Graphic Software List
This is a list of various graphic software, commercial as well as free.
I'll try to keep this list updated. My personal favourites are marked with a *.
Alternative Lists
KenneyNL Adobe Alternative List
General 3D graphic applications
Specialized 3D graphic applications
These are graphic apps that fullfill only a certain part of a 3D toolchain.
|
Name |
Specialization |
License |
|
Quixel |
PBR Texturing, Rendering |
Commercial |
|
MOI3D |
NURBS-based CAD software focused on being easy to use |
Commercial (~300$) |
 |
Substance Designer |
Now an Adobe product. |
Commercial |
|
Substance Painter |
PBR texture painting. Now an Adobe product. |
Commercial |
|
FaceDeform Wrap |
Wrap topology around models. Transfer textures between different topologies. |
Commercioal |
|
Clavicula |
3D software with SDF support Tutorial |
Free (Donations) |
|
MeshLab |
processing and editing of 3D meshes, aimed at raw data produced by 3D digitization tools |
Free  |
|
Cascadeur |
3D keyframe animation of humanoid or other characters |
Free u100k / Commercial |
|
DeepMotion |
AI motion capture from video |
Free / Commercial |
|
Move.AI |
AI motion capture from video |
Free / Commercial |
|
Rokoko Vision |
AI motion capture from video |
Free / Commercial |
|
Akeytsu |
Character skinning and animation software |
Free (Company retired) |
|
Ultimate Unwrap3D |
UV mapping |
Commercial |
|
Headus UVLayout |
UV mapping |
Commercial |
|
RizomUV |
UV mapping |
Commercial |
|
Vectary |
Online modeller |
Free/Commercial |
|
Rigmesh |
Automatic Rigging for Part-Based Shape Modeling and Deformation |
Free |
|
The Grove |
Tree mesh generator |
Commercial |
|
Speedtree |
Tree mesh generator |
Commercial |
|
Simplygon |
Automated 3D Optimization |
Commercial |
|
Marvelous Designer |
Design and Simulation for appearal and clothes |
Commercial |
|
Topogun |
Retopo |
Commercial |
|
CozyBlanket |
Retopo, IPad only đŸ˜£ |
Commercial |
|
xNormal |
Texture Baking |
Free |
|
ArmorPaint |
PBR texture painting |
Commercial |
|
MagicaCSG |
Distant Field Modelling |
Free |
|
plants.jim-fx.com |
Node-based plant modelling DEAD |
Free |
|
Pix4D |
Photogrammetry |
Commercial |
Sculpting applications
| Name |
Notes |
License |
| ZBrush |
|
Commercial |
| Mudbox |
|
Commercial |
| Nomad Sculpt |
IPad/Android tablet based, but Win Version id beta. |
Commercial |
| 3DCoat |
Heavy focus on Paint, Sculpt and Retopo |
Commercial |
| Sculptris |
Bought by Pixologic, not being updated anymore |
Free |
| SculpGL |
|
Free |
| Mesh Moulder |
|
Free |
| Mush3D |
Sculpting on animated geometry |
Commercial |
General 2D graphic applications
| Fav |
Name |
Notes |
License |
|
Photoshop |
Is included in Adobe Creative Suite |
Commercial |
|
Gimp |
|
Free |
|
Affinity Photo |
|
Commercial |
|
PixiEditor 2.0 |
Universal 2D Graphics Editor, including procedural |
Free (Donate) |
Image Viewer applications
| Fav |
Name |
Notes |
License |
|
IrfanView |
Allrounder |
Free |
|
Pico Pixel |
Specialized texture viewer |
Free |
|
Tacent View |
A fast image and texture viewer. Leverages the GPU. |
Free |
Texture generation applications
| Name |
Notes |
License |
| Substance Designer |
PBR Texturing, procedual texturing |
Commercial |
| Material Maker |
open source procedural materials authoring tool |
Free (Donation) |
| Materialize |
Texture and Material Maker |
Free |
| InstaMat |
Software for 3D materials, assets and texturing |
Free < $100k |
| xNormal |
Texture Baking |
Free |
| JSplacement |
Some cool texture generators |
Free |
| FiberShop |
Hair strand texture generator |
Free/Commercial |
| fNabla |
Displacement/Normal/Curvature 2D conversion + Ambient occlusion. Features a commandline interface. (only up to 4k though) |
Free/FairPrice |
| STABLE PROJECTORZ |
3d Inpaint.
Powered by Automatic1111, ComfyUI, StabilityAI, Forge webui |
Free |
| Material Map Generator |
create AI generated Normal maps, Displacement maps, and Roughness maps. |
Free |
Vector graphic applications
| Fav |
Name |
Notes |
License |
|
Illustrator |
Is included in Adobe Creative Suite |
Commercial |
|
Autodesk Graphic |
Only available on Mac |
Commercial |
|
Affinity Designer |
|
Commercial |
|
Graphite |
Innovative, procedural toolbox for 2D content creation. |
|
|
Inkscape |
cross-platform pseudo-random 8K displacement map generator |
Free |
Traditional painting applications
Pixel painting applications
Photo Libraries/Management Apps
Comparison of Open Source Apps
2D Level Editors
| Name |
Notes |
License |
| LDtk |
Level Designer Toolkit, a modern 2D level editor
from the creator of Dead Cells,
with a strong focus on user-friendliness. |
free? |
| Tiled |
|
|
| Name |
Notes |
License |
| Adobe Animate |
"Flash", included in Adobe CS |
Commercial |
| OpenToonz |
Ghibli inspired open source animation software
Aims at professional movie workflow |
Free |
| Wick Editor |
free, open-source tool for creating games, animations, and everything in-between (scripting with JavaScript) |
Free |
| Harmony |
All-in-one
animation solution by Toonboom |
140€/month |
| Jump |
A combo of Harmony and Godot by Toonboom, focused on gamedev. |
Commercial |
| Lottie |
Lightweight, scalable animations for web. Not an Editor though. |
Free / Commercial |
| Spine |
|
Commercial |
| Spriter |
|
Commercial |
| Clip Studio EX |
|
Commercial |
| Dragonbones |
Chinese Animation Software |
Free |
| SVGator |
Online SVG Animator |
Free/Commercial |
| Haiku Animator |
Interesting, but project has been canned as of august 2021. It's open source though. |
Free |
| Name |
Notes |
License |
| SnowB Bitmap Font |
Create AngelCode style bitmap fonts. Offers Stroke and Shadow FX |
free? |
|
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|
|
|
Name Notes License
Lottie Ressources
Graphical User Interface Designers
| Name |
Notes |
License |
| Sketch |
Mac only |
Commercial |
| Adobe XD |
Is included in Adobe Creative Suite |
Commercial |
| Lunacy |
Can import Sketch files |
Free |
| Figma |
Online only |
Free |
Version Control for Graphic
|
Name |
Notes |
License |
|
Snowtrack |
Version Control System for Graphics |
|
|
Anchorpoint |
Git-based solution for creative people. |
|
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