Useless Clothes (f, nudity)

[Zera_Stardust]

Because I don't have anything like Photoshop and I can't can't shade worth crap, I consider most of my collages to be pretty low quality.
This certainly isn't my best, but I it's feeling of sad resignation.

[DocRick]

If you knew how I do my photocollages, you would laugh. But some turn out pretty nice, others not so nice. Just have to keep messing with the adjustments until you find something you are satisfied with.

[HHunter1]

Practice makes prefect or as near as humanly possible. Just work at it and you'll slowly get better at it.

HH1
Beside, your better at it then I am.

[Little Sally]

You can pick up second hand Photoshop programs on Ebay quite cheap (or at least you could when I last looked).

If you're ever going to be serious about doing collage I would advise getting PS, even old ones like mine (Elements 8) will do everything you need. You just have to learn the basics and have some imagination, and away you go!

[Prof Sai]

Go open source and get the GIMP for free. Or buy from someone other than Adobe. Their pricing and planned obsolescence is quite unethical.

[Zera_Stardust]

The program I use is called "Paint 3D". It seems to come stander on all PCs. It has a tool called "Magic Sticker" that's usually good at isolating the desired subject, but sucks at fine details like hair or the space between fingers. Paint 3D does have some tools that can be used fore shading. But when ever I try, it ends up looking rather sloppy.

Once I have the images I want, it takes me very little time to put something together. I put more effort into finding images and writing "micro stories" than making collages.

I do have a bad habit of being my own worst critic.

[Who am I again?]

I do have a bad habit of being my own worst critic.

After reading you achieved all of this with paint3d, i am impressed. But as Sai said, try Gimp. Or Affinity Photo. You have a talent and you should try other programs. All this talk about shadowing and what you need is rubbish. If you feel your picture is good enough to post,post it as is.With other tools and some learning you can improve the parts you think you need to improve.You don't have to compare yourself to others,just do your own thing.

[Little Sally]

It sounds like you've started off like I did in the early days by using the computer's own paint program, but of course things like paint have moved on since then, so I wouldn't have a clue in using paint as it is today for collage. But you're creating art and expressing yourself which is the main thing in all this.

Once I have the images I want, it takes me very little time to put something together. I put more effort into finding images and writing "micro stories" than making collages.

Which means you're having fun, right? So whether you progress to making better collage creations with Photoshop isn't the real issue with you I'm guessing, so just get the most out of what you like doing and see where it takes you. You can always change your mind and direction whenever it suits you.

I do have a bad habit of being my own worst critic.

And so you should be! We all are who create art.