Some of The Best Software Is Free

Cha ching, cha ching, I love to save money and open source software is by far, for the freeware illustrator, the best way to save and make money. In comparison to market driven " Industry Standard Software", free open source software can have as many features, give similar or better results and cost you nothing to boot. When I was a lecturer at university it was my duty to insure students used 'industry standard" packages, in order to help them slot in to the working world. But since leaving my position and re entering the art and design industry again. I have wondered exactly what is "industry standard" and why do universities insist on adhering to it. In the case of the university I lectured at, "industry standard" was the concept that the most current and used software available is the only software that should be taught to fledgling designers/artists. This in my opinion, is an odd notion and only serves the software companies not the art and design industries. It insures the sales of a select few programs and forces lecturers to promote programs when they should be teaching practical theory. This results in these companies products becoming falsly popular in the arts industry and in turn the "industry standard". That seems like a paradoxical cycle to me. It also means these software companies, don't have to spend money and effort developing better products. They have an established nurtured market that was created in the education system instead of in a cometitive marketplace. I think students need to challenge the software companies. They should be allowed to make the choice what software they use to do assignments. They should also be prepared to find out how to use all sorts of software. University lecturers can then be free to teach correct theory and arts practice as universities once did.

Better Free Software:

By now you will have read about Ubuntu and you now have your operating system. You have had play with the apps it loads and are keen to install some decent design software. The apps I favor for design might differ from yours as you start experimenting and attempt different effects etc. But for now I should point you toward some helpful open source design programs I think should be on your freeware illustrators computer. The first program is already loaded with the standard Ubuntu install. Its name is "Gimp". Although this is an unfortunate name, Gimp is a versatile photo editing and design tool, available in flavors for most operating systems. Likened to Photoshop an "industry standard" program , Gimp is also popular with designers who buy their software. There is a load of good tutorials around the web for Gimp. Youtube will be a good place to start.

The next software is Krita. Krita has some excellent painting style tools and I liken it to software like Painter or Fractal design Painter these are no longer available but in their day considered great programs. Krita is a painting software that emulates real brush strokes and paint effects. I love using it with a graphics tablet that I picked up on eBay for $25. To install Krita in Ubuntu start Ubuntu select Applications and select Ubuntu Software Center. In the search field type Krita, select the Krita icon at the top and choose install and put in your password. Once Krita has installed you can find it under Applications - Graphics. Help for Krita can be found on the Krita forum, click the image below. Oh, Windows and Mac users this software is also available for you. I am trying hard to find cross platform versions of all my software. So for those who want Krita for another OS click here

Finally I have to highly recommend Inkscape. Inkscape is by far the most versatile of drawing packages I use. Its features include an ability to trace line drawings and create vector graphics quickly and effectively. This is excellent for clean lines. I would be lost without the trace feature as it is really good for cleaning up hand drawn images I scan in for coloring and effects. There are a few more drawing packages I use but I will go into detail about these later. To install Inkscape use the same method as above. For those who want Inkscape for another OS click here

The Operating System

Windows and Mac Os' are not the only operating systems out there. For years now Linux has been the favorite O's for Nerds and Programmers. In fact these days most web servers use Redhat Linux as the Os for their client servers and Redhat Linux is a great free operating system. Though to a large degree you need to be comfortable with Linux scripts and other overly complicated processes to get things to work for you. But not any more, more recent developments in community based open source operating systems. Has lead to the development of Ubuntu.




Ubuntu is an operating system that works well on laptops, desktops and servers. Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to free illustration and 3D software, games and lots of other tools.

Ubuntu is free of charge. You don't pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Ubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing. I highly recommend it for the freeware illustrator. There is often small hurdles to overcome getting software to work correctly but as free Operating Systems go Ubuntu will provide the start up skin flint illustrator all the tools to do business in the graphics world. For my money ( which is none ) it stands out the winner. I have used it for 3 years now running it on 80% of my computers at home either in a virtual machine or a dedicated desktop system.

So Where Are These Free Computers?

Originally I had thought of asking friends, relatives and workmates. Or even going down to the local opportunity/thrift shop, offer my services fixing old computers and try to bag one as payment. But then a friend told me about Freecycle. A community of people vested in recycling. They offer used goods including computers for free to whoever wants them. You just arrange pick up. Click on the link and search for one in your area.



There are also lots of other places. For anyone looking in the U.S you should try craigslist. I Just did a search today and found tonnes of free computers and screens.



And I am sure that a Google search for free computers will find some thing appropriate for any one else. There are also initiatives all over the world that supply free computers to low income earners and third world countries. The Alameda County Computer Resource Center is a great group that supply computers free of charge and help third word countries by supplying computers to schools.

The Free Computer Is It Something To Shun?

These days its unheard of for a designer to seek out an old computer to create graphics on. Nearly all the people I work with want the latest and the best. Every week someone buys a new thing, a gadget or a game or an application. I am forever being asked to give my opinion on how cool something is or check out what this can do, I'm a bit over it. In fact I was over it at least 10 years ago when I realized that I was getting by on a system that was more than a couple of years old and software I hadn't updated for quite a bit. Its not that I can't afford "new stuff". Its just that I am comfortable with what I know and how its working for me. A bit like the old jumper my wife keeps asking me to stop wearing in public. I don't care how it looks it just feels great. Besides computers should last you as long as your mower. I mean when was the last time you needed to buy a new mower?. When was the last time you even got it serviced and if you did service it, were you tempted just to trash it and buy a new one?. It seems we think of our computer as a really important object, a status symbol and we can't be left for dead in the avant garde of the nerdy computer power stakes . It has to be the latest in order to give us some sort of superiority gap between those who don't even use computers and the rest of computing society. Its a bit of a snobbery really.

I have started using a new word in my vocabulary these days also. I am now referring to the computer gadget up daters as Stuffists. people enamored by stuff. Stuffists in my opinion are generally unhappy with everything the way it is. They are a bit like young children and their latest gimmicky toy collection. Its all about the one piece of stuff that no one else has been able to get their hands on. Stuffists also like to snicker about nonstuffists and that's a bit like children too.

Anyway this is not what this blog is about. At least not the stuffists part, I just had to get that off my chest. This blog is about how someone can become a computer illustrator without much money at all. In fact I would like to say its an attempt to help artists old and young, set up a computer for creating artworks on, for absolutely no money at all. According to an article I read in 2007 by Anita Hamilton / Endicott of Time Magazine, 500 million PC were junked in the US alone. It worried me to think at the time, that a percentage of these were still working but only trashed for upgrade reasons. So I began a personal research project to look into the possibility of creating a computer graphics/animation studio that only used free software and was entirely created from free sourced computers and monitors. I originally did want to achieve this in 2008 but as fate would have it the GFC and a new job in New Zealand bought things to an abrupt halt. But my research has left me itching to tell others how it can be done.

But let me answer the question in the title, is a free computer something to shun? . Well not if it still works. Even though older computers are less energy efficient than newer ones, the toxic waste they contribute to landfill is extreme. Not to mention the fact that as old gets trashed new gets made and even more waste gets created for the future. Did you know the lead in a single CCD monitor can be around 2.25 kilograms. To keep this out of landfill is a good thing, especially when the monitor is still in working order. If you give it new life you are helping keeping the planet clean. So what about when its a complete wreck and you do need another?. Well I intend on finding someone who will reprocess the parts and then get another old computer to replace that one.