{ "@context": [ "https://schema.org", { "nuanyue": "https://www.nuanyue.com/ns#" } ], "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "@id": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/krita/#software", "name": "Krita", "description": "Free and open-source digital painting application for macOS, Windows, Linux and Android tablets, aimed at concept art, illustration, comics, textures and 2D animation.", "url": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/krita/", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/krita/", "operatingSystem": "macOS", "applicationCategory": "DesignApplication", "publisher": { "name": "Stichting Krita Foundation", "url": "https://krita.org/" }, "sameAs": [ "https://krita.org/", "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/krita/id1594607976", "https://github.com/KDE/krita" ], "softwareVersion": "5.3.4", "license": "GPL-3.0", "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "0", "priceCurrency": "USD" }, "nuanyue:record": { "schemaVersion": 1, "id": "software:krita", "slug": "krita", "name": "Krita", "type": "SoftwareApplication", "entityType": "image editor", "description": "Free and open-source digital painting application for macOS, Windows, Linux and Android tablets, aimed at concept art, illustration, comics, textures and 2D animation.", "shortDescription": "Free and open-source digital painting application for illustrators and animators.", "answer": "Krita is a free and open-source painting application built for artists rather than for photo manipulation. Its feature page describes an end-to-end tool for creating digital art from scratch: over 100 preloaded brushes across nine brush engines, three different brush stabilisers plus a Dynamic Brush tool, drawing assistants for perspective and ellipses, wrap-around mode for seamless textures, vector tools for comic panels and speech balloons, and a 2D animation workspace with onion skinning, tweening and video export. It supports full colour management through LCMS for ICC profiles and OpenColorIO for EXR, and the project describes it as the only painting application that can open, save, edit and author HDR and scene-referred images. Python scripting extends it. It is licensed under the GNU GPL v3, and the project states plainly that Krita is not intended as a replacement for Photoshop for image manipulation. It suits illustrators, concept artists, comic artists and animators who want professional tools without a subscription.", "page": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/krita/", "dataUrl": "https://www.nuanyue.com/data/software/krita.json", "categories": [ "design" ], "tags": [], "platform": [ "macOS" ], "minOsVersion": "macOS 10.15", "architecture": [], "featured": false, "pricing": "open-source", "pricingDescription": "Free software under the GNU GPL v3, with no paid tier and no account for the download from the Krita site. The project also sells paid store builds on the Mac App Store, Microsoft Store, Steam and Epic Games Store; after the store's cut, the money supports Krita's development. The Mac App Store build was listed at $12.99 when Nuanyue checked.", "license": "GPL-3.0", "currentVersion": "5.3.4", "openSource": true, "website": "https://krita.org/", "documentation": "https://docs.krita.org/", "github": "https://github.com/KDE/krita", "appStore": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/krita/id1594607976", "download": "https://download.kde.org/stable/krita/5.3.4/krita-5.3.4-signed.dmg", "developer": { "name": "Stichting Krita Foundation", "website": "https://krita.org/" }, "icon": "/apps/krita.png", "features": [ "Over 100 professionally made brushes preloaded", "Nine brush engines, including Colour Smudge, Shape, Particle and Filter engines", "Three different brush stabilisers, plus a dedicated Dynamic Brush tool with drag and mass", "Wrap-around mode for painting seamless textures and patterns", "Resource Manager for importing brush and texture packs and bundling your own", "Built-in vector tools for comic panels and speech balloons, with SVG as the vector format", "2D animation workspace with onion skinning, tweening, timeline scrubbing and video export", "Drawing assistants for vanishing points, straight lines, ellipses and fisheye perspective", "Vector, filter, group and file layers alongside paint layers", "Full colour management through LCMS for ICC profiles and OpenColorIO for EXR", "HDR and scene-referred image editing with OpenEXR support", "Python scripting through PyQt and Krita's own API, with plugins pre-installed", "GPU-accelerated canvas through OpenGL, or Direct3D 11 on Windows", "Opens and saves Photoshop PSD files", "More than 30 dockers, a customisable layout and saveable workspaces", "Dark and light interface themes" ], "useCases": [ "Painting concept art, illustrations and matte paintings from a blank canvas", "Drawing and animating 2D animation frame by frame", "Laying out comics with vector panels and speech balloons", "Creating seamless textures and patterns for 3D work", "Authoring and inspecting HDR and scene-referred images in a colour-managed pipeline" ], "formats": [], "integrations": [], "pros": [ { "text": "Free software under the GNU GPL v3, with the source available to study, modify and redistribute.", "status": "verified", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Ships with over 100 professionally made brushes and nine separate brush engines to build custom ones from.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Three different brush stabilisers plus a Dynamic Brush tool with drag and mass settings.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Wrap-around mode makes it straightforward to paint seamless textures and patterns.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "A 2D animation workspace covers onion skinning, tweening, timeline scrubbing and export to video.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Built-in vector tools create comic panels and speech balloons, using SVG as the vector format.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Full colour management through LCMS for ICC profiles and OpenColorIO for EXR, so it can slot into an existing colour pipeline.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "The project describes Krita as the only painting application that can open, save, edit and author HDR and scene-referred images.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "A Python scripting API built on PyQt allows custom widgets and extensions, with plugins pre-installed as examples.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android tablets from one project.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "cons": [ { "text": "The Mac App Store build lagged the direct download — 5.3.2 against 5.3.4 — when Nuanyue checked both.", "status": "verified", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "Nuanyue could not establish from Krita's own pages whether the macOS build runs natively on Apple silicon or through translation.", "status": "editorially-reviewed" }, { "text": "The project states that Krita is not intended as a replacement for Photoshop, so image manipulation work may need a different tool.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "documentation", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "text": "The free download is published outside the Mac App Store, so nothing updates it automatically unless the paid store build is used.", "status": "derived", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "whoIsItFor": [ "Concept artists, illustrators and digital painters who want professional tools without a subscription", "Comic artists who need panel and balloon layout in the same application they paint in", "Animators who want frame-by-frame 2D animation alongside their painting tools", "Anyone who wants to read, modify and rebuild the software they rely on" ], "notFor": [ "Photographers who need a Photoshop replacement for image manipulation, which the project itself says Krita is not", "Anyone who needs a vendor support contract or commercial backing behind the application", "macOS users who expect an Apple-idiomatic interface, since Krita is a cross-platform Qt application" ], "limitations": [ "The Mac App Store build was at 5.3.2 while the direct download was at 5.3.4 when Nuanyue checked, so the two channels are not always in step", "Nuanyue could not find a first-party statement on whether the macOS build runs natively on Apple silicon, so that is recorded as unknown here", "The project states that Krita is not intended as a replacement for Photoshop, and that other programs may have more features for image manipulation tasks such as stitching photos", "Version 6.0 is in development as nightly builds that the project labels for testing only" ], "firstUse": { "installation": { "value": "Downloaded as a signed disk image from download.kde.org, or bought from the Mac App Store. The store build is a paid version whose proceeds support development; the direct download is the same application at no cost.", "status": "verified", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, "firstLaunch": { "value": "No account or licence key is involved. The first launch opens a workspace, and brush, tablet and colour settings are configured inside the application.", "status": "derived", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, "systemIntegration": { "value": null, "status": "unknown" }, "appleSilicon": { "value": null, "status": "unknown" } }, "updates": [], "faq": [ { "question": "Is Krita free?", "answer": "Yes. Krita is free software under the GNU GPL v3, and the project states that it is free and open source and that you are free to study, modify and distribute it. There is no paid tier and no account for the download from the Krita site.", "status": "verified", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "question": "Why is Krita paid on the Mac App Store?", "answer": "The store builds are a separate paid channel. The project describes them as paid versions of Krita on other platforms, notes that you get automatic updates with them, and says that after the store fee is deducted the money supports Krita's development. The free download from download.kde.org is the same application.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "question": "Does Krita run on Apple silicon Macs?", "answer": "Nuanyue could not establish this from Krita's own pages. The download page lists macOS 10.15 as the requirement and offers a single signed disk image, without stating whether the build runs natively on Apple silicon or through Rosetta 2, so the answer is not recorded here.", "status": "editorially-reviewed" }, { "question": "Is Krita a replacement for Photoshop?", "answer": "The project says it is not. Krita's manual states that although it has features overlapping with other raster editors, its intended purpose is digital painting and creating artwork from scratch, and that other programs may have more features for image manipulation tasks such as stitching photos together.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "documentation", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "question": "What file formats does Krita work with?", "answer": "Krita opens and saves Photoshop PSD files, and its feature page notes that it can open PSD files that even Photoshop cannot. Vector layers are managed as SVG, and HDR work uses OpenEXR with OpenColorIO.", "status": "developer-stated", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "question": "What is the minimum macOS version?", "answer": "macOS 10.15, as listed in the system requirements on Krita's download page alongside 4 GB of RAM minimum and OpenGL 3.0 or higher.", "status": "verified", "source": "official", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "relationships": [ { "target": "gimp", "type": "compared_with", "reason": "Both are free, open-source raster editors for macOS that are routinely weighed against each other, but Krita is built around digital painting and animation while GIMP is oriented towards photo retouching and compositing.", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "target": "affinity-photo", "type": "alternative", "reason": "Both edit raster images on macOS, but Krita is free software aimed at painting and illustration while Affinity's Pixel Studio is a closed-source photo editor that requires a Canva account.", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "target": "pixelmator", "type": "alternative", "reason": "Both are raster image editors on macOS, but Krita is a free open-source painting application while Pixelmator Pro is a paid Apple-owned app aimed at photo editing and compositing.", "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "krita:app-store", "type": "app_store", "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/krita/id1594607976", "title": "Krita on the Mac App Store", "trustLevel": "A", "accessedAt": null }, { "id": "krita:official", "type": "official_website", "url": "https://krita.org/", "title": "Krita — official website", "trustLevel": "B", "accessedAt": null }, { "id": "krita:developer", "type": "developer", "url": "https://krita.org/", "title": "Stichting Krita Foundation — developer website", "trustLevel": "B", "accessedAt": null }, { "id": "krita:documentation", "type": "documentation", "url": "https://docs.krita.org/", "title": "Krita — documentation", "trustLevel": "C", "accessedAt": null }, { "id": "krita:repository", "type": "github", "url": "https://github.com/KDE/krita", "title": "Krita — source repository", "trustLevel": "D", "accessedAt": null } ], "claims": [ { "id": "software:krita.isA", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "isA", "value": "image editor", "status": "editorially-reviewed", "sourceIds": [ "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.supportsPlatform", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "supportsPlatform", "value": [ "macOS" ], "status": "verified", "sourceIds": [ "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.officialWebsite", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "officialWebsite", "value": "https://krita.org/", "status": "verified", "sourceIds": [ "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.listedInCategory", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "listedInCategory", "value": [ "design" ], "status": "editorially-reviewed", "sourceIds": [ "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.pricingModel", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "pricingModel", "value": "Open source", "status": "developer-stated", "sourceIds": [ "krita:app-store", "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.developedBy", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "developedBy", "value": "Stichting Krita Foundation", "status": "developer-stated", "sourceIds": [ "krita:developer", "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.ownership", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "ownership", "value": "Third-party product — not published by Nuanyue", "status": "editorially-reviewed", "sourceIds": [], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.isOpenSource", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "isOpenSource", "value": true, "status": "verified", "sourceIds": [ "krita:repository", "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.licensedUnder", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "licensedUnder", "value": "GPL-3.0", "status": "verified", "sourceIds": [ "krita:repository", "krita:documentation", "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.currentVersion", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "currentVersion", "value": "5.3.4", "status": "developer-stated", "sourceIds": [ "krita:app-store", "krita:official" ], "lastVerified": null }, { "id": "software:krita.hasFeature", "subject": "software:krita", "predicate": "hasFeature", "value": [ "Over 100 professionally made brushes preloaded", "Nine brush engines, including Colour Smudge, Shape, Particle and Filter engines", "Three different brush stabilisers, plus a dedicated Dynamic Brush tool with drag and mass", "Wrap-around mode for painting seamless textures and patterns", "Resource Manager for importing brush and texture packs and bundling your own", "Built-in 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