I just installed Photoshop CS5 today. I wasn’t terribly impressed by the content aware functionality that I had seen in many videos so I didn’t get excited about even trying the new version previously but I ran across a video about the new painting engine and had to get it. Its strange to me that I had not heard about this because its is truly a unique painting system that Adobe has implemented. It has been touted as being a real media painting engine but I find it is not in the way of Painter 11. It allows a more expressive painting through brush control when combined with a tablet without the cheesy shadows and “paint look” that Painter 11 creates. Its truly remarkable the various marks that it can make via the dynamic brush tips and how it blends colors right on the canvas with the mixer brush tool. The overall feel of the brushes don’t necessarily try to replicate the look of an oil painting but keeps to a digital painting. This brings Adobe Photoshop one step closer to ultimately being the best digital painting environment. With the old and the new brush system and the precision color/tonality controls why would you use anything else.

Check out this video and see for yourself. This just touches the surface of what is possible.