Both are similarly priced, but I’m wondering what the differences and similarities between the two programs are. Basically, I’m just looking for something to do quick sketches on with my wacom intuos. Any info is much appreciated!
Alias sketchbook pro is a great tool for basic sketches. I use this program on an almost daily basis. I will say that there are many situations where I get frustrated and wish that the program had more features that are found in Photoshop. I have even tried using Photoshop for sketch rather than Alias Sketchbook Pro, but I tended to get bogged down in all the settings, so I have stuck with Sketchbook for now.
As for Corel Painter X, I have heard several great things about this program. I am hoping to get my hands on it in the near future, but have not used it yet. From what I can tell, it provides much more bang for the buck as opposed to Sketchbook Pro, but just as my expereince with sketching in Photoshop, you can get really bogged down in settings.
I would say that for basic sketching, Sketchbook Pro is a great option, but if you are looking for a slightly more sophisticated program Corel Painter X is a great value.
Hope this insight helped and did not confuse you any more than you already may be.
Sketchbook Pro is digital paper with layers. It is a great program if you think of it that way. It has a good feel and is fun to use.
Can you rotate the canvas in Pro like you can in Painter? That’s a huge asset IMO. Also, I’ve heard Pro has more realistic linework - is that true?
so does corel painter x use layers as well?
sketchbook can only rotate layers (not entire canvas like painter) but the problem is lines in the layer becomes fuzzy when you rotate alot (dunno why, but guess it has to recalculate things when you rotate and doesn’t do this as well as painter?). You can rotate 90 and 180 deg without getting fuzzy lines but it’s not that easy to find your “sweet point” that way.
Painter has layers that are more advanced that sketchbook pro. You can choose how layers affect underlying layers (like in photoshop). Nice thing to have.
Sketchbook has a great user interface. Painter has one that… eh… well works and thats it. I prefer painter mostly because i can rotate the canvas*, but would like to have the functionality of painter combined with sketchbooks interface for a perfect mix 
Short summary of my experience.
*i don’t think that is so important with a cintiq as you can rotate the cintiq.
EDIT: fixed some typos
im not use to using corel. but i will try it now…hope i will get the hang of it.
You can make a sketchbook pro-like interface with Painter’s tool. Press TAB to clear the screen of tools completely. For a toolbar, drag your favorite brush down onto your canvas to create a custom brush palette. Once you do that, you can add more tools SBpro style. I just switched to Painter, because my Wacom had some serious driver issues that seemed to surface in SBpro. I like it so far, but I’m still learning it as well.