Editing a photo can be as simple as resizing it, or as extremely complex as removing people entirely, restoring backgrounds, and combining multiple layers. Whatever your needs, the market can satisfy them, and the best part is you won't have to pay a cent. This time we'll present five of the most important graphic editors, and in the list there's a program that just turned twenty years old.
The professional world swears by the virtues of Photoshop or Illustrator, and the reasons are not scarce. Things an expert can do in Photoshop simply take our breath away, and one thing Adobe has managed to guarantee with each new version is that the transition is as smooth as possible for the user. Of course, Adobe doesn't offer these programs out of the kindness of its heart, and a full license for Photoshop or Illustrator requires a monthly commitment that not all users can afford these days. Fortunately, there is great free software with the ability to replace (to a greater or lesser extent) the industry titans, or alternatively, to provide elementary functions that will satisfy most. These are our suggestions:
GIMP
Twenty years, ladies and gentlemen. This last Saturday, the most recognized image editor in the open source world turned twenty years old, and we must admit it looks great. From the beginning, GIMP was presented as a free and open replacement for Photoshop. Things improved a lot with the introduction of the single-window interface, and the fact that it has lasted all this time confirms that it has excellent features to offer.
Paint.NET
Personal favorite, excuse us. Some reject it under the argument that it's barely "a more advanced Paint," but those of us who accept it do so for exactly that same reason. If the idea is to crop images, resize them, combine multiple photos on one canvas, apply a series of basic filters, and work with some layers, Paint.NET has everything you need, and that's without mentioning its interesting plugin support. Want a Linux equivalent? The name is Pinta.
Inkscape
In simple terms, Inkscape is to Illustrator what GIMP is to Photoshop. When bitmap images fall short, you have to move into vectorization territory, and if the 19 euros per month for Illustrator aren't an option, the first recommendation is to install Inkscape. Its twelve years have done it no harm, quite the opposite: Inkscape's relationship with Illustrator is much smoother, and the same can be said about its support for the SVG format.
Pixia
Coming from far Japan and mentioned more than once, Pixia remains a main resource not only for editing images but also for creating them using a compatible drawing device. At the time, a more advanced version called Phierha was talked about, but the official site currently only offers downloads for Pixia, in 32 and 64 bits. Its interface is quite intuitive even though it may not seem so, and at the same time, Pixia positions itself as one of the lightest editors.
Pixlr
To close this humble list, we arrive at an image editor that doesn't even need to be downloaded. Like many modern applications, Pixlr works directly in the browser. In case your internet connection is too unstable, the folks at Autodesk offer an offline version of Pixlr, but the idea here is to take advantage of the convenience of a complete editor without installing secondary software. Does Pixlr seem too complicated for some reason? In that case, try the Express version.
At the end of the day, revisiting the classics never hurts. The graphic editors we've mentioned today are stable, carry a high level of compatibility, and of course, don't demand a single bill. In general, they are strong examples that it's possible to get quality software for free. Good luck!
