05-14-2015, 08:07 AM
I know there is at least one other vocal proponent of open source software here on Crimson Daggers (Amit Dutta), so lets discuss this topic: how do you feel about it?
My opinion (please excuse the rant):
In theory, open source software is great. It doesn't cost anything, it is made with love and powered by idealism. Also, open source painting software has come a long way in the last few years (Gimp improved a lot if you compare it to older versions - and there's new software like Krita and MyPaint and Drawpile). However, if you honestly compare it with other software, it often just isn't as good. And I don't just mean compared to the big commercial software like Photoshop, but also compared to small obscure japanese (closed source) freeware and shareware tools.
And where open source software fails for me isn't even the big things. Its the small quirks and usability issues that kills it for me (for example in Gimp, that when you resize a layer, the original sized layer stays visible and obstructs your view, so you can't really see what you are doing. Such small things make me really angry.)
I believe the problem is that open source programmers and artists as groups don't intermingle enough. There are a few artists who hang around with the open source crowd, but they are few and far between - and most of them are software developers first and artists second. It probably is a cultural thing: if you want to hang out with the open source kids, you must agree that all immaterial goods should be free. But most artists are reluctant to give their work away for free (Presumably because professional artists don't want to work for free).
On a slightly related note I came across these two crowdfunding campaigns that are currently running:
This one is for making a free 2D animated movie, completely with free software:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zemar...e-software
This one is for adding features to the free painting software Krita:
http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry...evelopment
My opinion (please excuse the rant):
In theory, open source software is great. It doesn't cost anything, it is made with love and powered by idealism. Also, open source painting software has come a long way in the last few years (Gimp improved a lot if you compare it to older versions - and there's new software like Krita and MyPaint and Drawpile). However, if you honestly compare it with other software, it often just isn't as good. And I don't just mean compared to the big commercial software like Photoshop, but also compared to small obscure japanese (closed source) freeware and shareware tools.
And where open source software fails for me isn't even the big things. Its the small quirks and usability issues that kills it for me (for example in Gimp, that when you resize a layer, the original sized layer stays visible and obstructs your view, so you can't really see what you are doing. Such small things make me really angry.)
I believe the problem is that open source programmers and artists as groups don't intermingle enough. There are a few artists who hang around with the open source crowd, but they are few and far between - and most of them are software developers first and artists second. It probably is a cultural thing: if you want to hang out with the open source kids, you must agree that all immaterial goods should be free. But most artists are reluctant to give their work away for free (Presumably because professional artists don't want to work for free).
On a slightly related note I came across these two crowdfunding campaigns that are currently running:
This one is for making a free 2D animated movie, completely with free software:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zemar...e-software
This one is for adding features to the free painting software Krita:
http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry...evelopment