Paint.net is pretty easy to use from what I hear. If you're the guru of imaging tools, you can use GIMP which is essentially a free version of Photoshop (so you don't have to bother going to steal it. I seriously doubt any user on here who uses PS has genuinely shelled out 1000 bucks for it).
The more intelligent posts you make outside the ODT board, the higher your rank will go. The more spam you post outside the ODT board, the lower your rank becomes.