It imitates real media. I love it because it's all about the painting bit and has lots of controls over the brushes. I don't use filter,layers styles, and image adjustment layers that much so I don't miss them really. I found Art Rage clumsy and Painter sluggish. If you're really attached to all of the image manipulation tools of Photoshop though then it could be a tough transition. Photoshop will still be a tool I use but Paintstorm is quickly becoming my only program.