A bit outside the original question, but still texture related and probably useful... ;-)
For me, the most user friendly app out there is still Mudbox. For painting it has a PS approach to layers, and the learning curve is very flat.
Unfortunately, AD is destined to kill MB in a few years from now. As most of the tools are already ported to Maya 2016, there's no real need to keep a separate app I guess.
After having played with Quixel Suite for about a week now, I can say it's a very useful tool for texturing. It can go up to 8K textures, but due to the way it's linked to PS expect some long export times.
I love the 'smart materials' and the way you can add new layers, mix and match and even work inside PS while using Quixel.
The 'regeneration' thing after changing stuff, or with exporting can be a issue for some, I don't really care.
And with the ability to go 8K, it's not entirely suited for game only.
They have some nice presets for starting your project, so you can 'go in' for a 'linear Arnold' workflow from the start.
I liked Substance Painter for the particle stuff, but still find the workflow a bit cumbersome. But if you have to choose between Mari ans Painter, my choice would be Painter still.
I personally feel Mari is too top heavy for freelance work.
Just a quick texturing test, this took literally 3 min. of texturing with the smart material approach. UV's suck, but it's an old model I snagged from the web ages ago....
HD version
cheers!
rob
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