Alternative to PaintShopPro ?

All,
I'm interested to know which graphic softwares do you use to paint sprites, backgrounds, and overall image editing.

I guess PhotoShop is one of the best, but also quite expensive for my budget.

Also PSP seems good, but before to buy it, I would like to know if there are alternatives.

Thanks,
Sergio.

The Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/ is (arguably) on par with PSP and is absolutely free.

I have the artistic flair of a handful of hot gravel, and a desire to learn the intricacies of a paint program interface to match, but the two arty proggies I've used recently to do what I needed to do are:

Paint .NET (freeware)
http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/

GraphicsGale (free edition)
http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/

I have PSP7 and, unless I need something specific, use GraphicsGale instead.
I used The Gimp but it's just a little bit unwieldy for my liking although very powerful and a great price. :)

I use Paint Shop Pro 7 and.....any other graphic software just doesnt seem to be as flexible as it is....I also used Photoshop but did not really like it....
However, I have been making good use of the freeware Paint.Net the past few weeks....

Well, Gimp has some cool plug-ins, but I have PSP 8 and I like it!
I LOVE Photoshop, but my finances are kind of low... So I can't afford it at the moment...
But the day will come!

Another vote for PaintShop Pro 7. It is user friendly to the max. I used Photoshop until the trial expired and have to admit has a world of features. I loved the different blending options for layers and the multitude of different filters.

However, Paint Shop Pro is easier to use for most everyday features that I need.

Using PSP 9 here.
Can't really beat it for the price, shop around though and yoo could get it cheaper than the recommended price.

I upgraded my version of PsP8 for about £35.00

Cheers
Garion

Interesting... I've got my PSP 8 for 8.30$!!!! 8-)
And it's absolutely legal!

hehe, It might have $35.00 I bought it direct from Corel this time...

Tight fisted Scot goes to check......

Tight fisted Scot comes back and reports that he actualy purchased PsP 10 for $35.00.

Sooo he his happy and snuggly again :)

If yer gonna be wrong yoo might as well be...erm right wrong :)

Cheers

Garion

Graphics Gale - fab little programme and a free version exists too!

IPete2.

Photohop and Paintshop Pro are probably the two best ones out there, but there are also a couple of freebies that will be good enough for casual image editing as well: The Gimp, and Paint.NET
Both are freeware, and can be downloaded from the web:
http://www.gimp.org
http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/download.htm

The Paint.NET is probably a little more intuitive, Gimp has a bit more unusual GUI.

8 here... got it cheap ($35) from Amazon.com seller...

--Mike

The best for me is PhotoPaint by Corel, but I think lately it can only be bought with the CorelDraw bundle