Software
Free costs nothing · Paid costs money (many have free student or learning editions) · FOSS Free and Open-Source Software: free to use, study, change, and share — free as in freedom, not just free of charge.
Our main recommendations
All free, so every student can have them, at home and at school, for as long as they like — and most are truly Free Software.
You can get them right now. Every Download button below goes straight to the official place to get it: the makers' own download pages, free. On Linux, most are also in your distribution's software center or on Flathub.
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Godot Engine
FreeFOSS
One of our primary recommendations for game development: a free, open-source engine for creating 2D and 3D games.
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Blender
FreeFOSS
The complete 3D suite: modeling, sculpting, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, compositing, and video editing.
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Krita
FreeFOSS
Digital painting and drawing: concept art, illustration, textures, and hand-drawn animation.
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Inkscape
FreeFOSS
Vector graphics: logos, diagrams, layouts, and anything that has to stay sharp at any size.
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EzWings and Wings 3D
FreeWings 3D: FOSS
Fast, focused polygon modeling. Wings 3D is the classic; EzWings is our web-based version of it that runs in any browser, with lessons built in Coming soon!
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Kdenlive
FreeFOSS
Video editing: demo reels, tutorials, and short films.
Free and non-free software
Studios use a mix of both. The free tools are the place to start; the paid ones are worth knowing when a job or a studio calls for them, and most offer free editions for students or learning. Each link goes to the official site, where you can get it.
Free
- Download →Godot Engine FOSS2D and 3D game development; a primary recommendation
- Download →Blender FOSS3D, everything
- Download →Krita FOSSpainting and drawing
- Download →Inkscape FOSSvector graphics
- Open in your browser →EzWings3D modeling in the browser
- Download →Wings 3D FOSS3D modeling
- Download →Kdenlive FOSSvideo editing
- Download →Unreal Enginegame engine; free to use, with paid terms for larger commercial projects
- Download →GIMP FOSSimage editing — though we usually steer students to Krita
Non-free
- Maya3D animation and VFX
- 3ds Max3D modeling, games, and visualization
- Photoshopimage editing and painting
- Substance 3Dtexturing and materials
- Nukecompositing
Operating systems
Including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS…
Linux is our favorite. It's fully free, and it is by far the most powerful of the operating systems. But it's in the best interests of students to learn all three of the primary operating systems. Studios use combinations of all three, and a lot of serious animation and VFX studios have their artists' workstations running primarily Linux.
(I, Joe Crawford, got my first taste of it because the company I worked for used an operating system similar to Linux, called Irix. Learning Irix was the first thing I had to do to prep for that job!)
We also teach Linux: installation and administration, power-user workflows, servers, virtual machines, and the cloud. Ask about lessons →
Linux distributions
A Linux distribution ("distro") brings the operating system, software, and update tools together. The right choice depends on your hardware, the apps you need, and how you like to work.
We can help you choose a distribution and get comfortable using it. Linux lessons and guidance →