25 Linux Graphics Softwares

[RoyGBiv]

25 Best Free Linux Graphics Softwares For Designers & Developers

Linux is a very strong platform for budding artists, photographers, animators, and designers. With inexpensive hardware, free software, and a modicum of talent and inspiration, anyone can create professional-looking computer graphics.

There is a huge range of Open Source software available to create, modify and convert 2D and 3D computer graphics. To provide an insight into the software that is available, we have compiled a list of 25 high quality Linux graphics applications. The vast majority of the software featured here sport an attractive graphical front-end, although we have not neglected console based applications.

Synfig



Synfig is a vector based 2D animation package. It is designed to be capable of producing feature-film quality animation.

The software eliminates the need for tweening, preventing the need to hand-draw each frame.

Synfig can be used for all aspects of the production of animations except story-boarding and editing. It has a powerful high-dynamic-range compositing system which allows users to add all sorts of special effects and shading directly in the software while maintaining spacial and temporal resolution independence.

http://en.digitalkamera.com/25-best-free-linux-graphics-softwares-for-designers-developers/

[charlie]

1. Aw, he used "Best"

So, by rights and responsibilities given me as a netizen, it is my duty to treat omission of anything I like as criminal.

OMG, WTF, he forgot Krita! :)

Seriously though, it's a spiff program that deserves a mention. Light, intuitive, with a limited yet useful toolset. It's more a paint app than image manipulator, but serviceable for the latter if you're doing quick and dirty work (especially if you aren't too swinging with the space shuttle controls of GIMP/Photoshop). Think Paint Shop Pro, circa 1999.



And speaking of GIMP -- the (optional) single-window interface is set to land in GIMP 2.8. Yes! I'll be bold in my ignorance and predict that this will boost GIMP adoption on ALL platforms like nothing before it.

[RoyGBiv]

2. Hate it when that happens ...

Did you notice the comments to the article? Lordy. I gather the author was trying to avoid that with listing 25 apps, but, ya know, whatever.

Regarding Gimp, I imagine the single window will increase adoption on Windows. I'll stick with the un-unified version 'cause I prefer it. Interestingly, though, Gimp may become harder to sell on Linux for the simple reason that Ubuntu, the heir apparent flagship Linux distribution, is removing it from its default installation. The reason is size constraints. They want to keep the install ISO limited to 1 CD.

I don't understand that anymore. A few years ago, I did, but not now. It seems as though Canonical is following in the footsteps of those distros that kept supporting floppy disc installs well past the date when they were at all practical. The one argument I've heard that seems to make sense is that they want to keep it on one CD because a lot of people in poorer countries have old hardware that only has a CD reader. I don't really buy this, for a couple of reasons. The era of the "CD only" reader didn't last very long and thus didn't make a lot of machines that would still be out in the wild. Also, the era of the CD-only machine coincided with hardware that won't actually run the current incarnation of Ubuntu well because of Gnome. If this is their reasoning, they need to concentrate on their versions with lightweight desktop managers, not their main one. At least the Kubuntu people caught a clue and gave up on that nonsense some time ago. The space problem (and resource hog in general) is the desktop manager, not the individual apps.

Of course, after subscribing to some Ubuntu developer feeds and having hung out in the IRC channel for awhile, "making sense" doesn't always follow these guys around very well. There's some weird people working on Ubuntu. Somehow they make it work, but damn ...

[qnr]

3. Good thing it's optional, I'd never use GIMP again if they made it mandatory n/t