Artist laptop!

Hello! I am looking for a semi permanent laptop veered towards art and I am not sure where to even start so I figured I would ask here!

1. What is your budget?
$500-700. I will be very hesitant on going above my budget unless you suggest something amazing.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15" and up.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
No preference since I'm not familiar with it. But something relatively good for art.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
A little bit of both, but more along the lines of desktop replacement. I will most likely be lugging it back and forth from my home to college, but don't let that stop from suggesting anything.

5. How much battery life do you need?
2-3+ hours is fine

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Almost any games that can run fine in medium/low at best would be preferred, but this is not something that I will go crazy for since it is a laptop mainly for art.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
I will be using art programs like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Paint Tool SAI, etc. and there is a chance I might also start using 3d rendering programs like Maya, Autodesk, Mudbox etc.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
No preference

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
As long as possible.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM is fine.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Generally I have no preference, but I do like Asus.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
-Upgradable ram would be nice.
-I also suggest that you do not bother recommending Apple/Macs since I will not have the budget for it.