I just decided to change up my avatar image FINALLY so I'm going around doing it everywhere and decided to update this journal while I'm at it!

Also in case you didn't know and don't follow the links on the left side of my DA Journal at all, I am on a bunch of other places too:

Tumblr (which is dying but.. whatever lol): praxart

Twitter (which probably should die haha): meibatsu_prax

Pillowfort (new! barely used! out of beta?): Prax

Discord (I'm not going to be that chatty): Prax#5410

ResetEra (don't get banned out the gate): Prax

And some beatuful software that I use so I can fill up the journal:

JASC Paint Shop Pro 7: www.oldversion.com/windows/pai…

I use this for just about every simple image editing need because it's super old but is super simple for me to use. It has a select tool, simple hue/brightness/contrast/saturation adjustments, a few filters you might find in photoshop, can crop, has layers, save in many different popular formats despite being obsolete as software (got bought by Corel later! But this old version? FREEWARE!!!). Very basic but still very useful and won't slow my computer down so I still use it to this day all the time!

Paint Tool SAI: www.systemax.jp/en/sai/

Incredibly natural-feeling inking/drawing pens. I can turn the stabilizers to 0 and get the same kind of lines I would expect to get in real life but won't get jaggies like I would in PSP7. It has becoem my main go-to program for almost all of my art on the base level. You can also turn the stabilizers up to achieve a super smooth and crisp line if you have shaky hands. Some neat feature where you can finetune the brushes a bit and create custom ones. Also has a very simple-to-use vector toolbox. Pretty basic otherwise, like you won't be able to type in text or even paint bucket a gradient, but that means I get to focus more on the actual art itself. I keep meaning to switch away from it since I bought more advanced software but.. I am so lazy to learn a new software...!

Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 6: www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-m…

BIG, EXPENSIVE, and FULL OF STUFF. But Adobe won't let you buy it anymore because they want you on a subscription service to the Creative Cloud.. lol. It can do a lot of the fancy effects that other programs can't, like blending layers for text, warp/transform/liquefy tools, even allow you to do animations and save in even more formats suitable for print and publishing. One huge downside to it besides being HUGE and clunky and bringing your computer to a crawl sometimes, is that the drawing brushes DO NOT FEEL RIGHT to me. The pressure is usually all over the place and the lines don't feel like they are laid down right. I experience a lot of lag so I don't even bother using it for anything but adding "finishing touches" to my art, like an extra filter or some text after the main artwork is done.

Clip Studio Paint / Manga Studio: www.clipstudio.net/en

This is supposed to be like an all-in-one program that's kind of like Paint Tool SAI in great natural-feeling drawing tools, incredibly customizable and flexible brushes, but also a bunch of Photoshop-like abilities with a few twists of its own, focusing a lot on illustrators and comic book/manga artist needs, such as being able to auto-fill areas even when the lineart doesn't close upt he space, or prevents lines from crossing over one anotehr wrong when you're inking! WOW! The EX version especially allows y ou to set up books for print.

THE FUTURE IS HERE! I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY USED IT MUCH YET EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT AND HAVE HAD THE SOFTWARE FOR YEARS NOW. I'm aiming to switch over by the end of the year. lol