Yea since I closed my biz down the guy I am contracted to wants alot things and is willing to pay for it, so I am looking.
Tried gimp long ago and still look at it now and then.
Have you seen
http://www.getpaint.net/ donationware.
I'm am still amazed by the speed of Xara Xtreme and all that it does for the price. Using it and PSP would make a powerful combo. You really should download it and try it out, true vector, on the fly changes that you can not even see, it just moves on screen as you work. It blows your mind away.