Is there any way to get these going relatively painlessly?
I’ve tried working with GPU-passthrough into a Windows VM which doesn’t work all that well with my laptop setup (nvidia-AMD hybrid laptop).
Looking up other methods, seems like most of them rely on outdated versions of adobe software. I’d like to get something relatively new running
I agree completely with this. At my office, I’ve started installing Krita in place of photoshop for people who need to edit images. It has its own learning curve, but it’s been a wonderful alternative.
For basic stuff it is a great alternative with a better UI than GIMP, although when you start needing more advanced stuff anything else is better than Krita for photo manipulation.
I would completely agree with this. I think Krita is a pretty good middle-ground for people who don’t need to do very intricate compositing.