Painter 17, Alien Skin filters, and a fast snapshot of me trying on a recent creation.
I like how well Painter’s new Impressionist brushes work, and mimic how I’d do this in physical oils or acrylics.
While I still think it’s sort of ‘cheating’ to doctor photos with digital filters and sell the result, I can see why photographers do it. The processing power is so cheap and efficient now, that all you’re really out are your printing and framing costs.
Where digital filters really work for me: setting up physical paintings and mapping out brush strokes ahead of time. As I’ve mentioned before, having even a rough map cuts down on hours spent trying out one brush pattern over another.