Most of us associate computer graphics in general and editing in particular with Adobe Photoshop, which by itself costs $700 and requires significant hardware resources. And this is natural, because it is the most powerful graphic editor to date, created for the needs of design professionals. "Non-designers" are more likely to use only a fraction of his resources for elementary image changes. Don't believe? Remember why you opened Photoshop the last 5 times. I vouch that if you are not a professional designer, then you have resized some image, cropped it or resaved it in a different format. At the extreme, adjusted the brightness / contrast / color gamut. Agree, it is not at all necessary to keep Photoshop installed for this.

1 Photoscape

Photoscape is an amazing free photo editor. This program contains so many filters, tools and special effects that it's hard to believe that it's free.

Photoscape has just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print, and have fun with your photos. It's such a full-featured application that many consider it a free alternative to the Photoshop suite. Of course, the level of Photoshop is still higher, but the program is really a great alternative to the flagship Adobe and turns photo editing into a very exciting experience.

2 Pixia

Pixia is a free raster graphics editor developed by Isao Maruoka. Initially, the graphic editor was intended for creating anime / manga, but later it began to be used in other areas of art.

Pixia supports Wacom graphics tablets, 3D layers, transparency effects, can work with the most popular image file formats (.bmp, .jpeg, .tiff, .ico, .pict, .png), supports the Adobe Photoshop format - .psd, and also has its own - .pxa.

3 Colourpaint

Simple "painting" for KDE. The most elementary functionality such as a brush, eraser, pipette, primitive shapes. For editing - there is an autocrop, balance adjustment, resizing, colors. Designed for drawing diagrams and diagrams, as well as simple image editing. Another solution for those who are confused by the abundance of buttons and incomprehensible tools of more complex editors.

4 Paint.NET

Paint.NET is a free raster image and photo editor for Windows, developed on the .NET Framework. Paint.NET is an excellent replacement for the graphics editor that comes with the standard programs of Windows operating systems.

With many powerful features that are found only in expensive image editors, Paint.NET is completely free.

5 pints

Pinta is a lightweight open source cross-platform raster graphics editor inspired by the Paint.NET editor. The latter only runs on Windows, and Miguel de Icaza's attempt to directly port this program to Linux/Mono was not very successful.

6 Seashore

Opensource image editor for the Mac OSX Cocoa framework. Knows what gradients, textures, smoothing are. Supports layers and alpha channel. Based on GIMP technology, and, accordingly, friendly with its native format.

7 Paint Star

Paint star is a graphic editor for high-quality editing, as well as creating drawings, digital photos and other images. This editor for Windows is great for basic user needs, and also allows you to work with layers, transparency, gradients, textures, scripts, patterns, paths, and more.

Paint star has a solid line of image editing and manipulation tools similar to popular high-end business design programs. The basic functionality allows the average user to realize their idea without a special training course or video.

8 My Paint

A simple and fast open source application for digital artists for Windows and Linux. In essence, it's just a dimensionless canvas where you can display interface elements only when you need them. The rest of the time - draw for your pleasure, without being distracted by the menu and tools. Fully supports graphics tablets, has a simple minimalist design, allows you to create brushes and customize existing ones, supports layers.

95Dfly

A free Windows application for batch processing photos. In addition to the standard functions of a graphic editor, it can create slide shows for PowerPoint.

10 visual boxes

Free for non-commercial use application for creating web galleries. Available as a jQuery plugin or Prototype extension, there are versions for Windows and Mac. Flickr and Photobucket support, built-in ftp client, tons of themes, nice modern design.

11 Digicam

It is an OpenSource photo editor for Linux, Windows and Mac-OSX. Allows you to view, edit, enhance, catalog and tag your photos and do a lot of other cool stuff. However, you must be prepared to compile the application. For those who are new to this, the official website offers a detailed tutorial.

12 PEdit

A very simple free online photo editor. Contains all standard tools, even a child can use it. It requires the installation of the Silverlight 3 plugin.

13 Photopos

A multifunctional and, at the same time, understandable program that includes the functions of a photo editor, a graphics editor and applications for creating computer graphics. Provides many options for designing, processing and enhancing photos, editing images and more.

14 Irfan View

One of the most popular image viewers on Windows systems. Nimble, compact, free. Able to open all kinds of graphics, convert them to the desired format, optimize, create slideshows. There are plugins, skins and localizations. Often opposes itself to ACDSee. Although, to be honest, I replaced it at home with FastStone Image Viewer, which is also free for personal non-commercial use, but, in my opinion, is much more convenient and can work with NEF.

15 Crita

One of the finalists of the Packt Open Source Awards 2011, along with Blender and GIMP. This is another KDE editor for creating sketches and drawings, as well as for manipulating graphics. The main direction is illustration, concept art and other creative.

16 GIMP

The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP for short) is a powerful and versatile graphics editor. With a wide range of functions, you can make your photos more vivid, remove unnecessary elements from photos, create collages and posters, prepare website designs and cut ready-made layouts, and much more. GIMP runs on the most popular operating systems: Windows, Mac, Linux.

17 Artweaver

Artweaver is another graphics editor that claims to be a free analogue of Adobe Photoshop. The program can simulate oil painting, acrylic paint, brush, crayon, pencil, charcoal, pastel, airbrush, etc. There is also the presence of various filters, work with transparency and layers, export and import of files in various graphic formats, and much more.

18 Paint tool sai

Paint tool sai has both Free and paid version. First of all, it is necessary to note the editor interface, which is implemented as conveniently as possible for users. All the necessary buttons fit compactly on the panel on the left, allowing you to quickly find the tool you need.

In addition, the interface allows you to keep several drawings open at once. The canvas itself with the image can be scaled and rotated using hotkeys and special buttons on the panel.

19 Hornil StylePix

Hornil StylePix is ​​a powerful multi-functional free graphic editor in which programmers were able to combine such parameters as: compact size, user-friendly interface and a large number of functions. The program does not require mandatory installation, as it has a portable version that you can easily place on any flash drive and run the program directly from it. StylePix has a large number of features and capabilities and is a worthy competitor to Paint.NET and Photoshop programs.

The program will serve you as a great assistant in photo editing. With this editor, you can fix almost all the flaws in your photo. At the service of creative people StylePix provides a wide range of brushes, cloning, selection, fill tools, as well as many options for working with text.

There is also a paid version of Hornil StylePix. Has more features like quick mask, layer mask, brush image and layer styles for more advanced work than StylePix.

20 Photoshop Online and other online editors

There are many online photo editing services on the Internet without installing any programs. One of the main differences between online editors and installers is that the application requires the most minimal system requirements for a computer and just an installed browser to view web pages. 100% convenience from working in the online version of the editor of graphic files.

The most advanced graphics editors like Adobe's tools cost a lot of money. But there are free and quite worthy alternatives, the possibilities of which will be enough for most. Creative Bloq, a photographers and design publication, has chosen The best free graphic design software the best among similar programs and services.

Free vector editors

Designed for creating and editing logos, interfaces and other scalable graphics.

Gravit Designer - formerly known as Gravit - is a full featured vector editor. It is suitable for any task: from interface design and icons to work with presentations, illustrations and animations.

Gravit Designer's clean, intuitive interface is customizable. The editor contains a lot of tools for creating beautifully detailed vector images. Among them are non-destructive (their action can be canceled) functions for working with Boolean operations, the Knife and Path Graph tools, plus many fill and blend modes, as well as a powerful text engine.

If you need to access your work on the go, Gravit Cloud lets you return to your project on any device.

2. Vector

• Platforms: web, Windows, macOS, Linux.

Vectr offers all the features you need to create vector graphics, plus many options for using filters, shadows, and . This is enough to handle most everyday design tasks. Particularly useful are the co-editing and synchronization capabilities, which allow you to work in tandem with other people anytime, anywhere.

• Platforms: web.

If you need to quickly create or edit a simple SVG file, there are several that will do the job just as well as Adobe Illustrator. Among the best of them is SVG-Edit.

This editor is entirely built on HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript and does not use servers for data processing. The SVG-Edit code is open. Therefore, if you wish, you can download it and modify it to create your own version of the editor.

SVG-Edit has all the basic tools of a vector editor. But it only supports SVG format.

This powerful editor offers many tools and features that are often not available in other similar programs. Among them are alpha blending, object cloning and markers.

Full support for various color models makes Inkscape a worthy Adobe Illustrator for both web and print design. Despite the simplicity of the interface in this program, you can create incredibly complex work.

Features such as bitmap-to-vector conversion, variable-width stroke creation, and support for Illustrator files deserve special attention.

Free raster editors

Designed for creating and editing any non-scalable drawings and photographs.

1. GIMP

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, .

Free open source graphics editor. GIMP comes with a rich set of features for painting, color grading, cloning, selection, enhancement, and more. The GIMP interface differs from the most popular Photoshop, but you won’t have to look for the right tools for a long time.

The GIMP team has taken care of compatibility so that you can work with all popular image formats without any problems. In addition, GIMP has a built-in file manager similar to Adobe's Bridge.

• Platforms: Windows.

If you're on Windows and don't need as many tools as GIMP, Photo Pos Pro might be your ideal editor. The latter was created with an eye on image editing and does a great job with typical tasks like adjusting contrast, lighting, and saturation. But Photo Pos Pro is also suitable for more complex manipulations.

This program boasts a very friendly interface and detailed help that helps beginners to understand. If you want to make Photo Pos Pro even more functional, there are many extensions and plugins at your service.

3. Crita

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Another open source editor. Krita has been around since 1999 and is constantly evolving to meet the needs of concept artists, illustrators, visual effects, rendering and textures.

The program includes a wide variety of brushes and supports many plugins: from advanced filters to auxiliary tools for working with perspective.

Some of the most interesting features include brush stabilizers that smooth out lines, a loop mode for creating seamless patterns and textures, and a pop-up palette for quick color selection.

4. Pixlr

• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android.

Pixlr offers over 600 effects, overlays and frames. With this service, you can do everything you would expect from : resize images, crop them, remove red-eye, whiten teeth, and much more.

If you're familiar with Photoshop, you'll get up to speed on the web version of Pixlr very quickly. The interfaces of these editors are very similar.

• Platforms: Windows.

Paint.NET is an alternative to the Paint program built into all versions of Windows. But don't let the similarity of names fool you: Paint.NET is a much more advanced and useful editor.

The development team focuses on ease of use and improves Paint.NET's photo editing features rather than graphics design capabilities. However, Paint.NET allows you to control perspective, manipulate pixels on the canvas, clone selections, and so on.

With support for layers, a wide selection of selection tools, and settings like brightness/contrast and curves, Paint.NET can be seen as a worthy replacement for Photoshop.

• Platforms: web.

Sumo Paint is fast on the web and performs just as well as desktop editors. But you will need Adobe Flash Player to run it. So Sumo Paint is not for iOS devices.

Sumo Paint's arsenal of settings and features includes pencils, brushes, text, gradients, cloning, shapes, and more. All this is always in view on a floating panel like the one you might see in .

Free 3D graphics editors

Designed to work with 3D models, effects and animations.

• Platforms: web.

SketchUp Free can be called the ideal entry point into the world of 3D graphics. This editor kindly brings the newbie up to date and forgives him for all the mistakes made. You can start by simply drawing lines and shapes and then turn them into 3D objects.

If you need inspiration, you can download models of various objects from the 3D Warehouse library for free using the search form on the SketchUp website.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS.

With the help of Daz Studio, you can customize, move in space and various 3D objects like people, animals, objects.

You can create unique characters, worlds, various design elements and much more. But Daz Studio lacks the modeling and texturing capabilities available in paid alternatives. A detailed table with a comparison of editors can be found on the project website.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS.

Hexagon is a free 3D modeling tool. It has everything you need to create detailed models ready for final rendering.

Among the tools and functions of the program you will find the ability to quickly import from Daz Studio, presets for various objects, brushes for manual modeling, UV-scan (applying flat textures to a three-dimensional object), advanced drawing tools and instant shading (instant ambient occlusion).

Daz Studio and Hexagon are created by the same developer and complement each other. Together they make up a complete free 3D graphics suite.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, .

Blender is an advanced free and open source 3D graphics editor available for all major platforms.

Developers are constantly developing Blender. It supports all possible operations with 3D graphics: allows you to model, texture, animate, render and compose.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS.

If you're interested in the art of digital sculpting, try Pixologic's Sculptris. It suits equally well for any level of training. Beginners get a good starting tool, and already experienced digital artists get a platform for quick and easy implementation of ideas.

Sculptris is based on the same developer's ZBrush editor, the most popular digital sculpting application. When you're ready to take it to the next level, you can easily switch to ZBrush.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Houdini is a 3D animation and visual effects tool often used for film, TV and other media content.

The cost of the editor starts at $2,000. But the developers of the program - Side Effects Software - allow you to use the version of Houdini Apprentice for free. Thanks to it, you can access all the features of the full version and hone your skills on personal projects. Only Houdini Apprentice is for non-commercial and educational purposes only.

Most of us associate computer graphics in general and editing in particular with Adobe Photoshop, which by itself costs $700 and requires significant hardware resources. And this is natural, because it is the most powerful graphic editor to date, created for the needs of design professionals. "Non-designers" are more likely to use only a fraction of his resources for elementary image changes. Don't believe? Remember why you opened Photoshop the last 5 times. I vouch that if you are not a professional designer, then you have resized some image, cropped it or resaved it in a different format. At the extreme, adjusted the brightness / contrast / color gamut. Agree, it is not at all necessary to keep Photoshop installed for this.

1 Photoscape

Photoscape is an amazing free photo editor. This program contains so many filters, tools and special effects that it's hard to believe that it's free.

Photoscape has just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print, and have fun with your photos. It's such a full-featured application that many consider it a free alternative to the Photoshop suite. Of course, the level of Photoshop is still higher, but the program is really a great alternative to the flagship Adobe and turns photo editing into a very exciting experience.

2 Pixia

Pixia is a free raster graphics editor developed by Isao Maruoka. Initially, the graphic editor was intended for creating anime / manga, but later it began to be used in other areas of art.

Pixia supports Wacom graphics tablets, 3D layers, transparency effects, can work with the most popular image file formats (.bmp, .jpeg, .tiff, .ico, .pict, .png), supports the Adobe Photoshop format - .psd, and also has its own - .pxa.

3 Colourpaint

Simple "painting" for KDE. The most elementary functionality such as a brush, eraser, pipette, primitive shapes. For editing - there is an autocrop, balance adjustment, resizing, colors. Designed for drawing diagrams and diagrams, as well as simple image editing. Another solution for those who are confused by the abundance of buttons and incomprehensible tools of more complex editors.

4 Paint.NET

Paint.NET is a free raster image and photo editor for Windows, developed on the .NET Framework. Paint.NET is an excellent replacement for the graphics editor that comes with the standard programs of Windows operating systems.

With many powerful features that are found only in expensive image editors, Paint.NET is completely free.

5 pints

Pinta is a lightweight, open source, cross-platform raster graphics editor inspired by the Paint.NET editor. The latter only runs on Windows, and Miguel de Icaza's attempt to directly port this program to Linux/Mono was not very successful.

6 Seashore

Opensource image editor for the Mac OSX Cocoa framework. Knows what gradients, textures, smoothing are. Supports layers and alpha channel. Based on GIMP technology, and, accordingly, friendly with its native format.

7 Paint Star

Paint star is a graphic editor for high-quality editing, as well as creating drawings, digital photos and other images. This editor for Windows is great for basic user needs, and also allows you to work with layers, transparency, gradients, textures, scripts, patterns, paths, and more.

Paint star has a solid line of image editing and manipulation tools similar to popular high-end business design programs. The basic functionality allows the average user to realize their idea without a special training course or video.

8 My Paint

A simple and fast open source application for digital artists for Windows and Linux. In essence, it's just a dimensionless canvas where you can display interface elements only when you need them. The rest of the time - draw for your pleasure, without being distracted by the menu and tools. Fully supports graphics tablets, has a simple minimalist design, allows you to create brushes and customize existing ones, supports layers.

95Dfly

A free Windows application for batch processing photos. In addition to the standard functions of a graphic editor, it can create slide shows for PowerPoint.

10 visual boxes

Free for non-commercial use application for creating web galleries. Available as a jQuery plugin or Prototype extension, there are versions for Windows and Mac. Flickr and Photobucket support, built-in ftp client, tons of themes, nice modern design.

11 Digicam

It is an OpenSource photo editor for Linux, Windows and Mac-OSX. Allows you to view, edit, enhance, catalog and tag your photos and do a lot of other cool stuff. However, you must be prepared to compile the application. For those who are new to this, the official website offers a detailed tutorial.

12 PEdit

A very simple free online photo editor. Contains all standard tools, even a child can use it. It requires the installation of the Silverlight 3 plugin.

13 Photopos

A multifunctional and, at the same time, understandable program that includes the functions of a photo editor, a graphics editor and applications for creating computer graphics. Provides many options for designing, processing and enhancing photos, editing images and more.

14 Irfan View

One of the most popular image viewers on Windows systems. Nimble, compact, free. Able to open all kinds of graphics, convert them to the desired format, optimize, create slideshows. There are plugins, skins and localizations. Often opposes itself to ACDSee. Although, to be honest, I replaced it at home with FastStone Image Viewer, which is also free for personal non-commercial use, but, in my opinion, is much more convenient and can work with NEF.

15 Crita

One of the finalists of the Packt Open Source Awards 2011, along with Blender and GIMP. This is another KDE editor for creating sketches and drawings, as well as for manipulating graphics. The main direction is illustration, concept art and other creative.

16 GIMP

The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP for short) is a powerful and versatile graphics editor. With a wide range of functions, you can make your photos more vivid, remove unnecessary elements from photos, create collages and posters, prepare website designs and cut ready-made layouts, and much more. GIMP runs on the most popular operating systems: Windows, Mac, Linux.

17 Artweaver

Artweaver is another graphics editor that claims to be a free analogue of Adobe Photoshop. The program can simulate oil painting, acrylic paint, brush, crayon, pencil, charcoal, pastel, airbrush, etc. There is also the presence of various filters, work with transparency and layers, export and import of files in various graphic formats, and much more.

18 Paint tool sai

Paint tool sai has both Free and paid version. First of all, it is necessary to note the editor interface, which is implemented as conveniently as possible for users. All the necessary buttons fit compactly on the panel on the left, allowing you to quickly find the tool you need.

In addition, the interface allows you to keep several drawings open at once. The canvas itself with the image can be scaled and rotated using hotkeys and special buttons on the panel.

19 Hornil StylePix

Hornil StylePix is ​​a powerful multifunctional free graphic editor in which programmers were able to combine such parameters as: compact size, user-friendly interface and a large number of functions. The program does not require mandatory installation, as it has a portable version that you can easily place on any flash drive and run the program directly from it. StylePix has a large number of features and capabilities and is a worthy competitor to Paint.NET and Photoshop programs.

The program will serve you as a great assistant in photo editing. With this editor, you can fix almost all the flaws in your photo. At the service of creative people StylePix provides a wide range of brushes, cloning, selection, fill tools, as well as many options for working with text.

There is also a paid version of Hornil StylePix. Has more features like quick mask, layer mask, brush image and layer styles for more advanced work than StylePix.

20 Photoshop Online and other online editors

There are many online photo editing services on the Internet without installing any programs. One of the main differences between online editors and installers is that the application requires the most minimal system requirements for a computer and just an installed browser to view web pages. 100% convenience from working in the online version of the editor of graphic files.