AVPainter and other previewers

Is anyone using the full version of AVPainter (~$L2500) for clothing design? Can you tell me if it's significantly more convenient to edit textures in AVPainter than in Photoshop, and if it has other advantages? I'm trying to decide if I should get it, or just stick to the SL Clothing Previewer, which is completely free and also previews clothing, but only lacks the editing function. Thanks.

im shocked no one ever replied to this thread

I have AV Painter and GIMP (similar to PS but free), so does a friend of mine who actually makes clothing. We often help each other with projects both clothing and other things so I am familiar with the use of both tools and when she in particular uses them.

You can do most of the work in GIMP (or PS), there are times however when being able to paint directly onto the mesh is very handy, especially with the mirror tool that symmetrically paint in both directions (great for curves). Also despite the great templates for GIMP, there are times when the seams just don't line up etc. and this is again where AV Painter is really good because the mesh *is* the SL mesh you can fix up small imperfections there that (if the SL rendering engine and mesh were better you would not have a problem with anywhere but that is another story.) cannot be seen easily in GIMP.
GIMP (or PS) is the most important tool though and you will need to become proficient in the use of layers, path cuts and selections to really make it work well for clothing.
Sometimes it is good to texture in GIMP and at others it is easier to do it in AV Painter, it depends on the situation.

So in summary, AV Painter has it's place and is useful despite having GIMP. GIMP can be used by itself but it is easier to combine the use of both to get the features that the other does not provide.

Hope this helps

AVPainter is no replacement for photoshop. It is an extra tool.

My typical work flow for making a shirt is to start in AVpainter and draw a rough pattern or shape in solid colors. The go to photoshop and put the textures over the solid colors, clean up any lines (AVpainter is rough on its edges) and do whatever shading or transparency work is needed. Once it is done, I go back to AVpainter to blend the seems. You can use the smudge tool or drawing tools to help work the edges together. Back one last time to photoshop for any final touchups and to flatten to the final tga file.

I think they still have a demo version you can play with if you want to try it out first. I love it. But like I said, it is no replacement for photoshop or gimp for doing the actual work.

Agreeing and adding my vote- I use AvPainter just like that too- start it in Gimp tweak it in AvPainter- more gimp.. works great- and the new version supposrs obj's so u can paint on ur sculpts too!

I don't own the full version yet, but I'm planning on buying it in about a month. What I like about it is that it's fun to work with. The standard clothing templates I've fooled around with in GIMP aren't that enjoyable for me.

Avpainter isn't good for the finishing and details but it's great for general layout. One of the best things it can do is allow you to draw a continuous line between seams so you can finally get that strap to go from front to back. You could do the same in photoshop but it involves a lot of guesswork and previewing.

It's also good for editing your existing clothing while previewing. If you created a dress and previewed it in avpainter you could mark parts of the dress for editing and then go back into photoshop to fix things.

It's also good for adding shadows. Using the photoshop templates it's difficult to shade the contours of the body but with avpainter you actually see the avatar body and you can just draw in the shadows.

AVPainter is very crude compared to PS, but it's very useful for drawing the shape of a new outfit. Rather than trying to draw as with a pen, though, I paint with a series of short, straight strokes on the interior of my shape. This results in a thick, crude line, but it's smooth on the edge of the garment. I then take that crude drawing to PS and use it as a guide.

Also really handy is the ability to paint on multiple layers. After I've gotten something accomplished in PS I'll see what it looks like on the avatar in AVPainter, create a new layer and draw marks on it as guides to what needs to be corrected. Like, say, put a yellow dot above a peak that appears on the avatar that looks smooth in PS. PS is better for making the changes, but I use AVPainter to determine exactly what and where to change, and paint right on the garment (on the new layer) as a guide.

Yeah, this.

I use AVPainter all the time, but I don't draw on it. I create the apparel in PSP, then upload it to AvPainter to make sure seams match etc, also to tweak blending between front/back etc. I love the program, and wouldn't put anything on the shelves that hasn't been checked out in AVPainter first. Actually, during the process of creating an article of clothing, it is very likely that the outfit has been uploaded to AVPainter several times as the item progresses. I love the program, and don't think I could work without it.