If you follow my blogs (here, BuildAzure.com, BuildHoloLens.com), Twitter (@crpietschmann, @BuildAzure, @BuildHoloLens) and Open Source project then you’re familiar that I have a number of custom drawn images and screenshots that I author to go with various content I’m authoring. Something I’ve never posted on is what tools I use for editing / creating all these images. The reason I felt this would be worth posting is that I do NOT use Photoshop or any other professional tool. In fact I use FREE tools!

Here’s the tools I use for various Operating Systems:

Paint.NET on Windows

When using Windows, I use the Paint.NET image editing tool. This is a completely FREE image editing application. It’s simple, has TONS of features, and importantly is extremely easy to use! I’ve been using this app for over 10 years!

GIMP on Mac OSX

When using Mac OSX, I use the GIMP image editing tool. This is a completely FREE image editing application that is simple, has TONS of features, and importantly is extremely easy to use!

How difficult is it switching between the two?

Yes, I use 2 different applications for image editing depending on the Operating System I am using when I need to edit / create / modify images, art and screenshots. This isn’t as confusing as you might think. These 2 tools are very similar in the primary features they support. In addition, the UI’s of both are fairly similar. This helps when switching between the two, but you will still need to figure out how to use each apps tools as there are some differences.

Free Image Editors FTW!