Don't get me wrong, I like Photoshop, I use Photoshop, I (often) teach Photoshop, but it isn't especially good for hand painting, and the smudge stinks. With Painter you can have brushes that vary in density (it is sort of hard to describe!), while PS just has hard or soft edges on the stock brushes. At one time Painter "Classic" was being bundled with scanners and tablets, I think they were selling it for $50 or so, too. In a lot of ways Painter peaked at version 2X, so you don't need the latest and greatest for this kind of hand work. I've never uses PSP, so I don't know how that stands. Johnnie is right though, it really is you, not the program.