FREE SOFTWARE SPECIAL ......Free Open-Source Graphics Software

FREE SOFTWARE SPECIAL Free Open-Source Graphics Software





that are as good as their paid alternatives

The open source movement has given us some great free software. It is responsible for operating systems like Linux and Free BSD, productivity suites such as LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice, and even a free photo-editing alternative to Adobe Photoshop in the form of Gimp. Ashutosh Desai and Savio D'Souza, now tell you of five lesserknown, but...

MANAGE PHOTOS WITH DIGIKAM

DigiKam is a photo-management tool that lets you organise your images that are scattered across multiple folders; edit and even upload them online in a hassle-free manner. The initial setup requires you to assign a folder where most of your photos (in JPG, PNG, TIFF , RAW and DNG format) are saved.You can add more source folders later. These are listed in the software's “ Albums“ pane and displayed in the preview pane.On both sides of these panes, there are tabs that allow you to view an image's metadata (camera information, time stamp, settings); you can create and edit tags, add labels (star ratings, colour-coded actions), include location data, detect faces to tag them and view the colour histogram. Its import tool also lets you automate some actions: This means you can configure DigiKam to auto-rotate images, rename files, convert them to another format, and even sort them into different folders. You can perform multiple actions on a single photo and then use the settings to repeat the process on the next item.

Once you have finished organising all your images, you can switch to its edit mode to resize, rotate and crop; adjust brightness and colour saturation. When you are done, you can use the Export tool to upload your photos to SmugMug, Google Photos, Flickr and more. For help with the image editing tools, you can refer to the documentation on the website.

http:www.digikam.org | Windows, Mac, Linux | 141MB

EDIT RAW IMAGES WITH RAWTHERAPEE

RawTherapee is ideal for those who use DSLRs and mirrorless cameras to shoot images in the lossless RAW DNG formats. These formats retain everything recorded by , NEF and the camera sensor, so you can edit high-quality images and then save them without losing out on picture quality.RawTherapee lets you edit 16-, 24and 32-bit RAW , JPEG, PNG (8and 16-bit) and TIFF (8-, 16and 32-bit) images and save them as JPG, TIFF (8and 16-bit), PNG (8and 16-bit) files. The user interface consists of three tabs on the left, which let you switch between the Editor, File Browser and Queue.The third option displays the list of image files that have been sent for automated batch processing. The middle pane is the workspace where you can view thumbnails and get access to quick tools to crop, rotate and straighten photos. The right hand side pane provides granular control over exposure levels, shadows, highlights, tones, contrast and saturation; you get a range of sharpening tools; noise reduction algorithms to treat grain in pictures; and you can even rectify white balance, lens and chromatic aberrations, among other things. You can also back track your edits with the History tool.

Additionally , RawTherapee lets you copy editing parameters from one file to another, and apply edits to multiple pictures.

rawtherapee.com | Windows, Mac, Linux | 37.2MB

PAINT DIGITALLY WITH KRITA

Krita started out in 2004 as an image-editing tool, but in 2009, its software team began focussing on its capabilities as a digital painting tool for concept artists and illustrators. It boasts of an intuitive user interface with panels that can be moved and customised. You can create shortcuts for commonly used tools, and if you have a shaky hand, Krita includes three different ways to stabilise your brush strokes.

It comes with a pop-up palette that allows you to quickly pick colours and brushes by right-clicking on the canvas. And you can even customise your brushes with over nine unique brush engines to satisfy a specific need such as the Colour Smudge, Shape, Particle etc.

You get a `wrap-around' mode to create seamless textures and patterns, a `resource manager' that allows you to import brush and texture packs from other artists to expand your tool set, and nine unique `drawing assistants' to help you with vanishing points, straight lines, and to draw perfect shapes.

It also has transform tools to bend, distort, move, or liquefy your selections. Of course, Krita comes with support for layers just like Photoshop, and it even supports the PSD format.

Best of all, Krita produces its own training material to help you master its tools and capabilities.

krita.org | Windows, Mac, Linux | 57.1MB

DRAW WITH INKSCAPE

Artists that work with vector-based graphic software like Illustrator and CorelDraw might want to consider Inkscape.This software uses Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) as its native format, but projects can be exported to other formats that are supported by web browsers and commercial printers.

The tool packs in each and every feature you would expect from a full-fledged vector graphic software. This includes a pencil tool for freehand drawing, a pen tool to create Bézier curves and straight lines, a calligraphy tool, shape tools for rectangles (even with rounded corners), ellipses (circles, arcs, segments), stars, polygons and spirals. You get colour picking tools, pattern fills, as well as full support for text in your graphics, including multiline and text on path.

Inkscape also boasts of a very active user community , and support in the form of mailing lists. Additionally, you will also find a Learn section on its website, which is home to FAQs, manuals, as well as text and video tutorials.

inkscape.org | Windows, Mac, Linux | 62.7MB

CREATE 3D GRAPHICS WITH BLENDER

Blender is a 3D suite that can be used for modelling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking. It can even be used for video editing and game creation. You can render photorealistic objects with detailed textures and HDR lighting. In fact, you can even paint your own textures onto the 3D model's framework.

The software comes with 20 brush types for sculpting 3D objects and characters, a built-in library of camera effects, and realistic physics simulations of fluid, smoke, hair, particles and cloth. You can assign mass and also create a realistic interaction between these objects and with external forces like wind and gravity . You also get access to readymade graphic extensions of environments that have been created by other animators. Blender supports a number of file formats ­ including JPG, Radiance HDR, SGI Iris, MPEG, QuickTime, Filmbox, Autodesk, 3D Studio and Lightwave ­ to enable import and export of resources from other software.

http:www.blender.org | Windows, Mac, Linux | 85.8MB

Sep 02 2017 : The Times of India (Mumbai)