There are several big players in the digital imagery market. Of course the giant is Adobe, with their ever popular Photoshop series. Unfrotunatly Photoshop isnt exactly cheap - and very much overkill for the casual digital editor. We have searhed high and low, and left no stone unturned finding you the very best alternatives (including some fantastic free paint programs). Here is what we found:

Get Paint:

(http://www.getpaint.net/)
This is a great free application for windows. A excellent set of features and some pretty advanced tool sets also. It started development as an undergraduate college senior design project mentored by Microsoft, and is currently being maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. A great choice, and of course - free.

Gimp

(http://www.gimp.org/ & http://www.gimp.org/windows)
Gimp started life as a Linux tool but now has grown into aincrediblepaint package. Seriously powerful and running on Linux, Mac and Windows. This really does deserve a look at from any aspiring user. Still and always will be free.

PixelMator

(http://www.pixelmator.com/)
For those on Mac OS (OSX) the huge success of Pixel Mator has surely caught your attention.Excellent UI and quickly becoming a serious Photoshop alternative. The cost is around 15 - which is excellent value.

Photoshop Express

Adobe are not completely missing out here in the lighter end of the market. They have launched Photoshop Express (http://www.photoshop.com/tools) which is a excellent tool worth trying. No download required!

If you use a package which you would like featured here, please let us know!