SmoothDraw NX – A freehand drawing tool designed for use with tablets. Several choices of brushes and pencil strokes for creating realistic drawings. Also auto smoothes lines if you are using a mouse to draw with.
ImageForge – An image editing and creation program for Windows systems. Although this program is a little rougher than some of the others it still has some nice features like easily creating 3D text, red-eye removal and you can easily create your own Windows screen savers.
Brush Strokes – Free graphics editor, with support for many of the popular and common image formats. It isn't as full featured as some of the other programs but it is a good choice for less technical or light users.
Project Dogwaffle – A painting and drawing program developed for the PC. Has a nice set of tools and very functional, although does lack features of some large programs.
Sodipodi – This is a vector based drawing program that operates on most Unix and Windows systems. It has a ton of features like out of center gradients, patterned lines, dynamic xml editor and you can easily create vertical text.
Karbon14 – Another nice, full featured vector based drawing program released under the GNU license. This program comes as part of the Koffice project which includes a whole suite of tools in KDE.
ArtWeaver – A freeware paint and drawing program for Windows designed to simulate natural brush tools and effects for artists used to working on canvas. It supports most common file formats, has the standard editing tools like found in many popular graphics programs and offers a few effects filters.
GimpShopdotnet – This is a modified version of Gimp, designed to work and feel more like Adobe Photoshop, allowing Photoshop users a comfortable free alternative.
ImageMagick – A nice command line program for editing and creating images. There are a whole bunch of useful features like shearing and transforming images, flip, mirror and rotate images and a whole lot more.
Animation and 3D Programs
Terragen – Create amazing scenery and photorealistic images with this program. This program comes with a lot of features including, terrain sculpting tools, water and cloud generators, realistic sunlight creation and so much more. Works with Windows and Mac OS systems.
Google SketchUp – A powerful 3D software that allows quickly build 3D models. The program is pretty easy to use and you can design and build everything from your dream house to a favorite skyscraper. Works on Windows and Mac systems. How to connect vpn on macbook pro.
Art of Illusion – An open-source 3D modeling and rendering studio written in Java and usable on most Java Virtual Machines. On the website you can find some comprehensive tutorials on creating a human figure, working with triangle meshes and more to give you a little better understanding of how to use this nice program.
Blender – A top of the line 3D graphics program available for most operating systems. This is a very powerful tool but does have a strong learning curve if you are not familiar with these types of programs. On the website you can find a bunch of great tutorials, galleries of previous work created with this application and a busy community to answer any questions you may have.
3D Canvas – A real-time 3D modeling and animation tool. Easily create 3D scenes with drag-and-drop controls. Customizable toolbars and interface and frame by frame animations are only the start of this programs features.
Graphix – An open source graphics editor built to edit and create both raster and vector images. Works one WINE and WinXP operating systems.
3D Plus – This program definitely lacks some of the features of other full scale 3D programs, but it is very ease to use and works well for small quick jobs. You can also purchase the extended version for $9.99.
Daz 3D – Calls itself a figure posing and animation tool, basically you can use pre-created people, animals, vehicles, scenes and more, to edit and manipulate them to create your own 3D and animated scenes. The program itself is free, however most of the additional add-ons will cost you money. With that said this is a very nice program to use for people of all skill levels and highly recommended by many.
Anim8or – A 3D modeling and animation program, that is available for download, but kind of a still in progress program. It does have its bugs but is a very nice program created by one person to handle what they wanted out of 3D software. Some of its features include, a built in 3D object browser, true-type font support, 3D modeler, jointed character editor and a bunch others.
Synfig – A very powerful, well developed 2D vector animation program. This program was designed for studio quality animations, why it was released under the GNU license for free, I have no idea, but I am glad it was. It is currently available for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.
BRL-CAD – A cross platform 3D modeling program that includes ray-tracing for rendering, interactive geometry editor and more. This program is not recommended for non-tech users.
MindsEye – A nice freeware 3D modeling and rendering suite for Linux users. Features include a multi-scene/user concept that allows multiple people to work on the same scenes or visa-versa, object oriented modeling, network support in the MindsEye kernal and more.
Maya Personal Learning Edition – Maya is an excellent, although expensive 3D graphics program. This is the free edition developed to give you the opportunity to learn and use the program before purchasing. This edition has most every feature available as in the standard version but it is for non-commercial use and your images will be watermarked among other things.
Miscellaneous Programs
Picassa – A free image editing program available in the Google Pack download. This is a very light program but does support red-eye removal, photo correction and most of the standard editing tools.
IcoFX – A freeware Windows program for creating icons with more than 40 different effects and custom filters.
Pixel Toolbox 1.1 – A nice suite of tools for creating desktop graphics on Windows systems. With the program you can create wallpaper tiles, icons and cursors to name a few. Easy to use interface and of course free to download.
ColorPic – A magnified color picker, designed to create color palettes of up to 16 colors at once. You can easily pick any color from the screen, colors shown in hex and decimal, adjust hue saturation and it works in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Photoshop and many other applications.
Favicon Generator – This is a very nice web-based favicon generator. You can easily and quickly convert your images to favicons for your website.
Free Logo Design Software
FastStone Image Viewer – A full featured image browser, converter and editor. There are many features including, red-eye removal, cropping, emailing photos, color adjustments and more. Program supports all major file formats and is compatible with Windows systems.
Icon Studio 1.2 – A free, simple to use icon editor and creator. You can create icons in multiple sizes and color depths, flip, rotate, import from EXE and more.
See also:
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Not all designers have the money to kit themselves out with the most expensive design software, particularly when embarking on a new career in graphic design or starting a new business. With millions of newspapers, magazines and trade papers striving for designer’s attention, exclusive graphic design, layout, and content are important to achieve uniqueness, and the ultimate design software should have powerful tools and features that can render the most difficult tasks simple. Fortunately, there are lots of free graphic design software that you can choose to do the job well. We have compiled a list of the 7 best design applications and their features:
#1 Lunacy
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Icons8 Lunacy is a free graphic design software for Windows.
This app works offline and supports all .sketch files. Original idea was to build Sketch for Windows. To help developers and designers who use different operating systems to work together.
It is a full-fledged graphic editor with built-in design resources: icons, illustrations, and photos. Lunacy makes software and content work together.
One of the latest updates is a project shadow copy: your design is safe even if your computer suddenly shuts down.
#2 SVG-Edit
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is a graphics design format in which XML is used to detail the shapes. Once this is done, an SVG viewer is used to render the XML. Moreover, modern web browsers are just as capable of displaying SVG in much the same way they display GIF, PNG, and JPG. SVG-Edit is totally built into HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3, without the need for any server-side processing. The software is available over on Github and you can find the download link here, or you can try it live here.
Apart from using SVG-Edit to create documents from scratch and edit them, you can also download and modify the code. The software was designed for 2-dimensional vector graphics, and you would have to look up X3D for 3-dimensional formats. For a brief guide on the capabilities of this software, you can read more here.
#3 Serif DrawPlus Starter Edition
While DrawPlus may not initially come across as a design App that professional graphics designers can use, it is actually surprisingly capable, and it is packaged in a free version that has muscled itself into the list of the top free graphics design applications. The software is intuitive to use and features an array of tools that mirror the functionality of Adobe Illustrator.
Moreover, it features a few extra features implemented in a more user-friendly manner than Adobe’s design software, with 3D-rendering being the chief example. For example, you can quickly make a 3D object via extrusion and apply a plethora of 3D styles that will be instantly applied to your created object. Similarly, the app features a collection of pre-defined templates and brushes to get you started quickly
DrawPlus works well in CMYK and allows you to output print-ready artwork easily in addition to being able to work with Pantone color profiles.
#4 Easel.ly
Easel.ly is a free graphic design application developed to create infographics. While you may notice a few rough edges when you first begin using this software, it lives to its creators’ promise of being easy to use. Simply select a theme, objects and shape then drop some text in and you will end up with an acceptable infographic within no time.
The software allows you to select from a wide range of color-coordinated themes that are fully developed and can be edited to match your information requirements. In most cases, the result would be a comprehensive and visually pleasing infographic that has a professional look, and at virtually no cost at all.
#5 Daz Studio
Daz Studio is a 3D figure animation, customization, and posing tool that allows users to create remarkable illustrations and digital animations. Its is among the best free tools available to design unique artworks and create animations using environments, animals, virtual props, vehicles, accessories and more. You simply have to select your subject and or settings, set up the lighting, and then arrange your accessories to start creating eye-catching images.
With this graphic design freeware it is easy to produce illustrations for books and book covers, create custom 3D characters and avatars and other graphic design elements.
#6 GIMP
GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and it is an open-source free graphics design software that debuted on Linux and other UNIX-based platforms. Today versions of the software are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
GIMP offers functionality that is almost similar to Photoshop, but its interface differs slightly. However, a version of the program that mimics Adobe’s feel and look is available and this makes migration easier for those ditching Photoshop. It offers the full suite of tools you will find in Photoshop; virtually everything that you are accustomed to, and this includes color correction, painting tools, selection, cloning, and enhancement.
The team that is in charge of GIMP’s development has put in much effort to ensure compatibility, so you don’t have to worry about problems manipulating images in popular file formats without any trouble at all. Moreover, GIMP comes with an inbuilt file manager that functions along the same lines as Adobe Photoshop’s Bridge.
Free Graphic Design Software Programs K
One of the best uses of GIMP is by web designers and web developer for editing of high-resolution images and photography to create a web-friendly version. Typically, photographers and other creatives would send large, high-resolution images, several megabytes in size, which would not work on the web, due to website speed issues. GIMP is a great alternative to photoshop because it allows you to tweak such high-resolution imagery to create web-safe versions. With such software it would then be easy to create photography or portfolio sites with high-quality images, but which are small in size. Click here to learn more about how to use this to create the best WordPress themes for photographers.
Free Graphic Software Programs For Windows
#7 Sumopaint
Animation software, free download.
This is one of the most capable web browser-based image editors. It offers most of the standard tools you will find on desktop based graphics design application (you can opt to install a PC-based version of the software if you like, by purchasing the Pro version for just $19). To use this tool, you will need to have the latest version of Adobe Flash player installed, so this rules out using it on your Android tablet or Apple iPad. With that in mind, it is light and loads quickly. You will find the standard range of adjustments and tools. These include pencils, Brushes, shapes, cloning, gradients, etc that can all be accessed with ease from the Photoshop-esque floating toolbar. The browser-based tool can also open saved documents from your PC’s hard disk, making it a nifty choice for editing and re-editing.
Free Graphic Software Programs
Which one of these graphic design software would you try? Tell us in the comment section below.
Free Graphic Design Software Windows
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