A similar topic to this one already exists on the forums. I recommend doing some quick research before creating a new thread to make sure you aren’t posing a question that has already been discussed elsewhere.
As for free software, I highly recommend Inkscape. It’s completely free and is great for vector graphics. I’ve discussed the software in greater detail in the following post:
I highly recommend to just stick with paint.net That’s what I always use, and I will probably never change. I recommend downloading some plugins for paint.net to make it better.
I’ve seen GIMP get recommended, but I don’t think you realize how useful of a tool it is. GIMP is open source, which means there are hundreds of free plugins for the software. Likewise, it’s been around for a while, and since its free, there’s tons of tutorials for it. I haven’t used it extensively but I’ve heard many good things. It’s incredibly versatile for being free.
Ive used photoshop for around 10 years, virtually infinite “free trial” aslong as you keep creating throw away emails. Takes like 5 minutes tops. You can always fork up the money and get it forever. Tbh most people dont actually buy it unless they are serious about using it quiet often.
You could try Krita, it’s primarly for people with graphics tablets in my opinion, however people have gotten away with using a mouse in many different programs so you could probably get away with it using Krita as well.
I think its a good alternative, however, nothing really beats a windows application, supported by a HUGE developer community like photoshop. I haven’t heard of photopea before but it does seem good for people who want photoshop but don’t have the means to acquire it.
I as well use Ps, and it’s a must have for designing clothing and editing photos. I do majority of the GFX work in Cinema4D (which you can get for free if you are a student,) then final editing and other clothing work in Ps. In my opinion, it’s worth the money although it varies by person. There are cheaper alternatives, depending on your platform. iPads you can use Procreate (I believe it’s 9.99 on the App Store,) which is an amazing app replacement for Photoshop. Windows and Macs both support GIMP which is a photo application similar to photoshop but missing a couple features, is available for free. I do personally find GIMP a little complicated to use and never got the hang of it. Pixlr is good if you are trying not to have a huge learning curve, and has a roughly similar interface to Photoshop if you would ever switch. Still missing some key features but hey, it’s free. If you ever are interested in getting Photoshop, get the photography plan. Instead of paying 19.99/month for just Photoshop, you get Lightroom+Photoshop for just 9.99/month.