One big complaint from Windows switchers, is the lack of MS Paint on the Mac. This is it huh folks? MS Paint. That useless piece of software that hasn’t evolved a bit since the days of Windows 3.1. It is time to put that memory of MS Paint to rest.

Okay so you want to do some crazy drawing, but can’t find a built in tool on the Mac? No worries. Here’s a rundown of image editors for the Mac, some simpler than MS Paint, and some that will compete against the mighty Photoshop.

Pixelmator

If there’s a Photoshop-alternative around, Pixelmator is it. It’s still not as powerful as Photoshop, so if you’re a professional who needs all the tools it’s best to stick to the giant, but it will do most things and more.

The beauty of Pixelmator is that whatever it does, it does better than Photoshop. Take any of the tools, filters, or options, they are implemented in a much better and graceful way that Photoshop will ever be. The user interface of the Hue/Saturation tool for instance is something to marvel at.

Pixelmator is also a native Cocoa application, meaning it already leverages the power of your GPU, integrates well with Mac OS X, and provides you with a dearth of core image filters. It springs up much faster than ‘big brother’ and can be used for a lot of your web graphics. Costing $59 for a license (20% off if you use our discount code), it’s definitely worth your dollars.

Scribbles

An application from Atebits, well known for the Tweetie apps, Scribbles allows you to quickly and easily scribble stuff on a canvas. If there was ever a gracious MS Paint replacement, especially for little kids to play around, Scribbles is it.

Don’t judge me by this ‘artwork’. There’s only so much you can do with a trackpad.

The beauty of Scribbles is that it radically changes the way we interact with an image editor. The concept of layers for instance, is so easily understood (and beautifully animated) in Scribbles that even a kid (or depending on how you look at it, a grown up) would be able to figure it out.

The downer of Scribbles is that it costs $20 for a license. I’m not saying it’s a bad price for an application, but there’s only so much you can do with it. You cannot for instance (realistically speaking) use it to create artwork or do anything ‘productive’. One nice feature is you can directly upload your artwork to the Scribbles gallery. You can see some of the awesome artwork users have uploaded.

Paintbrush

The open source application is pushed, by the developers themselves, as being an MS Paint replacement. Paintbrush is simple, featuring a one window + toolbox user interface, and in most cases, it’s like MS Paint.

Notice the jagged edges of the brush strokes

I wouldn’t recommend this one however. It looks alright, but its functionality is crippled by the fact that it tries to be too much like Paint. For one, the brush sizes are limited. Things aren’t anti aliased, and it doesn’t have any layers or anything that will make you actually use this app.

If you’re looking for an MS Paint replacement, this one is it. It’s a free app so there’s no harm in trying it out. But you’re on a Mac, and settling for a Paint clone doesn’t feel right. Moving along.

Seashore

Another app from the Open Source community, Seashore offers a little more than Paintbrush. For one, it’s got some of the advanced features of Photoshop, like Layers with blend modes and opacity. It’s got a much better brushing system, textures, etc.

That said, the UI is again, a little bland. That’s the problem with Open Source software. It’s only geeks writing code, and they forget to hire a designer. Icons are reminiscent of something you would have seen in Word 97, and rulers look like they were ripped out of PageMaker 1.0.

At the end of the day, Seashore is a capable image editor, much more powerful than MS Paint, fast, but doesn’t bring in anything ‘new and exciting’ that we’re used to with the Mac. It’s a free download.

Acorn

Another Mac client vying to be the Photoshop-alternative, is Acorn. It features a radically different user interface, especially when compared to Photoshop and the like. It’s a two window user interface, with all the tools accessible in one palette. This keeps your entire screen clear of any clutter, while giving you quick access to what you want at the time.

It might look simple, but there’s a lot going on under the hood.

Under the hood, Acorn is a native Mac application, that makes use of any GPU power available. It’s got most of the features that you would use in Photoshop like Layers, a brush editor, vector shapes, filters, etc. It’s also got the image adjustment tools required to polish up those pixels, like Levels, colour adjustments, and such.

The decision between Acorn and Pixelmator is a tough one. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. From a user interface point of view, I’d say Pixelmator is better than Acorn, but when it comes to the power and features, Acorn is definitely better. Acorn also has an export to web option, which is said to come with Pixelmator 1.5. At $50, Acorn is cheaper than Pixelmator; a limited trial version awaits.

Iris

I really like this application for the UI concepts it brings in. If you like the full windowed view of Lightroom or Aperture, Iris is your kind of application. From a user interface standpoint, Iris is stunning.

Everything is clean and compact.

It’s got a single window, meaning there’s no clutter or palettes that come in your way. At the bottom is a thumbnail view of all your open documents, which is what Photoshop CS4 should have done instead of implementing tabs. At the right is the toolbar, which has been given a layer of graphical awesomeness such that you want to click one of those icons. On the right, are three palettes for options, colour, and layers.

Once you start using Iris however, you will find the gaps that prevent you from working the way you do. The palettes on the right, are fixed. That also means that those are the only palettes available for use. Luckily you can hide any of the palettes to clear up space for your document.

Iris features a lot of the standard image editing tools like Levels, Hue/Saturation, Filters (just a few), and basic tools in the toolbox. Read up on our full review to see what Iris is all about.

As a Photoshop alternative, Iris fails because while it has some good features, the lack of many makes it impossible to use. For instance, there’s no blend modes or opacity controls for the Layers palette. It’s an interesting application to watch out for, especially since the user interface is nicely thought out. But at $80 for a license, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s your choice after checking out the trial.

ArtRage

An application built for artists, ArtRage can produce some very natural looking artwork. It’s an app that comes free (starter edition) with a Wacom Tablet, and is geared to be used with that type of input method. The single windowed user interface gives you access to all the brushes, layers, colours, and everything seems to flow in the right direction.

You can use transparency sheets, bring in rulers and stencils to measure onscreen elements, and export in a wide variety of formats. From a user interface point of view, it couldn’t get better for an artist to sketch something cool.

For $25, ArtRage is definitely worth it if you’re into drawing and already have a tablet. It’s not an app that can be used to edit images or do most of the things that Photoshop does. You can download the free starter edition, and upgrade to the full version if you feel the need.

Different applications for different needs. Some of these are just fun to play with while others can be used in your daily professional workflow. Take your pick. Are you using any of these applications on a full time basis or do you still fall back to Photoshop for your image editing needs?