Krita announced the new major 5.2.0 release few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, and Ubuntu 23.10 via PPA.

Krita 5.2.0 introduced some exciting new features, such as synchronized audio playback, FFmpeg bundle, new text layout engine, new Wide Gamut Color Selector, new actions, CMYK for JEPG-XL, and various tool updates. See the official release note for details.

Krita provides official Linux package through AppImage, which is available to download at the link below:

Once you got the package, just right-click on it and go file ‘Properties’, then enable “Allow executing file as program” under Permissions tab. Finally, right-click and select “Run” to launch the painter.

Krita is also available as Snap and Flatpak packages, though they are both NOT updated to v5.2.0 at the moment of writing.

How to Install Krita 5.2.3 via PPA

For users hate running apps in sandbox, I’ve uploaded the package into this unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 22.04 (arm64 also supported), Ubuntu 24.04, and Ubuntu 23.10.

NOTE 1: This is an unofficial package built against Debian upstream rules. It seems working good, but without well testing!
NOTE 2: For Ubuntu 22.04, the PPA also contains a few updated version of dependency libraries, that MIGHT cause conflict to other packages in your system!

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/krita

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then, either launch Software Updater and upgrade the graphics editor from an old version:

or run the command below in terminal to install/upgrade it:

sudo apt install krita

NOTE: Linux Mint may have to run sudo apt update first.

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA as well as downgrade the Krita package to stock version, run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/krita

Or, open Software & Updates and remove the repository source line under “Other Software” tab (Linux Mint users go to Software Sources -> PPA).

And, remove Krita graphics editor via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove krita krita-data

That’s all. Enjoy!

GIMP image editor released a new update for the 2.10 series few days ago! Here are what’s new and how to install guide for Ubuntu Linux users.

GIMP 2.10.34 is a new stable release features a lot of bug-fixes and a few enhancements. The official announcement is NOT ready somehow at the moment, though it’s released in gitlab project age. And, the source code is available to download at FTP web page.

For macOS, the DBus is now fully disabled as it in some cases could even cause app freeze. Open With feature still work fine, but other features using dbus (such as opening files or running batch commands from a separate GIMP process) won’t work. As well, check for updates function in macOS now works again.

The release also has some backports from the 2.99.x development releases. The “Canvas Size” dialog has been redesigned to use more horizontal space. And, it has new Template selector in resize dialog.

For PDF with transparent area, there’s new “Fill transparent areas with white” option which enabled by default on file import. And export dialog has “Fill transparent areas with background color” option to decide whether use transparent background.

Other changes in GIMP 2.10.34 include:

• Symmetry dockable contents is now shown, yet deactivated, when no images are opened
• Color scale preferences are now remembered across sessions.
• Import JPEG-XL metadata support.
• Export JPEG-XL support, always in 8bit lossless.
• New header with “visible” and “link” icons in item dockables
• Clipping layers better supported when importing PSD files
• Paths are now exported to PSD
• New option “Show reduced images” when loading TIFF images
• 16-bit per channel export for raw image data

How to Install GIMP 2.10.34 in Ubuntu Linux

Option 1: Flatpak

GIMP provides official Linux packages through universal Flatpak package, though it runs in sandbox environment.

Ubuntu user can press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run the following 2 commands one by one to install it:

1. Make sure the flatpak daemon installed by running command:

   sudo apt install flatpak

   

2. Then, install GIMP as Flatpak via command:

   flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

   

Once installed, start it either from app launcher or run flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP in terminal.

Option 2: Ubuntu PPA

For those prefer the classic .deb package format. I’ve uploaded the package into the unofficial PPA, with support for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 22.10.

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to add PPA:

   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

2. Then either upgrade GIMP using Software Updater, or run command in terminal to install it:

   sudo apt install gimp libgegl-0.4-0 libbabl-0.1-0

   For Linux mint, you may need to run sudo apt update to update package index first.

Uninstall GIMP:

For GIMP package installed as Flatpak, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove it:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.gimp.GIMP

Also run flatpak uninstall --unused to clean useless runtime.

For .deb package from PPA, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

The command above will remove PPA and downgrade the GIMP package into stock version in system repository.

For choice, you may remove the PPA instead by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

And remove the GIMP image editor via:

sudo apt remove --autoremove gimp libgegl-0.4-0

For Pinta users who do NOT like the Snap and Flatpak packages that run in sandbox. Here’s how to build the 2.1 release from source tarball in Ubuntu 22.04 & Ubuntu 24.04

Pinta has switch to .NET 6.0 framework since version 2.0, and support .NET 8 via 2.1.2. Which however needs internet connection to fetch something for the first time during the build time. And, most Linux so far still has Pinta v1.x in their system repositories.

Thankfully, building Pinta 2.1 from source is not hard. And, here’s the step by step guide show you how!

1. Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to install .NET 6 as well as dev libraries for building the package.

sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-8.0 debhelper autotools-dev autoconf-archive gettext intltool libgtk-3-dev

2. Next, download the source tarball from github release page (under ‘Assets’ section):

3. Then, extract the tarball in file manager. Right-click on source folder and select “Open in Terminal”.

4. The last step will open a terminal window and automatically navigate to the Pinta source folder as working directory.

In the terminal window, run command to configure the source:

./configure

And, finally compile and install it via:

sudo make install

NOTE: This step needs internet connection if you’re first time using dotnet to build a package. And, it may fail if you’ve ever installed .NET 7.0 but removed (not completely) and use .NET 8.0 now.

If everything’s done without any error, you should now be able to search for and launch Pinta from system start menu (‘Activities’ overview).

Uninstall:

Until you remove the source folder, you can run sudo make uninstall at any time from in that folder to uninstall Pinta package.

If you’ve removed the source folder, re-do the previous steps and replace the last command with sudo make uninstall.

The free and open-source Paint.Net 3.0 clone, Pinta image editor got a new major release after 1 year of development.

The new Pinta 2.1 came with some exciting new features, including WebP image support via webp-pixbuf-loader library, and updated icons with improved support for dark theme and HiDPI displays.

The Gradient tool now has a ‘Transparency Mode‘. The release also adds support for loading files from network drive, meaning user can now open pictures from Google Drive folder.

Other changes in Pinta 2.1 include:

• Update screenshot tool to make it work in Wayland.
• Support images with unknown extension but valid contents.
• Improve canvas rendering performance
• Improve .ora files support.
• Update to .NET7, though .NET6 also supported.
• Various bug-fixes.

How to Install Pinta 2.1 in Ubuntu Linux

Pinta offers official Linux package through both Snap and Flatpak package. Choose either one that you prefer.

NOTE: Both packages now do NOT support for WebP images. Try to build it from source by yourself if you like this feature.

Option 1: Snap package

Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 and higher user can easily install the package from Ubuntu Software. NOTE: There are 2 Pinta packages in Software Center, choose the one from Snap Store.

Option 2: Flatpak package

Pinta is also available to install as another universal Flatpak package format. Just press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, then run commands below one by one to install it.

1. First, install the daemon package in case you don’t have it:

   sudo apt install flatpak

   For the old Ubuntu 18.04, add this PPA first before installing Flatpak.

   

2. Then, install Pinta as flatpak by running command:

   flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.github.PintaProject.Pinta.flatpakref

   

Tip: if you’ve already installed Pinta as Flatpak, run the command below to check updates:

flatpak update com.github.PintaProject.Pinta

Uninstall Pinta:

For the Pinta Snap package, just remove it either using Ubuntu Software app or by running command in a terminal window:

snap remove pina

To remove the Flatpak package, run command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data com.github.PintaProject.Pinta

Also run flatpak uninstall --unused to remove useless run-time libraries.

GIMP image editor got a new update for its 2.99 development release this Friday. Here’s the new features as well as how to install guide for Ubuntu users.

GIMP 2.99.14 is the 7th development release for the next major 3.0 release. It reworked the Align and Distribute tool to make it easy to use. Target items to align or distribute are now the selected layers and/or paths. For layers in particular, a new option “Use extents of layer contents” is available to align or distribute target layers based on their pixel contents.

The Text tool now has new “outline” and “fill” options, to insert text in different styles. For me, it’s no longer required to use ‘Grow…’ and then ‘Stroke Selection’ to do similar job.

This release also introduced a new ‘Gray‘ theme, as well as “Override icon sizes set by the theme” option to resize icons among small, medium, large and huge.

XCF file support is greatly improved with multi-threading support. Saving with default RLE and zlib is now much faster! And, this release introduced initial Apple Silicon package support for macOS users.

Other changes in GIMP 2.99.14 include:

• Transform tools activated automatically
• New “Paste as Single Layer” and “Paste as Single Layer in Place” options in the Edit > Paste as submenu.
• Moving to GApplication and GtkApplication
• Add ‘Root layers only’ option on PDF export.
• export PSD images as CMYK(A) support.
• Metadata import and export for JPEG-XL support.
• Initial support for Apple’s ICNS files.
• Add “Show reduced images” option when importing TIFF.

How to Install GIMP 2.99.14:

The image editor has an official download page for the development releases. It offers the official package for Linux as Flatpak, though there’s also an unofficial PPA for Ubuntu users.

Option 1: Install GIMP 2.99.14 as Flatpak

Ubuntu and most other Linux can install the editor as Flatpak that runs in sandbox. For Ubuntu users, they are generally 3 commands for installing it:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Run command to install the daemon package in case you don’t have it.

   sudo apt install flatpak

2. Then, add the flathub beta repository by running command:flatpak remote-add –user flathub-beta https://flathub.org/beta-repo/flathub-beta.flatpakrepo
3. Finally, install GIMP beta release via command:

   flatpak install --user flathub-beta org.gimp.GIMP

If you already installed the previous GIMP 2.99.12, use flatpak update --user org.gimp.GIMP beta command to update it.

And, if you also have GIMP 2.10 stable release installed as Flatpak, only one of them can be visible in system app launcher. Use either command below to switch between them:

flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP beta

flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP stable

NOTE: skip --user flag if you installed the package system wide without this parameter.

Option 2: install GIMP 2.99.14 from PPA

For those who prefer the classic .deb package format, there’s an unofficial PPA contains the package for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 22.10.

Simply, open terminal from start menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, then run the commands below one by one to add the PPA, update, and install GIMP 2.99.x:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mati75/gimp30

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gimp

NOTE: If you have GIMP 2.10 stable installed as .deb package, the commands above will upgrade it to the latest development release.

To restore the stock GIMP package in system repository, run command to purge the Ubuntu PPA which also downgrade all installed packages:

sudo apt install ppa-purge & sudo ppa-purge ppa:mati75/gimp30

GIMP image editor released a new update for its stable 2.10 release series. Here’s what’s new and how to install in Ubuntu.

GIMP 2.10.32 comes with BigTIFF file import/export support, which is an evolution of the original TIFF format allowing files bigger than 4GiB. It also supports for importing 8 and 16-bit CMYK(A) TIFF in this release.

The release also backported the JPEG XL file format support from the 2.99.8 development release. It’s so far only has import ability, though a third-party plugin is available with both import and export support.

Other changes include:

• New “Flip the image vertically on export” on DDS export dialog.
• Support loading transparent EPS files
• Improved support of TGA indexed images with alpha channel
• new PDB procedure file-bmp-save2 for plugin developer.
• Add localized glyphs (locl) support for Text tool.
• on-hover indicator around the eye and link toggles
• Add “Include mouse pointer” option for Screenshot tool in Windows.

How to Install GIMP 2.10.32 in Ubuntu:

GIMP as Flatpak:

GIMP offers official Linux package via universal Flatpak package.

For, Ubuntu 20.04 and higher, simply press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, and run the command below one by one to install it:

• Install the flatpak daemon via command:

  sudo apt install flatpak

• Then install GIMP via Flatpak using command:

  flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

Ubuntu PPA:

For those do not like sandboxed applications, I’ve uploaded the new release package into this unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 21.10, and Ubuntu 20.04 with amd64 and arm64/armhf CPU architecture types support.

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

Type user password (no visual feedback) when it asks for sudo authentication and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then, refresh system package cache by running command:

sudo apt update

3. And, finally install or update GIMP using command:

sudo apt install gegl gimp

Or, upgrade GIMP image editor via Software Updater after adding the PPA repository:

NOTE: Due to build failure of libjxl library for arm64. The official JPEG-XL plugin is excluded in this PPA for Ubuntu 20.04. You can however run the command below to install the third-party plugin mentioned above to get .jxl file import/export support.

sudo apt install libjxl-gimp-plugin

There are quite a few image editing tools for Linux desktop. ‘Drawing’ is the one that promoted itself a Microsoft Paint alternative for Linux.

The app provides basic editing features, including crop, resize, skew and rotate images, apply simple filters, insert or censor text. As well, it supports for drawing with pencil, straight line, curve tool, many shapes, several brushes, with colors and other common used options.

Drawing. Tools with text

The app is targeted for GNOME, but also works on other desktop, e.g, elementaryOS Pantheon. And, it should also be compatible with the Pinephone and Librem 5 smartphones.

Other features of Drawing include:

• follow system color (light or dark).
• support PNG, JPEG, and BMP.
• Copy to clipboard.
• Keyboard shortcuts.
• Undo/Redo.
• Full-screen mode.

Drawing Dark Mode

How to Install Drawing in Ubuntu:

The app is available in Ubuntu repositories but old! For the latest release, user may use either the Flatpak package, or the Ubuntu PPA.

The Ubuntu PPA so far provides the packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.10, and derivatives, e.g., Linux Mint 20.

1. Add the Ubuntu PPA

Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to add PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cartes/drawing

Type user password (no asterisk) feedback when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. Update package cache:

Ubuntu 18.04 user need to manually refresh package cache after adding new software sources:

sudo apt update

3. Install Drawing:

Finally, install the app via command:

sudo apt install drawing

Remove ‘Drawing’:

To remove the image editing tool, use command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove drawing

And remove the Ubuntu PPA either by running command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cartes/drawing

or use the ‘Software & Updates’ utility under Other Software tab.