PD Artist (formerly PD Pro Digital Painter): A Beginner’s Guide

Comparing PD Artist (formerly PD Pro Digital Painter) to Other Digital Painting ToolsDigital painting tools have proliferated over the past decade, each offering distinct workflows, brush engines, and target users. PD Artist (formerly PD Pro Digital Painter) positions itself as an accessible but capable application aimed at hobbyists, illustrators, and concept artists who want realistic media simulation and fast results without steep hardware requirements. This article compares PD Artist to a selection of popular digital painting tools—Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter, and Krita—across features, performance, learning curve, ecosystem, and value.

1. Overview of PD Artist

PD Artist focuses on providing a realistic traditional-media simulation alongside versatile digital tools. It evolved from PD Pro Digital Painter into a more streamlined app that retains natural-media brushes (oils, watercolors, pastels), layer-based compositing, and effects tailored for artists who favor painterly styles. It often appeals to users who want strong natural-media emulation without the complexity or subscription model of some competitors.

2. Canvas, Brush Engine, and Natural-Media Simulation

• Brush realism and blending

  • PD Artist: Strong traditional-media simulation with responsive blending and texture-driven brushes designed to mimic oils, watercolors, and pastels. Wet blending and bristle dynamics aim for a tactile feel.
  • Procreate: Excellent brush engine with smooth blending; excels on iPad with touch/Apple Pencil optimizations. Many custom brushes available.
  • Photoshop: Extremely versatile; brush realism depends on brushes—default engine is powerful but requires customization to match dedicated natural-media simulators.
  • Clip Studio Paint: Highly customizable brushes; strong for linework and inking; natural-media options solid but sometimes less “organic” than Painter.
  • Corel Painter: Industry leader for natural-media emulation. Painter’s brush physics and media behavior are the most advanced, closely reproducing traditional tools.
  • Krita: Very capable brush engine, open-source; painting and blending are robust, with many community-made brushes.

• Performance with large canvases and high-res brushes

  • PD Artist: Generally efficient on consumer hardware; good balance between fidelity and resource usage.
  • Procreate: Highly optimized for iPad hardware; excellent performance.
  • Photoshop & Corel Painter: Can demand more system resources—Painter especially when using complex brush physics.
  • Clip Studio Paint: Good optimization; scales well.
  • Krita: Performance depends on system and settings; recent versions improved memory handling.

3. Layers, Compositing, and Advanced Features

• Layer system and blending modes

  • PD Artist: Layer-based workflow with common blending modes, opacity controls, and basic masking—sufficient for most painterly workflows.
  • Photoshop: Most advanced compositing and adjustment features—layer styles, advanced masks, smart objects, adjustment layers.
  • Clip Studio Paint: Strong layer system with features tailored to comics and illustration (tone layers, frame tools).
  • Corel Painter: Solid layer features, though compositing is less extensive than Photoshop.
  • Krita: Comprehensive layer types and masks, plus useful layer grouping.

• Additional tools (selection, transform, perspective, vector support)

  • PD Artist: Includes essential transforms, selections, and perspective tools; not as comprehensive on vector support.
  • Procreate: Powerful transform and perspective tools for an iPad app; limited vector support.
  • Photoshop & Clip Studio: Strong selection and vector/linework tools (Clip Studio excels for comics).
  • Corel Painter: Focus is painting—vector tools are minimal.
  • Krita: Good selection and transformation tools, including assistants for perspective.

4. UI, Workflow, and Learning Curve

• Interface simplicity vs. customization

  • PD Artist: Intuitive, approachable UI aimed at artists transitioning from traditional media; shorter learning curve for painterly techniques.
  • Procreate: Minimal, touch-first UI—very beginner-friendly on iPad.
  • Photoshop: Complex, highly customizable—steeper learning curve but extremely flexible.
  • Clip Studio Paint: Some complexity but organized for illustration and comic workflows.
  • Corel Painter: Deep and sometimes dense interface reflecting its advanced brush systems—steeper learning curve.
  • Krita: Modern but can be overwhelming due to many features; well-documented.

• Workflow fit

  • PD Artist: Best for standalone painting projects and artists who value organic brush behavior without heavy compositing.
  • Photoshop: Studio workflows, photo integration, design pipelines, and professional print/web preparation.
  • Clip Studio: Sequential art and illustrators who need paneling, speech balloons, and specialized line stabilization.
  • Corel Painter: Traditional painters migrating to digital, fine-art simulation.
  • Procreate: On-the-go iPad sketching, illustration, and quick concept work.
  • Krita: Artists seeking a free alternative with a strong feature set.

5. Ecosystem, File Compatibility, and Integration

• File formats and PSD compatibility

  • PD Artist: Supports common file formats and exports to standard image types; PSD support for interoperability—useful for pipelines that include Photoshop.
  • Photoshop: Native PSD is industry standard; broad compatibility.
  • Clip Studio & Krita: Support PSD with varying degrees of fidelity; Clip Studio also has its proprietary format suited for comics.
  • Corel Painter & Procreate: Support import/export of PSD and other formats; Procreate uses a proprietary .procreate file on iPad with PSD export.

• Asset ecosystems (brushes, templates, marketplace)

  • PD Artist: Offers built-in brush libraries optimized for its engine; third-party resources more limited compared to larger ecosystems.
  • Procreate & Photoshop: Massive third-party brush markets and community resources.
  • Clip Studio: Large asset store especially for manga/comics assets.
  • Corel Painter: Marketplace and long-standing third-party brush providers.
  • Krita: Growing repository of community brushes and resources.

6. Price, Licensing, and Platform Availability

• Pricing models

  • PD Artist: Typically a one-time purchase or affordable license—appealing to users who dislike subscriptions.
  • Procreate: One-time purchase on iPad.
  • Photoshop: Subscription-based (Adobe Creative Cloud).
  • Clip Studio Paint: One-time purchase with optional upgrade fees and bundles.
  • Corel Painter: One-time purchase, occasionally on sale; upgrade pricing for major versions.
  • Krita: Free and open-source (donations encouraged).

• Platforms supported

  • PD Artist: Windows and macOS (check current builds for exact compatibility).
  • Procreate: iPad only (Procreate Pocket exists for iPhone).
  • Photoshop & Clip Studio: Windows and macOS; Clip Studio also supports iPad and mobile versions.
  • Corel Painter: Windows and macOS.
  • Krita: Windows, macOS, and Linux.

7. Strengths and Weaknesses — Quick Comparison Table

8. Which Tool Is Best For Whom?

• Choose PD Artist if you want realistic traditional-media painting with an easy-to-adopt interface, without needing advanced compositing or a subscription.
• Choose Corel Painter if you need the most authentic traditional-media simulation and don’t mind a steeper learning curve.
• Choose Procreate for fast, intuitive sketching and painting on iPad.
• Choose Photoshop if you need advanced compositing, photo integration, and a tool that fits broad professional workflows.
• Choose Clip Studio Paint for comics, manga, and panel-based workflows with excellent inking tools.
• Choose Krita if you want a powerful, free alternative with a strong community.

9. Practical Tips for Switching or Choosing

• Test brush presets: Try identical painting exercises (portrait, landscape, texture) to compare brush behavior.
• Check PSD fidelity: Export/import layered PSDs to see how well layers, masks, and blending modes survive.
• Consider hardware: If you work on iPad, Procreate may be ideal; for Linux users, Krita is a primary option.
• Factor total cost: Include upgrade/asset costs; one-time purchases can be cheaper long-term than subscriptions.

10. Conclusion

PD Artist occupies a useful niche: accessible, painter-focused software that emphasizes natural-media simulation without heavy system requirements or subscription costs. It isn’t the most feature-dense option for compositing or pipeline-heavy studios, but for artists prioritizing organic brush behavior and a straightforward workflow, PD Artist is a compelling choice among the many digital painting tools available today.