Compared to GIMP or Krita, Pinta is certainly a basic editing application, but it helps define the base level expectations of a modern image editor, and it's a powerful tool in its own right. It also features an add-in manager so you can download and install new plugins right from the Pinta interface. As an added bonus, it has a pixel grid view for artists working in a retro 8-bit style (especially useful for video game art).

It has layers and history, adjustments for levels, hue, saturation, a curve editor, and many standard effects. Pinta is ostensibly a simplified paint program but a closer looks reveals that it's got many advanced features suitable to graphic design and photo editing. These free tools will ease the financial concerns of designers still operating on a college budget.

Five open source or no cost tools for graphic designers In many cases, there are online tutorials for these free programs that can help you master them quickly. Any time you change tooling, there's some adjustment you have to make, so jump right in but don't panic when you have to re-learn tasks that you thought could be done only one way in the past. There are quite of few free or open source alternatives, so it's helpful to try each one out and compare each to what your specific needs are. What do you do if you're a designer on a tight budget? Photoshop used to be an unquestioned requirement for design work, but as open source alternatives started to arise, people realized that good art made with free tools is indistinguishable from art made with expensive proprietary ones. Professional design software like Photoshop is common, and yet it’s also expensive (and subscription based).

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