Tag: Shapes

How to Make Gorgeous Glitter Paper Butterflies
by David Burgess on 0

How to Make Gorgeous Glitter Paper Butterflies

Make Your Own Luxury Layered 3D Butterfly Embellishments from Paper and Glitter


You can buy all kinds of pretty embellishments to adorn your handmade cards and craft projects but most of the time, I prefer to make my own. That’s because, embellishments like butterflies are fun to make and very inexpensive too once you already have a stock of paper and glitter powders to use. You can even opt to use newsprint, magazine pages or sheets torn from old books you no longer want in order to keep costs minimal.

Once you know how this technique works, each piece is easy to assemble. I do recommend making them up in bulk batches because it’s much quicker to make several at a time than just make a single piece each time you want a luxury 3D butterfly embellishment.

All Personal Images belong to the author of this article: Marie Williams Johnstone

First You Need Paper Butterfly Shapes

Use a Cutting Machine or Make Your Own DIY Templates

I prefer to make my own templates because this way I get the exact style and size of butterfly that I want for the project at hand which means I can fit the finished pieces to fit perfectly on handmade cards, as gift toppers, as DIY napkin rings for special occasions, hanging decor and more.

If you want to create your own beautiful butterflies, I show you a variety of ways which are the exact methods I use:

How to Make Butterfly Shaped Templates for Crafts

You can use paper punches but be aware that even large punches will tend to give you quite small pieces and this 3D, layered version that I’m showing you really is best on a bigger scale. The ones I make are often palm sized and bigger. Cutting machines are capable of making larger versions so this may be a better option if you do not wish to or cannot cut by hand.

The last option is to buy pre-cut paper butterfly shapes from a venue such as eBay or you may even find a seller on etsy that will provide you with what you need. Again, I’d prefer to make my own since I get full control over the paper and design being used.

Some of the Materials You’ll Need

These pretty paper embellishments do not need an abundance of materials in order to make them and you may already have most of what you need. The main component is paper and I like to pick out rather antiqued looking and vintage style papers in creams, pale browns and grungy colors. Extra fine glitter powder is an essential and you can buy large sets of these to use. The tubs they come in tend to look tiny but a little really goes a long way providing you use a tidy tray or paper to collect the stray powder to pop back in the jar – don’t throw it away! Zig glue pens are the ONLY wet glue pen I’d ever recommend because I’ve used these for years.

How to Make Layered 3D Paper Butterflies

In Vintage Style With a Gorgeous Glitter Edging on the Wings

These are the layered 3D butterflies that I’ve been making for a long time now – the shape may vary and the colors of the paper but the styling stays the same. This style screams luxury and they are ideal for topping special gifts and cards for occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, milestone birthdays and heartfelt thank yous. I like them in a antiqued vintage look but you can change this up with papers of your own choice to match the theme. Need to know how to make butterfly shapes? See How to Make Butterfly Templates

1.You need lots of butterfly shapes cut from the paper of your choice. I like to make my own templates for this and cut by hand but you can use a large paper punch to make smaller versions or a cutting machine. I like to use 4 cut pieces to make a single 3D butterfly but you can choose 3-6 pieces depending whether you want more or less layers. For the top layer of paper, I like to use Vellum which you can partially see through. It just gives a nice effect. With vintage style papers, I opt for a cream color vellum.

2.You can use another brand, but I absolutely recommend a Zig glue pen to draw around the edges of your wings so the glitter has something to stick to. I’ve been using these glue pens for many, many years so I know how good they are. Draw around the edges of one wing where you want with the glue and shake your choice of extra fine glitter over the top. Have a tidy tray or some paper underneath to catch the excess glitter. Turn the butterfly over and tap the back of the wing to remove excess powder.

 

3.Add glittered edges to all the wings. Here’s a tip to save on using too much glitter. For the top layer which I like to choose vellum for, I will glitter all the way around the edges. For layers underneath, I just tend to add glitter right at the sides where it will be seen most. You can see the difference between images in step 2 and step 3.

4.Leave all your pieces of paper to dry. This should not take very long with a Zig glue pen. I spread them out onto sheets of paper or a tray in case of stray glitter.

5.Choose a piece for your bottom layer as this needs the antennae stuck to it. For the antennae (or stalks as my daughter calls them) I use a hemp twine which works well with the vintage or antiqued styling. If you’re working with stronger colors, you can get colored cords instead. Cut off two same sized pieces, run some strong adhesive down the middle of the butterfly (I prefer a glue gun for this as it sticks pretty instantly) and stick in the ends of the cord or twine – be careful of hot glue if using a glue gun!

6.Now add on the rest of your layers for the piece. I use 4 altogether with vellum as the top layer. To add them, run a strip of glue or adhesive down the middle of the butterfly and stick the next piece down making sure it lines up with the previous layer.

7.When all layers are in place, go back to your glue pen or Zig pen and add this over the middle area between the wings. Now sprinkle over your choice of glitter. If you have a dark brown or black, this can look quite dramatic. Once dry, carefully push up each layer of wings using your fingers underneath to push them up and out. You can see how beautiful the finished versions can look with a large image further down this page. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my lens or article today, thanks for your visit. Don’t be afraid to change up the color scheme and use colors and patterns to match with the occasion. And have fun.

Tidy Tray Keeps Powder from Going Astray

Glitter powders are gorgeous on handmade crafts but you don’t want to get them anywhere else because they are a real pain to shift. When using these powders, I work over a tidy tray which catches all the excess powder as I work. When done, I use a brush to push the powder through the hole on one side of the tray and back into the glitter jar. If you pop a piece of paper under the jar and any powder misses the jar on its way back, you can pinch one end of the paper to a point and pour the rest in.

Extra Fine Glitters for Gorgeous Shimmer

But You’ll Really Need a Tidy Tray to Contain Them
Most of the time, I opt to use Stickles glitter glue because these little wet glue bottles are great at adding bits of sparkle to handmade projects. However, wet glitter glue when added in big and concentrated amounts, just like in this project all around the edges of the wings, can cause paper to wrinkle and buckle. Extra fine powder glitters are premium glitters and the absolute BEST I’ve ever come across for adding in a real shine and sparkle. They are worth using for special cards, gifts and projects like special celebration birthdays, weddings and where you need to make a real impact.

Some Finished Fluttering Embellishments

The Extra Fine Glitter Really Sparkles and Shines Beautifully

Layered vintage style paper and sheer vellum paper
butterflies with gorgeous glitter edges.

Butterfly Punches and Dies

Great Option if You Don’t Want to Hand Cut
If you’re not keen on paper cutting or you’d prefer a machine to do the work for you, there are options to use paper punches or die cutters for popular machines like the Sizzix. Bear in mind that, even with large punches, your cut shapes are still going to be quite small – the biggest I have found are around 2 inches. Cutting machines can go larger than hand punches. If size is a real issue then cutting your own may be the best option.

Share on Read Full Story
Art Glossary
by David Burgess on 0

Art Glossary

Explaining terminology from Art Forums

This art vocabulary glossary was made as an addition to /ic/’s Beginner’s Guide. It lists explanations of terms that are commonly used on art forums. We focus on visual art, namely paintings and drawings, in both the digital and traditional medium.

Note: work in progress. 🙂

Overview

A

Anatomy: the study of human and animal body structures. Artists study skeleton, muscles and fat distribution, as well as these functions in movement, in order to draw realistic looking figures or creatures.

B

Basic Shapes: the basic shapes are the sphere, the cube, the cone and the cilinder. Everything in life can be simplified to these basic shapes or variations of them.
When learning a new subject (proportions, perspective, lighting, …), it is useful to start with basic shapes.
Blending: mixing paint on canvas, mainly used in the context of painting digitally or with oils. This is an important part of rendering.
How to blend digitally

C

Chicken Scratch: the same as “hairy line”. Drawing a line consisting of multiple small scratches or going over a line multiple times to mask mistakes. Not to be confused with loose, sketchy lines. *example picture to be added
Canvas: the surface you paint on. For a traditional painter this is the fabric he works on. For digital artists, the canvas is the total image dimension he is working on. (better explanation for “digital canvas”?)
Color/Colour: considering painting techniques, colour refers to the whole of hue, value and saturation (also called chroma). This is an in depth guide to colour: The Dimensions of Colour.
Comfort Zone: keeping to the skills you already have and not trying new things due to fear of failure. For example, artist might restrain themselves to a single colour palette, or drawing the same subject over and over again.
Composition: arrangement of the elements in a pleasant manner. Or unpleasant, if you suck at composition. *explanatory video link to be added
Concept Art: mainly designing. Usually part of a larger process (creating a movie, game, …).
Construction: building the subject of the painting or drawing from a basic structure. This could be basic shapes which are later on refined, or the key elements of the subjects. For example, a very basic construction for the human figure might be composed of the head, torso and pelvis, with sticks for the joints.

E

Eyeballing: judging by eye, as opposed to measuring with rulers, drawing grids, colour picking, …

F

Fair Use: use of copyrighted works within legal limits.
Flatness (or flat drawing): the works lacks a sense of depth. In many cases, this is due to a poor value range or using strictly contour lines.
Flow: relaxed, zen-like work state of full concentration. For the photoshop tool “flow”, see this post.
Freelancer: self-employed professional.
Fundamentals: things you have to know before you can move on. The crawling before walking and running.
Figure Drawing: drawing humans.

G

Gesture: you probably heard before that non-verbal expressions are the most important element of conversation. That’s what gesture is about. The gesture of a figure, animal or even object can express a wild variety in emotions and actions. Gesture studies are a necessary complement to anatomy studies, to prevent your figures from becoming lifeless.
Graphic Design: the visual art that focuses on convey information. Fields like web design, logo design and typography are important to graphic design.
Grayscale/Greyscale: black-and-white. Consisting only of grey shades (from white to black). Sometimes short for “an image in grayscale”. Value painting/drawing.

H

Hairy Line: the same as “chicken scratch”. Drawing a line consisting of multiple small scratches or going over a line multiple times to mask mistakes. Not to be confused with loose, sketchy lines. *example picture to be added
colour hue Hue: this term is difficult to explain, as it corresponds to “colour” for those unfamiliar with colour theory. This is the third aspect of colour besides value and saturation. For example: red, green or blue are hues. Adding white or black will not change the hue.

I

Illustration: art accompanying another product. For example, illustrations in a book, on game cards, … Nonetheless, an illustration often has stand-alone artistic value.
Illustrator: artist making illustrations, either as a freelancer or employee.

L

Layer: in tradtional painting, this is literally a layer of paint. In digital painting, this is the layer in the painting program, on which one or more elements are kept. Painting on a single layer is also possible. Digital layers can be swapped, moved around and edited individually.
Life Drawing: also “drawing from life”. Drawing a real life object or person, as opposed to drawing from photo reference and drawing from imagination. The three most common life drawing practices are still lifes, model drawing and sketching people from life. The most beneficial aspect of life drawing is the increasing sense of value and 3D perception.
Loomis: usually heard in a phrase like “needs more Loomis”. This refers to the figure construction method as taught by the famous art teacher Andrew Loomis.

M

Master: an artist of great skill. An “old master” would be a great artist from the past, such as Rubens or Van Eyck. A “master work” is an artwork of high artistic and technical quality.
In the broadest sense, a master is any artist whose skill and accomplishments you admire. Doing a “master study” refers to studying the work of a master in order to learn from it.
Muddy drawing Muddiness (or a muddy drawing): the colours or values aren’t cleanly rendered. The most common causes are:
1. painting with a lot of short, small brush strokes instead of fluid large strokes.
2. Poor colour choice, for example shading by adding black.
3. Smudging.

N

Negative Space: the space surrounding the object of figure. Drawing negative space means focusing on the outer edge. This is most helpful to fix proportion errors.
Notan: balancing areas of light and dark in a harmonious whole. This concept is great importance in traditional ink paintings.

O

Opacity
Overlay

P

Pen Pressure: when using a tablet for digital art, you can turn pen pressure on. This responds to how firmly the stylus’ tip is pressed against the tablet surface.
It’s similar to how a pencil gives darker lines when pressed harder into the paper, but you can link pen pressure to a variety of settings. It is most commonly linked to line thickness and opacity.
Perspective
Photo Study: doing a study using a photograph as a reference. The goal of the study can be anything from lighting to anatomy.
Professional: an artist earning full-time income from his craft. Also refered to as “pro”, though “pro” is sometimes used for any artist of great skill.
Proportions

Q

Quick Pose: figure sketching done whilst setting a timer for each pose. Most common are quick gesture sketches, using 30 to 60 seconds for each figure. The purpose of quick poses varies.

R

Reference:

S

Saturation:

Self Portrait: drawing oneself in front of a mirror. Drawing yourself using a photo reference is usually regarded as a photo study.
Sketch: this is either an unfinished, rough drawing, or a drawing done as preparations for a bigger art work.
Sketchbook: there are physical sketchbooks with bound blank pages used to draw in, often done outside. “Sketchbook” could also reference to a regularly updated forum thread devoted to the art and progress of a single artist.
Skill: acquired technique and knowledge. The ability to do something.
Smudge: smudging is a blending process by rubbing with your finger or some material on the canvas. It is very common practice in pencil drawing, but often with poor results.
Speedpainting: a quick painting, usually between 30 minutes to 2 hours. Currently also used in the context of time lapse videos of the painting process.
Still Life: drawing or painting objects from life.
Studio:
Study: drawing or painting a reference in order to learn from it. The goal is to acquire knowledge and skill to use in one’s own artworks. Methods vary wildly depending on the aspect focused on.
Symbol drawing: drawing one’s representation of something instead of a realistic depiction. For example, drawing an almond shape and a circle for an eye.

T

Talent: the notion that one’s skills aren’t acquired by practice or studying. By some used to indicate great skill, but keep in mind that this could be an affront to hard working artists.
Thumbnail: a small version of an image.
Tutorial: short instructive guide. A tutorial could be in any format, from video to plain text. Usually tutorials are a combination of step drawings and explanatory text.
Tracing: putting a transparent sheet or a new layer on top of a picture and directly drawing over the lines. On the ethics of tracing, check out this link.

V

Value: when putting the colour on greyscale, value is the range it falls in, with pure white being 0 and pure black being 100. As some programs use different numbers, the value can also be expressed as a percentage, for example 10% grey.
Value is regarded as the most basic and important quality of colour, and beginners are encouraged to start practicing in greyscale before moving on to full colour. The two other aspects of colour besides value are hue and saturation.

Share on Read Full Story
Free Art Tools Online
by David Burgess on 0

Free Art Tools Online

Art Resources

Who has time for art? While I love art, it’s inconvenient to take out all my supplies, paint, and clean up. Not to mention, my kids want to participate too. I spend so much time teaching them how to create things that I don’t get to fully enjoy my own work or time. It just leaves me frustrated.

There is an easier way to find your inner artist

Free Resources
Several places online offer a variety of ways to create graphic art with just the click of a mouse. Most programs load right into your web browser and are easy to pick up. Other, more complex, programs need to be downloaded, installed, and learned.

Convenient
Art is at the tip of your fingers. A few minutes of art every day spent creating art is entrancing. Don’t you deserve a few minutes each day?

Harmony

Harmony Harmony is one of my favorite programs online.

*Free to Use and Save
*No Registration Required
*Several Drawing Styles
*Simple Layout (uses most of the page to draw on)

PsykoPaint

PsykoPaint PsykoPaint is a site that you can create paintings from your own photographs even if you don’t know how to paint.

*Register is Required for many features
*Able to use with Wacom or digital tablets
*Send a postcard with your art
*Send a digital card by email

Flash Paint

Flash Paint Flash Paint is an online paint tool that uses Flash in your web browser

*No Sign Up Requirements
*Save your images
*Share images in the Gallery
*Simple Tool Set

OdoSketch

OdoSketch OdoSketch is a unique online Flash drawing application.

*Paper Background
*Easy tool system
*Account Required to save images

Bomomo

the Bomomo One of the simplest web browser art generators out there is Bomomo

*Works only with Firefox and Safari
*18 drawing tools to experiment with
*Save finished work to your hard drive
*Nothing to sign up for or download

My Oats Draw Tool

My Oats My Oats is an online, web browser art generator.

*Advanced Editing Tools
*Share with the community if you want
*Save your images (must make an account)
Great Art Resources on Amazon

ToonDoo – Make Comic Strips

ToonDoo ToonDoo is the fastest way to create comic strips online.

*Registration Required
*Draw Characters – Create different looks for each character
*Choose Comic Layout
*Use the DoodleR to add personal touches
*Create Books of your comics
*Print your creations on T-shirts, posters, cloth, mugs, mousepads, keychains and more!

Sketchpad

SketchPad SketchPad is a more complex drawing tool that offers a variety of patterns, brush options, and shapes to create with.

*A little more difficult to learn than some of the others
*Easy to save
*No Sign-up Required

Draw.To

Draw To Draw.To lets you draw anything you like and share it instantly via email, instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook and more!

*No Registration Required
*Embed drawings in your blog or website
*Add to existing drawings
*Works in your web browser, no downloads required
*Also works on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

The Image Mixer

Image Mixer If you love abstract art, try experimenting with the Image Mixer. It’s a web based generator. Unfortunately, you can’t add your own photographs. There are a lot of great patterns that you can create as well as a gallery from other users.

Generate abstract images in your web browser
Generate as many images as you desire
Customize the size, color, patterns, shape, opacity and scattering

Modern Art Generator

Modern Art Generator The Modern Art Generator

*Create abstract drawings online in your web browser
*Experiment with different color palettes
*Adjust opacity and image size
*Save your images

Brushter

Brushter Brushter is an online painting machine for all ages. This Shockwave interactive includes more than forty brushes and customizable size, transparency, texture, and stroke options. A rainbow palette, along with a toolbox of special effects that blur, ripple, smudge, blend, and fragment your designs help make BRUSHster a full-feature painting program.

*No Registration Required
*Save work to your computer
*Auto Draw Mode
*Requires Shockwave Payer (Free Download)

Sumo Paint

Sumo Paint Sumo Paint is an online image editor and digital paint program.

*No Sign up required
*Several Tools to choose from
*Extensive “How To” section
*Filters to create effects on your work
*Browse other community art for inspiration

Sketch Swap

Sketch Swap With Sketch Swap, you can draw images online and trade it with another person. It’s all anonymous, so there’s nothing embarrassing to worry about.

*Runs in your web browser
*Nothing to download
*Simple pen tool
*Redraws another person’s art after you submit yours

FlockDraw

FlockDraw Flockdraw is a free to use online whiteboard based painting & drawing tool.

*Draw online free with multiple people for fun or business
*Have unlimited people in a room
*See drawing changes in real time
*Use different colors, shapes and text
*Signup Required

ScribLink

ScribLink Scriblink is a free digital whiteboard that users can share online in real-time. Sorta like pen and paper, minus the dead trees, plastic, and the inconvenience of being at the same place at the same time.

*No Registration required
*Privacy: the board is all yours, open only to the people you choose to invite
*Dynamic Tools: use shapes, hundreds of colors, a size bar, a text feature, and a grid to help guide your drawings
*File Options: gives you the ability to print, save, and email your work
*Image Uploader: upload an image onto the whiteboard as the background, allowing you to share it, mark it, deface it, or highlight key elements
*In-Screen Chat: when working with others, no need to sign in to third party software, simply use our in-screen chat
*VOIP Conferencing: if you have a mic for your computer, you can automatically connect with your collaborators (no software necessary) and talk for free for as long as you like
*File transfer: when emailing is too much of a hassle, simply transfer files directly to anyone you’re working with

Online Color Palette Generator

Color Palette Generator The Color Palette Generator is an amazing tool for any digital artist.

How many times have you needed to pick up the colors on your images to create a color pallets? The color dropper tool is effective, but it’s slow. Also, if you’ve used the dropper you’ve noticed how each pixel can be slightly different. This generator find the number of colors you need for an image. Just upload a sample image under 100KB and select your color palette grid size.

You can use .png, .gif, .jpg, and .jpeg formats
No Limits on the amount of palettes you generate
Create precise or average color palettes.

Gaffiti Playdo

Graffiti Playdo Graffiti Playdo uses adobe flash player and allows you to paint on a wall with cans of spray paint. Draw graffiti together with your friends! Save your art to your album and share with your friends. With multiplayer functions so you can paint together in real time.

*No Registration Required
*Connect with Facebook to save, share, and draw with friends

ArtisanCam – Graffiti Art Board

ArtisanCam ArtisanCam provides an insight into the lives of contemporary artists. Using a mixture of video and interactive activities, we introduce children to the world of contemporary visual art before encouraging them to have a go themselves in fun and exciting ways.

*No Registration Required
*Much more art content than the graffiti paint program”

Kerpoof

Kerpoof Kerpoof is a fun program for both children and adults. It’s simple enough for the young users but versatile enough for adults to fully enjoy. The website is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company.

*Flash and Java browser
*Free to use and to download JPEGs
*Must have an account to save unfinished work
*Make artwork (even if you aren’t good at drawing!)
*Make an animated movie (really! it’s easy!)
*Earn Koins which you can trade for fun things in the Kerpoof Store
*Make a printed card, t-shirt, or mug
*Tell a story
*Make a drawing
*Vote on the movies, stories, and drawings that other people have made

Draw Here

Draw Here Draw Here allows you to draw on any web page. If you save your drawing, other Draw Here users will be able to see what you’ve drawn. Use it to share your artwork, comment on web pages, or just doodle while you are browsing.

*Free to Join
*Free to use
*Highlight parts of a webpage
*Doodle while you read
*Write notes right on the screen
*Deface your photos just for the fun of it

Draw Island

Draw Island Draw Island was just launched early Feb. 2012

*Iphone version , Minimalist version
*Draw online : change sizes, colors and use shapes like rectangle, round,…. and save result
*Generate animations (see button) with your drawings…(max size 400×400 pixels with 10 frames max)
*Video Tutorial

**Updates Coming :
– new options(Import Image)

Favicon Icon Drawing

Favicon Favicon is a drawing program to create a 16Ă—16 pixel icon in 16 colors with optional transparency.

*No Registration Required
*Generate Icon button to save the icon to your hard disk
*The icons you generate are not recorded anywhere

Scribbls

Scribbls Scribbls – Bees plus flowers gives you honey. Pie and rat together make “pirate.” Putting any two things together is bound to have an interesting, even hilarious, effect-or outcome. At Scribbls, you can combine thousands of different drawings to create an infinite number of outcomes.

*Registration Required (Free Sign Up)
*Collaborative drawing community
*Uses Flash Player
*Occasional Contests

The Scribbler

The Scribbler The Scribbler takes simple vector based input (in the case of the online toy, your drawing) and creates its own drawing on top of it based on a number of simple rules. When a new scribble line is created it chooses a few numbers at random that eventually determine what sort of line it will draw.

*No Registration Required
*No Save Option (Take a screenshot)
*Experiment with different colors and line thicknesses
*Change colors during the scribble process

Deviant Art Muro

Deviant Art Muro Deviant Art Muro is a free online painting tool that offers both a pro version (layers) and basic version.

*No Registration Required
*Wacom Tablet Usability
*Purchase additional brushes
SketchPAN SketchPAN is an online drawing community where anyone can participate and share their art.

*Use Drawing PAN to record your drawing process
*Animation PAN lets you create flip books
*Together PAN lets you create something with others
*Shop PAN lets you start with something more than blank paper

Queeky

Queeky Queeky is an online drawing community.

*Save your work either on Queeky.com, or on your local computer
*Publish your work to the galleries
*Vote and Comment on other art
*Import photos, Blur Tool, Select Tool, custom gradient fills, multiple windows, layer effects and many more
*Premium Version Option
*Share your work and comments on Facebook
*Study the technics and workflow of your favorite artists

Pencil Maddness

Pencil Maddness Pencil Madness a free online sketching tool. PencilMadness is a Flash application that lets you draw and publish images in our gallery.

*Save images as jpg or Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) directly to your computer
*Sign Up is Not Required

Penolo

Penolo Penolo is a simple sketching tool where you can post results to Twitter if you want.

*No Registration Required (Unless using Twitter)
*Simple Tools
*Tons of Color Choices
*Easy enough for kids to use

Pixlr – Online Photo Editor

Pixlr Pixlr enables web developers to use Pixlr applications on their own site. Everything that is done on this site can be done on yours. Added advanced image editing capabilities is very easy.

*Completely free
*Uses Flash
*3 applications in our suite: Pixlr Editor, Pixlr Express, and Pixlr-o-Matic
*Uses Layers
*Color Effects

FREE Digital Image Editing and Painting Programs

There are a variety of 2D graphics software products useful for creating art, manipulating photographic images, or to just experimenting with for the purpose of gaining insight. Most of these programs need to be downloaded and installed to your computer. All have free versions.

Free Programs Include:

Gimp
GIMP is a versatile graphics manipulation package. GIMP allows you to customize the view and behavior the way you like it. Starting from the widget theme, allowing you to change colors, widget spacings and icon sizes to custom tool sets in the toolbox. The interface is modulized into so called docks, allowing you to stack them into tabs or keep them open in their own window. Pressing the tab key will toggle them hidden.

My Paint
MyPaint is a fast and easy open-source graphics application for digital painters. It lets you focus on the art instead of the program. You work on your canvas with minimum distractions, bringing up the interface only when you need it.

mtPaint
Easily create pixel art and manipulate digital photos.

Pencil
Pencil is an animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics. Pencil is free and open source.

Helios Paint
HeliosPaint is a feature-rich, easy-to-use and powerful paint program for editing photos, drawings and icons. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, Linux and Unix. Helios Paint utilizes Java. While it’s a simple program, it does offer a lot of tool options.

Real World Paint
Draw, Retouch Photos, and Animate Gifs with this program. You won’t have to leave your old projects behind. Real World Paint can import and export native image files of other popular image editors. Images are imported or exported with layers. Real World Paint installs or requires NO additional packages on your computer.

Dia
Dia can be used to draw many different kinds of diagrams. It currently has special objects to help draw entity relationship diagrams, UML diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and many other diagrams. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of SVG to draw the shape.

Inkscape
An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.

Project Dogwaffle
It’s a light, yet powerful tool for artistic expression. It’s a fully functional version with some new features too. It is not save-disabled, there’s no time-limit, no need to register, and there’s no spyware or adware coming with it.

Twisted Brush
The free edition of TwistedBrush with most of the great features of TwistedBrush except for brush editing and with a just handful of very fine brushes with the option to add additional collections of brushes. layers, realistic media, photo cloning, tracing, masks, particles, filters, script recording, scripts to AVI, drawing tablet support, brush shapes, patterns, textures, Adobe compatible plug-in support, integrated scanner support, image brushes, drawing guides, reference image views, dirty brushes, scratch layer, dynamic palettes and a whole lot more.

Free 3D Editing Programs

Sketchup

You can build models from scratch, or you can download what you need. People all over the world share what they’ve made on the Google 3D Warehouse. Redecorate your living room. Invent a new piece of furniture. Model your city for Google Earth. There’s no limit to what you can create with SketchUp.

DAZ

DAZ|Studio is a free software application that allows you to easily create beautiful digital art. You can use this software to load in people, animals, vehicles, buildings, props, and accessories to create digital scenes. DAZ|Studio includes two pre-configured scenes ready for you to Load & Render within DAZ|Studio. Just double-click on the scene thumbnails inside of DAZ|Studio, and everything will come on screen posed, lit, and ready for you to create a stunning digital image. Click here to view a sample scene render from DAZ|Studio using the included content. With DAZ|Studio, you can turn your 3d dreams into reality.

Bryce

Bryce 7 gives you the ability to work faster and create more realistic environments than ever before. From the new Instancing Lab and totally redesigned bridge to DAZ Studio, to the improved skies and clouds, updated HDRI and advanced lighting, Bryce 7 will breathe new life into both your future and existing Bryce scenes. Whether you are a professional designer, or a recent 3D graphics enthusiast, Bryce provides you with the tools to literally create a world of your own.

Share on Read Full Story