Affinity Photo vs. Clip Studio Paint

For single-person teams or very small teams, I think Affinity Photo is great as it has a one-off cost and no ongoing subscriptions. If people are familiar with the Adobe products it might take a period of adjusting to Affinity Photo. It might also be overkill for some people's needs. But it does offer everything and room to grow. So weighing up what you need to do with photos and seeing if it fits is important.

Incentivized

I cannot really imagine a situation other than creating custom 3D models in which Clip Studio Paint would ever be inappropriate; it offers tools for art such as: 2D, pixel/voxel work, vectors, painting/drawing, comics, animations and more. The only place that Clip Studio Paint does not shine is in the creation of 3D models, but I think that that is fair given that it's competitor, Photoshop, also cannot do this; this was never a tool meant for 3D model design or creation, but the fact that you can import models and that there is a library of free and paid posable models native to the app is rather impressive.

• Almost all of Adobe Photoshop's features for a fraction of the cost. It was an easy decision for our organization.
• The interface and most of the features are an almost mirror image of Photoshop. Flat fees instead of high yearly fees are much more desirable for our small team.
• They have a great support forum for the little one-offs that aren't quite like the Photoshop app, or don't have the same exact name as Photoshop. The forum really helps when this happens. The YouTube support from the company and other users has been very helpful as well.
• I use Sketch as my primary vector design tool. Affinity allows me to take a .ai, .eps, or other proprietary format and convert it to .svg for use/manipulation with Sketch and back. I can't say enough for this feature. It has helped me stay less pigeon-holed into Adobe products, which have lacked innovation for a long time in my opinion.

Incentivized

• Handles huge files with grace, and auto-saves back-ups while you draw.
• Can export into any other image file format, making for easy program transfers.
• Offers animation abilities, posable 3D models as references, mange/comic tools, and so many other options.

• I have found some of the tools to be particular. I have to click them in a certain order for it to work.
• Ability to alter or move the icons displayed.
• Auto-save as you work.

Incentivized

• The UI is absolutely not user friendly out of the box, and there are an overwhelming number of keybinds and options.
• Some huge files, while saveable, take about 3 minutes.
• Limited cloud space even though you pay for a license.

For a regular user of Photoshop, Affinity is a very easy transition. It has all the same features and once you adapt to it, and it provides a quick return on investment.

Incentivized

I think that once one gets the hang of how to navigate and use Clip Studio Paint, they will find that it has so much more to offer than one might expect when looking at it for the first time. There are hidden gems all throughout this program, and they are all there to make your creative experience all the more streamlined and natural.

I don't have direct experience with a member of Affinity's support, but their forum and YouTube videos that other users have made make it relatively easy to find similar features in Affinity that are available in Photoshop or Illustrator. The differences are negligible for our small, yet experienced team.

Incentivized

I think Affinity Photo is on par with Adobe PhotoShop. They are very similar products with both bringing many features users need. The main reason I picked Affinity Photo was its pricing of it. I didn't require Adobe products all the time. And felt they weren't offering me as much value.

Incentivized

I have used a handful of other free art programs, including MediBang Paint, and while they are all good, and I'm sure perfect in the hands of the right artist, I feel as though they simply do not offer the number of options necessary for my needs. They feel very limited and stale; customization is limited and their UI's are outdated. Clip Studio Paint is modern and sleek, highly customizable, and offers far more tools than the other options around it.

• It's been great knowing I have a tool ready to do intensive work if required on photos.
• Gives me the ability to be more creative with my photos.

Incentivized

• I think that the initial price was incredibly steep, but I managed to get it on discount. As a starting artist, this was a hard blow to take at the start, especially before these subscription options existed.
• After years of use I have more than paid off the cost I sunk into Clip Studio Paint EX.
• I see myself making marked profits by continuing to use the program, even with the new subscription service rather than a perpetual lisence.