Aztaro Reviews: Pixia

Another request [surprised they are keeping up with my posts] ANYWAY after seeing my Sai review they asked me to review Pixia. Warning: this post has a lot of [thoughts while writing] areas so they might bug some people.

Reviews: Pixia
[Update] Site: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mighty/knight/download.html [Other languages available]

Pixia is originally a Japanese art program for Anime and Manga drawers [drawer's*? I'll say artists to save me from pronouncing the same word 30 times]. This program is geared more for the drawing aspect instead of photo manipulation. This program features a layer system, plug-in support and can open multiple windows so you can have references up while you have your drawing in another window. This program also allows independent history's on layers so you can only change the history on a given layer. Pixia includes a plethora [I learned that word recently, I thought it'd sound smart] of effects, masks and overlays to give the art a style of it's own. This program supports tablets and has a separate menu which is available once you start up the program. This program comes in many other languages as well so that users around the world can begin drawing their own art.

Personal Opinion [This one maybe worth readying]: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
[Or not] This program to me [growing up with MS Paint and Adobe Photoshop] was a complete and utter NIGHTMARE to control. With little to no help from the company and barely anymore on the internet, this took some time to figure out to just even make a new layer. They call it "add" for a new layer, wanna know how you include something else? They call it "add" as well. They have little to no hint of what your adding unless you click on it already [me being how I am I have to learn by clicking, I even asked this person to give me guides and the guides only pointed me in a direction and said "your problem now". They are so general I had to do a "hopefully this won't ruin my thing I just drew" faith in clicking and finding out things. Not to mention paste has a history, if you accidentally cut something off of what you paste, you are forced to shut the program down in order to get the picture as a whole. I even re-copied the picture and it still had the same large gaping hole in it from when I cut it out before having to try and clear out the copy data. Also they don't scale to 100 percent, no paste scales to fit in the layer it is currently on as well as no clear way of knowing when you do learn how to change sizes as to what scale it is. The tablet support has functions but they make no difference at all, increase and decrease to your hearts content but it'll never scale correctly, it'll always be pixaly. Also earlier mentioned, the menu interface... menu interface menu interface... I really don't want to talk about it but sense it's a review I have to. The menus have basic information and they cannot tell you anything unless, like I said, you click on it. The help tab isn't really helpful [ending that there] and the customizable bar is next to worthless besides having pen, select and copy and paste. I'll skip some of this -RANT- [yeah I never thought I'd have to say that] and go to the main issue, layers. The layer system feels like they stopped programming it part way through, I even got the newest version of Pixia in English and after you make a layer, it's there forever. There is no way to move it, re-size it, manipulate it or anything else basic at all with them. Make a layer and you better hope if it's a pasted layer it's in the right spot or your going to be kicking yourself later about it I'll tell you that. The layering system seems to have been slapped in there as a "last thought idea" or something for the masks and effects [which the program has a lot I'll admit]. Now, one of the most aggravating things about Pixia, it cannot hold it's own even if it's the only program running. I have a relatively good PC, it's a price build but it was still geared toward gaming, this program was buggy running BY ITSELF. I would be drawing a line and either it would slightly pick up my tablet and make a nice dotted line or the entire program would go to not responding after I was done drawing. Also if I tried to draw for to long [I.E. 5 FREAKING MINUTES] it would then make the program transparent as if it crashed and would then pop back up a minute later like I had just minimized it. Also good luck with more than 3 layers, it was lagging while I had 2 layers and it was almost unbearable at 5 layers.

Overall this is a program that if you grew up with it, is good for you. If you have experience in anything other than MS Paint, steer away from Pixia, the harsh interface is confusing and unforgiving to anyone who uses Sai, GIMP, Photoshop, PAINT.net, etc... This feels like a program that wanted to be complex but didn't want to have been backed up with it.

This is one I'd say stay away from personally. If you look into Pixia, don't blame me if the menu interface makes you go outside and punch a squirrel... because I sure wanted to.

To Pixia users, sorry if this offends you, infuriates you or anything. Just remember this a review about -MY- experience so please if you are going to yell at me, have something to back it up, I not delete it on sight, I am open to criticism [part of being a criticizer].

Sorry for the long rant but I have to inform you of my seeings, sorry for wasting your time and have a better day than I did trying to use it enough to review this [about two days].