I am a subscriber of the Adobe Creative Cloud so i have access to Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but if i didn't, i'd give these 2 options a try. They cost about $50 each and there is no subscription. They seem to be fully compatible with .ai and .psd format and seem very powerful. https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/ Affinity photo and Affinity Designer.
Really the question is how serious are you about graphic creation? When it comes to asset management, plugins, and overall user experience, stick with Adobe products.
I agree Vectology, which is why, as a trained graphic designer in the industry, i use Photoshop and Illustrator, but some people really can't afford the pro tools so it's nice to offer suggestions. If i had very little money I'd appreciate the suggestions. If i had little money i'd get a free tool or one i suggested. As far as asset management goes, it's nice to have that in your software but if you're on a budget you can create a good folder structure with a strict naming convention. If you don't need to create clipping paths and use channels and all those other fancy features then these tools are fine. I think @trey uses Pixelmator to create assets for his games, proving that you don't necessarily need Adobe software to get the job done.
Sure ps and ai have more in depth features. But I don't believe most graphic designers or 2d game makers would need those features.
On the Mac also check out Graphic for vector drawing which is highly rated. https://itunes.apple.com/app/graphic/id404705039
Affinity Designer for Mac is my choice for creating certain objects and adding 3D flair to others....especially when creating my game Icons.
Another good conversation. I use Photoshop, but also used Inkscape. I found that my skills stink at Photoshop and hired an Illustrator. I really don't want to get tied down on the graphics. I can make the buttons and other simple objects. To make it look professional I use a professional for the art. One of the Illustrators that I interviewed uses Illustrator claiming it saves him time. I have seen great work from many different Illustrators during my search and I think it really comes down to what you are comfortable with. I'm comfortable with spending a couple dollars and getting it done for me.
what about Luminar 2018? I use this for my photo edits, its like the application by apple a while back called Aperture or can be compared to Lightroom in the adobe world. is Affinity photo really like photoshop?
I am interested in the Affinity suite because both apps have iPad versions and I am a big fan of the apple pencil.
Affinity products are awesome and extremely cost-effective. I actually love Pixelmator, too. I've been using Adobe products before they took over Aldus and love them. However, they will cost you over $600 per year. I may give them the boot if Affinity Publisher turns out to be special which is sad. I went against the grain on Quark, too.
There are MANY Photoshop and Lightroom killers out there now. A major Photoshop update is extremely long overdue.
