Affinity for Linux? Canva's next big move could reshape the desktop software market
Posted by ImNotThatPokable@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 303 comments
NetNOVA-404@reddit
Pleaseeee! This would be amazing. Already switched off Adobe due to their practices. I want to get away from windows too, and Affinity is one of my most used tools.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
Do you know how good affinity is for publishing? My wife suffers under the forced yoke of Adobe CC for in design, with some Vector graphics work and Photoshop as well.
Maskdask@reddit
Valve’s Proton: am I a joke to you?
gatornatortater@reddit
Yea.. no kidding. It is a big deal in that it may likely force adobe to do the same... but they're not adobe, and even if adobe did start making linux versions, that isn't as big of a deal to nearly as many people as what Valve has done.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
Never underestimate the complacency of incumbency. I don't think they will port any time soon. Adobe is making tons of money but spending the good will of their customers as if the money will never stop flowing and people will never consider alternatives. I don't know how well their exploitative business model will do with people who left Windows or want to leave windows because of Microsoft's exploitative business model.
A lot of their customers are also on Mac and not really enamored with PC.
gatornatortater@reddit
No. I don't see them doing anything soon either. They probably won't realize they need to do anything until it is practically too late.
And I guess we are talking at least a year or 2 before Affinity could finish rewriting everything to make the first version. Then the time for it to catch on and get to a decent level. Definitely 5+ years if we're being optimistic. But I am not convinced that Affinity will do this, so probably 10+ years. I won't be holding my breath.
They were mainly a mac based company in the beginning.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
From a quick Google search affinity for Windows is built with C# and WPF. dotnet is already available on Linux and Valonia UI is very close to WPF and supports Linux. So I don't think it will take 10 years.
I just looked and according to google:
Alejandro9R@reddit
The final nail in the coffin for Adobe Software. The rest of the line have already pretty good alternatives, if not better:
figma-linux, being mostly web based it just works.Pretty sure more specialized software might not be available on Linux still, but with this move from Affinity, combined with the rest of stuff that's been happening for the last couple of years, it will pave the way for Linux to overshadow Windows. At least in the creative industry.
blackbasset@reddit
Still absolutely absurd that gimp and audacity are even remotely considered useful alternatives to anything.
sartres_@reddit
Audacity has its uses. If you need to do a couple simple operations quickly it's way easier than booting up a full DAW.
Gimp is pointless though, it sucks at everything. We would get more creative professionals on Linux if people would stop putting it on lists like this.
FrozenLogger@reddit
Oh bullshit.
sartres_@reddit
It was a decent photoshop alternative in 2007. Photoshop has advanced a lot since 2007. If you're using Gimp in 2025, you are learning wrong, out-of-date workflows that don't transfer and make everything harder than it needs to be. To get an idea of how far behind it is: Photoshop has had non-destructive editing since 1995. Krita and Affinity have had it for over a decade. Gimp got it six months ago.
FrozenLogger@reddit
Like I said to another commentor, yes CMYK and non destructive editing and layer management were gimps mmbiggedt downfalls.
But "modern workflows" what does that even mean? There are still a lot of things I can do in gimp in one step that take 3 or more in Photoshop.
It isn't your work flow, it isn't what adobe has got you to do by habit that is what you are saying.
sartres_@reddit
I don't even use Photoshop, I use Affinity. Not a fan of Adobe.
But yes, while I am thinking of smart objects and filters and CMYK and various features like that, that's not what really annoys me about Gimp. It's the super basic stuff.
Take masking out an object, one of the most basic features in a photo editor. In Photoshop, you click "Remove background" and you're done. In Affinity, you click the AI select tool, click the subject, and you're done. In Gimp, even with the new v3 tool, it's a multi-minute process with manual painting and refinement. It's just a bad use of time.
FrozenLogger@reddit
AI? Why use a photo editing tool at all. Save even more time. Prompt: remove background.
Arent there a billion remove background tools at this point? I know that wasnt your point, but I mean for this example, you don't need any of these tools.
sartres_@reddit
I'm very sympathetic to arguments against using AI for creative purposes, but I don't think removing a background benefits involves human creativity.
That's not my point, though. The problem isn't just AI features. I could use most other basic functionality, like making a solid color shape, or dodge and burn, or any of the many missing features that require interacting with its clunky, half-functional plugin ecosystem.
FrozenLogger@reddit
Shapes? What why do I want shapes?
Dodge and burn? A little more polished in Photoshop, but completely doable in gimp in a couple of ways, one leveraging gegl. But you can tye plugins half functional.
Look I get it, you like to complain about gimp, while I like to use it. You spend more time hurling insults than anything else.
sartres_@reddit
Fair enough. I don't hate Gimp or anything, it's ultimately a well-meaning open-source project and that's not something to hate. I complain about it because I wish the development effort that goes into it would go to Krita instead. If the community united behind the best project, we could someday have an OSS image editor able to beat out the corporate ones, like Blender has for 3d.
CMYK-Student@reddit
Vector layers and link layers (layers that link and monitor external files, which can be transformed non-destructively) are now in our 3.2 release candidate, hopefully to be included in the stable release in the near future. So we're doing our best to include more modern workflows! :)
If you have time, could you tell more about "far greater control of layer effects"? We've gotten some praise that GIMP's NDE filters have less restrictions than Photoshops (as in, you can apply any filter to any type of layer or group, rather than requiring raster layers to be converted to smart objects first). Is it that certain filters have more options than GIMP/GEGL's version?
FrozenLogger@reddit
Awesome! That is good news.
What I was alluding to about layer controls was things like being able to add multiple copies of the same affect on a layer and then being able to re-order them or toggle each independently. Maybe I can do that now in GIMP? I am not sure.
There also are things like per effect blend and opacity: layer is 100%, but I have a shadow at 50% and overlay at 30%.
Not that it is something I cant do in gimp, but it is not in a single control or a single place.
Does that make sense?
CMYK-Student@reddit
Thanks! Yes, in 3.0+ you can add multiple non-destructive filters to a layer/group/channel and reorder/edit/delete/toggle them on and off. You click on the Fx icon next to their name in the layer dock to access those options. We want to improve on the design of the UI to make it more obvious, but that will involve fighting GTK3 a bit. :)
You can also adjust the opacity of the NDE filters when you create or edit them. We did get a request for more blending options, so we're looking into that.
FrozenLogger@reddit
I really appreciate the tips!
blackbasset@reddit
Yes, but people recommend Audacity as a replacement for everything audio. "Oh yeah you don't need ableton on linux, you have audacity! thats basically the same!" It does not even have nondestructive, adjustable effects, ffs.
And as you said, people followed those "recommendations" for years and were laughing confused after closing GIMP and audacity after five minutes. Good thing things have changed drastically, but we need to omit Audacity and GIMP from those lists if we ever want to be taken seriously.
Nelo999@reddit
Nobody recommends Audacity as a replacement for other DAW's mate.
People usually recommend tools like Reaper and Ardour.
blackbasset@reddit
That might not be true in the last couple of years, but for literally decades, people were saying "LINUX IS A SUITABLE REPLACEMENT FOR EVERYTHING WINDOWS! EVEN FOR AUDIO, WE GOT AUDACITY!!!" as if "clipping the end of a wav file" is the only audio editing ever needed.
Nelo999@reddit
I haven't really noticed this myself, perhaps such attitudes have changed recently which is good.
p0358@reddit
Audacity will get a major overhaul soon, don’t cross it out just yet
Jacksaur@reddit
KDenlive has been exceedingly buggy and stuttery all the times I've tried it.
I'd recommend anything over that.
FrozenLogger@reddit
I have Kdenlive and Davinci Resolve. I pretty much am only using Kdenlive now, as their are no limitations - where Resolve has format for a fee limits.
In any case, I havent had any issues with it in a long time. It used to occasionally crash maybe 3 years ago, but as of today I have no issues jumping in and editing an hour long multi track video/audio with wipes and effects.
midnightGR@reddit
I tried all the video editors on linux the other day. They all suck. Even for basic stuff. The only one that I didnt try is davinci resolve.
blackbasset@reddit
Strange, I use it for video (and, sometimes, audio) all the time and it was really smooth and capable. (But I use an appimage, for some reason I can't remember)
External_Tangelo@reddit
Audacity is a great program for simple audio tasks. The bigger issue is with full feature DAWs. Reaper and Bitwig are great programs but they are very much on the less user-friendly end of the scale, you really have to be comfortable with tinkering and have a decent idea of what you want to do. Ardour and LMMS are even worse. There’s nothing available for Linux in the same category as Ableton or Logic which are very much beginner friendly DAWs
blackbasset@reddit
LLMS is stuck in a "nice toy to learn what a step sequencer and piano roll is"-phase and missed some years of development. But your criticism of Bitwig and Reaper does not make sense - they can be used as professional DAWs, of course they have a learning curve; apart from the quality of the Plugins and Presets that come with the software, I like bitwig waaayyy more than FL Studio.
External_Tangelo@reddit
A true audio professional can use whatever DAW they feel most comfortable with, my point was that 80-90% of DAW users are amateurs who just want to mess around and it’s way easier to do that on Ableton or Logic than Reaper or Bitwig. Anyways at least in my case, Ableton (and Premiere) is the only reason I keep a Windows partition
Nelo999@reddit
Bitwig was created by former Ableton employees, it is literally an Ableton clone.
Reaper is actually easy to use as well.
Same with Ardour.
The same cannot be stated for the likes of ProTools though.
DaVinci Resolve is also better and more intuitive than Premiere Pro.
Less prone to crashes too.
blackbasset@reddit
That's true - apart from, maybe, Audacity. Uunless they like limitations and weirdness.
External_Tangelo@reddit
I wouldn’t call Audacity a DAW, it’s just a (very good) basic audio editor. Audacity is like MSPaint where a program like Ableton is Photoshop
blackbasset@reddit
The problem is, people recommended it as an alternative to professional DAWs for years, which is ridiculous.
ello_darling@reddit
Audacity is used loads in academia in the UK.
hovoid@reddit
Paid for an account with Canva and tried to complete a project. Gave up due to lack of finer control. As a linux user, that meant it was back to gimp which I have hated in the past, mainly because I don't use it enough to develop any expertise. Surprise, surprise, these days you simply co-pilot with some AI chatbot and lo, you can get stuff done fairly painlessly. That's how I became a gimp lover.
Qweedo420@reddit
Why do you think Affinity has a lack of finer control? As a professional photographer, I think the only issue with Affinity is that it generally takes more clicks to get the job done compared to Photoshop, and sometimes even compared to Krita, but other than that, it's as good as Photoshop
ArrayBolt3@reddit
My workplace uses GIMP and Inkscape almost exclusively for our professional artwork, and the stuff we make comes out good. The only real feature I see missing from GIMP is CMYK support (which is probably going to be here eventually(TM)), other than that I think it's just a layout difference. I'm so used to GIMP that I would almost certainly have the same trouble trying to use Photoshop that others have trying to use GIMP.
CMYK-Student@reddit
Working on it: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/-/merge_requests/2379 :)
We're going to be releasing GIMP 3.2 in the near future, and then full CMYK mode is on the road map for the 3.4 release. Feedback and suggestions for what features you'd need for your CMYK workflow are appreciated!
(Martin Owens is doing a lot of great work in implementing CMYK in Inkscape as well)
ArrayBolt3@reddit
Awesome! I'm already using GIMP 3 regularly and have been using it since I was a child (literally). I don't actually have a CMYK workflow yet (I'm lucky enough to only have RGB stuff to work with), I just know I looked into it briefly when looking into making print-ready artwork at one point. Thank you all for making an awesome program!
Nelo999@reddit
Audacity is actually a decent audio editor and is even used by professional musicians.
I agree that GIMP is subpara nd lackluster though.
dogman_35@reddit
Audacity's not an alternative because it's the only tool that does what it does lol
Like, literally everyone that does YouTube has touched Audacity at some point.
mailslot@reddit
To be fair, Blender did not start off as open source. It was a failed commercial product.
monocasa@reddit
I wouldn't say Star Office failed as a commercial product. The company was bought by Sun specifically to open source as a "commoditize your complement" move.
mailslot@reddit
It has a 3% market share at peak and wasn’t very profitable. That’s why the entire office suite sold for around $60m.
monocasa@reddit
I mean, it was profitable though. That and a $60M exit for what was a tiny team with no VC funding is a good outcome.
mailslot@reddit
No, no it’s not, especially if you worked there. How small did you think it was? Peanuts.
AcridWings_11465@reddit
In what world is 300k$ peanuts?
monocasa@reddit
There were about 200 total employees.
And it's a great outcome for the employees. They became Sun Microsystems employees overnight.
edparadox@reddit
I fail to see where you're going with this.
I_Arman@reddit
Some open source projects are simple graphical overlays on top of command line tools; others have learning curves like a brick wall. Either way, they usually started with someone saying "I wanna write a program that does XYZ". Blender on the other hand starting as a commercial project means that UI/UX took center stage, and it has a lot more polish and usability than GIMP or imagemagick.
RetroDec@reddit
while i hate gimp, god bless whoeve made image magick. I despise converting formats, it's always a hastle, yet somehow with magick I can always fumble my way through without rtfm'ing nor looking stuff up on the web
Indolent_Bard@reddit
Thankfully, now that they're finished porting it to GTK3 finally, there's a serious effort to completely revamp its interface, complete with a GitLab project specifically for that.
Helmic@reddit
if they pull that off and become a serious professional tool like i'll eat crow. it's just very hard to imagine the people that could not be assed to change the name when it came to their attention that it's an ableist slur are genuinely capable of following the lead of actual professionals when it comes to UX. not to mention the still significant feature gap they're dealing with.
Indolent_Bard@reddit
they actually addressed the name issue on their mastadon: tldr it's not just a name change, they'd have to change it for documentation, legal stuff, the website would have to be re-registered under a new domain, it's a LOT of work, but they're looking to change it.
Actually, you could probably write a proposal for the gitlab. I've been meaning to do that myself. I feel Imp is close enough to retain the familiarity.
MrKiwimoose@reddit
Bro the original blender interface was being hated on by everyone. Blender got all it's polish and usability way (\~20 years) past it's shift to being open source
Helmic@reddit
yeah, the reason blender got a good UI wasn't because it started with one, it got a good UI because they actually fucking talked to industry professionals and asked them what they needed and then made decisions based on that, as opposed to say GIMP's "my way or the highway" approach where nobody who actually does photo editing or illustration or any sort of image work for money really seems to have had significant input on the direction GIMP took.
it's extra frustrating given how blender was talking to people who make actual movies and shit, whereas GIMP failed to effectively communicate with photo editors and graphic designers and 2D artists and so on who are all infinitely more reachable. you don't exactly need to be connected to get in touch with someone that makes billboard ads or what have you and figure out what they need to do their job well.
CMYK-Student@reddit
Hi! For the record, we do actively solicit feedback from users and potential users - we even have a dedicated UX repo to discuss designs and implement after consensus is reached. We also do talk regularly to graphics professionals, some of whom are on our "advisory committee" (I don't know the official name for it).
It takes time to implement everything though given how many active developers we have, and every feature we add for one group of users means we're not yet working on features requested by other groups. GIMP 3.2 should be out in the nearish future (release candidate 2 is planned for early December) with new vector and "smart object"/link layer support, and our plans for 3.4 are pretty cool too.
Anyway, everyone's free to like and use whatever software they want! I just wanted to correct that we're not actively hostile towards change or improvements in GIMP.
nasduia@reddit
Early Blender in the early 2000s was a 'unique' and incredibly confusing interface. It has come a long way since then.
Hithaeglir@reddit
If Affinity fails, we may see new superior open-source project!
bunnythistle@reddit
DaVinci Resolve used to require purchasing a purpose-built computer to run it, at a cost of $200,000 to $800,000.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20190426153430/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100413006446/en/Blackmagic-Design-Revolutionizes-Color-Correction!
Standard-Potential-6@reddit
dead URL?
TheTilde@reddit
The real URL (because the exclamation mark was lost in the link):
https://web.archive.org/web/20190426153430/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100413006446/en/Blackmagic-Design-Revolutionizes-Color-Correction!
SEI_JAKU@reddit
Nothing "fair" about this incredibly specious summary.
AndreaCicca@reddit
Even better
chroniclesofhernia@reddit
Also Krita is pretty great - though I still prefer Clip Studio Paint. CSP 4.0 is probably best described as silver compatibility wise, but it works.
Nelo999@reddit
CSP is better when it comes to animations, Krita beats most paid software out there when it comes to illustrations.
RetroDec@reddit
Why is csp so good for manga? Am currently using krita and while I am happy with how it's working so far, I did hear this opinion quite a bit
FattyDrake@reddit
It has a lot of features specifically for the creation of comics including very detailed layout features and templates. The 3D layers help with streamlining workflow too between panels. You can import a 3D scene and adjust it panel to panel so you can focus on character work.
Those are just two off the top of my head. But it is very well known for focusing on the needs of comic artists.
RetroDec@reddit
still concerned with it working on linux, though that does sound nice. Never having finished a one shot I do wonder what would it fee like workflow improvement wise.
mell1suga@reddit
It kinda can work on linux but with some good amount of tweaks. Mostly Wine but you also needs Edge bc that's where the launcher render from. Can see peepo at r/ClipStudio tho.
Riding on CSP in animation pipeline, OpenToonz is a good addition for heavier/the rest of the pipeline, from vector lining to coloring to composition etc etc. You can export your shots from CSP to OpenToonz for further works.
RetroDec@reddit
edge as in microsoft edge? what?
also am I the only one that is pissed off at everything having a launcher? I just want to turn on the app man
mell1suga@reddit
Yes, MS Edge. I got my Windows nuked and reinstalled not too long ago, I had CSP downloaded and installed right after installed necessary drivers but before Windows updates. CSP launcher ended up almost unusable due to MS Edge wasn't up-to-dated.
Yeahhhhhhhh that.
TWB0109@reddit
Curious, how do you use CSP? I mean, as far as I know Tablet support in wine/proton is close to none.
FattyDrake@reddit
I got pressure sensitive tablets to work with CSP thru Bottles and setting the stylus to mouse mode within CSP.
Alejandro9R@reddit
added Krita to the list, thanks for mentioning it!
burimo@reddit
While Gimp is really powerful, it feels like a design app made for tech people. Krita is loved by artists both on Linux and windows though!
images_from_objects@reddit
Dude, I'm sorry but Darktable is "better than Lightroom for editing?"
Are you actually basing this on anything? Because, yeah no.
Qweedo420@reddit
I despise Adobe, but Lightroom is so much better if you just wanna get the job done as quickly as possible
What we would really need on Linux, however, is CaptureOne, it's simply the best
images_from_objects@reddit
I was using Capture One a lot, maybe 10 years ago and I loved it. For whatever reason I mostly used it after I had already heavily culled and was just working on getting a handful of photos delivery-ready. I eventually got too lazy and just made a bunch of my own LR presets to batch apply, then do minor tweaks. It's such a huge time investment to get past the learning curve and develop muscle memory and efficiency that switching to any other work flow at this point doesn't appeal to me whatsoever. So I'm an Adobe slave for life, I guess. The silver lining is that I just pirate it anymore. Oops.
Nelo999@reddit
Lighroom is more polished than Darktable, but the latter can give you better results.
Capture One Pro is indeed the industry standard tool used by most professional photographers out there, as they do not tend to use Lightroom that often.
Nelo999@reddit
Darktable is more powerful and has more options than Lightroom mate.
It had better masking features for long time and is still way ahead with features like chrome sliders.
Besides, if Lightroom is so "good" as you lads say, then how come most professional photographers primarily use Capture One Pro instead?
images_from_objects@reddit
Again, you are basing this on...?
Tonking_Ricebowl@reddit
Agreed while I hope they get there one day as of now they are not there yet
images_from_objects@reddit
Me too! I would LOVE a FOSS photo editing and organizing app that could bury Lightroom, but unfortunately none of them are really in the same league, feature or polish-wise.
Nelo999@reddit
Professional photographers like Nick Long on YouTube, tend to disagree.
images_from_objects@reddit
Yeah I'm also one of those, but hey. If Nick Long from YouTube says I'm wrong I guess I'm wrong.
giggles91@reddit
Ansel (darktable fork by one of the devs) is looking a bit more promising, even if it's still in alpha. Darktable has become way too bloated in the last few years.
ares623@reddit
Yeah. I tried really hard to be all-in on using Darktable. It just plain suuuucks, no sugar coating can help it. I crawled back to Windows and use Capture One now at least it's not Adobe.
pppjurac@reddit
Even compared to 10y old desktop Lightroom Darktable is not that great.
dumpaccount882212@reddit
Krita "evolving pretty good" must be the most underhanded compliment.
Krita is an award winning illustration software that is probably the gold standard with most illustration software, its open source, its free to use (please donate) and its used by a huge swath of professional illustrators for this very reason.
(the reason I swapped to Linux back in the day)
GirlInTheFirebrigade@reddit
I love Krita and use it often, but I still run into regular crashes and I‘m not sure why
LumpyDumpkin@reddit
Are you using more RAM than you have allocated?
GirlInTheFirebrigade@reddit
don’t think so. My machine has 64 Gigs and I‘m not working with particularly complex shapes
LumpyDumpkin@reddit
Hmm...could just be an unresolved bug then. I wish I could be more help.
GirlInTheFirebrigade@reddit
tbh, I‘m not a power-user… i used it to design pride versions of a company logo and some designs for laser engraving. I won‘t die even if it crashes sometimes
Hot-Employ-3399@reddit
You can even do it on steam/egs/Mac store/ms store
Mediocre-Struggle641@reddit
The animation tools are sweet too.
TWB0109@reddit
FR, Krita is insanely good, I'm not the greatest digital artist, but Krita is just amazing.
Nelo999@reddit
Indeed, many indie game development studios actually rely on Krita.
Both Blender and Krita are professional software.
The same cannot be stated for GIMP though.
Nelo999@reddit
Indeed, the next challenge is some music production and DJ software such as Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, Rekordbox, Traktor Pro, Serato and Virtual DJ.
Then goodbye crappy Windows forever.
Ugly_Slut-Wannabe@reddit
Bitwig is freaking great. Seriously, give it a try. I personally found it way more intuitive during a first use than both FL Studio and Ableton. The default plug-ins and presets are great and perfectly fit for a lot of musicians. And it has a NATIVE Linux version.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
Bitwig is absolutely amazing. I switched from FL studio and it just blows FL out of the water. The new version is even better. And I feel like it's so deep that I've barely scratched the surface.
Nelo999@reddit
Indeed, I forgot about it too.
tesfabpel@reddit
there's Bitwig for a commercial DAW
Nelo999@reddit
Indeed, I forgot about it too.
jmantra623@reddit
Have you tried Ardour, Bitwig, or Reaper? You can also find more plugins and DAWs at linuxdaw.org
Nelo999@reddit
Of course, use Ardour and Reaper occasionally for audio editing(I am a hobbyist though)and while they are fantastic, more options would be even better.
Temporary_Medium4339@reddit
Presonus Studio One has a native Linux version too now.
LumpyDumpkin@reddit
The DAW situation is good, but not the VST situation. There's yabridge, but we need something more straightforward and native.
Emotional-Display766@reddit
I don't know how good it is, but there is a FOSS virtual DJ software called Mixxx
Gabryoo3@reddit
If only Davinci let MP4 H264 encoding and decoding on the free version
jixbo@reddit
The studio license is pretty affordable for the market, 300$ for a lifetime license.
But you can crack it with a single command if you google.
And for exporting there is a plugin:
https://github.com/EdvinNilsson/ffmpeg_encoder_plugin/
Time_Way_6670@reddit
Studio version allows H264.. and that’s the better version anyway because it uses GPU acceleration. The free version on any OS uses the CPU only and it’s slow as molasses.
The only issue is the lack of AAC audio support, but I created a bash script that uses Ffmpeg to transcode my aac mp4 files to have flac audio. Takes a couple of seconds to run. I even put it in the context menu in KDE.
p0358@reddit
Did you pay for Studio? Does GPU acceleration still require AMD’s PRO(prietary) drivers?
Time_Way_6670@reddit
I have Studio. You can either pay for it or you can unlock it through…. Other methods. Not saying you should do that but I’ve seen it be done on here.
No clue if it specifically requires AMD’s proprietary driver. It does work with AMD graphics cards now, but I don’t know if you need the Pro driver.
However, it does require the NVIDIA proprietary driver to be installed if you use an NVIDIA card. I use it with NVIDIA proprietary drivers and it works exceptionally well.
AvidCyclist250@reddit
I made a script for that. Takes like 10 seconds to run a 4gb through it.
Nelo999@reddit
Just use Handbrake mate, this is what I personally do.
Works flawlessly, better than Windows performance performance wise.
Gabryoo3@reddit
Yeah I know
sanyarajan@reddit
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/H.264
-venkman-@reddit
Figma has not been acquired by adobe?
Jazzlike_Plastic7088@reddit
Resolve depends on hardware but there are still other options that can do straightforward solid work
DeltyOverDreams@reddit
I've managed to successfully run it on Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPUs - what other brand do you use that makes it dependable on specific hardware?
Jazzlike_Plastic7088@reddit
Amd gpus? I use all amd on my mini pc. Primarily I use Kdenlive as Davinci Resolve gave me issues but Ive also never use the paid version. Are you using free or paid?
DeltyOverDreams@reddit
On AMD I only used free version. Studio on Nvidia and Intel.
What kinda issues you're talking about?
Afillatedcarbon@reddit
I have had issues with running resolve on wayland with an older Nvidia card
DeltyOverDreams@reddit
It must've been quite some time ago, since they fixed it with Resolve 19
Afillatedcarbon@reddit
Didn't work for me on nixOS 25.11 unstable
https://github.com/nixos/nixpkgs/issues/341634
It might just be the nix packages but yeah
Jazzlike_Plastic7088@reddit
Im trying to remember now lol, its been a while. I see you use Fedora as well
Debisibusis@reddit
Resolve Studio works flawlessly with amdgpu.
AlexMullerSA@reddit
Is Darktable able to do masking like thebwindows alternatives? Like subject, sky, background etc without having to manually paint in a mask? Also, can it do noise reduction and upscaling to the same level?
Nelo999@reddit
It can obviously do all of those things, however it lacks AI based automation features.
Some people consider this an advantage even, since they prefer to avoid AI as much as possible.
AlexMullerSA@reddit
I mean it depends on the AI, the AI really just detects shapes and edges, and does this all offline. Makes my workflow take less than 1/2 the time it used to.
FrequentWin4261@reddit
There's also Scribus, which is the open source version of Adobe Indesign and Affinity Publisher. The UI sucks however, and developing for their product is nearly impossible with the system they are using for contributing and issues
Nelo999@reddit
Use Viva Designer instead.
While Scribus is decent, Viva Designer is a professional grade option that has linux support if you are interested.
jikt@reddit
Hey, give Penpot another try! I had a similar sounding experience to you a few months ago but I tried it again last week after it's much improved.
m4teri4lgirl@reddit
Reaper and Audacity might be fine for a basement band making scratch demos but they're nowhere close to replacing Pro Tools/Live
Nelo999@reddit
Reaper is literally a professional grade DAW and is pretty much the industry standard when it comes to audio production in the gaming industry.
It has already replaced ProTools and Ableton Live in the gaming industry lol.
Audacity is an audio editor, not a full fledged DAW.
It is excellent and swift for simple edits, even voice actors use it.
You are potty much wrong.
m4teri4lgirl@reddit
Got any references on that?
Nelo999@reddit
I definitely do, here are actual game audio composers, stating they primarily use Cubase and Reaper:
https://vi-control.net/community/threads/video-game-composers-what-daw-do-you-use-for-your-work-poll.148239/
Here is another survey, not a single one of them mentioned ProTools and Logic Pro:
https://www.gamesoundcon.com/post/gamesoundcon-game-audio-industry-survey-2025
ProTools is mostly used in the music industry, it is not really used much outside of it.
Reaper is already used professionally, this pretty much debunks your erroneous assertion that Reaper is mostly a tool for amateurs and hobbyists(it isn't).
TRexRoboParty@reddit
Reaper gets plenty of use for professional jobs.
Audacity is not a DAW, even basement bands know it's not the right tool for making demos.
Live and Protools are not equivalent, they cover different things.
Bitwig is the closest Linux equivalent to Live.
a_a_ronc@reddit
As a fairly advanced Linux user I’ve never gotten Resolve working. If they invested in making it work natively on common distros like Ubuntu (without doing weird ROM to DEB conversion steps, they’d sweep the Linux market and get some switchers.
Nelo999@reddit
DaVinci Resolve is only available for RPM distributions.
It works flawlessly there though.
Debisibusis@reddit
Their installer is an appimage.
Nelo999@reddit
It indeed is, but it requires some dependencies that are only available on RPM distributions.
Odd-Possession-4276@reddit
Post production houses run on RHEL and its clones. Casual home users are not the target market for BMD. It's a fair solution to the fragmented nature of Linux desktop: treat it as a single-purpose Workstation appliance à la IRIX. This exact distribution and this exact hardware options are supported, other than that you're on your own.
In my experience, davincibox has the same level of technical complexity as just running an installer script directly.
a_a_ronc@reddit
Honestly disagree. That’s why there’s a free tier that could theoretically be good enough for something like YouTube editing.
Odd-Possession-4276@reddit
Market as in money changing hands. It's a loss leader (which is coincidentally on-topic. Same'ish story with Affinity V3 freemium model). Free tier doesn't have any additional support burden, yet there's no pipeline leading to selling hardware.
Of course, it would be more convenient if they would provide a Flatpak (like Bitwig do), but it's totally understandable why they don't bother.
p0358@reddit
Understandable why not bother, but they ended up explicitly forbidding the community from making a Flatpak, saying they’d sue/DMCA etc. Though actually someone from the company said it should be fine on the forums, until they consulted some management who said it’s actually not fine…
lusuroculadestec@reddit
The free version exists as the gateway drug to get you to buy their hardware. They give away the full version with their cameras and even some low-end editing keyboards. It's the thread that ties a lot of their product stack together. It keeps you in their ecosystem instead of you trying to mix and match things from random vendors.
Their core market is film and broadcast. I wouldn't be surprised if they priced it at $295 because Final Cut Pro is $300.
Debisibusis@reddit
No sure about Ubuntu. But on anything arch based, just download the installer (appimage) from the webpage, press install.
Then edit your resolve shortcut to add those environment variables:
Then it works without issues.
FattyDrake@reddit
If your goal is running Resolve, an RPM-based distro is the best bet. Just move a few Resolve library files into a different folder, install one distro package (libxcrypt-compat) and done.
Resolve is a loss leader for selling Blackmagic hardware and the expectation is the user will be running it on a dedicated computer just for Resolve.
Mystical_17@reddit
Linux noob here, I got Resolve successfully installed on Mint and Fedora KDE. I've only been trying Linux out on an older pc for about a month now so a little bit of distro hopping and Resolve is one program I really prefer to keep when I ditch windows.
I also tried getting resolve working on Zorin OS 18, even though I found official instructions and some YT videos specific to Zorin 18 I couldn't get it installed still. It kept giving me some python error even though I installed the version it said it needed on the machine so I gave up . I'm sure if I kept hacking at it I could get it working but I was already set to move to another distro.
It is annoying Black Magic won't just make it more compatible, IDK what version they say it needs to work on but if they aren't willing to make it just install seamlessly on the 'noob friendly' distros it feels like a half baked attempt right now. Also if if you have studio version no AAC audio import on linux is ultra dumb.
With all that said, I'm still willing to jump through any dumb install hoops if it means I can have Resolve on a linux machine. I use video editing practically daily and Shotcut or Kdenlive from what I've tried just aren't as smooth in the timeline for playback and don't have that nice gpu acceleration across the board I want.
Odd-Possession-4276@reddit
It's Rocky Linux 8.6, they even provide a custom image with preinstalled Nvidia drivers.
torvi97@reddit
GIMP is still trash, sorry. I just can't use that, the UX is just terrible.
FrozenLogger@reddit
I never minded it. Use Corel Draw, Photoshop, and Gimp fairly interchangeably. I never really understand what the problem is.
torvi97@reddit
Things that take 2-3 clicks on PS take like 7-8 on gimp. It's also jarringly different from PS, the industry standard. PS's sin is Adobe, other than that it's a great tool. An open source project should try to replicate the best parts about the leading paid option when it's so far behind it, IMO.
FrozenLogger@reddit
I think they do need to get cmyk printing. Layers previously were a huge issue too.
I am not 100% onboard with copying what another program does.
Seems like there are a lot of filter's in gimp that take me more steps in photoshop. Maybe that says more about GEGL or filter scripting than gimp itself though.
It works both ways....
Helmic@reddit
i mean, sure, if someone has an idea that is even better than what PS has, that is the resulet of talking to PS users and specifically professionals and not simply a cool idea one dev had by themselves in isolation, in that case yes being differetn from PS can be fine.
that's not what GIMP does. GIMP is not different because it has a better paradigm than adobe, it is different because it is cludged together arbitrarily without a clear vision.
def agree about CMYK though, like not even krita is worth seriously talking about when it seems like nobody thought about actually printing this stuff out.
Nelo999@reddit
Krita has CMYK support and is actually decent, unlike GIMP.
Mystical_17@reddit
Gimp to me seems to suffer the same way Blender used to before 2.8. It had confusing UI and non-standard workflow. Then when 2.8 released that all changed. I felt right at home in Blender coming from Maya almost instantly and the things I needed to tweak felt intuitive and smooth. Been using blender ever since.
Gimp essentially needs to pull a 'blender 2.8' and it will be better imo. I do see in 3.0 they have at least focused more on the non-destructive workflows. I hope it continues to improve.
torvi97@reddit
Yep, I feel exactly the same!
LumpyDumpkin@reddit
It not the best, but it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. I use it all the time.
voidscaped@reddit
Adobe After Effects?
Nelo999@reddit
Nuke Foundry already works on Linux.
And it is the industry standard visual effects software.
Who the heck uses Adobe After Effects anyways?
Hobbyists maybe, but certainly not professionals.
boringestnickname@reddit
If only that were true.
Sadly, After Effects is used professionally all over the place. Loads of 2D animation is AE, for instance.
Nelo999@reddit
But it is the truth lol.
No big animation studio out there is using freaking Adobe After Effects instead of Maya, Houdini, Autodesk Flame, Blender and Nuke Foundry.
The big ones like Pixar and DreamWorks have their own custom, in house software too.
Pretty much all the studios and post production houses out there run on Linux.
Do you really think they go through the pain to get After Effects running on Linux?
When it comes to 2D animations, ToonBoom Harmony is actually the industry standard software out there, not After Effects.
You are like the same people who think that Premiere Pro is overwhelmingly used by professionals(it isn't), yet they get surprised when they see all the big Hollywood studios solely relying on Avid Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve.
boringestnickname@reddit
Professional ≠ big animation studio.
I don't "think." I know. I've worked at a bunch of post houses, done tons of productions, and I've got a bunch of friends working as animators.
AE is very much in use professionally.
Nelo999@reddit
Maybe, I might have exaggerated.
While Adobe After Effects might be used professionally for smaller VFX projects(I definitely concede that), it is far from being considered the industry standard or let alone one of the most "popular" tools out there.
There have been actual studies and polls conducted conducted inquiring studios what tools they use and not a single one of them mentioned Adobe After Effects:
https://ynput.io/the-state-of-animation-vfx-pipelines-report/
I have also friends that are actual animators, not a single of them use After Effects in their jobs.
As you can see, we can all use anecdotal evidence but it is not very helpful indeed.
FrequentWin4261@reddit
For 2D animation, there is an app called Friction. https://friction.graphics/
Alejandro9R@reddit
Resolve has Fusion included on it. It is a different workflow, a node based one, compared to layers in AE. Much better for complex work due to its aforementioned node system, might be confusing and hard to roll for people just getting started though.
sgtlighttree@reddit
For VFX, sure node-based is better. For motion graphics though, the keyframing system is horrible in Fusion
p0358@reddit
Add Pixieditor to it too
philosophical_lens@reddit
I mean this is exactly the reason Adobe wanted to acquire Figma. They are trying to improve their web apps to get to parity with their Windows / Mac apps.
TheGhostyBear@reddit
I’d add Kdenlive for video editing too.
andyfitz@reddit
Penpot > Figma
YouRock96@reddit
I understand that an open solution is always better than a closed one in the long run, but as a person from the field who gets paid to work at Figma and who started working at it in 2018, I will say that it has no alternatives due to the simplified plug-in model, yes, the company's latest policy is not very good, especially in the last two years, but in general PenPot is not suitable for full-fledged production yet
The guys from the KDE team can confirm this because when building the interfaces there, they faced the same problem and the need to add a large number of things manually
blackcain@reddit
GNOME person here for the engagement team. I'm mostly planning on using it to do flyers and social media posts. Yes, it's definitely rough around the edges. I learned about them from the fedora people.
I think the problem is that I have to not think of it like figma but more like CAD style software where I have to focus on inputting numbers rather than a completely visual method.
andyfitz@reddit
Native CSS Flex and Grid > Autolayout They have web standard design tokens too.
The Blender team use Penpot with terrific success
I think when Penpot switch to their new canvas things will really shoot up performance wise.
I have a feeling that Figma is burdened with heaps of tech debt, why else wouldn’t they support WebP in 2025?
Each to their own I guess
YouRock96@reddit
This is not a contradiction, I'm sure Blender adds its own functionality to PenPot as well as the KDE team, it's good that they do Flex, it's already good, webp is really strange considering that their application is built on Electron, but still, plug-ins are what makes Figma indispensable so far, this situation is very similar to Obsidian (for notes), which still has a lot of functionality that its open source counterparts do not have, simply because the product has matured and become the de facto standard in its field
I don't think it's reasonable to compare ordinary users who use Figma for market production, which requires Bleeding-Edge technology in most cases, and individual teams that are able to write extensions for themselves
andyfitz@reddit
That’s the thing. PenPot gives full first class API access to both plugin devs and even has an MCP server. The plugin ecosystem might be small by comparison to Figma but for production PenPot has way more advantages.
And let’s not even debate that it can be self hosted for sensitive production environments where confidential work is being done.
Agree to disagree mate. Penpot is rock solid IMO
YouRock96@reddit
PenPot is reliable, but do not compare it with the mass production for which Figma is used, using PenPot you will always stumble over various disadvantages using it now if you are not working at full
andyfitz@reddit
Agree on the very large canvas performance. Because today Penpot uses the browsers native DOM and hits those limits.
Penpot demoed their webGL canvas recently which looks set to achieve the same gains Figma has real soon. Good to know as projects grow.
I think it’s apples and oranges since for many businesses. Especially since Figma would never be an option for some due to digital sovereignty requirements.
What’s clear to me is Figma has matured as a solution and offering with a very dependent install base and now has less wiggle room. I used to use it all the time but since Penpot 2.0 my whole team is using that.
Coupling it with the SaaS models need for seat pricing, Figma production requires client access which disincentivises fully automated design production toolchains.(correct me if I’m wrong)
Journeyj012@reddit
Is there anything as good as substance painter?
Nelo999@reddit
Substance Painter is already available on Linux mate.
Journeyj012@reddit
Every time I tried downloading it, it gave me the MacOS download, so I thought it just didn't support Linux. Must be a Firefox/Adobe bug
dumpaccount882212@reddit
Buy it via Steam and run with Proton
Journeyj012@reddit
Yeah, I just wanted to see if there was an alternative to having to buy another thing just to get my subscription working
Gamiac@reddit
Download the Windows version and run it through Lutris.
dogman_35@reddit
Tbh, there's not really a lot of alternatives to Substance Painter, period. Even if you're on windows.
Everything is pretty early days, the big one being Armor Point like mentioned in the other comment.
But I'm gonna throw one out there that I think people are sleeping on. The Ucupaint addon for Blender. The stuff you can do with it is insane, it's an extremely powerful addon.
Mystical_17@reddit
kinda...
1) Its not on linux but Marmoset Toolbag 5 has really made strides as a 3D paint program that started out as a gloried baker/renderer in the early versions. They have no considerations for Linux (yet) but its out there. If you have a windows machine its a good rival to substance, they are continuously developing the 3D paint aspect of Marmoset rapidly.
2) Up next is 3D Coat. I am very anti-adobe ever since CS6 was the last perpetual license version. The moment I saw Substance got bought by Adobe I was glad I was using 3D Coat already. I've been a long time user of this software, over 8+ years now. Its very versatile in its sculpting and 3D paint aspect. The big feature I liked over substance is I could have multiple objects in a single scene. Not sure if recent substance versions have changed but back in the day that was a no-go.
3) It came out a year or so ago but InstaMAT has stated they plan for a Linux version (latest news in 2025 "its on the way"), This is one of the 3D painters I've not got to try personally yet (even though it does have a free version) as I've been content with what I currently use (3D Coat) but if they finally release their linux version I'll be more inclined to try it out sooner. The various videos I have watched of the workflow looks impressive and users says it a good rival to substance.
4) Lastly there is also Armor Paint that has a linux version, its still in early alpha stages so by no means close to industry workable but I still like using it for mini 3d texture projects where I just need some quick import/export work done as the program is surprisingly super fast to launch and lightweight right now.
funforgiven@reddit
I think they meant the original Adobe software. Substance is pretty much its own thing since Adobe only acquired Allegorithmic later. It already works natively on Linux, so there’s no need for an alternative.
DoubleOnegative@reddit
Also KDENLIVE for video editing.
Gimp did just get a big UI refactor which helps some
boringestnickname@reddit
You should add Bitwig and Resolve.
YouRock96@reddit
An official release on Figma is necessary even though it is available in the browser, obviously this is a long-standing request in the Figma community and the official release always gives a new influx of audience, it is really critically important.
eric5949_@reddit
Idk how well it works for actual autdio people but Ardour is foss and you don't have to pay them for the binary on Linux.
Chiatroll@reddit
I really enjoy krita.
Mystical_17@reddit
Don't give me hope and take it away. Do what you know needs to be done Canva/Affinity. make a Linux version. Do it for the fans!
CaptainRhetorica@reddit
If they release me from my reliance on Adobe and Apple at the same time I'm afraid I will start screaming uncontrollably.
No more planned obsolete unupgradeable hardware? No more 3D gui wasting resources on my production machine? No more being bilked for a 30 year old codebase with decades of bloat tacked on? Yes please.
kalzEOS@reddit
Another thing not many people mention is music composing/creation (or whatever it's called lol) software. I've heard so many people complain about being locked into windows because they have some plugins or some shit like that.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
It's a bit of a mixed situation, but I think we're getting there. Pipewire is a huge step in the right direction because it eliminates the need for JACK for pro audio. I also get lower latency with pipewire than I did on windows, and this advantage cannot be understated when you're recording an instrument, because the round trip latency being low makes it easier to stay in time when you're playing your instrument.
When it comes to plugins, native instruments is probably the big one, but it might work through wine and yabridge (which allows you to use windows plugins in your Linux daws like bitwig). That being said, there isn't one company that has a vice grip on the industry like adobe has, and if you are a hobbyist or a musician as opposed to being a studio engineer, Linux is already there.
If things keep going the way they are now, it might only be a few years for Linux to be in a good position to supplant windows entirely.
And I am weirdly stereotypical. There are plenty of people like myself that are hobby musicians who also program and play games. And I can do all those things on Linux without drama and I don't have to dual boot anymore.
kalzEOS@reddit
That’s good to hear. I don’t know anything about making music, I just listen to it. lol. But there is this YouTuber dude whose videos I watch here and there named “Tek Syndicate” who makes music, and this is the only thing holding him back from switching.
ReidenLightman@reddit
I'd pay $100 to re-purchase it for Linux. BUT, now Affinity is free and may have a native Linux version? We need to keep being vocal about wanting this.
Odd-Possession-4276@reddit
Big if true. Good job, everyone who were vocal on the Affinity forums for years to make a case for the first-party support.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
Yeah I think people shouldn't underestimate the value of asking. I opened a support ticket to image line because I own FL studio, and they replied with the canned "no plans" response, but if they know we exist it's way better than if they don't.
ImClearlyDeadInside@reddit
FL Studio on Linux would be goated. Would greatly reduce the number of times I need to boot into my Win11 disk.
Ok-Speech812@reddit
It surprisingly works on WINE really well! Well, atleast it's a start..
Crashman09@reddit
Except midi is problematic, and low latency audio is less than stellar
I've had nothing but problems on anything newer than V20 and other versions have the issues I mentioned above.
I'm not saying it doesn't work well, but it's been an opposite experience for me and others in the image-line forums
Ok-Speech812@reddit
Weird, for me it works just fine. Ig it depends on the computer.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
For me wine asio reports 8 Ms latency but it's obviously much higher than that when I play guitar. Trying to change the setting has zero effect.
Ok-Speech812@reddit
I only use my keyboard for my stuff so I have no say in that one. You should also try running it through Bottles and Elementary Wine(Lutris, Bottles)
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
I couldn't find a way to make wine-asio to work with bottles at all. I'm not sure about lutris, but I'm liking Bitwig enough that I don't miss FL studio much. All I do miss are some of the plugins like Luxe Reverb.
After about a week I was able to get better results with Bitwig in creative terms and because it's native I don't have to worry about technical problems. I would even go so far as to say that FL Studios work flow was holding me back.
Crashman09@reddit
And the distro
And dependencies
And wine versions
And....
Linux, for all of the good qualities it has, sometimes the fragmentation is it's Achilles heel.
wineT_@reddit
There is a bitwig studio and reaper on Linux. Check them out
ImClearlyDeadInside@reddit
Tried them both. Didn’t quite do it for me but maybe I’ll give them another go.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
Bitwig has a bit of a learning curve but it's OP af. The modulation system and the grid are just amazing tools.
Indolent_Bard@reddit
I think there's a theme for Reaper that gives it a similar workflow to FL Studio. I could be wrong, though.
Fur_and_Whiskers@reddit
Make do with Reaper in the meantime?
DynoMenace@reddit
Gotta start the conversation somewhere!
IDUnavailable@reddit
My bitching worked??
dimspace@reddit
And the Serif forums before that. This has been a 15 year battle lol
lcnielsen@reddit
The responses from the team on that forum were always a bit bizarre to me. "What if we can't make it a 100% smooth 60FPS experience" and whatnot. Like surely it already uses QT or something for its GUI...
rain--king@reddit
The fact that they got bought out by Canva is a bit worrying, but seeing this software come to Linux would be a big boon.
ahfoo@reddit
Yawn. . . taking these ¨I need Adobe¨ trolls seriously is a sign of a non-serious person who spends too much time online. Affinity on GNU-Linux would be a non-event and nobody but the guy in the photo is very interested in this.
The notion that ¨creatives¨ have no options in the GNU-Linux world is nonsense to begin with. Blender 5.0 just rolled out. This guy is so worried about ¨the creatives¨ but ignores the single most significant creative software in the world of 3D which happens to be GNU-Linux native and open source.
No, the reason users stick with closed source has nothing to do with lack of options from open source. People stick with proprietary packages because their work uses them and their work uses them for mostly ideological and tax reasons.
The peons often fail to understand that businesses like to have costs that they can deduct from their taxes so that you pay for them. This is why expensive corporate software is so desirable, they like to spend the money because they get it right back in tax deductions. The more they spend the more they save and then the workers are stuck with --¨I need it because of my work¨ it has nothing to do with actual availability of alternatives and everything to do with the accounting department.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
I don't know where you're from but it sounds like a silly place. Every place I've worked for was glad to save money where it made sense, and software licenses are a massive grudge purchase. Where I live only the VAT is deductible. So software still makes a massive hole in your budget, regardless of tax write offs.
Whenever software selection comes up there are a number of considerations that are completely reasonable, such as:
Continuity (will this software exist in a year, 5 years from now) Support - what do we do when something breaks Skill availability - are there enough people that can use the software in the market Desirability - do the professionals that work for us WANT to use the software Interoperability - Can different partners and departments work on the same files with as little as possible friction Migration cost - what will be the productivity cost of our users switching? What will have to be converted? How much should we spend on training users? What is the potential cost of failure?
I don't think being cynical and calling people "peons" will get us anywhere. And the truth is that free software is often very much deficient compared to their proprietary equivalents.
gatornatortater@reddit
Agreed. However I will add the second "main" reason that people stick with their favorite proprietary graphics program.
After people have devoted more than a year or two to a program they have developed muscle memory in using that program. That can make that program a lot more fast to use and powerful than other options until a similar amount of effort has gone into learning and using those other options.
A common example is Photoshop vs Gimp. The way most casual users use photoshop is in doing basic stuff in standard RGB. Gimp is just as good at doing that kind of stuff and the interface is of similar quality. Just takes a lot of effort to practice a new UI until it becomes second nature.
Inevitable_Gas_2490@reddit
Lmao, affinity is still running on .net framework so getting that ported to .net will take a while.
hi65435@reddit
To be fair the
dotnetCLI is relatively modern. Feels like Microsoft has been quietly ramping up their Linux efforts. Not sure about their UI part thoughImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
Microsoft doesn't make a UI library for Linux and I think it's on purpose. Maui doesn't support Linux. But there are third party alternatives.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
I can't find this information. I'd be curious to know more.
omniuni@reddit
The problem here is the new business model.
Linux users will buy software, but they tend to prefer to buy to own.
The "free with subscription for AI" is fine, and would still attract users, but paying for the subscription to use AI features is not appealing for most Linux users.
I'd personally pay money for a build that had those features fully removed.
AndreaCicca@reddit
I think that, in the next few years, we’ll see more Linux users who approach it in a “Windows-like” way. Many people will start viewing Linux simply as an operating system, rather than as a philosophy or a lifestyle.
AttentiveUser@reddit
And that’s how I imagine Linux might get lots of interest from governments and how bad things might be pushed onto the Linux community
AndreaCicca@reddit
Linux should be the focus of any government, not in a bad way.
AttentiveUser@reddit
I wish those two things could exist together… and they can but you always get some enshittification
AndreaCicca@reddit
it’s open source, if you don’t like it fork it.
AttentiveUser@reddit
Yes, and this spirit is great and I hope it’s enough to block governments from taking over Linux projects
jughead0@reddit
Government has ways of spying on you regardless of the OS you use, don’t you worry.
AttentiveUser@reddit
Yes but having tools that are free from government spyware is and actually give you the freedom to fight back is half the battle won.
jughead0@reddit
I will not argue because I agree with you in spirit. But I wouldn't bother at this point.
omniuni@reddit
That would be nice. I even like Affinity, I'm just not interested in the slightest in their AI features, and a lot of people aren't either. I want them to succeed, not fail due to buying too much into AI hype.
rebellioninmypants@reddit
I liked Affinity, but I don't like Canva. My problem is that you jneed a Canva account to start a local program on my computer. It didn't use to be that way, and now it is. And that makes it an inconvenience.
Because why do I actually need another account and yet another potential data breach source?
In no way is this account essential to my ability to edit local files locally on my PC, but it does introduce the possibility that somewhere down the line Canva will start uploading these files to my "cloud account" for processing and training their models on my work... why risk that with software like this?
omniuni@reddit
You don't need a Canva account, at least when I tried it, it launches just fine locally.
rebellioninmypants@reddit
Well I went by what they said in their F.A.Q on the website. That turned me away and that's what I commented on.
If anyone else can actually confirm what OP said, that'd be great news.
omniuni@reddit
You need to log in to use AI stuff.
AndreaCicca@reddit
If you use the new Affinity app you can stay away from the Canva AI tab and never use it.
omniuni@reddit
My point is more that they're not only staking their future on a subscription model, but the subscription is for something a lot of people actively don't want. It means that even if I wanted to support them by buying a Linux version of the software, I can't. Because I would.
-MooMew64-@reddit
Would be a welcome change of pace.
gahel_music@reddit
It's true but I think subscription based approach can work on Linux for software that is open to feedback and allows customization. Especially for software that is coming to Linux when no other is doing it, like bitwig. (There's reaper and Ardour but it's different kinds of daws)
dimspace@reddit
There is also the windows users for whom one of the roadblocks to moving to Linux was the lack of commercial design suite
I can imagine there are a fair few windows users who would move over and make paying Canva the first thing they do
Pos3odon08@reddit
if canva creates a lightroom competitor along with linux support i'll gladly pay adobe adjacent prices for the software
Nelo999@reddit
Darktable already exists and is way better than Lightroom.
There is also Corel After Shot 3 that is available on Linux if you need a more "professional" option to boot.
SuAlfons@reddit
since all AI services are subscription, it's something also Linux users will do if they want the features.
ImNotThatPokable@reddit (OP)
I think it depends on the user and what those features are. I'm not a graphics person so I have no idea.
Filling the background when erasing something though could be useful maybe?
0riginal-Syn@reddit
You make a good point, but keep in mind users looking to move from Windows do not always share that point of view. That said those Linux users that are looking to get away from being force to use Windows for their daily job may also be more open to it, if their employer is not footing the bill
Odd-Possession-4276@reddit
Freemium is the way to buy mind-share, in the same fashion as providing free licenses for schools with Affinity V2. Canva's priorities are numbers of installs to brag about growth trajectory for IPO presentations and Affinity being tied-in into corporate Canva offerings. Currently it's win-win. Obviously, the deal can be altered sometime down the line.
HomsarWasRight@reddit
I think it’s more so that businesses will be more likely to adopt Linux if necessary software is there. Enthusiasts make decisions differently and will gladly choose alternative (and less polished) software to use the platform of their choice.
FoodUncle@reddit
I scoured the internet but still can’t find anything.
Is there an adobe acrobat pdf editor alternative? I would like to edit and sign pdfs, not just read them
UKbeard@reddit
OnlyOffice
jmantra623@reddit
For PDF editing there is LibreOffice Draw, Scribus and Xounal++ for FOSS tools
There is also masterPDF for proprietary paid solution
FoodUncle@reddit
Thank you. Better than nothing I suppose. Hopefully proprietary pdf gets dethroned soon
asm_lover@reddit
Idk much about affinity but i make it a point every month so send a request to clip studio paint developers to port the program to linux.
In my personal experience Krita is fine for a lot of things however.
gatornatortater@reddit
Krita is a very powerful program. Especially with all the color model functionality. Specifically CMYK for my print design usage.
Nelo999@reddit
CSP is great for comics and manga, Krita is excellent for general illustrations.
Both tools should be used interchangeably in my own opinion.
Impossible-Bake3866@reddit
I have been waiting for this for literally 20 years . I really hope it happens.
YouRock96@reddit
Not bad, but as a person with a career of about 5 years in this field, I'll say that Affinity and perhaps Figma would be more interesting ports for Linux that would give a bigger boost, Canva is probably a good tool for someone, but there are too many (paid) limitations for a user
I don't even need Adobe because their software is outdated and too bloated, not to mention their terrible subscriptions.
n3onfx@reddit
They are talking about Affinity on Linux here, Affinity is owned by Canva. Agreed on Figma though, I can replace Photoshop/Illustrator with Affinity but Figma via a browser is subpar.
YouRock96@reddit
Aa, I didn't know this fact because for me these are products of different quality, I don't know how others relate, but the Canvas left a negative impression of a tool that tries to make more monetizable restrictions and generates more novice designers who use their tool instead of professional ones. One of the frequent requests from customers is to transfer the layout from Canva to Figma simply because most people don't want to work there.
Busy_Interest9100@reddit
Affinity's potential move to Linux could significantly boost the open-source ecosystem, providing more users with powerful design tools and solidifying Linux's position in creative industries.
jarmezzz@reddit
This would be huge. I already committed to adapting my current workflows to Darktable and gimp, but if Affinity was available to me I would definitely use it.
andrewmurdockpy@reddit
por la compatibilidad que venden al mundo gamer, la facilidad de instalacion de steam, pero se olvidadon de EA
Mangu890@reddit
Please Canva I need this 🙏😭
mrthingz@reddit
Nice
curtisimpson@reddit
If you want Affinity on Linux, this is the time to SEND FEEDBACK letting them know. In app, you can click Help > Send Feedback. It's that easy. If they are serious, now is the time to speak up, while your voice won't fall on deaf ears (like it did for the last decade with Serif).
FrequentWin4261@reddit
This. I did this the moment it became free.
DynoMenace@reddit
Kind of tangentially related here, for any interested readers who may have missed it:
https://github.com/ryzendew/AffinityOnLinux
There is now a 1-click installer AND an AppImage available to run Affinity on Linux.
eric5949_@reddit
Is the pen tool still busted?
DynoMenace@reddit
Seems pretty normal?
https://i.imgur.com/mvqrMXp.png
eric5949_@reddit
Yeah it's still fucked up, look at how the preview doesn't match up with the actual drawn line. The preview being like that makes it nigh unusable for actual work but the rest of it I think works fine. I've been hoping that issue would be resolved eventually but I guess it would be if they just straight up ported it lol.
DynoMenace@reddit
Ah okay, I did notice that but I wasn't sure if that was intentional with the Pen tool in Affinity. I haven't used it much other than setting it up and clicking around a little.
There are methods to get OpenCL and stuff working too, which I haven't messed with it to try. I'm curious if that would fix it.
eric5949_@reddit
I'm curious too, it would be cool to not need to use a VM for it.
omniuni@reddit
To run it on Wine. Which is fine and all.
DynoMenace@reddit
Well, yes, I didn't specify it used Wine because it was in response to an article talking about a hypothetical future port to Linux, so obviously there isn't currently a native Linux version. And I linked to a visibly independent Github page, on which the very first line says:
I don't think it's misleading to expect readers to retain a tiny modicum of context awareness when writing out a two-sentence reddit comment.
omniuni@reddit
Your post, not the link, implies that there's an AppImage version of Affinity. It's an AppImage of an installation script. (Which... Why? Something this simple does not need an AppImage.)
DynoMenace@reddit
I understand you believe my post was misleading, that's what I was addressing. I disagree and stand by my previous comment.
You are also incorrect on the nature of the AppImage.
omniuni@reddit
It says right on their page that the AppImage is a portable self-contained installer. It's just an install script with a Python UI.
DynoMenace@reddit
Yes, I'm aware of what it says, but the AppImage does not even have a GUI, it launches directly into the app as expected. The closest to a "setup" is that it asks your DPI scaling preferences on first launch (and that uses a GTK dialog, FYI). It's only their Method 2 (Full Python GUI installer) that uses, as the name states, a full Python GUI installer. Maybe the readme is just incorrect, I don't know.
That all said: even if the AppImage did (or does in some circumstances) just run a GUI installer, I don't to see why this would disqualify the project from being a viable option for those who need it. It would still be a valid, user-friendly, cross-distro method of packaging it and getting it into the hands of users with minimal friction.
Running Affinity on Linux has plenty of legitimate drawbacks and pain points that are absolutely relevant to discuss. Nitpicking about how a community-made AppImage is packaged is the least of my concerns. It's not my project and I don't even use Affinity regularly, I have no horse in this race. I'm only trying to share info that some users might find helpful.
RagingAnemone@reddit
I wonder why it has poor support on crossover office
Unexpected_Cranberry@reddit
It's there a support option for wine? I could see a market there for old LOB apps that done make sense to update if a company developed a streamlined way to get old shitty software running under wine.
Feature wise for these machines haven't benefited from any new features in windows version since XP. The only reason to update is to support the new management stacks. They're typically isolated from the rest of the network anyway and don't need any fancy hardware. If you could run the software with wine and then just manage the Linux installation I can see the appeal.
omniuni@reddit
Managing an app installed in a Wine prefix in a user directory isn't very good from a management perspective.
This is just a nice wrapper that makes a prefix, installs a few recommended tricks, and invokes the Windows installer from their website.
It's basically just a dedicated "Bottles".
YouRock96@reddit
I've tried to set this up and it's obviously not suitable for the mass user, too many problems may arise on the way to launch.
DynoMenace@reddit
It has a ways to go for sure, but it's come a LONG way. Only a few months ago, getting it working required pages of manual steps.
For me, the AppImage for "older CPUs" worked the best, even though I'm on a fairly modern CPU. It still had some graphical glitches, though.
CaptainObvious110@reddit
Awesome news
GodsBadAssBlade@reddit
YES! YES! YES! YES!
58696384896898676493@reddit
I had no idea Affinity was free now. And now this Linux news? Color me impressed. I've been happily with zero guilt pirating Adobe software since college. Maybe it's time to take the plunge and give Affinity a serious try.
acewing905@reddit
2026 is the year of the Linux desktop for sure Lol
regeya@reddit
It almost works in Linux already, thankfully. I currently dual boot literally just for Affinity and my only problem is I can't log in to my Affinity account so the only ML that works is segmentation (Select Subject). But that's all I use so no biggie. In fact I'd thought about fixing my setup so that my drives and fonts show up under Linux the same as under Windows.
Wrong-Bumblebee3108@reddit
Web applications were a blessing for Linux, relying on native app devs to support anything other than Windows was a nightmare
littypika@reddit
Linux software has been and continues to go through its golden age.