0 Comments Art Review: PaintTool SAI

Program - PaintTool SAI (SYSTEMAX Inc.)
Tested version - v1.2.5

Price - 31-day trial, $51.49 (5400JPY) to buy
Systems - Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista/7/8.1/10
Official website - https://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/

Raster or Vector - Primarily raster; however, various things can be done in editable vector format too.

Ease Of Use - Very easy to get started. Software includes a help file, but no official help /videos /tutorials online. However it does have a large fan base of users (a cult following on DeviantArt and elsewhere), so finding tutorials online and videos on YouTube is rather easy.

Here is a good beginners tutorial, and a DeviantArt group (examples, help, brushes, etc).

All software is subjective to hardware installed, so with that in mind here is my current workhorse PC (A updated HP Z200 Workstation) specs I used for testing with all updated drivers...

CPU - Intel Core i5 CPU 660 @ 3.33GHz (2 Cores, 4 Threads)
Memory - 12 GB DDR3 total
Graphics - EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti SC (Superclocked GM107) 1 GB (DDR5 memory)
Space - 2.5 TB hard drive disk space
System - Windows 8.1 Pro

Program Speed - Always quick and responsive with no noticeable lag - even at maximum page settings of size/resolution. Very nice.

Page Options - Maximum size is 13.67" x 13.67" at 600 ppi, and 27.35" x 27.35" at 300 ppi. Unlike most software, if you enter a value too large it will turn red and you will have to adjust it for the page to be created (see image).

There are no crop or bleed options, and not even guides to set them up manually. If you need to use them your best option is to load a template image as a layer, or export the art and set-up the options in another program.

The image is strictly RGB, and there are no CMYK, Grayscale, or other options anywhere in the program.

File Formats -

• Open - SAI (PaintTool SAI), PSD (Photoshop Document), BMP (Bitmap), JPG/JPEG (JPEG), PNG, TGA (TarGA)
• Save/Export - SAI (PaintTool SAI), PSD (Photoshop Document), BMP (Bitmap), JPG/JPEG (JPEG), PNG, TGA (TarGA)

Plug-in Support - No.

Customizable Shortcuts/Menus/Icons - Keyboard shortcuts only, even the panels are not editable in height or moveable within. The panels can be moved (whole) to either left or right of the screen though in the menu Window and near the bottom.

Layer Options - Offers some interesting options. Paints Effect has Texture (Watercolor A/Watercolor B/Paper/Canvas) with Scale and Texture Strength, and Effect (Fringe) with Scale and Texture Strength too. More textures can be added by manually adding images to the install folder, see here.

The other options are layer 8 Blending options, Opacity, Preserve opacity (lock transparency), Clipping group, Selection source, New layer, New linework layer (vector), New layer set (layer group folder), New layer mask, Transfer down, Merge down layer, Clear layer, Delete layer, Merge down layer and mask individually, Apply layer mask, and more.

Color Selection - Color wheel, sliders, and a palette (just one and only added to by setting current colors individually).

There is no way to enter the colors numerically, or move the sliders more than 2 numbers (or more) at a time. So for accurate colors your best option is to copy and paste a image and use the eyedropper tool.

Brush Options - It is a problem to access all the options as many are off the screen and there are no scrollbars or options to access them!

The only method is to disable all the color options (Color Wheel, sliders, palettes, everything). See the problem in the left image above. The second image shows all color related items switched off to see the brush options. Hopefully you do not have a small display otherwise they will still likely be off screen.

If you can access them the options are Drawing mode (Normal/Vivid/Deep/Multiply), Edge shape (4 options), Size, Min size, Density, Brush shape (Simple circle/Spread/Spread & Noise/Bristle/Flat bristle) and amount, Texture (No texture/Paper textures/Paper/Canvas) and amount, Blending, Dilution, Persistence (Keep opacity), Blending quality, Edge hardness, Min density, Max density pressure, Hard/Soft (Pressure sensitivity), Pressure options (Density/Size/Blend), and finally default sizes.

Brushes can be added, but has to be done so in the installed folder, see here.

Common Necessities - Other tools that are primarily tools, and is surprising lacking in some software making it necessary to include them briefly.

Paint Fill - Detection mode (Transparency (Strict/Fuzzy), Color difference (Transparency range)), Target (Working layer, Selection source, All image), and Anti-aliasing.
Eraser - Most of the same options available as the Brush options described above.
Image Zoom - Onscreen buttons, shortcut controls, and menu controls. Also zoom in/out on the mouse scroll wheel. Zoom range 2.56% to 1600%
View Rotate - Multiple onscreen buttons, menu controls, and can be rotated at any angle.
Selection Tools - Standard rectangle, lasso, and Magic wand. They selection tools have varying options in the tool area.

Text/Font Options - NONE. There is no way to enter text for lettering/captions.

Drawing Aids - NONE. Not a single ruler, guide, grid, or aid.

Extras - Scratchpad, allows you to try out your brush before drawing (but drawing and pressing Undo makes it unnecessary...).

Pros -

• Works on Windows 98 up to Windows 10, but at what program costs...
• Docked tools/windows - I really dislike floating tools, and hate multiple windows. In this case though it would likely be better, as they could be adjusted then.
• Nearly lag free with mouse or tablet
• No monthly subscription costs
• Free upgrades once purchased, at least for the same version (1.0 to 1.9). Version 2 though however will be released sometime hopefully this year.
• Great for digital painting, and other traditional medium looks
• Large fan base that offer custom brushes, textures, and help.

Cons -

• 32-bit program file only
• Options scroll off the screen, and things have to be toggled off in order to hopefully view (no scrollbars or options)! Smaller monitor displays will result in not being able to access all the settings.
• No precise way to select colors (RGB numbers, Hex codes, or anything else) and no CMYK or Grayscale support.
• No text of any kind. Lettering other than hand-drawn must be done in another program.
• No drawing aids, not even a ruler.

Recommended Use - Great for artwork that needs a painted or traditional look. Also it looks like version 2, see notes, will be a great update that addresses many cons.