Review by Shala Kerrigan

I design printable crafts and draw coloring pages for my blog as well as being an illustrator for mandala themed coloring books. Most of my work is done in graphics programs, and I get asked fairly regularly what programs I recommend.

My own preference is CorelDraw and Painter, but those are a little out of the pricing range for a lot of people, so I appreciated the chance to try out Painter Essentials.

I loaded it on my Windows 8 laptop with a touchscreen fairly quickly and easily. Then opened the program. It’s very friendly, with a nice interface that’s easy to understand if you’ve ever used any kind of graphics program before. The photo editing tools are beautifully done. Hobbyists will love the painterly effects they give photos, and people who want a program for digital scrapping or other purposes will enjoy this one.

I prefer using Painter on my Windows 7 machine, but since this has a one machine license, I put it on my Windows 8 laptop so I could see how it functioned with the touch screen. Using a firm touch on a stylus, the drawing worked well. The palettes and controls needed to be done with my finger for the best response.

The photo rendering tools are fast, you can go from photo to painted effect in nearly no time at all.

It’s a good start at learning how to use painting programs without a major investment, and it does a lot. I’m been considering what program to buy for my husband for the occasional image editing he does since he doesn’t like the free online tools. This looks like the right one.