Paint.NET vs. GIMP

For years I was a fan of Paint Shop Pro. However, after version 9 or so I decided to look for another graphics program. I like to keep current with my software, but I found that as time when on I really didn't need what was being added to PSP, and I didn't feel like spending the money to stay current. I turned to GIMP as a replacement.

I like GIMP (or "the GIMP", however the hippies say it), but the UI is rather atrocious. I started to get used to it, though the multiple windows thing never did it for me. As I mentioned before, I tried GIMPShop, but I could never use it since it would always crash on startup. I had briefly looked at Paint.NET but it didn't really seem to be that great. However, based on a recommendation from a blog I frequent, I gave it another try.

And I discovered I liked it! The UI is far more standard, at least where Windows is concerned (I'm thinking about shortcut keys in particular). The layout is simpler and overall it packs a far amount of power in a small package. Now, it lacks much of the GIMP's functionality, but for the majority of graphics work I do, Paint.NET is sufficient and the UI doesn't get into the way (I still keep GIMP around if I need to do something Paint.NET can't).

So, if you're looking for a small, fairly intuitive painting/graphics program, give it a shot.