Seeing plenty of hype for that ArtCraft thing, which is an À̶͎I̴̘͘ coded/cloned Adobe suite? I'm not fond of Adobe either, so I guess I get the appeal.
But I've already found my alternative tools (freeware/FOSS too), so have no desire to jump onto something I'm reading is _incredibly_ broken 🤷
Lightroom → darktable
Photoshop → Krita
Illustrator / InDesign / Photoshop → Affinity
Premiere Pro / After Effects → DaVinci Resolve
P.S. I'm still expecting enshittification will roll in with Affinity tho, since Canva acquired them 👀 I hope it won't... but lol - it's just the way it goes with so many big tech companies innit? so take that rec with a pinch of salt. I've not found my replacement for it yet.
Oct 7, 2026, 3:54 PM@hejchristian I tried Affinity before but only used it as a cropping tool, which later I found that the default Photos app did a better job on cropping, so I got rid of Affinity. Plus, the Photos app is so lightweight, I'm quite happy with that.
@heybran Nice, yeah the Photos app itself is great for a quick crop and I use it myself, especially on the phone. Affinity for _just_ cropping is certainly overkill 😅
I've used it for all sorts, mostly vector graphic design though. It's been handy with page templates or even a whole brochure before too. I never did try their photo editing tools much, much prefer to wrangle that in a dedicated tool like darktable.
Oct 7, 2026, 3:53 PM@hejchristian For me:
- mac Photos for photos
- mac iMovie for videos
- Inkscape for SVGs
@heybran I do need to give Inkscape another honest try tbh!
My workflow for a vector design is just so established in Affinity now, I found it difficult to use for what I was doing. When I switch to Linux I'll try again, I'll attempt a whole 10+ layer piece, all in that tool :)
Oct 7, 2026, 4:07 PM@hejchristian For client work? If I remember correctly, you're self-employed?
@heybran Freelance yep, but not currently using these tools specifically because of client work.
I do use it for client work if I need some vector designs or a brochure for example, but otherwise I like to make multi-layered designs to then turn into physical objects via paper cutting, as a lil hobby-like-thing I'm exploring :)
Oct 7, 2026, 4:15 PM@hejchristian It's like 剪纸 in China 🤯
@heybran Ah yeah! papercutting :) Though mine get cut on a machine, because I'd like to fabricate them quicker and/or allow folks to make their own :)
Here is that same one in its "intended" state, framed and backlit with LED :)
Oct 7, 2026, 4:19 PM@hejchristian What a creative hobby!
@heybran I really like it, find it very enjoyable to do - just haven't had time to do any in a while due to focusing my attention on other things. Once my site is up, I hope to add /design page to feature such works (not for v1 though)
Oct 7, 2026, 11:54 PM
@hejchristian I feel exactly the same way! Only difference for me is Kdenlive for video editing, and Inkscape for vectors.
@candidexmedia Nice! I actually would like to try Kdenlive again, especially for when I move back onto Linux. I have a vague memory of testing it before but that must have been well over a decade ago 😅 I understand my current tool DaVinci can work on Linux, but that it's a bit finicky with distro, hardware, or certain features?
At quick glance on the kdenlive website, it does look good :)
@hejchristian I'm on Windows (for now), and was never able to get Resolve working, despite my PC having the minimum specs needed. Premiere just barely worked but was super slow, and Resolve just couldn't, so I'm not as familiar with the tool.
I've been using Kdenlive since it's been available on Windows, and it's changed *a lot* over the last few years. A lot of these powerful features are hidden in release notes: https://kdenlive.org/news/