The workflow and interface can also be tricky to get your head around.
What it does represent, though, is excellent value for money with no subscription fee.
The same can also be said for the raw image editor.
Corel PaintShop Pro AI Background replace tool(Image credit: Future)
As with all new software, there are AI tools.
And there’s no Generative Fill - the real cherry on the Photoshop cake.
It is excellent value and great for those who don’t want to sign up for a subscription.
Upgrade pricing is available for those who already own PaintShop Pro or Ultimate.
Initially, it resembled an advanced version ofMicrosoftPaint, with tools for beginner and advanced image editors.
The first workspace is the Complete workspace.
If you’re a beginner, there’s a Learning panel that outlines everything in easy-to-understand language.
At the top of the Complete workspace are the sub-workspace options of Edit and Manage.
Selecting Manage opens an Adobe Bridge-style experience for viewing and organizing your image.
Everything may have slightly different names or sit in different places, but all the essential tools exist.
Layers can be created with various opacity, masking, and blending options.
And within the Effects menus are a vast number of image editing effects.
Then there’s the Photography workspace.
There’s also an AI button in this mode.
It allows you to apply Instant Effects to an image, such as an Aged Effect or Watercolour.
However, these seem to be no more AI-powered than any of the effects that other software uses.
There are sliders to make adjustments, and I can’t tell where the AI comes into play.
And the results certainly don’t appear to offer any advantage over any other effect.
Corel PaintShop Pro AI Background replace tool(Image credit: Future)
The Aftershot Lab is reminiscent of Adobe Lightroom but lacks any of Lightroom’s organization or output options.
The Camera RAW Lab option streamlines this further and works within a floating window.
All the AI tools are found within the Adjust Menu, with a sub-menu revealing the four tools.
A screen of Adobe Photoshop showing how Generative Fill has been used to replace a background(Image credit: Future)
The cutout is good but far from perfect.
Photoshop’s AI tools produced a much cleaner result with the initial selection.
Users can adjust the mask.
If you want perfection, you’ll be using these tools a lot.
The next stage is to blur the background around the subject.
Again, it’s possible for you to achieve reasonable results with some work.
This uses the same cutout technology found in AI Portrait Mode but allows you to add a background.
Corel provides a handful of backgrounds, or you’re able to use your own.
As a single button press, there’s no preview option to see the side-by-side changes.
AI Denoise, on the other hand, does have a preview window.
This is without mentioning the noise removal options within the raw conversion options.
you could also reduce noise while upscaling, with a slider giving you control over the strength.
I also ran the image through Topaz AI with the default image configs.
Corel PaintShop Pro 2023: Should I buy?
However, Photoshop is subscription-based, which can put some users off.
It can also be overwhelming for new users.
Luminar Neo is another option that takes a middle path.
Alternatively, it’s possible for you to purchase it outright with a one-time payment of $249.
you’re able to read our in-depth guide to thebest Photoshop alternatives here.
