Open Source Software List
Open Source Software List
If you have any questions about this software, search it on Google and Youtube.
Youtube is filled with video tutorials for most of these. Do not ask me.
I have not tried all of these, this is simply a record of what I’ve found.
Also, if you find a link that is incorrect or outdated, let me know, I’ll fix it.
SketchUp
http://sketchup.google.com/
Form Z Free
http://www.formz.com/products/formzfree.html
Clustering Views for Multi-view Stereo (CMVS) (Photomodelling, Windows and Linux only, I
think)
http://www.di.ens.fr/cmvs/
VisualSFM (Photomodelling)
http://ccwu.me/vsfm/
Regard3D (Photomodelling)
http://www.regard3d.org/
ManuelBastioniLab
http://www.manuelbastioni.com/
Netfabb Studio Basic (processing and cleaning up of dense 3D meshes, prep for STL printing)
http://www.netfabb.com/basic.php
Nervous System Tools (browser based, organic cellular forms, good for 3d printing)
http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/tools/
Ivy Generator
http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/
http://vivec3d.com/3d-ivy-generator-2012/ (multi-core version, much faster)
DAZ Studio
http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/daz_studio3?_m=d
Anim8or
http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html
MarbleCLAY
http://homepage3.nifty.com/escargot/MCLFrm.html
Art of Illusion
http://www.artofillusion.org/index
Deled CE
http://www.delgine.com
K-3D
http://www.k-3d.org/
Moonlight 3D
http://www.moonlight3d.eu/cms/index.php/about
SmoothTeddy
http://www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/java/smoothteddy/index.html
Wings 3D
http://www.wings3d.com/
Dynamo BIM (Graphical programming interface for building information, Windows only)
http://dynamobim.org/
Open Dental CAD (designing crowns and related dentistry, for Blender)
http://opendentalcad.com/
Video editing
Lightworks
http://www.lwks.com/
Shotcut
http://www.shotcutapp.com/
http://shotcutapp.blogspot.dk/
OpenShot
http://www.openshot.org/
MPEG Streamclip
http://www.squared5.com/
Avidemux
http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/
HyperEngine-AV
http://sourceforge.net/projects/hyperengine/files/
Video Software Development Company (Windows only, might install adware, check reviews)
http://www.videosoftdev.com/
Compositing
Jahshaka (v2.0 was real and very buggy, v3.0 was rumored to be a scam but now seems to be
being worked on)
http://www.jahshaka.com/
Retiming Footage
NanoCAD
http://nanocad.com/
DraftSight
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/
LibreCAD
http://librecad.org/cms/home.html
QCAD (Community Edition)
http://www.ribbonsoft.com/qcad.html
FreeCAD France
http://www.freecad-france.com/
FreeCAD
http://www.freecadweb.org/
Ayam
http://ayam.sourceforge.net/
gCAD 3D
http://www.gcad3d.org/
DoubleCAD XT
http://www.doublecad.com/Products/DoubleCADXTv3/tabid/1100/Default.aspx
BRL-CAD
http://brlcad.org/
Wildcat-CAD
http://code.google.com/p/wildcat-cad/
CADemia
http://www.cademia.org/frontend/index.php?sub=29&ses_id=d47a993c0b9558b68f9f89c122d45
098
PythonCAD
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pythoncad/
MPV player
https://mpv.io/
FBX Review
http://area.autodesk.com/products/features/fbx
MediaCoder
http://www.mediacoderhq.com/
Handbrake
http://handbrake.fr/
MPEG Streamclip
http://www.squared5.com/
Format Factory
http://formatfactory.org/
Arista Transcoder
http://www.transcoder.org/
Video Software Development Company (Windows only, might install adware, check reviews)
http://www.videosoftdev.com/
GIMP
http://www.gimp.org/
Pixel
http://www.kanzelsberger.com/pixel/
Pinta
http://pinta-project.com/
Picasa
http://picasa.google.com/
JTL Ultimate Paint (32 bit Windows only, trial is fully functional)
http://www.ultimatepaint.com/
Whyteboard (basic painting & annotating PDFs, Windows and Linux only)
http://whyteboard.org/
Darktable (RAW processing and digital darkroom, Linux and Mac only)
http://darktable.sourceforge.net
Flaming Pear Free Plugins (Not all silly, some useful ones)
http://flamingpear.com/goodies.html
SumoPaint
http://www.sumopaint.com
Photopea
http://www.photopea.com/
Pixlr
http://www.pixlr.com
Splashup
http://www.splashup.com/
FlauntR
http://www.flauntr.com/
FotoFlexer
http://fotoflexer.com/
GMIC Greyc’s Magic for Image Computing (online filters and effects)
https://gmicol.greyc.fr/
WeVideo
https://www.wevideo.com/
Video Toolbox
http://www.videotoolbox.com/
JW Player Editor
http://jwplayer.mixmoov-studio.com/flex/jwplayer.html
3D Tin
http://www.3dtin.com/
Shapesmith
http://shapesmith.net/
3D Model Exchanging
OD_CopyPasteExternal
https://heimlich1024.github.io/OD_CopyPasteExternal/
Verse
http://quelsolaar.com/verse/index.html
DVDStyler
http://dvdstyler.org/en/
DVD Flick
http://dvdflick.net/
UV Unwrapping
Blender
http://www.blender.org/
UV Mapper Classic
http://www.uvmapper.com/
Kuler Islands
https://vimeo.com/137131326
3D Texture Painting
Tattoo
http://www.terabit-software.co.uk/Tattoo.aspx
Texture Images
Good Textures
http://www.goodtextures.com/
Texture Ninja
https://texture.ninja/
CGTextures
http://www.cgtextures.com/
10ravens Textures
http://www.10ravens.com/textures/
Texturify
http://texturify.com/
Rigging
Caustics Generator
http://www.dualheights.se/caustics/
NeoTextureEdit
http://neotextureedit.sourceforge.net/
MaPZone
http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/
tg (Texture Generator)
http://www.blackpawn.com/dev/tg.html
NoiseLab
https://sites.google.com/site/noiselab15/
MaPZone
http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/
xNormal
http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx
Crazy Bump
http://www.crazybump.com/
HDRI Software
Luminance HDR
http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/
Smart IBL
http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/sibl-edit.html
http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/index.html
http://www.hdrlabs.com/picturenaut/index.html
3D matchmoving
Icarus
http://web.archive.org/web/20021203195907/aig.cs.man.ac.uk/icarus/index.php
Vector illustration
Inkscape
http://inkscape.org/
SVG-edit
http://svg-edit.googlecode.com/svn/branches/2.6/editor/svg-editor.html
Janvas
http://www.janvas.com/
Chittram
http://www.chittram.com/
Fractal Generators
Qosmic
http://code.google.com/p/qosmic/
Apophysis
http://apophysis.org/
Mandelbulber
http://www.mandelbulber.com/
Oxidizer (Mac only)
http://oxidizer.sourceforge.net/Site/Oxidizer.html
Autotrace Online
http://www.roitsystems.com/cgi-bin/autotrace/tracer.pl
2D animation
Pencil 2D
http://www.pencil2d.org/
qStopMotion
http://www.qstopmotion.org/
MonkeyJam
http://monkeyjam.org/
Sketching/Natural media/Art/Painting
MyPaint
http://mypaint.org/
Creo Sketch
http://www.ptc.com/products/creo/sketch/
Audio
Audacity
http://www.audacityteam.org/
Ocenaudio
http://www.ocenaudio.com/
Qtractor
https://qtractor.sourceforge.io/
Music Scoring
Rosegarden
http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/
AudioSauna
http://www.audiosauna.com/
Video Software Development Company (Windows only, might install adware, check reviews)
http://www.videosoftdev.com/
Trelby (Windows and Linux only, Mac coming soon, works with Final Draft formats)
http://www.trelby.org/
Celtx
http://www.celtx.com/
KIT Scenarist
https://kitscenarist.ru/en/index.html
Free Film Software (Windows only, special instructions for Windows 7 users)
ScriptMaker (screenwriting)
Slang (story development)
Storyboard Tools (storyboard management)
http://www.freefilmsoftware.co.uk/
WPS Office
https://www.wps.com/office-free
Fountain (some kind of framework for text in screenplay format, I’m not sure)
http://fountain.io/
Scanning Software
VueScan
http://www.hamrick.com/
Web design
Kompozer
http://kompozer.net/
BlueGriffon
http://bluegriffon.org/
NVU
http://net2.com/nvu/
Scribus
http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus
PagePlus
http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/
Pepakura Designer 3
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Font creation
FontForge
http://fontforge.sourceforge.net/
Fontstruct
http://fontstruct.com/
Birdfont
http://birdfont.org/
PDF editing
PDFforge
http://www.pdfforge.org/
PDFsam
http://www.pdfsam.org/
Ebook Management
Calibre
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Novel writing
yWriter
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html
Thumbnail Viewer
Zip compression
7zip
http://www.7-zip.org/
CamStudio
http://www.camstudio.org/
AutoScreenRecorder 3.1
http://wisdom-soft.com/products/autoscreenrecorder_free.htm
PicPick
http://picpick.org
DrQueue
http://www.drqueue.org/cwebsite/
RenderChan
https://morevnaproject.org/renderchan/
http://tracksperanto.guerilla-di.org/
Valentina
http://valentina-project.blogspot.ru/
https://bitbucket.org/dismine/valentina
Gliffy
http://www.gliffy.com
Lucid Chart
https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/flow-chart
Image Viewer
Irfanview
http://www.irfanview.com/
FastStone
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
MaCrea
http://drpetter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sculptris&action=print&thread=889
GeoGebra
http://www.geogebra.org/cms/
OrangeScrum
https://www.orangescrum.com/
Peragro
http://damn.csproject.org/
GanttProject
http://www.ganttproject.biz/
Tindio
http://e-pool-productions.github.io/tindio/
FTP transfer
Filezilla
https://filezilla-project.org/
CKRename
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/File-Management/CKRename.shtml
1-4a Rename
http://www.1-4a.com/rename/
Backup Software
FreeFileSync
http://freefilesync.sourceforge.net/
Cobian Backup
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm
Keyfinder
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/
Programming Language for Digital Artists
Processing
http://processing.org/
Game Engine
Free 3D Models/Assets
HDRI images
http://www.hdri-hub.com/hdrishop
http://www.openfootage.net/
http://www.moofe.com/
http://hdrmaps.com/freebies
Free Footage
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/greenscreenplates.html
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/trackingplates.html
Free music
http://musopen.org/
http://www.freesound.org/
http://audiojungle.net/ (only one free track a month)
Free Serif Starter Editions (You can purchase versions of these with more features)
Page Plus - desktop publishing
Web Plus - web design
Movie Plus - video editing
Draw Plus - vector graphics
Photo Plus - image editing
Panorama Plus - panorama stitching
Craft Artist Compact - digital scrapbooking
http://www.serif.com/FreeDownloads/
My Personal Recommendations
As a visual effects artist interested in every aspect of the art, I've professionally used, dabbled
with, or at least understand all the expensive commercial software used in that industry. I've
also used quite a few things on this list. I've come up with a comparison list.
- If you want 3dsMax, Maya, Softimage, Lightwave, or Cinema 4D, get Blender. It can do just
about everything, and sometimes far more, than most of those programs.
- If you want After Effects, Nuke, Fusion, or Shake, get Natron or Blender. Both are wonderful
node based compositing programs.
- If you want Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, or Avid, get Lightworks, Shotcut, or Blender.
Lightworks is only on Windows so far, but Blender has a decent video editing program built in.
Shotcut may still be a bit buggy, but usable.
- If you want Adobe Photoshop, get GIMP. Krita can also do everything Photoshop can, but
GIMP’s interface is more like Photoshop.
- If you want Adobe Flash, get Synfig Studio.
- If you want Corel Painter, get Krita or MyPaint.
- If you want Adobe Illustrator, get Inkscape.
- If you want texture painting programs like Mari and BodyPaint, get Blender.
- If you want a digital sculpting program like Zbrush or Mudbox, get Blender.
- If you want 3D matchmoving/tracking software like Boujou and Syntheyes, get Blender.
(By this point, if you are not amazed at what Blender can do, you must be crazy!)
- If you want Microsoft Office, get Libre Office. It reads and writes every file Microsoft Office can
read or write, and I actually think Writer is nicer than Word.
- If you want Final Draft, get Trelby.
- If you want Adobe InDesign or Quark Xpress, get Scribus.