The former can be accomplished in five minutes, the latter maybe in five years. Photographic Art, using a photograph as a reference file only, and creating an outline and defined color palette, combined with a particular painting style, is an entirely different thing. Photographic Painting is the process of transforming the pixels in a digital photographic file so that the final result appears to be a painting. To understand what I'm saying, let's impart a few definitions.

Simulated paintings from a computer, however, are pretty much out of fashion, as they can do nothing to replicate true art. The program can auto-paint, but I think other simulated painting programs could do a better job. You've done the right thing in exactly describing what you want to do, and for that reason I don't think Painter would give you the best of what you'd want. I use Painter 2021, and have had all editions since the program was first invented, where it evolved from a crude, bug-bloated program to the sophisticated software app that is used by professional artists today.

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