The FREE Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign Alternative (You Need To Know About)...
Some of y'all may know about this already. And for those who don't, some of y'all will want to know about this...
Affinity Studio
tl:dr = it's the equivalent of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign all in one. And it's FREE. no catches.
I haven't done alot of photo/design stuff over the years. And when looking to do a bit a while ago, knowing Adobe Photoshop was the standard, I was quickly turned off by the subscription model. I recall a time where you used to be able to buy it outright for $100... so when I saw the price at $20 or $30 per month... no thanks.
Then last year, I stumbled across some sorta drama in the space. I clearly wasn't the only one unhappy with Adobe's pricing policies, and Affinity took advantage of some fiasco with Adobe to launch a killer sale of their Photo 2, Designer 2, and Publisher 2 bundle for a hundred bucks. Recognizing the value, I pulled the trigger and bought it. Had no plans of using regularly, but knew I would at some point - and far preferred to own outright rather than pay a ridiculous monthly fee for something I'd only use occasionally.
And in October, Affinity made an announcement that something new was coming.
Rumors stirred. Anticipation built.
And then came the news: Affinity Studio - all 3 programs now integrated into one. For free.
With no catches.
No data harvesting. No "you are the product if you're not paying" dynamics, as many skeptically suspected. Simply a different business philosophy & strategy: give everyone professional tools to make art - attracting in users from Adobe's ecosystem, with trust that upsells of Canva's pro AI features will balance things out.
While Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign still may have some unique features that Affinity doesn't, for all intensive purposes, they're pretty much the same. And unless you're a top pro doing something highly unique with some vary rare technique that can only be done exclusively with some Adobe feature, Affinity is just as damn good.
So IF you've been using Adobe but haven't loved the monthly subscription costs, it's well-worth checking out Affinity to see if it'd work as a replacement.
And if you haven't been using Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign because the cost has been a turnoff, you can download Affinity for free (on Mac, Windows and iOS) and do all the same stuff with it.
And if you've never even really considered using such software before but are curious to expand your creative explorations & activities, I'd definitely recommend Affinity...
😎✨
Is this the one that was tied to Canva for a bit or is it something else. I know I got something free from my Canva subscription at one point. Either way, this could be a good alternative for people that don't want to go the SaaS route!
yep. Canva bought/owns Affinity.
Ah, okay, that's what I thought. I think I already have them downloaded and installed then.
this was totally written with ChatGPT, wasn't it...? 😹
Friendly reminder:
well, my apologies for sharing a valuable tool with photographers essential to their work here.
figured if there was any community with the most number of Hiveans who would appreciate a high-quality Photoshop alternative saving them hundreds of dollars per year, it'd be the Photography one, and that the value to community members would be rather obvious here.
This is a photography community, where you share photographs. If you want to share a "valuable tool with photographers here essential to their work", you share some photos as well, put together a tutorial, to show what the tool can do, not just promote it.
You shared a screenshot with digital art, which has nothing to do with photography and two videos. No process about how you can use the tool either, but thanks for your ironic apology.
well stupid me for choosing a screenshot of the program that looked good rather than one explicitly doing photography.
I've swapped out the digital art for a couple photos accordingly - showing Affinity being used for photography instead of illustration, so we're compliant now.
An unmute could be a nice gift to your community members, as there are surely a few here who'd appreciate a few hundred extra dollars saved, especially with the extra $$ spent at xmas time.
Are you done?
YEP.
or maybe not. time shall tell.
nope, wasn't done yet. more to be said...
A) "promoting" is an interesting choice of word, not one I'd use. to clarify: I have no affiliation with Affinity. Nothing to gain at all by sharing other than some satisfaction of paying forward an introduction that I myself was extremely grateful for to some creatives who'd surely appreciate the tool in their box. Maybe you & I have different outlooks on the semantics of "promoting," whereas my intention was never one of promotion but contribution of something quite damn valuable to/for some of community members.
And to have that shut down because it didn't check every box on your bureaucratic list, to be met with such lack of contextual intelligence to deem it "unrelated to photography" solely because it didn't have a software tutorial or photograph (in spite of the obvious fact of being a PHOTOSHOP alternative)... I don't have the words to explain the shock. It's like showing up to the xmas party with gifts and being denied entry because the wrapping paper was the wrong color - with a "friendly reminder." Ha. Not that I even wanted to be at the party... it was just about delivering the GIFTS. No acknowledgement needed, woulda happily done as 'Secret Santa' if could. Just came with contribution... and sucked for it to be completely disregarded & censored.
B) My apologies for having replied so heatedly - while also still fully embracing the reasons there was to do so. I've been on Steemit since the start and respect the community - which is where the contribution of this sharing (not "promotion") comes from. There was never any intention of disrespect for this community's rules/guidelines, and as shocking as it was to receive such a response and justifiable to fly off sarcastically, leaning into the initial reaction (amplified with sleep deficit) may have walked the fine line of diverging from an embodiment of that respect. Had I slowed down & cooled off first, there surely woulda been another way to engage to clear up any misunderstanding rather than stoke the fire.
C) That is all.