4 ms·

I tried switching to it so I had an FOSS alternative to paint.net, but so far it's taking some getting used to. I really wish paint.net was FOSS - it's perfect

I tried switching to it so I had an FOSS alternative to paint.net, but so far it's taking some getting used to. I really wish paint.net was FOSS - it's perfect.

jeroenhd 4y ago
It's a shame Paint.NET doesn't work in Wine. Gimp can do way too much, Krita is mostly for artists, and the various lightweight MS Paint alternatives lack things like layers. Paint.NET has fulfilled my requirements for quick image editing quite nicely during my Windows days. However, I wouldn't call it a competitor to Krita. Krita is very much oriented at artists making digital art whereas Paint.NET is much more picture editing oriented.
- PrimeMcFly 4y ago
  If not Krita, then what might be a better alternative to Paint.NET?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - jeroenhd 4y ago
    Pinta served me well, but on modern distributions it's become unstable. I've resorted to GIMP and Photopea these days. I'm jealous of the image editor built into SerenityOS (PixelPaint). It's getting awfully close to everything I want out of an image editor, but I'm not brave enough to try to port a Serenity application to Linux.
    - nazgulsenpai 4y ago
      Pinta works just fine as a flatpak. Have you tried that?
      - jeroenhd 4y ago
        It seems to be a lot more stable as a Flatpak! Too bad Flatpak is messed up on my system, but now I have a reason to fix it!
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
zxspectrum1982 4y ago
Paint.NET used to be open source until a bunch of scammers started selling "relabeled" versions of it, misleading users.
- thomastjeffery 4y ago
  So its devs decided to join the trend? I'm not sure how that's better.
- dotancohen 4y ago
  Open Office and Libre Office both have been suffering from this problem for years. They remain open source. More than a decade ago I discussed this with RMS. His position is that these scammers are not a problem, rather they are helping to distribute FOSS software. And in fact, they do provide the source code when requested, I requested and got the code. So, as is usually the case, RMS is technically right even if it is difficult to see. I feel that reputational damage is significant, RMS feels that these scammers are not damaging the reputation of the FOSS software so long as they are not using any of the copyrighted components, such as the name.
as1mov 4y ago
Try Pinta, it's pretty close to Paint.net in terms of functionality. But make sure to install it from the repository specified on the website. The version provided by various distributions is very old and unstable.
- PrimeMcFly 4y ago
  You know, I did try Pinta before Krita, and I can't remember what but I found it didn't support something I needed. This is odd to me because I don't really do much other than need layers, a good text tool, and some effects like blur or similar. I might give it a try again, it's been at least a year since I last looked at it.
- everybodyknows 4y ago
  Multiple steps may be required: https://www.pinta-project.com/howto/installing-pinta https://www.pinta-project.com/howto/installing-pinta Latest is v2.1. Ubuntu 20.04 apt repo is indeed back at v1.6.
EMM_386 4y ago
It really is. I started using that when it was launched in 2004 and it's come a very long way. Began as a computer science senior design project. Unfortunately as you mention it's not open source anymore ... too many people recompiling it and selling it as their own. It's fast, easy, and has more features than I'll ever need. Plugins also for more advanced things like content-aware fills, etc. It's not directly comparable to Krita but if you need a powerful, free image editor on Windows it's easily my recommendation.
- dotancohen 4y ago
  > Unfortunately as you mention it's not open source anymore ... > too many people recompiling it and selling it as their own. What is wrong with that? So long as the license allows it and those selling it respect copyright?

I tried switching to it so I had an FOSS alternative to paint.net, but so far it's taking some getting used to. I really wish paint.net was FOSS - it's perfect.

jeroenhd 4y ago

It's a shame Paint.NET doesn't work in Wine. Gimp can do way too much, Krita is mostly for artists, and the various lightweight MS Paint alternatives lack things like layers. Paint.NET has fulfilled my requirements for quick image editing quite nicely during my Windows days. However, I wouldn't call it a competitor to Krita. Krita is very much oriented at artists making digital art whereas Paint.NET is much more picture editing oriented.

PrimeMcFly 4y ago
If not Krita, then what might be a better alternative to Paint.NET?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- jeroenhd 4y ago
  Pinta served me well, but on modern distributions it's become unstable. I've resorted to GIMP and Photopea these days. I'm jealous of the image editor built into SerenityOS (PixelPaint). It's getting awfully close to everything I want out of an image editor, but I'm not brave enough to try to port a Serenity application to Linux.
  - nazgulsenpai 4y ago
    Pinta works just fine as a flatpak. Have you tried that?
    - jeroenhd 4y ago
      It seems to be a lot more stable as a Flatpak! Too bad Flatpak is messed up on my system, but now I have a reason to fix it!
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

zxspectrum1982 4y ago

Paint.NET used to be open source until a bunch of scammers started selling "relabeled" versions of it, misleading users.

thomastjeffery 4y ago
So its devs decided to join the trend? I'm not sure how that's better.
dotancohen 4y ago
Open Office and Libre Office both have been suffering from this problem for years. They remain open source. More than a decade ago I discussed this with RMS. His position is that these scammers are not a problem, rather they are helping to distribute FOSS software. And in fact, they do provide the source code when requested, I requested and got the code. So, as is usually the case, RMS is technically right even if it is difficult to see. I feel that reputational damage is significant, RMS feels that these scammers are not damaging the reputation of the FOSS software so long as they are not using any of the copyrighted components, such as the name.

as1mov 4y ago

Try Pinta, it's pretty close to Paint.net in terms of functionality. But make sure to install it from the repository specified on the website. The version provided by various distributions is very old and unstable.

PrimeMcFly 4y ago
You know, I did try Pinta before Krita, and I can't remember what but I found it didn't support something I needed. This is odd to me because I don't really do much other than need layers, a good text tool, and some effects like blur or similar. I might give it a try again, it's been at least a year since I last looked at it.
everybodyknows 4y ago
Multiple steps may be required: https://www.pinta-project.com/howto/installing-pinta https://www.pinta-project.com/howto/installing-pinta Latest is v2.1. Ubuntu 20.04 apt repo is indeed back at v1.6.

EMM_386 4y ago

It really is. I started using that when it was launched in 2004 and it's come a very long way. Began as a computer science senior design project. Unfortunately as you mention it's not open source anymore ... too many people recompiling it and selling it as their own. It's fast, easy, and has more features than I'll ever need. Plugins also for more advanced things like content-aware fills, etc. It's not directly comparable to Krita but if you need a powerful, free image editor on Windows it's easily my recommendation.

dotancohen 4y ago
> Unfortunately as you mention it's not open source anymore ... > too many people recompiling it and selling it as their own. What is wrong with that? So long as the license allows it and those selling it respect copyright?