Not all of us have the spare cash to pay kitting themselves out with the priciest graphic design software,
in particular when starting a different business or embarking on a
brand new career in design. Fortunately, you will find there's whole
heap of great free graphic design software around to get creatives started.
To help separate the wheat through the chaff, we've compiled this list
and divided it into five sections: vector art, image editing, 3D,
infographics, along with useful tools. Thinking about obtaining a
subscription with Adobe instead? Find out information about Creative
Cloud here. But here follows the free applications!
The Best Free Graphic Design Software
01. SVG-Edit
If you’re trying to quickly output SVG, or edit a pre-existing SVG file,
there are several online editors which will do the job equally as well
as Adobe Illustrator. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is surely an open
format that permits you to reproduce your Vector drawings
programmatically, and something of the nicest projects is SVG-Edit.
This is made entirely on HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript without requiring
any server-side processing. So not only will you use it to generate and edit documents, but as it’s open source it's also possible to download and customize the code - making your own personal version if you need.
The standard, albeit basic, toolset of each and every vector-image
editor can be used, and although it's limited by the SVG format it’s
surprisingly capable.
02. Inkscape
As with many from the free available options, Inkscape specializes in
the SVG format since it's primary data format. This highly capable
editor features a very good SVG integration, supporting many on the more
advanced features that aren’t always easily obtainable in other apps -
for instance alpha blending, cloned objects, and markers.
Full support a variety of colour modes means that is a viable option to
Illustrator for both print and website development, and although
interface is almost simpler than Illustrator, it’s still possible to
accomplish extremely sophisticated artwork.
Of particular note could be the ability to trace bitmap images, support
for variable width strokes and native import of Illustrator files.
There are source binaries accessible for Windows, Linux, and Mac, and compiled versions currently offered for Windows and Linux.
03. Serif DrawPlus Starter Edition
Although in the beginning sight you could think DrawPlus isn’t really
intended being an app for professionals, it’s actually surprisingly
capable, in addition to being it’s offered within a free version it muscled its way into our number of free graphic design software.
DrawPlus was designed to be intuitive available, and incorporates a
wide variety of tools that mirror functionality in Illustrator, but
within a more approachable manner.
There can also be some nice additional features that are actually implemented in the more user-friendly way than Adobe’s software
- 3D like a prime example, where one can quickly make a thing 3D via
extrusion, apply many 3D styles or draw your bevel profile that’s
instantly placed on your object. Similarly there exists a collection of
brushes and pre-defined templates to obtain you started working quickly.
The app works happily in CMYK, letting you easily output print-ready artwork and it’s also capable of working with Pantone colour profiles.
04. Pixlr
Pixlr states be "the most favored online photo editor inside the world",
which may have connected with the fact that it's free graphic design software.
But furthermore, it boasts over 600 effects, overlays, and borders and
helps you to do the many main things you'd expect coming from a photo
editor, from cropping and re-sizing to removing red-eye and whitening
teeth.
And should you be used to using Photoshop, you'll find Pixlr's program easy to acquire quickly, because it is very similar. This free app is for sale in both iOS and Android varieties.
05. Paint.net
Paint.net is really a Windows-based option to the Paint editor that
Microsoft shipped with versions of Windows. Don’t allow that to put you
off, though, since it is surprisingly capable, useful and free graphic
design software.
The focus is on convenience, and there is a definite tendancy towards
photo editing as an alternative to artistic creation. That said, there
is a range of computer graphics available, enabling you to easily create
fake perspective, blend and push pixels throughout the canvas, tile and
repeat selections, and many others.
A good choice of selection tools, support for layers, and adjustments
including curves and brightness/contrast imply Paint.net can be a great
replacement for Photoshop for photo editing, particularly if you can do
without some on the more recent inclusions in Photoshop’s toolset.
06. Sumopaint
Sumopaint is really a highly capable browser-based image editor. All the standard features you’d expect coming from a desktop tool are mixed together and correct (through buying the Pro version for $19 you may install a desktop version from the app when you prefer).
You require the Adobe Flash Player
make use of this tool, so you are going be utilizing Sumopaint on the
iPad. That said, it's lightweight and quick to load, plus the free
version is quite usable.
The standard array of tools and adjustments you’d expect are common
included. Brushes, pencils, shapes, text, cloning, gradients, etc are
quickly accessed from your Photoshop-esque floating toolbar. It can also
open saved documents from a hard drive, making Sumopaint a totally
viable selection for editing and reediting.
07. GIMP
Open-source free graphic design software that debuted on Unix-based
platforms, GIMP means GNU Image Manipulation Program. Today it’s
obtainable in versions for Linux, Windows, and Mac.
GIMP's interface differs somewhat from Photoshop, but a version of GIMP
can be obtained that mimics Adobe's appear and feel, making it easier to
migrate over for anyone who is ditching Photoshop. The full suite of
tools is obtainable here - everything you're used to is within close
range, including painting tools, colour correction, cloning, selection,
and enhancement.
The team that oversees development spent some time working hard to
ensure compatibility too, so it is possible to work with each of the
popular file formats with no trouble whatsoever. You'll also find a
really capable file manager integrated, along similar lines to Adobe’s
Bridge.
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