More of the controls you work with frequently, like Layers, which had lagged behind compared to graphics and photo editing tools, are now much easier to work with, with the tools directly on the layers panel. There are numerous small improvements that will make artists more productive: you can pick the orientation of the canvas, set the type of layer you want to paint directly into and hide the canvas entirely, all from the new image screen. With macOS Catalina, you can use an iPad as a second screen, using Apple's Sidecar feature, and Apple Pencil users can tilt the stylus at an angle to control the shape of the brushstroke (catching up with the kind of fine control that Wacom pens have long offered). We'd like to see a pre-built brush set to make it easier to choose between just accelerated brushes directly. You still have to search for accelerated brushes (type in 'GPU', 'AVX2' or 'multicore' to find brushes that take advantage of that hardware). Images: Mary Branscombe / ZDNetĮven with a low CPU score on a first-generation Surface Book, GPU-accelerated brushes were still fast and responsive with little or no lag, and switching from brush to brush feels much faster than on previous versions. Above: A beefy gaming laptop makes an excellent Painter system.

Top: An original Surface Book with low marks still delivers good painting performance with GPU brushes. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

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