Is my computer fit for digital painting?

[Amadís]

Hi, I have a 2017 MacBook Pro 8 GB, 2.3 Ghz and I'm trying to do some digital painting with it, but Photoshop lags or even crashes. I've been having trouble even with 30 x 30 cm 300 dpi formats. My guess is the computer is too slow to handle this, am I right?

[John Waller]

Which operating system? Which version of Photoshop?

[Amadís]

Hi, it's Photoshop 2018, Sierra 10.13.6

[Derek Cross]

This size, that would print successfully at around 12” x 12” and the document should work well on this computer. Do you have lots of Layers?

It might be worth resetting your preferences, which you can do under the General tab in Photoshop preferences.

[Amadís]

Thanks for replying. It actually happens in single layered files. I might work flawlessly with the smaller brush sizes, but then it will seriously lag when using the same brush at a bigger size. I've already checked my Ram in preferences and it is way over the ideal indicated by the software. So... I still don't get what happens. 

[Jimmazza]

Hi Amadis,

I do quite a bit of digital painting nowadays and, until recently, I was using a mid-2011 iMac which I think was 8GB and 2.7Ghz, so not far off what you are using and it was generally fine, though the thing that stands out for me is the 30 x 30 cm size at 300dpi that you've mentioned. From my experience this is quite a hefty amount for Photoshop to handle and I'm not surprised it crashes (my old iMac did the same with such big sizes). Recently, I was painting on A4 size (about 21 x 29 cm) at 300 dpi on the very latest iMac that has 64GB and 3.5 Ghz and I've even experienced a bit of lag, to the point I just went with 72 dpi. Try different resolutions and see what works best for you machine. Good luck!

[Jimmazza]

And yes, as Derek alludes to, lots of layers doesn't help!

[Amadís]

Got it... problem is this happens with single layer files too.

[Amadís]

Thanks Jim,

  your answer is very useful. So... a book size format at a standard resolution is too much for Photoshop?? It really blows my mind. As you suggested, I've reduced the resolution up to 150 and it does work better although there's still some lag. How is it possible that an iPad app like Procreate would so ridiculously outperform an Adobe desktop app?

  Would it be a smart move to reduce the resolution as much as possible and, once the painting is finished, upgrade its size?

[Derek Cross]

A few thoughts:

Make sure you occasionally do a Save As and incrementally name your document (also keep copies externally in case of computer issues).

If your documnent is for printing keep the resolution at 300PPI (assuming you want to print at a size of 12” x 12”).

I hope your’re working in RGB color mode.

Did you try resetting your Photoshop Preference?

[Amadís]

Yes, I wasn't really sure which preference to adjust, but I set a higher Ram usage (past the ideal indicated usage).

I do work on RGB.

The issue is precisely the resolution, because as Jimmazza mentioned, it seems to be too much for Ps to handle . I'm starting to think my computer might be defective. I wonder now if painting on a lower resolution and then pumping up the pixels once everything is finished could actually work.

I always save my Ps files in an external disk.

I'm very grateful for your help.

[davescm]

Hi

Can you check that whilst you are using 30 x 30 cm you have actually  set resolution to 300 PPI. It is easy to accidentally set it to 300 ppcm which would increase the number of pixels by approximately 6.5 times.

Are you using a fast internal disk with plenty of space as the scratch drive. Slow access to the scratch drive could slow things down.

Dave

[Amadís]

Hi,

I'm actually using points per inch (double checked). How can I check what am I using as scratch drive?

[davescm]

Hi

Preferences >Scratch Disks

Dave

[davescm]

Just another thought. Have you got brush smoothing turned right up? By its nature the brush will lag slightly, with smoothing set high,  as Photoshop has to see where it goes next before laying down pixels. It should cause any crashes though.

Dave

[Amadís]

Thank you, Dave,

  I've adjusted the scratch disk as you suggested. I've noticed a slight enhancement, but the brush still lags. Maybe none of the scratch disks currently available are enough to offer a better performance. Shall I get some extra hardware?

I understand smoothing is only activated with mixer (blend) brushes, however this lag happens with every one at bigger sizes.

As I suggested in my first entry, I'm at moment seriously doubtful my computer is built for doing this.

[davescm]

Hi

32GB is not much space for scratch disk' particularly as that disk is also being used by your operating system.

Your second disk has plenty space but I think you said it was an external disk. If so performance depends very much on how it is connected. Is it USB3, USB3 or other ?

In current versions brush smoothing is available on normal brushes if it is enabled in brush settings. The level of smoothing is then set in the options bar.

Dave

[Amadís]

Thanks again, Dave,

   I'm using a regular 2 TB Lacie external disk, connected through an USB-C (3?) port.

[davescm]

Just as a trial, try clicking the arrow at the right  to move the larger drive up to the top of the list and uncheck the Macintosh drive. Then close and restart Photoshop. My thinking is that if the scratch disk grows too large in fairly small remaining space you could start affect the performance of the Mac.

You can always put it back if it has no effect.

Dave

[Derek Cross]

Amadís  wrote

I'm starting to think my computer might be defective. I wonder now if painting on a lower resolution and then pumping up the pixels once everything is finished could actually work.

Definitely not!

[D Fosse]

This isn't about file size. Even at pixels per cm instead of inches, it's 9000 x 9000 pixels. That's big-ish - but nowhere near bringing a computer to its knees. 30 000 x 30 000 might do that.

This sounds like scratch disk problems, not enough of it.

[Amadís]

Thanks, D,

  As Dave suggested, I've adjusted the scratch disk preference as you may see in the screenshot. But while this enhanced brush performance, it doesn't quite get rid of the lag. I assume there's still not enough scratch memory. Would another piece of hardware fix this? (other than, obviously, another computer)

[rayek.elfin]

Have you tested other painting programs yet, just to see if Photoshop is the problem or not?

For example, I use ClipStudio EX, which generally draws and paints smoothly with A4@600ppi files even on a very old i5 4GB machine.

Download the trial here: CLIP STUDIO PAINT: Software/app for Manga, Comics, Drawing and Painting

Another option is Krita, which is free and open source. It is more resource-hungry, but still outperforms Photoshop on my machine at home for painting.

https://krita.org/en/

[Derek Cross]

And this: Corel Digital & Photo Painting Software and Painter Apps

[Amadís]

Thanks, Derek! I'll be looking into it as well. I'm obviously disappointed with Ps, at least as a painting tool.