Facts You Didn't Know About Krita

InspirationTuts 2D
11 Dec 202308:54

TLDRKrita, a powerful open-source digital painting and animation software, originated in 1998 and has evolved significantly over the years. It offers advanced tools, a powerful brush engine with over 100 brushes, and supports HDR painting. Krita's community-driven development and Python scripting capabilities make it a strong competitor to Photoshop, particularly for 2D animation and digital painting. With its free access and a learning curve less steep than Photoshop, Krita is increasingly being adopted by artists and educational institutions alike.

Takeaways

  • 📜 Krita originated in 1998 at the Linux Congress when Matas et al., founder of KDE, chose KIMP as a demo, leading to the development of Krita as an alternative to Photoshop.
  • 🎨 The name 'Krita' was adopted in 2002 after several name changes due to trademark law restrictions in Germany, and it is inspired by the Swedish words 'krita' meaning 'crayon' and 'rita' meaning 'to draw'.
  • 💡 Krita is a community-driven project with contributions from numerous volunteers, and in 2012, the Krita Foundation was established to support its development further.
  • 💰 In 2013, Krita had two versions: the free Krita Studio for desktop users and the paid Krita Gemini optimized for tablets, but Gemini was later discontinued due to programming issues.
  • 🖌️ Krita boasts over 100 brushes and more than 10 powerful brush engines for sketching and painting, with the ability to customize brushes based on various effects, patterns, and designs.
  • 🌟 In 2019, Krita became the first worldwide HDR painting application with the introduction of patch 4.2.0, offering a wide range of colors close to real-world colors.
  • 🎨 Krita offers a vast array of advanced filters for editing and adjusting colors, which can enhance the professional look of sketches and drawings with minimal effort.
  • 🖼️ Despite being a digital painting app, Krita also has advanced photo editing features similar to Photoshop, such as adjustment layers, color modes, and the ability to handle raw images.
  • 🎥 Krita is well-suited for animation with essential tools like layering, brush tools, shaping tools, and workflow management features including a timeline, storyboard, and onion skin Docker.
  • 💻 Krita supports Python scripting, allowing users to create custom scripts and plugins, and since it's open-source, its source code can be viewed, modified, and contributed to by anyone.

Q & A

  • What is the origin of Krita and when was it first conceived?

    -Krita's origin story begins in 1998 at the Linux Congress when Matas etri, founder of KDE, chose KIMP as a demo to show the potential of hacking a QT GUI around an existing application. However, Krita was not officially released until 2004 as an image manipulation software, similar to Photoshop.

  • Why did the KDE Community change the name from K Image Shop to Krita?

    -The KDE Community had to change the name from K Image Shop due to trademark law restrictions in Germany. After several name changes, they finally settled on 'Krita', which was inspired by two Swedish words 'K' meaning crayon and 'did' meaning to draw. The 'K' prefix was added to align with the naming convention of KDE Community apps.

  • What is the Krita Foundation and how does it support the software's development?

    -The Krita Foundation, established in 2012 by the Krita Community, is an independent non-profit organization that provides support and furthers the development of Krita. It ensures that the software continues to evolve with community input and that financial contributions directly support its ongoing development.

  • What were the two versions of Krita available in 2013 and how did they differ?

    -In 2013, Krita was available in two versions: Krita Studio and Krita Gemini. Krita Studio was the free version designed for desktop and notebook users with a full-featured desktop user interface, while Krita Gemini was a paid version optimized for tablets with a touch-friendly alternate UI. However, due to programming issues, the Gemini version was eventually discontinued in favor of the regular desktop version.

  • What makes Krita's brush engine powerful and how can users customize their brushes?

    -Krita's brush engine is powerful due to its more than 100 brushes and over 10 built-in brush engines suitable for sketching and painting, such as the color smudge engine, shape engine, particle engine, and filler engine. Users can further customize their brushes based on various effects, patterns, and designs, and organize them using Krita's unique tagging system.

  • How did Krita become the first HDR painting application and what are the benefits of HDR in artwork?

    -Krita became the first HDR painting application with the launch of patch 4.2.0 in 2019. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, offering a wide range of colors that closely resemble real-world colors, including more greens and reds. This feature, along with 10 to 16 bits per channel, allows for smoother gradients and greater flexibility in color representation.

  • What advantages do Krita's advanced filters offer for artists and photo editors?

    -Krita's advanced filters allow artists to enhance the professional look of their sketches with minimal effort. Filters can adjust the tone and color of artwork, and range from simple ones like blur, color, and edge detection to more complex ones like chalk filters. They can also be used in photo editing, making Krita a versatile tool for both digital painting and photo editing tasks.

  • How does Krita support photo editing features similar to Photoshop?

    -Despite being fully converted into a digital painting app in 2009, Krita retains advanced photo editing features similar to Photoshop. These include adjustment layers, masks, RGB color modes, multi-layer selection, and the ability to open and handle raw images, making it an effective tool for photo editing tasks.

  • What animation features does Krita offer to artists?

    -Krita provides all the essential tools needed for creating frame-by-frame animations. These include layering tools, brush tools, shaping tools, and advanced workflow management features like the timeline Docker, the storyboard Docker, the onion skin Docker, and the animation curve stalker, which allows artists to animate properties over time.

  • How does Python scripting in Krita enhance the software's functionality and the user's workflow?

    -Python scripting in Krita allows users to automate repetitive tasks and create custom scripts and plugins, enhancing their workflow. Moreover, as Krita is open-source, users can even contribute to the software's development by manually fixing bugs or adding functions, making it a highly customizable and community-driven tool.

  • Why is Krita becoming a strong competitor to Photoshop, especially for 2D animation and digital painting?

    -Krita is becoming a strong competitor to Photoshop due to its continuous upgrades and improvements. It offers a less steep learning curve and is free, which is a significant advantage over Photoshop's subscription model. Its increasing popularity has led many artists, studios, and art schools to switch to Krita, recognizing it as a powerful tool for 2D animation and digital painting.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Introduction to Krita and Skillshare

This paragraph introduces the viewer to the topic of the video, which is about lesser-known facts related to Krita (CR). It begins by mentioning Skillshare, a platform offering numerous classes on creative fields such as animation, drawing, and illustration. The video features a course led by a 2D animator, MAA, focusing on animation using Krita as an affordable alternative to expensive software like Photoshop. The course covers mastering Krita's drawing tools, with an emphasis on frame-by-frame animations and the tweening animation feature. The video offers the first 1,000 viewers a one-month free trial of Skillshare Premium membership through a link in the description. The video then transitions into the history of Krita, starting from its origins in 1998 at the Linux Congress, where it was chosen as a demo for hacking a QT GUI around an existing app. The KDE Community, unable to work together on the demo, decided to develop their own image manipulation software, eventually releasing it as K Image Shop in 2004. The name was later changed to Krita, inspired by the Swedish words for 'crayon' and 'to draw,' with the 'K' prefix to align with other KDE Community apps. Krita is a community-driven project, maintained by volunteers and supported by the Krita Foundation, an independent non-profit organization established in 2012. The paragraph also mentions the release of a paid Steam version in 2013, priced at $15, with proceeds directly supporting Krita's development.

05:03

🖌️ Krita's Features and Development History

This paragraph delves into the features and development history of Krita. It discusses the evolution of Krita, including its previous versions such as CR Studio and CR Gemini, which were differentiated by their target devices and user interfaces. The paragraph highlights Krita's advanced tools and features, emphasizing its powerful brush engine with over 100 brushes and 10 built-in brush engines for sketching and painting. Krita's ability to customize brushes based on various effects, patterns, and designs is also mentioned. The introduction of HDR painting in 2019 is noted as a significant milestone, making Krita the first worldwide HDR painting app. The paragraph further explores Krita's advanced filters, color adjustment techniques, and photo editing capabilities, positioning it as a potential alternative to Photoshop. Krita's animation capabilities are also discussed, including essential tools for frame-by-frame animation and workflow management features. The paragraph concludes by mentioning Krita's open-source nature, allowing users to contribute to its development and even fix bugs through Python scripting. Krita's growing popularity and its adoption by art schools and studios are cited as evidence of its competitiveness with Photoshop, particularly in 2D animation and digital painting.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Krita

Krita is an open-source digital painting and animation software that serves as a powerful alternative to commercial software like Photoshop. It offers a wide range of tools and features tailored for artists and designers, including brush engines, filters, and animation capabilities. The software is maintained by a community of volunteers and has gained popularity for its robust capabilities and lack of a subscription model, making it accessible to a broader user base.

💡Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning platform that provides a wide variety of classes covering numerous creative fields, such as animation, drawing, and illustration. The platform allows users to learn new skills at their own pace through video-based courses taught by industry professionals. In the context of the video, Skillshare is mentioned as a platform where a course led by a 2D animator is available, focusing on animation using Krita.

💡Origin of Krita

The origin of Krita dates back to 1998 when it was initially conceived as a demo at the Linux Congress by the founder of KDE. The KDE community decided to develop their own image manipulation software, similar to Photoshop, which eventually led to the official release of Krita in 2004. This history highlights Krita's roots in the open-source community and its development as a free alternative to proprietary software.

💡Name and Mascot

The name Krita and its mascot have a story behind them. Originally named K Image Shop, the project underwent several name changes due to trademark law restrictions in Germany. The name Krita was finally settled upon, drawing inspiration from two Swedish words: 'krita' meaning crayon and 'rita' meaning to draw. The K prefix was added to align with the naming convention of other KDE community apps, emphasizing the software's origins and community-driven nature.

💡Krita Foundation

The Krita Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization established by the Krita community in 2012. Its purpose is to provide additional support and resources for the further development of Krita. The foundation plays a crucial role in ensuring the software's continued improvement and expansion, enabling it to compete with other industry-standard tools and remain a viable option for artists and designers worldwide.

💡Krita Gemini

Krita Gemini was a paid version of Krita that existed alongside the free Krita Studio. It was optimized for tablet users with a touch-friendly, alternate user interface. However, due to programming challenges, the Krita team decided to discontinue Gemini and focus on the regular desktop version of Krita, which has since incorporated many of the features that made Gemini unique.

💡Brush Engine

The brush engine is a critical component of Krita, providing artists with a variety of brushes and tools for sketching and painting. Krita boasts over 100 brushes and more than 10 built-in brush engines, such as the color smudge, shape, particle, and filler engines. These engines offer a diverse range of effects and patterns, allowing artists to create detailed and dynamic artwork. The ability to customize brushes according to personal preferences further enhances the creative potential within Krita.

💡HDR Painting

High Dynamic Range (HDR) painting is a technique that enables artists to work with a wider range of colors, closer to those found in the real world. Krita was the first painting application worldwide to introduce HDR support in its 4.2.0 patch in 2019. This feature allows for smoother gradients and greater flexibility in color representation, resulting in more lifelike and vibrant artwork.

💡Filters

Filters in Krita are advanced tools that enable users to edit and adjust the colors, tones, and overall appearance of their artwork with minimal effort. The software offers a vast array of built-in filters and additional ones provided by the GIMP Plugin Registry. These filters can transform the look of a sketch or photo with professional results when used judiciously. Examples include blur, color adjustment, and edge detection filters, as well as more specialized options like chalk filters.

💡Photo Editing

Despite its primary focus on digital painting and animation, Krita also serves as a capable photo editor. It retains advanced photo editing features similar to those found in Photoshop, such as adjustment layers, color modes, multi-layer selection, and the ability to handle RAW images. This versatility allows Krita to cater to a broader range of creative needs and positions it as a comprehensive solution for artists and designers.

💡Animation

Krita is well-equipped for creating frame-by-frame animations, offering all the essential tools needed for the process. This includes layering and brush tools, shaping tools, and advanced workflow management features like the timeline docker and the storyboard docker. The onion skin docker helps artists view multiple frames at once, while the animation curve stalker enables the animation of certain properties over time. These features make Krita a competitive option for animators seeking a powerful and cost-effective tool.

💡Python Scripting

Krita supports Python scripting, which allows users to automate repetitive tasks and create custom scripts and plugins. This feature is particularly beneficial for users with programming knowledge, as it provides them with the ability to extend the functionality of Krita according to their specific needs. Additionally, since Krita is open-source, users can also contribute to the software's development by manually fixing bugs or adding new features, further enhancing the community-driven nature of the project.

Highlights

Krita originated in 1998 at the Linux Congress when Matas etri, founder of KDE, chose KIMP as a demo.

Krita was initially named K Image Shop, but due to trademark law in Germany, the name was changed to Krita.

The name Krita is inspired by two Swedish words 'K' meaning crayon and 'did' meaning to draw.

Krita is a community project with development done by volunteers in their free time.

The Krita Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was established in 2012 to support Krita's development.

Krita had two variants, Krita Studio and Krita Gemini, but Gemini was discontinued due to programming issues.

Krita boasts over 100 brushes and 10 built-in powerful brush engines for sketching and painting.

Krita was the first worldwide HDR painting app, introducing HDR painting in patch 4.2.0 in 2019.

Krita offers advanced filters for photo editing, similar to those found in Photoshop.

Krita can be used as a photo editor with features like adjustment layers, masks, and RGB color modes.

Krita is well-suited for animation with frame by frame tools, layering, and workflow management features.

The timeline, storyboard, and onion skin Dockers in Krita aid in animation creation.

Krita supports Python scripting for custom scripts and plugins, and its open-source nature allows for code contributions.

Krita is an increasingly strong competitor to Photoshop, especially for 2D animation and digital painting.

Some art schools, like the ATI art and Technology of image department at the University of Paris, have switched to using Krita.

Krita's learning curve is less steep than Photoshop's, and it's free, making it an attractive alternative to Photoshop's subscription model.

Krita's development is community-driven with contributions from a dozen generous contributors.

The paid Steam version of Krita supports its development with all proceeds going directly to the project.

Krita's tagging system allows for organization and customization of brushes and effects.

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