If you still think that you only need paid products or paid versions of free programs to fully work with graphics, images, and vector graphics, you will find this article very useful. Here we will talk about free features and programs that will allow you to draw, retouch, and edit with minimal skills and free of charge.
GIMP
The full name of this multifunctional open-source editor is called the GNU Image Manipulation Program. Many designers use it as a free alternative to Photoshop – it supports almost all formats and has all the possibilities for professional work with images. In this case, you can not only edit files and logos but also create them. For these purposes, in addition to standard tools such as brushes, eyedroppers, pen, flat fill, gradient painting, you can use filters for blurring, pixilation, decoration, projection, animation, and other things, work with layers. The presence of the tab bar allows you to conveniently switch between several open images. Although the GIMP prompts you to work in tri-window mode by default, you can change this setting using the “Single-Window Mode” feature.
PhotoScape X
This is another free editor for Windows, which, among other things, is equipped with such functions as creating a collage from many photos and gif-animations. This utility is easy to use, even for beginners, while it covers a number of designer needs in terms of adjusting sharpness, brightness, image size, applying filters and special effects, composing frames, converting to different formats, and much more.
If you purchase the paid version of PhotoScape X Pro, you can also use the drawing function and apply changes both to fragments of one picture and several images at once in batch mode. If you want to compare the result of your work with the original, you can do it with just one click. Also, the viewer environment in the editor deserves special attention, which allows the user to change the size of the image, find out information about the parameters, arrange the images, and so on.
Artweaver
Artweaver outwardly resembles any other graphic editor, but, at the same time, it has many types, modes, and settings of brushes. This can be brush size, opacity, texture, color variations, and other parameters. A professional’s eye can be satisfied with the Impasto painting tool that looks like embossed paint on canvas. The depth of this effect can be adjusted using the number of layers, as well as lighting guides and smoothing.
In general, the program will be useful both for processing an existing image and for creating your own – a separate panel will be available to you for each task. Artweaver is a graphical editor that allows you to track the chain of change history, if necessary, and go back a few steps.
CorelDRAW
This program serves not only for image processing but also for designing and sketching, modeling, creating visual content. There are ample opportunities for text processing and font change here. Experts can work simultaneously on two screens thanks to the multi-screen mode. For fonts, the editor has a filter and Corel Font Manager that will show you both the fonts installed on the system and fonts from custom collections. Lenses can be used to change the saturation and clarity of images. But to change the quality of the texture, you can use the Healing Clone tool, which will replace the fragment with the desired texture. Also, in CorelDRAW, you can manage shadows, make them more or less blurred inside, outside, and so on.
Krita
If your goal, in the first place, is to create a drawing, this program will suit you perfectly. This utility provides a wide range of brushes and color schemes such as Law, Gray, RGBA, CMYKA, YCbCr. By right-clicking, you will be able to see a set of quick brushes, and over time, the program will automatically remember which brushes you use most often. In addition to brushes, the user can work with additional textures, gradients, etc. You can also create and customize the required palettes. Krita is a free graphics editor that is not overloaded with many functions, but at the same time, has a convenient and simple interface. If you are working on an important project, then you can not worry that the results will not be saved due to some unforeseen factors since the program can set up an auto-save mode.
Modern utilities that allow you to realize any creative ideas through art and text graphics greatly simplify the lives of designers, artists, and other visual and technical specialists. Today, professional work can be quickly created both from templates and scratch. After assessing what tasks you are facing, you can choose a program with that arsenal of options, plugins, and tools you need, and at the same time, it does not have to be a paid program.
