While it appeared as satire, Abode says it is dead serious about taking on Adobe.

TL;DR:

Semple, a multi-disciplinary British artist, promised to build “a brand new suite of world-class design and photography tools, with an uncanny similarity to the tools you’ve been indoctrinated in.”

“There’s a really urgent need for a suite of creative tools for creators that they actually own rather than rent. In a way, this first started when Adobe and Pantone decided to paywall the Pantone colors and I created Freetone — which was a free color plugin so creators could continue to access their palette,” he says.

“I have lawyers, and I’ve taken advice. We have solid plans in place. I would also point out that nobody has seen the final branding and no software that infringes on any of Adobe’s trademarks has been produced,”

“I have successfully challenged IP owned by Tiffany and Co, Pantone, Mattel, and others over the years. I feel we have a good and thorough understanding of where the legal line is and an ability to get as close to that as possible without overstepping it.”

    • hardypart@feddit.deEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      I don’t think it would be a direct competitor. Photopea is an ad-financed application that runs in the browser. I doubt that it’s trying to cater to professionals but rather to average users who wouldn’t buy Photoshop anyways. The goal of Abode is to provide a Photoshop alternative that can be purchased without a subscription, which is indeed intended to be used by professionals who don’t want to or can’t bear the monthly subscription costs anymore. See this part of the article:

      “I noticed how expensive the subscription was and so many designers wrote to me and told me they could no longer afford to use Adobe for their work. I thought I might be able to help so I launched the crowdfunder to make us all a software suite that was truly ours.”

      In the end he could possibly make more bank by contributing to Abode’s products.