Resources > Software > My Programs - The Paintbrush
The Paintbrush
This page compiles software I use for digital artwork including illustration, graphic design, and pixel art.
Artwork
Inkscape A vector graphics editing program, a free Adobe Illustrator alternative.
GIMP Raster graphics program and a free Adobe Photoshop alternative.
Clip Studio Paint A raster and vector drawing program, a Photoshop alternative specialised for manga and anime art. I have used this for years so I am a bit biased. Note their pricing differs depending on whether you are buying for desktop (one-off payment) or portable device like iPad (subscription based).
Krita A free Photoshop alternative. I have used Krita for compositing animation. It also has a useful feature called Gamut Maps to help you make restricted colour palettes.
Pixel Art
Graphics Gale A free pixel art editing program. I used this for a few projects.
Aseprite For a small cost, you can get access to this pixel editing program, with more features than Graphics Gale. This said, it is free if you can install the binaries manually but I had no success with this. I have yet to explore all its features, but I made the banner for this site with Aseprite!
Typography
Nexusfonts A free font manager and better than the Windows default. Can make collections for fonts to install or uninstall (e.g. for projects).
3D Modeling
Blender Free 3d-modeling software, but has a learning curve. I would suggest looking up YouTube tutorials for small projects that interest you to get started.