...it does come with significant downsides which I will discuss further in my points below. I'm going to try to be as informative as possible so if you want to make a purchasing decision for OpenCanvas 7, this is the review for you.
Please note that I'll be making comparisons to Clip Studio Paint, Paint Tool SAI and Photoshop.

(If you're reading this from the store page's review section, click "See Full Review" to read it in its intended format or click here to read the review in its entirety on my website.[bethaniaarts.com])


UPDATE (13/08/2021)
I wrote a new article on my website regarding OpenCanvas 7:
I Give Up. I’m Ditching OpenCanvas 7 For Clip Studio Paint.[bethaniaarts.com]


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The Good:

• Lightweight at 60mb. It loads very fast compared to the likes of Photoshop which takes forever.
  
• Black theme is easy on the eyes, especially in the dark if you're a night owl artist. It's pretty customizable too, allowing you to re-arrange the windows however you like. I recommend checking my guide to setting up your own personal workspace if needed.
  
• Simple UI that's quite easy to understand. Since the program is similar to Paint Tool SAI, it makes learning to use it less painless than something with a completely unfamilair UI.
  
• Reference window is something I didn't even know I needed until now. It's a seperate window which can load up any image you like so you don't have to minimise the program all the time, or have it side-by-side to see it.
  
• Tons of tools to use. It may not be in the same league as Clip Studio Paint, but it definitely stacks up well against the competition.
  
• It does lack some features but it has good photo editing capabilities that almost makes having Photoshop redundant.
  
• With the Event feature, you can recreate how your drawing came to be from start to finish. Especially useful if you're an artist who makes speed-draw videos.
  
• The touch features work for my Wacom Bamboo Create, unlike when I was using Paint Tool SAI.
  
• The Hand tool is a godsend! It's super useful and makes digital drawing a snap.
  
• I dare you to mention another art program that has a 120 day trial period. That is four freaking months. It puts Clip Studio Paint's 30 day trial to shame. That is very generous and it gives people enough time to save until they can afford to buy it.
  
• It's the best illustration art software that is currently only available on Steam, which gives it an advantage over those who aren't, such as Clip Studio Paint. This means that OpenCanvas comes with the perks of being a steam user. That includes: steam trading cards (and whatever goodies come with crafting them), logging your time spent in the software without replying on additional software, moving your purchase from computer to computer with ease, etc.

Problems:

• Resource heavy when doing certain tasks. The blur tool uses an unacceptable amount of processing power and it's very noticable on mid-range CPUs. Playing an event also uses some resources, but not as much. However the developers mentioned they'll address this with future updates.
  
• Sometimes it will become non-responsive due to tasks that require significant processing power like saving large files.
  
• An "Allow Game Launch" steam message pops up whenever you try to open a file directly from file explorer or desktop. The only way around this is to open the file within OpenCanvas. It seems to be an issue on Steam/Valve's part so I don't directly fault the developers.
  
• The lack of tutorials and guides makes the program a bit tough on new users. Unfortunately the help section on the developer's website[www.portalgraphics.net]isn't helpful since it's only for version 6 of their program. It doesn't help the devs since it makes them look slow.
  
• Getting technical support is difficult. The devs don't respond in the steam forums or to reviews where people say they have problems with the program. Your only resource for help is either finding a fan forum/chat or emailing the devs directly via email. They do respond to emails, but it can take a few days. Maybe within 24 hours if you're lucky.

It's expensive for what it offers (if you don't happen to get it on sale) compared to its biggest competition: Clip Studio Paint. It all becomes clear when you see the "amount of features offered" to "price" ratio.

The standard retail price for Clip Studio Paint is $50 USD. OpenCanvas 7 is $60 USD. It gets worse when you realise that Clip Studio Paint offers a lot of features for anyone interested in manga/comic illustration and animation. So right there, Clip Studio offers tools for illustration, comic design and animation all in one bundle at a $10 USD lower cost than OpenCanvas 7. You can probably forgive the developers since the popularity of OpenCanvas pales in comparison to Clip Studio Paint, and seeing that people are likely to pirate software rather buy it (especially with how expensive art software is), I can reason with the price point a bit. But then the issue arises that PortalGraphics (the developer of OpenCanvas) offers a separate comic/manga illustration software called mdiapp+ SE that is priced at another $60. Judging from the lack of reviews, I don't think it's quite popular either. But to be fair, it does seem to be developed by different group credited as "nattou.org" and PortalGraphics is just the publisher.

Let's sum it up: PortalGraphics is offering two art programs bundled at $120 USD to do both illustration and comic creation, whereas Clip Studio Paint is just $50USD in comparison and it has animation tools. I haven't even mentioned the EX version of Clip Studio Paint that is $219 USD that's more for the industry professional illustrator. However to be fair, it is still very possible to make whatever comics/manga illustrations you want to do within OpenCanvas 7, only you'll be doing it with less finesse than with a more dedicated program.

• I couldn't get Clip Studio Paint to work when I started it up. It wouldn't register my tablet at all when I drew. Not a good first impression on me. If the first thing I have to do is run to technical support for a program, it's as good as trash to me.
  
• As I am migrating from Paint Tool SAI, OpenCanvas 7 offered the most familair set up and it was fun learning to use it.
  
• It's on Steam and since I adore Steam, it was a nice benefit. I can also keep track of how many hours I've spent in the program without the need of clunky third party software.
  
• With the 120 day trial period, I was already used to using OpenCanvas.
  
• OpenCanvas is pretty much the underdog in the "The Best Art Software" race, and little me is always rooting for the little guy. Especially when there is great potential.

Personally I would tell you if Clip Studio Paint is working great for you, then go with that. It offers a lot more at a cheaper price. I'm very content with OpenCanvas 7 and it works perfectly for what I need it to do. It's a big improvement over using Paint Tool SAI.

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Did you like my review? You can read more of my informative steam reviews on my profile.

I've been an openCanvas user for nearly ten years and it's my main painting program. Back when Portalgraphics released version 6, I was excited about the prospect of more brush options and layer masks. I got those, but lost a lot of staple features like patterns, legacy brush tools and a condensed Option window. As such, I never upgraded past oC 5.5. When oC 7 was announced, I participated in the beta testing and sent the developers a slew of recommendations to make this new release as versatile as oC 5.5. Do you know how many of my suggestions were implemented? Two: A typo fix and removal of a nag window. Whoop dee doo.

This is horrible! What really kills oC 7 for me is its blindingly unwielding tool options. For brushes, Portalgraphics have combined the paintbrush and airbrush with the default pencil tool, which uses one keyboard shortcut. Let me say that again: ALL OF THE BRUSH TOOLS USE *ONE* KEYBOARD SHORTCUT! ONE!! Think you can switch between the pencil and airbush with the click of a key? Nope! You have to manually select the right tool from the Brush window. This is a pure time-waster and it was the FIRST thing I told the developers to change (highlighted in bright red). It baffles me that programs like SAI and Clip Studio Paint allow users to set keyboard shortcuts to individual brushes, but openCanvas does not. Even if you somehow forgive the lack of accessibility, you won't excuse the fact that the Burn and Dodge tools are COMPLETELY MISSING! Why were these removed? It's just another mark of this latest version's inferiority.

Those aren't the only shortcomings. Event playback (like an oekaki recording) is still unacceptably slow. (This was complaint #2 on my list.) It's been this way since oC 6 and Portalgraphics promised to fix the issue, but never did. An event file that takes 30 seconds to play in oC 5.5 takes two minutes to play in oC 7! Why is a newer version four times slower than an old one? It also insists on exporting a GIF of the image after every playback, which is really annoying. Oh, and patterns are still missing, even though they appear in event playacks. WTF?

openCanvas 7 is rife with problems. The type mask is also conspicuously absent and canvas scrollbars have vanished. You can't disable anti-aliasing to improve playback speed or view a layer mask like in Photoshop. The layout suffers too. You can't switch from a dark to light interface and there's some pointless waste of space. Watching playbacks generates a HUGE pop-out Event window that obscures the canvas, and the Navigator options have been needlessly enlarged. I believe that older versions of openCanvas were designed during a time when users had smaller screens, which is why everything felt neater and more compact. This is especially useful for artists who paint on laptop screens and still the preferred option over this new release.

For all the improvements Portalgraphics boasts, oc 7 feels poorly designed and poorly optimized like a repackaged beta. Others might say that the fault lies in an early build, but oC 6 had the same underdeveloped feel upon release and Portalgraphics concerned themselves more with minor bug fixes rather than drastic improvements. With the shuttering of the PGN Community, the company has been going downhill for the last few years and this newest version proves it. Don't expect any major new features in the future, just stick with openCanvas 5.5. Despite the lack of layer masks and brush jitter, it's still the best version of the program to date. Unless Portalgraphics get their act together, they won't encourage me to update any time soon.

I love this software, it's pretty, it's really user friendly, it boots up in about 5 seconds and it's a great alternative to Photoshop and I know it will cover most peoples needs, it even comes with a line stabilizer which from what I'm aware, Photoshop does not have.

Just please make OC8 pdf compatible, it's one of the things I'm missing from Photoshop.

• Dark display that makes the eyes feel comfortable
  
• Stabilizer Level increased (OC 6 = 24, OC 7 = 32) which is very comfortable when using the mouse
  
• Increase Fill Tool range up to 225 so it can fill the color and can regulate looks neater
  
• Zoom wheel is very smooth
  
• So many Brush available
  
• There is a Drawing Method that makes it easy for mouse users to draw lines properly and correctly assisted by the Stabilizing Level

• Still have BUGS such as reference window can't indicate the image
  
• No auto save available. if you have not saved progress, it will disappear all of your current works
  
• Can't change the Layer Style as it makes it wavy
  
• Too Expensive

This apps is so easy for mouse users such as me. There are many features that MIGHT not present in other apps like Variant Brush and Ruler that can make line the Background with 1 time try without changing the ruler possition repeatedly. Not much different from other drawing software, this software uses almost the same RAM usage as the others.

Very suitable for you that use various drawing tools. This software have many Drawing Method feature that can be used by mouse users with Curve for making wavy lines. Sometime the software occurs BUG that make it uncomfortable, you have to lost your current works if you didn't save your progress. You should periodically save on your progress.

I hope the software adding Auto Save feature. If you have good rigs, you can use this software by PenTab and Mouse easily.

YES. hassle-free software

• Eraise's Pixiv[www.pixiv.net]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2823898908
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2810246376
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2137297363

I'm a digital artist. I've used Autodesk Sketchbook, Medibang Paint, Paint Tool Sai, ClipStudio, Krita, and Photoshop primarily.
OpenCanvas is a lightweight program in comparison to Clipstudio and Photoshop, but unfortunately it chugs heavily when using airbrush or blurring brushes at high resolutions. The program lags heavily and has crashed several times for me when alternatives didn't. The brush selection is all right with decent customization but it's nothing that you can't find with other cheaper(or free) alternatives. No problems getting my Huion tablet to play nicely with OC7. The UI is clean and logging my hours in Steam is fun, I guess.

Don't pay for this program. Beginner digital artists would find much more mileage from Medibang Paint. Advanced digital artists will gravitate towards ClipStudio or Photoshop.

I was enthrilled when I first saw the teaser of it. Now here goes.

The interface was the biggest visible change and I really really like it. It's really nice to see and it's quite easy to use. However, I was disappointed because I thought the windows would turn into a dockable windows (like Adobe stuffs), unfortunately not. Though, this is not really a big problem. PGN, please. oh, it supports 4k, if that's your thing

Brush engine is another step up to the game. It seems to have included a tons of new features in it. It's also seems to be running faster now. I never really cared about custom brushes, it's not like I'm really good at drawing either.

Overall, I think this program is a good investment if you're new to the game. Especially with people with PC that sucks a lot, this program will be running as smooth as baby arsehole. To those who has good PC? Say no more, this is one of the best drawing that you could get.

It's a pretty damn good app.

I'm not much of an artist, it'd be an insult to the profession if I dared call myself one. But I do like doing some edits, whether it be for promotional events or ♥♥♥♥-posting on the fly.

This app has helped me put out some content that helped bring together the communities I'm a part of. It takes literal seconds to pop up when I need it, which generally is in a rush to make an abomination of a meme so I can ♥♥♥♥-post at record speeds!

Do you need to be an artist to fully enjoy this app? Perhaps. But if you want something for editing or to further streamline your ♥♥♥♥-posting, this app is a must-have.

Tip: When injecting a PNG (one with transparency), Download the picture, then upload it into the program, select the image using the select tool, and CTRL+C/CTRL+V on your project for it to maintain transparency. This may be a "no-duh" to some, but it took me forever to figure out that.

I gave this a genuine shot. For months. You know what? In the end, it made me hate knowing I had no good way to export my projects out, and I DREADED coming back to this knowing what was going to happen:

Frequent crashes
Pen detection issues
Hotkey detection Issues
Random artifacting issues

All this did was made me hate myself for buying it. I was excited at first, and you know what? Until I realized what WASNT working it felt really good, like a solid replacement for SAI. But in the end, I'm here, finally able to uninstall this, and having exported everything to PSDs for use in other programs.

I wanted to like this program, I did. The team who works on it though, they must just not care about the average joe. I'm asked questions, and tried to seek help, and it fell on deaf ears. Want a program that's better than this and able to do more for the low low price of FREE? Look up Krita. It's by no means perfect, but it's what it would look like if SAI and Corel Painter had a baby.

Truely knowing I don't have to open this again, is like taking 1000 pounds of weight off my shoulders.

I'm sure it has about everything one should expect of editing software. However, the interface is a little junky and hard to manage, and it lacks support for working directly in the CMYK colorspace - a dealbreaker for me.

I will not be reviewing it in depth. All you need to know is that Affinity Photo is cheaper, prettier, and apparently far more robust. You'll get full service with your license and there are many excellent official tutorials on Vimeo wheras the obscurity of openCanvas 7 makes it a drag to even get into. Thus I can't recommend it as even a good launchpad for the aspiring artist. At the current pricepoint of $59.99 US, I don't see it a good value for anyone at all, really.

[Graphic Editor] OpenCanvas7 Review

Nowadays it has become possible to see many wonderful illustrations in places like games, animations, and comics. They are often an important factor that can make people feel more immersed in the content.

The content you see is often created by special software that professionals use. So that brings us to OpenCanvas7 by PGN Inc. OpenCanvas has played an important role in creating some of those beautiful game illustrations that you may have seen. Along with Photoshop, Opencanvas is one of the most influential Graphic Editors for illustrators. However unlike Photoshop, OpenCanvas is designed to be a little more user-friendly. In fact it does not impose any strain on your PC nor does it exceed the Storage (Size) 100 MB.

If you are an illustrator, game developer, or user who is interested in illustrating, you need to check out OpenCanvas7! Here are some notable features that make it easy for beginner artists to handle:

* Intuitive & Simple Interface.
The biggest advantage of OpenCanvas7 is its user-friendly interface configuration. It's similar to the Photoshop toolkit, but it's not as complicated as Photoshop. So even if you are a beginner, you can easily understand and handle OpenCanvas. Of course, existing Photoshop users will not have any problems using it as an supplemental tool.

* Draw Illustrations Using A Mouse Without A Tablet.
OpenCanvas was first released to the world in 2000. Since then, the software has been constantly updated and evolved into its current version. What this means is that OpenCanvas has been designed to be able to draw pictures without use of a tablet since the beginning. Therefore, even beginners can use the software to easily draw illustrations as their hobby. Some famous illustrators have often mentioned in interviews that this software influenced their painting skills before they became experts. Of course, the latest version of OpenCanvas7 is also optimized for tablets.

* Work Efficiently & Manage Your Illustrations.
Despite not having all the functions as a program like Photoshop, OpenCanvas7 has most of what you need as a tool to efficiently draw & edit your illustrations. When comparing its price & size to Photoshop, OpenCanvas7 can be a great graphic editor for anyone. In addition, since it has an event function it is possible to check out the drawing timelapse of your artwork. This feature of OpenCanvas is very useful when you want to show off the process of pure painting while keeping the program interface hidden.

OpenCanvas set out to be a simple and easy-to-use painting program / graphic editor. Today, it has reached all the way to the current version OpenCanvas7. This is thanks to the efforts of the passionate developers and continued support by its many loyal users.

[Steam] Nayanco Curator ヽ(=^･ω･^=)丿
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33855818