bobbyblue's blog

If you don’t want to spend the money for Photoshop, and you’re not a big fan of other photo editing programs like The Gimp or Paint.NET, then you might be happy about a new open source program called ArtWeaver, which is completely free and looks just like Photoshop!

ArtWeaver is a freeware Photoshop alternative that, while lacking the advanced features of Photoshop, has many of the same basic image editing tools as Photoshop and a very similar interface. Check out the image below of the ArtWeaver main GUI:

It’s even got a very similar set of menus to Photoshop at the top. So if you’ve used Photoshop before, you won’t have any trouble using this. And if you start off with this program, rather than the GIMP, you’ll be able to use Photoshop later on without much relearning.

Even though ArtWeaver is a good image editing tool, it’s main strength is in simulating natural brush tools, such as pencils, chalk, oils, sponges, air brushes, calligraphy, and many other digital brushes. You also have a large range of adjustments you can make to the current brushes or you can create a new brush.

The standard image editing tools include cropping, text overlay, gradient fill, sharpen tool, eye dropper tool, lasso selection tool, and lots more. They program has a good number of filters (emboss, mosasic, blur) that you can apply to your pictures and you can add as many layers to your photos also, just like in Photoshop.

The program supports a wide range of file formats including PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PCX, TGA, TIFF, and even PSD. The only thing I wished was that it supported layers in PSD files! Right now, if you have a PSD with layers, the layers will not be visible.

The program has other cool features, though, like support for pen tablets, so if you are into drawing, you’ll like this feature and a history function to undo/redo your previous actions.

What I also like about this open source app is that it can be extended by third party developers using plug-ins, which is very cool. So if there’s a feature that is missing from the program, someone can write a plugin and all you have to do it install it to gain that functionality. You can download the current plug-in pack for ArtWeaver that adds more filters.

Finally, the last cool thing about ArtWeaver is that you can download the portable version of the software! Yes download the Portable-ArtWeaver.zip file and run it from your USB drive or external hard drive. Now you can take your photo editing program with you wherever you are and run it off any computer! Pretty cool.