I have severely cut down on graphics work having suffered an eye impairment. I can't bear dark mode - its unpleasant, almost painful until I can turn the lights on!
I've adjusted Krita to have a neutral grey work background, essential for photographic work, and to be using a light theme.
I laughed at your description though!
In the past when I was distro hopping, some distros only offered downloads via Torrents which I found annoying, so it is not always the case that torrents have been used for things that constitute piracy. In terms of Windows, I still use Windows 7 for my website. On my youngest's machine their Windows 7 64-bit Pro started having issues. The machine has 8 Gb RAM. I installed FerenOS on hot-swap drive, allocating 4 Gb RAM to a .vhd, and Windows 7 ran better as a VM than a bare metal install. So I would not be overly worried when October 2025 comes around as you could run Windows 10 as a VM, or like I do, maintain it and make an image of it using Rescuezilla, so you can always restore it should anything go wrong. And always ensure you keep copies of VM's in case anything goes wrong with those. When I was at work we used Paint Shop Pro 8 and 9. You can no longer purchase it from Corel as it is out-of-date, it is available from Internet Archive as it is out of Copyright and runs well under WINE.
When I was at work, a Teacher I worked with was a fan of Zenedine Zedane, a famous French soccer star. In my lunch break I made her a birthday card using Paint Shop Pro, repacing Zedane's wife's head with that of the teacher.
My principle use of using PaintShop Pro was to modify images in Reading Books for students with low-vision. Mostly used for uncluttering images, which may have needed obliterating background images, so for example, if the book was focusing on characters, most of the background would have to be erased/washed out. The worst books that had to be scanned to the computer were the cheap Chinese print books so when you adjusted the images you would get lots of lines, PaintShop Pro had an adjustment for this, forgot the term.
I tried it just now, for the first time.
It seems to work very much like Photoshop, except for a lack of file types for saving to. It could be a temporary fix whilst Photoshop is otherwise unavailable.
5 posts were split to a new topic: Using VM's in GnuLinux
Another strategy for running Photoshop and Illustrator (without Windows)
may be ReactOS https://reactos.org/.
Many Windows programmes seem to run in React, but how stable they run
is another question.
It's still in alpha stage, mind you.
They've been working on it for 30 years now, I suppose all the audits demanded by Microsoft have kept progress at a glacial pace.
I got excited about ReactOS back in 2003, but the lack of progress only lead to disappointment. It may be that 'one day' there will be a perfect drop-in replacement for Windows, but (annoyingly) that day is not today.
Thus far.. I've been unable to install any Windows applications using Bottles.
Following every method, recommendation, and online solution has yealded no results, so I will leave bottles in the glass recycling bin.
The only option left for installing Photoshop and Illustrator in ZorinOS
is Photoshop CC Linux https://github.com/Gictorbit/photoshopCClinux
and Illustrator CC Linux https://github.com/Gictorbit/illustratorCClinux
To Install these - I would need the Terminal codes,
but no one seems to be willing to post them.
With Photoshop CC Linux (in Terminal) I got as far as..
git clone htttps://github.com/Gictorbit/photoshopCClinux.git
cd photoshopCClinux
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh
selected 1 (of 4) for installation of photoshop
then the installation asks for winetricks
sudo apt install winetricks
finally the installer has an aneurysm and gives up.
I have a desktop icon for Terminal =)
already installed winetricks..
the installer wants wine64 now, as well as md5sum
I can't seem to get these to install
You can install Wine by adding the key and repository, then installing the software.
Wine is a compatibility layer that enables running some windows applications on GnuLinux, rather than being an emulator.
It makes sense that it would be a prerequisite to installing apps intended for Windows OS.
Though it does give you another hoop to jump through trying to reach your end goal.
For Zorin OS 17:
sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/jammy/winehq-jammy.sources
With the key stored and the repo now added, you can update your sources and install.
sudo apt update && sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable
Thank you Aravisian!
I managed to install all remaining dependencies with the code above.
Then relaunched the installer - which nearly completed the installation..
further than any prior attempt. But at the last moment came the error below:
Could not resolve host: victor.poshtiban.io
error: sorry something went wrong during download photoshopCC-V19.1.6-2018x64.tgz
NOTE: I just found that this error is posted all over the internet.
I downloaded the zip folder, containing the full package, but have no idea how to tell Terminal where to find it. I have it (fully extracted) in the 'home' directory at the moment.
The installation now hinges on pointing Terminal to the proper files.
The original server link for photoshopCC-V19.1.6-2018x64.tgz is down.
I found an alternative link:
http://dl.gictor.ir/photoshopCC-V19.1.6-2018x64.tgz
Downloaded photoshopCC-V19.1.6-2018x64.tgz
then extracted the .tgz file, and clicked on photoshop_cc.exe
and the installation completed.
But where is the programme? How do I launch Photoshop? ö_Ö
UPDATE//
I've been all over the internet, searching for information on
Photoshop CC Linux.
In most cases, I've found only frustrated Linux users pulling their hair out
due to failed installations -- And then I came across this link:
https://github.com/Gictorbit/photoshopCClinux/issues/183
Is it a pirate program? #183
This so called 'Linux App' is only a crack copy of Adobe Photoshop 2019,
edited and made available some years ago by a Russian coder:
Victor Poshtiban.
The domain name: victor.poshtiban.io has a British Indian Ocean Territory domain extension. A query on WhoIs shows that the domain has been ditched, and no DNS records exist.
I also noticed that the installer has russian text below the english text.
Clearly this is not a legitimate Linux App, and I am going to stay well clear of it.
It could also contain malware. I will delete the downloaded files from my system.
So the final verdict is..
Genuine Adobe Photoshop cannot be installed in Linux
Genuine Adobe Illustrator cannot be installed in Linux
The only solution is to install Photoshop in Windows (or iOS).
So.. Reports suggesting Adobe hates Linux are not an exaggeration.
Which then confirms my report, at the early part of this thread...
I could never use Adobe Photoshop on Linux, its simply impossible, because it was coded for Windows only, and requires those services to run and everything else. This is why I gave up on Adobe. Their a for profit company, thats all they care about.
I know that Linux alternatives like Gimp and Kdenlive, are not as good as Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe Premiere. But until someone makes better apps, its all we got. We still made the right choice to switch to Linux.
I went through the same thing you did, so I got a good idea on what you are feeling right now. That voice in your head, "did I make the wrong choice going to Linux?" The answer is, while it may not feel like it right now, yes you made the right choice.
Take each day 1-step at a time, give yourself time to learn Linux more, and the apps that are available to it. Every good path took effort in creating it, but it paid dividends in the end. Trust me, you'll get there, I have faith in you!
Coded for Windows + iOS (as Adobe have an arrangement with Microsoft and Apple). Adobe are not just a "for profit" Corporation, they are Corporate Vampires, with an industry-wide monopoly. It is no longer possible to even 'own' Adobe CS software outright (since Photoshop CC), Adobe Creative Suite applications are only available by monthly subscription (in the cloud).
It's still possible to buy old versions of Photoshop on Ebay for example, but not the latest version. Even the cost of ownership of CS6 in 2012 averaged around 800, €
GIMP will never be an industry standard, and will never even approach later versions of Photoshop, simply because Gnu is not a private company with a CEO leading a professional team of developers with a mission to produce a competitive superior product for an industry.. they're a loose consortium of independent volunteers. This operational model is why ReactOS has been in alpha stage for 30 years. Money is the prime mover of industry and innovation.
A private company could develop a Linux product equal to Photoshop, however it would not be a costless product, it would not even be an affordable product. It would not be crowd-developed by volunteers living on pizza and beer. It takes tens of 1000s of developers to produce such a product, and professional developers don't work for beer, they earn 100s of Euro per hour.
I have uninstalled GIMP from my system - since it's completely unusable for editing Photoshop files, and cannot export to the most common image file types. Professional designers are trapped by industry standards, myself included.
I do not regret becoming a Linux user - I have found loads of Linux programmes which I can put to good use. I like ZorinOS as a creative work environment;
But Linux cannot completely free me from Windows - I still rely on Photoshop, Illustrator, and a list of other Windows programmes (both 32 and 64 bit),
so there will be a second desktop with Windows 10, and a third with XP,
all side by side with different functions. But only the Linux desktop will have internet access, and files. Windows is a malware/spyware magnet, and vulnerable.
The ominous Windows Blue Screen of Death can appear at any moment.
This is not a matter of IF but WHEN.
I completely agree with every single thing you said. Including the difference between Free=Freedom and Free=Cost.
But this one statement bewilders me. GIMP does export to most common image file stypes:
.bmp) - Windows Bitmap.gif) - Graphics Interchange Format.jpg, .jpeg) - Joint Photographic Experts Group.png) - Portable Network Graphics.tif, .tiff) - Tagged Image File Format.webp) - Web Picture Format.exr) - OpenEXR for high dynamic range images.heif, .heic) - High Efficiency Image File (requires plugins).pdf) - Portable Document Format.ico) - Windows Icon.dds) - DirectDraw Surface (popular in gaming).psd) - Adobe Photoshop Document (basic support; some features may not transfer).arw, .cr2, .nef, etc.) - With plugins like Darktable or RawTherapee.tga) - Targa Image File.pat) - GIMP pattern file.xpm) - X PixMap.xcf) - Native GIMP format for saving editable files with layers, channels, etc..gbr) - GIMP brush file.ggr) - GIMP gradient file.gih) - GIMP image hose file.pcx) - Paintbrush Bitmap Image.pbm, .pgm, .ppm) - Portable Bitmap formats.ps, .eps) - PostScript Encapsulated PostScript.rle) - Run-Length Encoded Bitmap.sgi) - Silicon Graphics Image.ras) - Sun Raster File.c, .h) - Export as C header file (for images as arrays).html) - Save layers as HTML tables.txt) - Save text as an ASCII art fileSame like games, meant for windows. Did you try to run it with proton ? 
It could be that you are the Spirit of GNU Present - here to show me the true value of GIMP, before it's too late. : )
The installation of GIMP I had on Zorin (v 2.10) did not have any of these file types,. only XCF. Either the options are not displayed in a dropdown list (as they are in Photoshop), or they're unavailable.
Hiding options would be yet another flaw in the programme.
In all honesty.. I may be oblivious to the capabilities of GIMP, but that's down to it being a completely alien platform which I have no experience with. I gave it a proper go - tried editing text in a PSD file (the text tool could not select text).
Tried selecting a rectangular area with the select tool, and deleting it (no change), tried paintbucket (no change). Right.. enough testing - GIMP is useless for Photoshop users. Sorry!
I simply haven't the time to learn a new graphic processing platform, with a wacky UI. Only hobbyists have such a vast reservoir of spare time.
I decided it's better to have software running perfectly in a native OS, than running wonky in an alien OS.
I'm... a stickler for factual information. LOL.
I am a person who has made many mistakes, or made assumptions that led to me providing misinformation. I became more and more aware of the need to verify information and provide as accurate data as possible over time.
If you click Save as - then you are saving the project for Future Use - it will save as an .xcf file.
If you click Export as - then you are exporting your completed product - and there you can find either your dropdown menus or type in your desired file extension.
I believe that describes both of us.
Ahaa! I suspected something were amiss. This is a good example of what happens when design philosophies go separate ways.
I would need to get hold of a GIMP user manual, and have a long read before
I can get my head around all the differences.