Free Drawing ProgramsI am fortunate to find a lot of free drawing programs since I spend so much time on the internet. It really is an interesting place. I want to share this free drawing software with you, so you can develop your computer abilities and have some fun at the same time. Free Drawing Program #1PhotoFiltreWhen you are learning to draw, it is fairly daunting when you come across the term "perspective" and what you need to know to portray it accurately. There are a lot of books about perspective but I haven't found the right one for me yet.
So, if all else fails, we can always use grids to assist us along the way! I want to draw this pelican and I'd like to use a grid to help me. I really enjoy using them, it's quite good fun and the results can be outstanding. I found a free program called "PhotoFiltre". This program will take any photo or picture that you have saved to your computer, and it will put a grid over the picture for you. Then it's your choice, you can draw straight from the computer screen, or you can print the gridded picture. You can download PhotoFiltre here. Once you install the program, double click on your Desktop PhotoFiltre icon. The program will open up and you are presented with a blank canvas. To find a photo on your computer, Click on File (along the top), Click Open, and browse your files for the image you wish to experiment with. Make sure you have the original photo saved before you do anything. Once you select your photo, you can now see it displayed on the PhotoFiltre canvas. Here's how to apply the grid to your photo:
 I selected a Width of "2", and I selected "100 pixels" to get the size of squares that I wanted. I left all of the default areas checked as they were. You can select any color grid that you like, black is default. Try out whatever selections suit you, and click "Preview". If you don't like it, click CANCEL and try again. Once you are satisfied with your grid, simply Click OK. Then, under "File", select "Save As", to save this new image to your computer. PhotoFiltre is an image editing software. If you play around with it, it can do a lot more than just adding a grid to your pictures.
Free Drawing Program #2Irfanview
I love Irfanview! It is easy to learn and use. It can reduce the size of your drawings or photos, you can add text over your image, there's heaps of things that you can do. It's a good program to start with because it shows you the basics of image programs, with no huge learning curve. You can move on to more sophisticated programs when you are ready.
There are numerous sites with Irfanview tutorials, and each one shows different features. If you don't find your answers on the page I provided here, you only need to do a search for "Irfanview Tutorials" with your favorite Search Engine. Here is the link to download the Irfanview manual. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions page on their site.
Free Drawing Program #3Paint.net
Click here to download Paint.net The first page is a sponsor's page, just click on the "Get Paint.net" link on the right side. Again, this is an easy program to use once you get the hang of it. It's exciting to learn how to use all the features. It only takes a little bit of adventure on your part. After you download it and you need some help, just scroll down on their home page to find links to tutorials and frequently asked questions. Play with it and see what you can do! Just because these are free drawing programs, it doesn't mean they aren't good quality. On the contrary, they pretty much do everything.
Free Drawing Program #4Microsoft Paint
Paint (formerly Paintbrush for Windows) is a simple graphics painting program that has been included with all versions of Microsoft Windows. It is often referred to as MS Paint or Microsoft Paint. To access it on your computer, click on "Start", -"All Programs", -"Accessories" and you will see "Paint" listed there.
My granddaughter loves this program, she is only 4 years old and it keeps her occupied for ages. She selects a brush and a color and she has a lovely time creating designs on the canvas. I sit there with her, it's quite enthralling to watch. This is a great tip if you have to baby sit sometimes. All you do is click on the symbols on the left and then click as you move your cursor on the page. It'll show you what each icon (or symbol) does. It's a good idea to practice with this before you decide to buy a drawing tablet. Some of the other free drawing programs also have this facility.
Free Drawing Program #5Gimp
I haven't had much time to play with this program, but it is very good and also popular. If you want to download Gimp, look for the "Download" button, at the top of their page. Here is the link to Gimp tutorials for beginners, intermediate and experts. These tutorials will show you everything this program is capable of doing. It really is remarkable, considering it's free.
Thank you to all of the generous people who make these fantastic free drawing programs available to us.
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