To sum up my feelings thus far, Painter 2015 is definitely the best version of this program yet. I'd give it 4.8 stars if I could, but that's not an option I'm given. I'd deduct those 0.2 points for a couple of important tools that were awkwardly designed and take away from what could have been a perfect user experience.(I use it with a Windows 8.1 Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet by the way.)A little background - I've been using Corel Painter professionally for years, starting out with version 10 (Corel Painter X). The previous versions were very nice with some great features, but they all had bad issues. The program would crash a couple of times a day, it corrupted many of my files, some of the brushes never worked right and it was just a risk I had to take if I wanted to get any work done. It taught me to back-up my files in multiple formats. I was terrified I'd lose a client's piece to Painter's demons, so I'd back it up by saving it as a Painter AND an Adobe Photoshop file just in case.MY FIRST IMPRESSIONSI've been using Corel Painter 2015 for the last couple of months and here's what I like:1.) The program started quickly and without problems. Previous versions would take a long time to start up even though my machine is fast with plenty of RAM.2.) The program never crashed during use. Not once did I have any issues with any of the files, even hours into a project. This is a BIG deal and something I'm VERY happy about. Reliability is a huge concern and I'm happy to report that the program is now actually stable (at least with Windows 8 and 8.1).3.) The "real" pencils now shade very realistically. Matching digital pencil shading to the real thing was incredibly hard to accomplish at least up to Painter 13, but Painter 2015 does this with ease. I was immediately inspired to do a couple of animal portraits and was very happy with the results. I tried reproducing those results in Corel Painter 13 and couldn't do it. I also couldn't accomplish the same in ArtRage 4. Close, but not quite.4.) Interface is easy to use, though it can be overwhelming at times with all the options. The customization is beyond belief, but, this has always been the case with Corel Painter.5.) Real watercolors finally work quickly even with larger brushes. Not much lag time there.6.) Being able to open up a reference image within the program is a great feature.7.) The new brushes are quite nice and interesting. I haven't figured out how I'd use them yet, but it was fun playing around with them.WHAT I THINK COULD USE IMPROVEMENTThere's not much to be unhappy about, but if I'd have to say something, this is what I would want to see improved:1.) Although you can load a reference image within the program, it won't re-load with your project the next time you open it up. The reference panel loads, but you have to go in there and load the image again. ArtRage 4 does this automatically, which saves me time because I don't have to go hunting for it.2.) That brings me to the function of zooming in and out of the reference image. In ArtRage4, this can be accomplished very easily by sliding your Wacom pen across the magnifying glass icon up or down to zoom in or out of the image. Painter 2015 demands a slightly more complicated process. You can zoom in at incremental sizes easily, but to zoom out you have to press the CTRL key. I'd rather not have to press any keys at all. I'd like to be able to accomplish this with one smooth motion using my Wacom pen.3.) Manipulating the angle of the canvas is awkward at best, at least compared to ArtRage 4. The tiny little menu where you can accomplish this in Painter 2015 is not very intuitive, and in order to rotate the canvas to the left, you have to rotate it 360 degrees. In ArtRage 4 there is a small but well-sized circular panel. To rotate the canvas all you have to do is slide your pen around it and watch the canvas turn with absolute ease in any direction. Resetting it is also very easy with one click.3.) Moving the canvas around in Painter 2015 works just like it does in Photoshop and this is a good thing, but ArtRage 4 does this even better. All you have to do to move your canvas up, down, side to side is hover over the screen with your Wacom pen (if you're using a Cintiq Companion or Cintiq monitor), hold down one of the clicky buttons on the pen and move it where you want it. It's the easiest thing in the world and so incredibly convenient.4.) Oil brushes are still not on par with ArtRage 4. If you've never tried ArtRage 4 and you love traditional oil paints, I highly recommend you download a free trial version and give it a try. They're incredible. The canvas texture, the thinness and thickness of the paint and the way they blend is just like the real thing. Although Painter 2015 offers oils, they don't look or work anything like the real thing. They have their own charm of course and I do enjoy using them, but ArtRage 4 just does it so much better.CONCLUSIONCorel Painter 2015 is a vast improvement over its previous versions as far as performance and reliability go. A few new features and brush improvements will make the program fun to use. If you've been waiting to upgrade from previous versions but had the same concerns I had about lack of reliability and not enough new features to justify the cost, Painter 2015 finally delivers. It is absolutely feature-packed with thousands of brush possibilities and artistically it will help you accomplish anything you can set your mind to. It is THE best digital painting/drawing program out there.That being said, if you love traditional looking oil paints, I would purchase ArtRage 4 in addition to Painter 2015. At $50.00 you won't get a better, more realistic-looking digital painting program. In fact if you're on a budget and can't afford Painter 2015, look to ArtRage 4 as your solution.