Open Source idealism

[Chris P]

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

[Amit Dutta]

Haha, I guess I am a proponent of open source, mostly because it has really worked for me and I do like to look at other models behind the often followed mainstream pushed ones.

I can't argue really that any software is better than another, because it mostly really is a subjective thing especially when it comes to something like painting. Are we going to suggest that Photoshop is better than a stick of burnt wood, when you put the stick of burnt wood in the hand of a DaVinci? My approach is that I truly only see a tool as a tool, and I work within the limitations of any particular tool be it opensource or not.

I suppose then all that remains is the idealism of what I consider a better or alternative model to things. i.e passion over profit can get things done despite the constant barrage of propaganda that this isn't the case; that greed and capitalism is the only model that can possibly create a successful balance in society. ummmm yeah about that...in case you haven't been looking.....we are the 99% people.

I personally have now transitioned to Krita from GIMP because it has a very powerful brush engine, but also has usability pluses that gimp seemed to not have quite solved. There were always a couple of things I knew PS had that Gimp didn't and I made do, but now I don't really have those with Krita. I absolutely love it. I use it for client work with great results! I very much recommend Krita to anyone out there reading this.

I still happily and successfully used GIMP for almost 3 years and would still do so. I will be backing every Krita crowdsourced development project, coming up because I WANT to support the people that do such great work out of passion, not because it is some companies bottom line on profit. But also I have gone onto their forums, and the developers are highly responsive to requests and bug submissions, more so than GIMP appeared to be.

Basically I like to believe that the world might be better with other more democratic models of thought, like opensource, than the tried and (not so true) dominant models that are running the planet into the ground.

:)

[Chris P]

Sure, a better tool doesn't automatically make you a better artists. But nevertheless, there are tools that are better suited than other tools to a given task (like a screwdriver to get a nail into a wall) - and there are tools that are inferior even to their intended task (like a screwdriver with a slippery handle). I really want open source software to succeed. For all the reasons you mentioned. But this "don't judge my software" attitude is part of what is holding it back. Because most people want to use the most ergonomic tools they can get - and rightfully so. They don't mind paying a bit of money for it (or more commonly: pirating it) and they don't care about the philosophy behind it.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first artists to work with oil paint - because it was a new tool that (for him and for what he wanted to achieve) was better suited than the established alternatives at the time. It goes without saying I couldn't paint a Last Supper or a Mona Lisa, regardless of what colors you give me. But Leonardo couldn't have painted them either with egg tempera instead of oil (or at least he didn't want to).

It makes me really happy to hear that the Krita developers are responsive to requests. From everything I've seen about it, Krita seems to do a lot of things right. Unfortunately it is terribly slow on my computer (my hardware is pretty poor), so I'm not using it very often. Good thing improving the performance is one of their goals in the current kickstarter campaign.