Still relying on past success, Adobe? I remember getting introduced to Adobe Photoshop in college. I enjoyed the program and said, "Hey, it's much better than Microsoft Paint!" The use of layers and several effects allowed me to make art better than what Microsoft Paint allowed. The moment I bought a PC to replace my PC last 2014 (and it's been 10 years), I realized that I was under a rock. I was using an old version of Adobe Photoshop. Adobe had this ridiculous subscription fee, which will pay much more than a Netflix, Spotify, or YouTube premium subscription! It's like downright ridiculous. I discovered Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher--all replacements for nostalgia glasses (read here)!
I ditched Adobe because the subscription fees are downright ridiculous. Why should people pay exorbitant fees for childhood nostalgia or college nostalgia? Now, I'm seeing a lot of ads on Facebook, Instagram, etc.--all bragging about what you can do with Adobe. However, I heard there are so many privacy issues with Adobe Cloud and even the programs themselves. It might already fall under the category of misleading advertising--like those annoying fake game ads where the real game don't match up with what the ads are giving! Those fake game ads should be outlawed or even criminalized, if need be!
It's catchy, but there's a price. As mentioned earlier, it's the ridiculous subscription fee. I could understand paying a high price if I need a lot of intensive features. However, as a casual artist (and I never went to art school), why would I pay PHP 3,000+ for Photoshop or Illustrator, when I'm just a casual artist?
Now take a look at my obviously casual art below...
These artworks are meant to be drawn just for leisure. I doubt that anybody would want to have these printed into posters in the living room. For example, the picture of Santa Claus at the beach was just drawn purely for fun. I'm just drawing to either de-stress or feel young. Why would I again, pay that ridiculous fee just to draw? I would buy the Affinity programs and be able to unleash my hidden creativity for fun, or if it can be done with work, do it with work!
Even if I were a professional artist, I find the fees exorbitant! If I were running an advertising firm, I would definitely not want to pay that much, because it would impact profits more than ever. Sure, I could be paying for all the employees under a group fee. However, hearing Adobe's programs getting worse would mean, "Is it worth the price?" It's like paying for a super expensive meal that tastes terrible. I always feel like I lost millions of pesos every time I eat an expensive meal, that tastes terrible!
Just looking at these, as a casual artist, I'm still going to say, "No thanks to Adobe." Childhood nostalgia is no excuse to allow such practices! It's almost like getting chummy with a criminal, just because the criminal was one's childhood playmate.