it another chance.. but if not.. that's fine.

I use manga studio 5 which is the same as clip studio just ones american the others japanese I believe? I have to admit it takes effort to practice in to find brushes similar to sai's defaults.
I found much love in sketching in ms5 more then sai because of the dark pencil/light pencil/chalk brushes. Colouring is still weird because I'm not use to- and have to adjust the marker tools to blend better for 'smooth' blending. I found if you use a stabilizer of 15+ you have to adjust it according for each brush. I use 15 so I set all mine to 15 if you use higher then that you'll have to fiddle with numbers.
Not bad just takes patience/will to learn the program.
Not sure why it's lagging though that's weird and I can see how frustrating that can be.

maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't think it matters what you use to make art. I mean what you said about not progressing just because you're stuck with SAI? That's ridiculous. I've seen artists that can make amazing art on freakin Paint. And like someone else said, if you don't have them, get onta's brushes >3>
I have only tried Photoshop before and it's unbelievably confusing so I can't use it, but I love SAI so don't mind bein stuck with it. Your artwork is amazing and I can't believe we use the same program and mine looks like crap in comparison XD. ALSO you're younger than me so try not to stress about what program you use ^^ you are freakin amazing

I used SAI for a very long time because it had the best smoothness and feel while drawing. It did take me a little while to get my settings right in Clip Studio, but once I got used to it, I stopped going back to SAI. I don't have lag issues, I also have SAI... What Operating System are you using? Is Clup Studio running in compatibility mode with a previous OS? Because that might cause lag.

I probably spent upwards of days trying to get photoshop cc to work, no go. In the end I must admit I'm pretty happy with Sai, it does exactly what I need it to in ways photoshop actually can't do at all (watercolour brush). Only if you wanted to make something that looked very brush stroke-ish can I See it mattering, like you can make photorealistic artwork in Sai no problem, and adjusting how you shade layers - things involving style rather than program. But I did struggle trying to think Photoshop would be so great ... now I just worship Sai as the only thing I could possibly use. x_x

blah blah blah /stupidcomment

I don't know what to say other than Paint Tool SAI just has a particular feel that gives it a unique strength for freehand linework and painting.

That said, I use Photoshop a lot for all kinds of stuff that SAI isn't as good at.

It all comes down to what's giving you the best results for the particular task you need to do. Don't be afraid to switch back and forth, use a bunch of different programs... Whatever process and whatever tool makes the final product the best it can be, use it.

I can't use photoshop anymore because of the blurry lines as well >.< Just have to learn all the little things in it now.

I'm currently using my ancient Photoshop 5.0 (1990's software right here!) and Manga Studio 5. I'm still doing my line art in pencil, since I paint with the mouse. I can't take advantage of all the fancy pen options.

If that's scary I've been using PS 2.0 0-0

Oh man. The earliest version I've used was either PS 4.0, or PS Deluxe.

With photoshop you should try Lazy Nezumi pro. Makes it a million times easier! the lag on some programmes might be due to your computer though. Mine lagged. I cleaned it and now it's much better.

...experiences with using the Gimp, or Inkscape? They're both available as freeware, so it shouldn't be too difficult to locate to test out.

I saw an ad for Clip Studio Paint and I got to say it is amazing, but all those buttons look confusing-and I think it will probably take a few weeks to memorize most of them. Right now to have just plain Paint so I don't know if it will be as great as Paint Sai.(plus I don't now how to post art or make commissions yet)
And I don't want to do Photoshop, don't ask me why I just don't want to.

Manga studio 5ex? That what I own.

Clip studio is actually Manga studio 5, for the record. 5EX just had a few extra features for dealing with comic page layout.

I haven't looked into other art programs since I gotten MS5 or what is similar or the same. I say look for tutorials and it might be to big for your computer. This program eats a lot of data too.

I still use Paint and GiMP. SAI is not for me.

Yeah. And GIMP has a smoothing feature as well. Works quite nice. That said, I totally understand why some people think it's a pain in the butt to use~. It's not very intuitive in a lot of ways. But, on the other hand, if you stick with it and get used to it, you'll never have to buy another paint program again.

GIMP is honestly very intuitive and pretty, if you're willing to custom a bit, (My old GIMP setup here : http://sta.sh/01bufqy0g2hc ) but it doesn't have a formal stabilizer. While it's possible to get smooth lines with enough Weight applied to the Ink tool, it means you lose control of variable brush width, and it's difficult to make longer curves with the added pen delay.

Until GIMP 3.0 releases, there's no real hardware acceleration either, so this is nasty for performance. My laptop was constantly on the verge of overheating while inking over a rough sketch. A desk fan stopped the overheating, but during the summer, it would still get hot enough to melt chocolate.

That said, I would honestly still use GIMP for making purely vectored art, like in my screenshot above. Its GUI is very simple and easy to use. Although now that I have a Wacom art tablet, its tools don't offer enough for both painting and making clean lines. I have since moved to another amazing open-source art program called Krita, and I've been way happier with its offerings.

adobe Photoshop is for image editing, adobe illustrator is for designing art

I have a similar issue...

All of my digital work has been done by mouse in a cheezy, free art program called Opencanvas. About a year ago, I finallygot my hands on a Wacom Bamboo (unopened, still in the box, at a used bookstore for twenty bucks!) I almost immediately put it to use and.....

NO. I'm so used to drawing by mouse that drawing on a tablet is just the weirdest, most uncomfortable thing for me ever. The only thing that keeps me setting aside time to make myself used to it is that fact that drawing by mouse will likely be a source of carpal tunnel syndrome, and later expensive surgery to correct it. Which I want to avoid if at all possible. :) That, and I know that if I want to get better, I need to draw more, and drawing more requires an argonomic and more productive method.

Keep looking and keep trying...and stay patient. Something will come along soon. Sometimes you gotta be out of your comfort zone for awhile to improve, and sometimes you just stagnate a bit before you seem to have an artistic epiphany. At least, that's how it is for me...I plateau, then suddenly I figure out something new that ratchets my stuff up to the next level, then I plateau again. :D

Using a tablet for the first time is the most awkward thing for everyone I think. I'd never thought I'd ever be able to use it properly, but once you learn it you can't live without it. :P

One of the other artists I follow has made the switch to a program called Krita. From what I can tell, it's basically a free open source SAI. It's a bit more complicated (it's an open source program, therefore the UI is designed by people that have no business designing UIs) but also very powerful.

She streams on occasion, so if you want to see how she does it I can note you her profile.

I love using Sai. I uased so many other programs and Sai just had all I need. The program doesnt make the artist. Sai and MSpaint (original) are my go-to for drawing. I rarely use MSpaint anymore though.
I use photoshop for editing, like putting together animations, or text.
I hate how soft PS brushes are, and just how gross they look for drawing. Many people can master PS, but not me, nope.

I'll actually use Paint to sketch when I'm having issues getting ideas down. It seems to help not having too many features to get distracted by, because it's such a limited program. IDK. I never really used it aside from messing around with it at school when I was bored, but for some reason it's what I need at times haha.

Except for the pencil tool, which I have worked out a specific technique with, I hate drawing in Photoshop, so I really get that.

Sometimes I will use Sai for particular drawing effects. I like the quality of the pen tool and you can make or find some really cool brushes for it (pts-brushes.tumblr.com). That said, I usually use openCanvas; the 10 yo 3+ version, at that. Sometimes I will use version 1.1 (which can be found easily at no cost and with no need for serials), but prefer 3 because it came a few years later and strikes the right balance between "functionality" and "just too damn complicated" for me. Fun fact: in '09, Portalgraphics thought they were going to discontinue English localizations of openCanvas, which is why you see far fewer people using it now, and why there was a massive shift to using Sai. Since I was on an online art break at that point, I still use both. :P For me, nothing beats the gorgeous, silky color blending of the brush/watercolor tool in older versions of oC.

I think it is perfectly fine to have a program that you are most comfortable with, and if you want to branch out, then experiment. Not all of them work the same, and you may find you develop different techniques for each.

Oh my god I have so much trouble with inking in photoshop. It's a huge pain, because there's SO MUCH RETOUCHING. I don't know how professionals do it at all

hehe Yeah I used to use Photoshop exclusively. I decided to try out SAI and it was weird at first and then I got used to it. Now trying to do anything (except animating GIFs) in Photoshop feels weird and clunky and the lineart quality compared to SAI is blegh! ... But I like working in SAI, so I'm cool with that.

Maybe you can try combining. By example, using SAI for linework and coloring with other programs.

Im with you on that, I have photoshop, sai, clip and a few others and I still keep going back to sai for everything unless im doing vectors then im in AI

Have you tried Krita? I've personally found it to be a great upgrade coming from GIMP/SAI, and it's open source. With hardware acceleration turned on, its performance is arguably better too, in my experience. It has a rock solid 60 FPS while sketching or rotating the canvas on my end, and that's considering I have an Intel GPU. The advanced brush engine also offers lots of possibilities that you can't get with texture brushes.

Krita is extremely responsive, has far more tools than SAI, and fairly user-friendly once you get used to the workflow. It also includes options for working with other color models too, like CMYK. I have to admit, I had to force myself to work with Krita, instead of GIMP, full-time to get used to it, but it was well worth it; my digital art is starting to improve in ways that it never could have in either GIMP or SAI.

This is coming from using Krita on both Windows and Ubuntu Linux. (A Mac port is on the way too.) You don't need to run SAI through WINE on Linux when there's a native art program that's much better.

Link to their main site : https://krita.org/

Two incredible speed paints done with Krita :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93lMLEuxSLk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xlKF6v-fgU

Ohhh I like the look of that, i'll have to try it

Krita is very nice, it's worth a try. ^^ I use it everyday for my art now.

ohhh I do like it a lot, its like sai meets PS but easier to use than PS and more effects than Sai. Now I just have to do a lot of images use to get used to it :P

It's easier to use than PS? XD I don't have the latest Photoshop myself, so I'm amazed by that. Krita is worth getting used to, I can't imagine using anything else at the moment.

I just both Sai and PS CC

When I do my Backgrounds I use PS because of all the brushes that you can use, and sometimes i even color parts in PS but for the most part I use sai for the drawing, Ink and finishing touches.

anyway, I know how you feel tho... Sai seems to be the best, but it needs a little help and take some tips when it comes to brush settings like PS..

I've heard really good things about Krita?
https://krita.org/

;v;

i get this sooooo hard OTLLL
i love SAI but i've been hankering to switch to photoshop because of all the different resources i can use. but its just-- the program its self isnt laggy, but when i make brush streaks they seem off and not as smooth >_< like i feel like i have no control. its so frustrating.

Use whatever you feel is the most comfortable and efficient for your own content. Me and kabs are more comfortable with Photoshop, but that is simply because we've spent far more time with it.

Alot of popular artists, even some of the biggest in our community still use Sai.

I have custom brushes for sai