Windows/Mac/Linux: If you’re on the lookout for a digital painting tool and Photoshop is too expensive, Krita is a fast, free and open source art tool that was developed by artists looking for something that met their needs without a ton of bloat or overhead. Plus, it’s completely cross-platform.
When we say “Photoshop alternative”, we don’t strictly mean an alternative tool to help you manage photos, colour correct them, resize them and get them ready to share. Sure, you could probably do those things with Krita, but the tool is really designed for artists looking for a painting application to create original digital art, web and print comics and concept art. The app has all of the usual features you might expect from a digital art tool, including layers and layer management, masks and selections, transform tools, a full colour palette and even some perks like drawing assistants, a resource manager and a friendly interface.
Krita can even support, open and edit Photoshop’s own PSD files, so you can give it a try if you’re thinking about making the switch without worrying that you won’t be able to work on the projects you already have. Plus, since it’s free, you can try it and see if it meets your needs first. Unlike many similar apps, the interface is familiar, and the learning curve not as steep. Check it out at the link below.
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2 responses to “Krita Is A Fast, Flexible And Free Photoshop Alternative Built By Artists”
I’d really prefer an application built by IT experts in collaboration with artists….
Krita is backed by the KDE foundation and is developed in collaboration with them and uses their frameworks. KDE if you are unaware is one of the major Desktop Environments in the Linux world and is based Qt toolkit that is used everywhere (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) and created by Blue Systems.
Some digital art schools in Europe have started using Krita in lieu of Photoshop or Corel because they feel it is better suited to Artists and of course is more accessible.
Every year Krita has a kickstarter to fund the next year’s development. They usually raise between 35-40,000 Euros. They use this money to hire further professional developers. There is also a paid support version of Krita (Krita Gemini) you can buy through their website or on Steam to further back their development.
Krita is a truly professional piece of Kit. It’s more accessible than the alternatives. It’s great and has replaced a lot of tools I have needed in my workflow