Hello.

I'd like to ask some questions.. before making any choices.

Here's the thing : I used to have a dual boot XP/Linux system, but most of the time, I was using windows, since I'm a beginner designer, and.. my most used program was Photoshop CS2.

However, I really got tired of the windows, and now, it's deleted from my drive. I installed a new linux distro, PCLOS 2007, and right now, I've got each piece of hardware working (including my Wacom Tablet and all), well, it works a charm right now.

I've also installed photoshop 7, which, .. well, works not worse than CS2.

But what actually bothers me, is the question : Is Linux actually any good for Graphic Design ?

I'd like to know, if I'd be able to run programs like Corel Painter or Alias Sketchbook Pro on Linux? I know, that the performance wouldn't be the same, but I'd be happy if I actually get them to work, since.. well, let's say I already HATE the windows interface and don't want to get back to it.

Also, I'm planning to get myself a new laptop, one with Ubuntu installed on it (from DELL) , so that I wouldn't have to pay for the Vista, which normally comes with any new computer >.<

But yeah , that really bothers me, because, if those programs wouldn't be working so well, .. I don't win much, simply because I'm buying this laptop mostly because I want to use it exactly for the Graphic activity.

Oh, and please, don't come up with MAC's, they're not worth it. Those applications work the same under windows, as in mac.

Thank you.

Then why use for-Windows programs (they have a windows interface, you can't get away with it)? If you mean you hate Start-menu, (c)Microsoft etc. then it's all right, but if you hate the whole interface, then you'll hate the program interfaces also: they've been built on top of Windows and for Windows.

You can try right now if Wine can run the programs you want or not. Or some other product. Or you could run Windows in a virtual machine and the programs there (which is probably not what you're after, right?).

Linux has some native programs that, in my opinion, are better than running Windows programs trough Wine or something; native programs just tend to work better. Like GIMP for bitmap image editing, or Inkscape for vector drawing. If you're fine with them (notice GIMPshop, a program to make GIMP look more Photoshop with it's menus and such -- i.m.o. it's not worth it, though), use them. If you're not, it's mostly because you don't even try, but in the end: why use software that doesn't suit you? Why use Linux, if it's a struggle to use the real software on it, that you want? If you deal with graphics design and such, you don't want an operating system for it, but you want the tools for it. Operating system would then be selected based on whatever OS runs the tools that suit you best. If you want to use Photoshops and so on, you are going to work on Windows, because that's where they run well. Running a not-so-good program on "great Linux" is worse than running a good program on "not-so-great Windows", whatever you might think about it.

Primarily select your tools, secondarily the environment they work well in. If you can afford the expensive graphics software (I take it that you are using legal copies of those apps you mentioned), then affording a copy of Windows in the price of a new computer should produce no problems. Or if it's so hard you're willing to save a few dozen bucks, maybe you're saving your money in the wrong place?

Try Blender http://www.blender.org/ for 3d-world modelling. You can create some great designs with it - for single frame images or video - and you can have it on Windows or Linux.

I found Inkscape a good replacement for CorelDraw. Now my graphic design is not that complicated but I haven't found a thing yet which I could do in Corel which I cannot in Inkscape. There is also a way to convert CMX to SVG thru Sketch.

I don't know much about bitmap editing, but the Gimp is the de facto standard, no matter how difficult it is to learn.

I use Wings3D for 3D modelling, which is *very* easy to learn.

jlinkels