Open Source & Free Graphics Software

If you have any questions about this software, search it on Google and Youtube.
Youtube is filled with video tutorials for most of these. Do ​not ​ask me.

I have ​not ​tried all of these, this is simply a record of what I’ve found.
Also, if you find a link that is incorrect or outdated, let me know, I’ll fix it.

3D modeling, animation, and rendering

Blender (complete 3D animation, fx, simulation, sculpting, texturing, rendering, etc)

http://www.blender.org/

SketchUp
http://sketchup.google.com/

Form Z Free
http://www.formz.com/products/formzfree.html

Gaffer (Lighting, shading, and compositing, Linux and Mac only)

http://imageengine.github.io/gaffer/index.html

Open 3D Model Viewer (Windows only, model viewer only)

http://www.open3mod.com/

Equinox 3D (Mac and Linux only)

http://www.equinox3d.com/index.html

Gloss3D (Linux only)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/gloss3d/files/

Python Photogrammetry Toolbox (Windows and Linux only)

http://184.106.205.13/arcteam/ppt.php

Clustering Views for Multi-view Stereo (CMVS) (Photomodelling, Windows and Linux only, I
think)
http://www.di.ens.fr/cmvs/

VisualSFM (Photomodelling)
http://ccwu.me/vsfm/

Regard3D (Photomodelling)
http://www.regard3d.org/

Smart3DCapture (Photomodelling, Windows only)

https://community.acute3d.com/smart3dcapture-free-edition

Insight3D (Photomodelling, Windows and Linux only)

http://insight3d.sourceforge.net/
Open Source photogrammetry
http://opensourcephotogrammetry.blogspot.com/

Mach Studio Pro (is this still available? - not sure)

http://www.studiogpu.com/machstudio

MakeHuman (creating human models)

http://www.makehuman.org/

ManuelBastioniLab
http://www.manuelbastioni.com/

SculptGL (Web-based sculpting)

http://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/

Werkkzeug 4 CE (Windows only)

http://werkkzeug4ce.blogspot.com/

Bryce Personal Learning Edition (Windows and Mac only)

http://www.daz3d.com/i/products/bryce/download​?

Sculptris (sculpting only, now owned by Zbrush, but still free)

http://www.sculptris.com/

Dilay (sculpting only, Windows and Linux only)

http://abau.org/dilay/index.html

Neobarok (sculpting, no download links yet, just demos)

https://neobarok.wordpress.com/

MeshMolder (sculpting, beta, Windows only)

http://www.meshmolder.com/index.html

Smoothie-3D (sketch-based, online)

http://www.smoothie-3d.com/

Shapeshop (sketch-based 3D)

http://www.shapeshop3d.com/

MeshMixer (3D mesh editor and sculpting)

http://www.meshmixer.com/

Shadow’s Spider (very basic, written by one person)

https://github.com/bergjones/Shadows_Spider

Sketch Based Experimental modeling tool

http://www.gunayorbay.com/tutorial/

I Love Sketch (sketch-based modeling, is this released? Not sure...)

http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~shbae/ilovesketch.htm
Terragen (natural landscapes and atmospheres)
http://www.planetside.co.uk/

Meshlab (processing and cleaning up of dense 3D meshes)

http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/

Netfabb Studio Basic (processing and cleaning up of dense 3D meshes, prep for STL printing)
http://www.netfabb.com/basic.php

Slic3r (G-code generator for 3d printers)

http://slic3r.org/

TinkerCAD (browser based, good for 3d printing)

https://tinkercad.com/

Nervous System Tools (browser based, organic cellular forms, good for 3d printing)
http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/tools/

Tree it (maybe Windows only)

http://www.evolved-software.com/treeit/treeit

Arbaro (tree & plant generator, requires Java)

http://arbaro.sourceforge.net/

ngPlant (tree & plant generator, Windows and Mac only)

http://ngplant.sourceforge.net/

PlantStudio (tree & plant generator, Windows only)

http://www.kurtz-fernhout.com/summary_plantstudio.html

TerrSculptor (Windows only, only free while in beta)

http://www.lilchips.com/hmes.asp

Suicidator City Generator (for Blender)

http://arnaud.ile.nc/sce/

CrackArt (Texture painting and materials, Windows only)

http://crackart.org/

Ivy Generator
http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/
http://vivec3d.com/3d-ivy-generator-2012/​ (multi-core version, much faster)

Ayam (NURBS modelling only)

http://ayam.sourceforge.net/ayam.html

Nurbana (NURBS modelling only, Linux only?)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/nurbana/
LEGO Digital Designer (Windows and Mac only)
http://ldd.lego.com/

DAZ Studio
http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/daz_studio3?_m=d

L3DT (Terrain maps and textures, Windows only)

http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/

Wilbur (Terrain creation, Windows only)

http://www.ridgenet.net/~jslayton/wilbur.html

ParaView (data analysis and visualization)

http://www.paraview.org/

Sylphis 3D (game engine)

http://devnet.sylphis3d.com/

LightRay3D (Windows only)

http://www.sxcreations.com/lr3d/lightray3d.php

3DCrafter (Basic version, Windows only)

http://www.amabilis.com/products.htm

Truespace (discontinued in 2008)

http://download.cnet.com/TrueSpace/3000-6677_4-10187286.html

Lithosphere (terrain generation, may be abandoned)

http://lithosphere.codeflow.org/

Breeze Designer (Windows only)

http://www.breezedesigner.com/

Model Magic 3D (Windows only)

http://www.imagewaredev.com/

ArtMatic 5 and ArtMatic Voyager (Mac only)

http://uisoftware.com/artmatic/indexAMVY.php

Moray (modeller for POV-Ray)

http://www.stmuc.com/moray/index.html

Anim8or
http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html

MarbleCLAY
http://homepage3.nifty.com/escargot/MCLFrm.html

Art of Illusion
http://www.artofillusion.org/index
Deled CE
http://www.delgine.com

K-3D
http://www.k-3d.org/

Moonlight 3D
http://www.moonlight3d.eu/cms/index.php/about

SmoothTeddy
http://www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/java/smoothteddy/index.html

Wings 3D
http://www.wings3d.com/

Dynamo BIM (Graphical programming interface for building information, Windows only)
http://dynamobim.org/

kHED (modeling only, Windows only)

http://khed.glsl.ru/index.php?page=home

Open Dental CAD (designing crowns and related dentistry, for Blender)
http://opendentalcad.com/

FaceGen (only the modeler is free, Windows only)

http://www.facegen.com

Scannerkiller (online photomodeling service) ​NO LONGER AVAILABLE

http://www.xyzrgb.com/scannerkiller

Make 3D (Cornell University project to create 3D model from single photo)

http://make3d.cs.cornell.edu/

Metasequoia (Windows only)

http://metaseq.net/english/

TopMod (Manifold Mesh modeling, Windows only)

http://www.viz.tamu.edu/faculty/ergun/research/topology/download.html

Stereo (Photomodelling, student project from 1996-97)

http://stereo.sourceforge.net/

Sweet Home 3D (interior design and layout)

http://www.sweethome3d.com

BubblEd (sphere modeling, Windows only)

http://www.quelsolaar.com/bubbled/index.html

Qoob (small model creation, Windows only)

http://qoob.weebly.com

Balancer Lite (mesh optimizer, Windows and Mac only)

http://www.atangeo.com/download

CloudCompare (mesh cleanup, Windows and Linux only)

http://www.danielgm.net/cc/

LuxRender (renderer only, for most 3D programs)

http://www.luxrender.net/en_GB/index

Appleseed (renderer only)

http://appleseedhq.net/

Kerkythea (renderer only)

http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/

Loki Render (render farm for Blender)

http://loki-render.sourceforge.net/index.php/Main_Page

Jot (standalone non-photorealistic renderer only)

http://jot.cs.princeton.edu/

Mitsuba (renderer only)

http://www.mitsuba-renderer.org/index.html

Fujiyama (renderer only)

http://fujiyama-renderer.com/

Corona Renderer (renderer only)

https://corona-renderer.com/

Yafray (renderer only, for Blender)

http://www.yafaray.org/

POV Ray (renderer only)

http://www.povray.org/

Pixie (Renderman rendering)

http://www.renderpixie.com/

Ogre (renderer only)

http://www.ogre3d.org/

Other links for using Renderman with Blender

http://www.blendertorenderman.org/p/links.html

Horde3D (rendering engine)

http://horde3d.org
Pointshop 3D (discontinued in 2006)
http://graphics.ethz.ch/pointshop3d/index.html

3D Crafter (Windows only)

http://www.amabilis.com/products.htm

Loq Airou (model sketcher)

http://quelsolaar.com/loq_airou/

Video editing

Lightworks
http://www.lwks.com/

Blender (complete non-linear editor)

http://www.blender.org/

Shotcut
http://www.shotcutapp.com/
http://shotcutapp.blogspot.dk/

DaVinci Resolve Free

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve

Avid Media Composer First

http://www.avid.com/media-composer-first/

OpenShot
http://www.openshot.org/

VideoLAN Movie Creator

http://trac.videolan.org/vlmc/

ZS4 Video Editor

http://www.zs4.net/

Kdenlive (Linux, beta on Windows & Mac)

http://www.kdenlive.org

VSDC Video Editor

http://www.videosoftdev.com/free-video-editor

VirtualDub (also captures video)

http://www.virtualdub.org/

MPEG Streamclip
http://www.squared5.com/

Avidemux
http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/

Wax (Windows only)

http://www.debugmode.com/wax/

Windows Movie Maker (Windows only)

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-movie-maker?os=other

Flowblade (Linux only)

http://code.google.com/p/flowblade/

Cinelerra (Linux only)

http://cinelerra.org/

Open Movie Editor (Linux only)

http://www.openmovieeditor.org/

HyperEngine-AV
http://sourceforge.net/projects/hyperengine/files/

VideoSpin (Windows only)

http://videospin.en.softonic.com/

Video Software Development Company (Windows only, might install adware, check reviews)
http://www.videosoftdev.com/

Vivia (Linux and Windows only, not updated since 2007)

http://vivia-video.org/

PiTiVi (Linux only)

http://www.pitivi.org/

Compositing

Blender (node-based compositing)

http://www.blender.org/

Natron (node-based compositing, developing quickly)

https://natron.inria.fr/

Blackmagic Fusion (node-based compositing)

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/fusion

Phantom2D Motion Graphics (Linux only)

https://code.google.com/p/phantom2d/

Gaffer (Lighting, shading, and compositing, Linux and Mac only)

http://imageengine.github.io/gaffer/index.html

ButtleOFX (Linux only, is it still in development?)

http://buttleofx.wordpress.com/

Synapse (Windows XP and Linux only, not updated since 2011)

http://code.google.com/p/vexx/

Ramen (Linux only, not updated since 2011)

http://ramencomp.blogspot.com/

Wax (Windows only, not updated since who knows when!)

http://www.debugmode.com/wax/

Mewa Film (Windows only)

http://mewafilm.blogspot.com/

ZS4 Video Editor

http://www.zs4.net/

CineGobs (keying software only, Windows only)

http://cinegobs.com

VirtualDub Deshaker (stabilizing shaky footage, plugin for VirtualDub)

http://www.guthspot.se/video/deshaker.htm

Cinepaint (multiframe painting & retouching, Linux and Mac OS only)

http://www.cinepaint.org/more/

Moviepaint (multiframe painting & retouching, not sure of OS)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/moviepaint/

Jahshaka (v2.0 was real and very buggy, v3.0 was rumored to be a scam but now seems to be
being worked on)
http://www.jahshaka.com/

Retiming Footage

slowmoVideo (Linux and Windows only)

http://slowmovideo.granjow.net/
http://slowmovideo.granjow.net/builds.php#h3_Windowsexecutables​ (Windows version)

CAD (Computer Aided Design)

NanoCAD
http://nanocad.com/

DraftSight
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/

LibreCAD
http://librecad.org/cms/home.html
QCAD (Community Edition)
http://www.ribbonsoft.com/qcad.html

FreeCAD France
http://www.freecad-france.com/

FreeCAD
http://www.freecadweb.org/

Ayam
http://ayam.sourceforge.net/

gCAD 3D
http://www.gcad3d.org/

DoubleCAD XT
http://www.doublecad.com/Products/DoubleCADXTv3/tabid/1100/Default.aspx

BRL-CAD
http://brlcad.org/

OpenSCAD (model by programming)

http://www.openscad.org/

Wildcat-CAD
http://code.google.com/p/wildcat-cad/

CADemia
http://www.cademia.org/frontend/index.php?sub=29&ses_id=d47a993c0b9558b68f9f89c122d45
098

PythonCAD
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pythoncad/

SolveSapce (Windows only)

http://solvespace.com/index.pl

HeeksCAD (Windows and Linux only)

http://code.google.com/p/heekscad/

Blender CAD edition (old version)

http://www.cad4arch.com/blenderCADedition/index.htm

Vectorworks 2012 Viewer

http://www.vectorworks.net/downloads/fundamentals/index.php

Various Mechanical Engineering software

http://www.freebyte.com/cad/cad.htm#2D3DCADSystems

Video players and Viewers (3d models, etc)

VLC
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

MPC-HC (Possible better alternative to VLC, better scrubbing?)

https://mpc-hc.org/

JefeCheck (frame sequences as well as movies)

http://jefecheck.jefecorp.com/index.html

DJV Imaging (frame sequences as well as movies)

http://djv.sourceforge.net/
http://djv.sourceforge.net/djvHelp.html

MPV player
https://mpv.io/

POT Player (Windows only)

https://potplayer.daum.net/

SCRATCH Play (Windows and Mac only)

http://www.assimilateinc.com/products/scratch-play

SqCheck (not developed since 2011)

http://sqview.sourceforge.net/index.html

Bview (Linux and Mac only)

http://bufsoftware.com/products/bview/

Bino (supports stereoscopic 3D viewing)

http://bino3d.org/

Free Image Sequence Player (for frame sequences)

http://mateuszstaniszew.pl/index.php?m=3&p=4

Duke (Open Mikros Image)

http://opensource.mikrosimage.eu/duke.html

Clockstone FBX Viewer (for viewing 3D files)

http://fbx.clockstone.com/index.html

GLC Players (OBJ viewer)

http://www.glc-player.net

FBX Review
http://area.autodesk.com/products/features/fbx

Miro (seems like iTunes)

http://www.getmiro.com/
mrViewer (Linux and Windows only)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mrviewer/

SUPER (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) (Windows only)

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

FISP (Free Image Sequence Player) (Windows only)

http://mateuszstaniszew.pl/index.php?menu=04&other=04

Video trancoding and compression

Cliptoolz Convert (Windows only?)

http://www.cliptoolz.com/

MakeMKV (also rips blu rays and DVDs)

http://www.makemkv.com/

MediaCoder
http://www.mediacoderhq.com/

Handbrake
http://handbrake.fr/

MPEG Streamclip
http://www.squared5.com/

Format Factory
http://formatfactory.org/

Avanti/Avisynth/FFmpeg (Windows only)

http://avanti.arrozcru.com/

Arista Transcoder
http://www.transcoder.org/

Video Software Development Company (Windows only, might install adware, check reviews)
http://www.videosoftdev.com/

SUPER (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) (Windows only)

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

Image editing and photo retouching

GIMP
http://www.gimp.org/

Nodewerk (node based photo editing, requires Adobe Air)

http://nodewerk.com/

Krita (Linux and Windows only, Mac is experimental)

http://www.krita.org/

LightZone (similar to Adobe Lightroom)

http://www.lightzoneproject.org/

Fotografix (ideal for netbooks, Windows only)

http://lmadhavan.com/software/fotografix/

FireAlpaca (Windows and Mac only)

http://firealpaca.com/

Cinepaint (for image sequences, too)

http://www.cinepaint.org/

MoviePaint (for image sequences, too)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/moviepaint/

Pixel
http://www.kanzelsberger.com/pixel/

Pixlr (Windows and Mac only)

https://pixlr.com/desktop

Photobie (Windows only)

http://www.photobie.com/

Photoscape (Windows only)

http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

PixBuilder Studio (Windows only)

http://www.wnsoft.com/pixbuilder/

StylePix (Windows only)

http://hornil.com/en/products/stylepix/

Chasys Draw IES (Windows only)

http://www.chachaslab.com/chasys_draw_ies.php

Paint.NET (Windows only)

http://www.getpaint.net/

Pinta
http://pinta-project.com/

Picasa
http://picasa.google.com/

Microsoft Image Composite Editor (Windows only, stitcher)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/product/computational-photography-applications/ima
ge-composite-editor/
Hugin (panoramic photo stitcher)
http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

Photoscape (Windows only)

http://www.photoscape.org

JTL Ultimate Paint (32 bit Windows only, trial is fully functional)
http://www.ultimatepaint.com/

Whyteboard (basic painting & annotating PDFs, Windows and Linux only)
http://whyteboard.org/

Photivo (RAW processing and digital darkroom)

http://code.google.com/p/photivo/

RAW Therapee (RAW processing and digital darkroom)

http://rawtherapee.com/

DigiKam (RAW processing and digital darkroom)

http://www.digikam.org/

Blue Marine (RAW processing and digital darkroom)

http://bluemarine.tidalwave.it//

Darktable (RAW processing and digital darkroom, Linux and Mac only)
http://darktable.sourceforge.net

RAW Studio (RAW processing, Linux only)

http://rawstudio.org/

Flaming Pear Free Plugins (Not all silly, some useful ones)
http://flamingpear.com/goodies.html

Easy Green Screen (free greenscreen plug-in for Photoshop)

http://www.photoshopgreenscreen.com/

Zebratrace (woodcut effect, Windows and Linux only)

http://maxim-s-barabash.github.io/ZebraTrace/

Dydelf (posterized graphics tool, Windows only)

http://dydelf.republika.pl/index.html

Browser-based Image editing, painting, and photo retouching

(No Installation, works from anywhere with an internet connection!)

SumoPaint
http://www.sumopaint.com

ToolPic (Photoshop Online)

http://www.toolpic.com/

Adobe Photoshop Express

http://www.photoshop.com/tools/overview

Photopea
http://www.photopea.com/

Pixlr
http://www.pixlr.com

Rebelle (Experimental, watercolor painting)

http://www.escapemotions.com/experiments/rebelle/

Splashup
http://www.splashup.com/

Muro (deviantart's paint program)

http://muro.deviantart.com/

FlauntR
http://www.flauntr.com/

FotoFlexer
http://fotoflexer.com/

GMIC Greyc’s Magic for Image Computing (online filters and effects)
https://gmicol.greyc.fr/

Browser-based Video Editing

(No Installation, works from anywhere with an internet connection!)

WeVideo
https://www.wevideo.com/

YouTube Video Editor

https://www.youtube.com/editor/

Video Toolbox
http://www.videotoolbox.com/

JW Player Editor
http://jwplayer.mixmoov-studio.com/flex/jwplayer.html

FileLab Video Editor

https://www.filelab.com/video-editor

VideoPad Editor (Windows only)

http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html
Browser-based 3D
(No Installation, works from anywhere with an internet connection!)

TinkerCAD (good for 3d printing)

https://tinkercad.com/

3D Tin
http://www.3dtin.com/

Shapesmith
http://shapesmith.net/

Smoothie-3D (sketch-based, online)

http://www.smoothie-3d.com/

SculptGL (Web-based sculpting)

http://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/

ThreeNodes (node based procedural engine)

http://idflood.github.io/ThreeNodes.js/public/

Sweet Home 3D (interior design and layout)

http://www.sweethome3d.com

Nervous System Tools (organic cellular forms, good for 3d printing)

http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/tools/

P3D (viewing models only)

http://p3d.in/

3D Model Exchanging

OD_CopyPasteExternal
https://heimlich1024.github.io/OD_CopyPasteExternal/

Verse
http://quelsolaar.com/verse/index.html

CD/DVD Authoring & Burning

DVDStyler
http://dvdstyler.org/en/

Bombono DVD (Linux and Windows only)

http://www.bombono.org/cgi-bin/wiki/

DVD Flick
http://dvdflick.net/

DeVeDe (Linux and Windows only)

http://www.rastersoft.com/programas/devede.html

Koyote Video to DVD Converter

http://koyotesoft.com/video-software/free-videos-to-dvd.html

InfraRecorder (Windows only)

http://infrarecorder.org/

Brasero (Linux only)

http://projects.gnome.org/brasero//index.html

Nero Kwik Burn

http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nbl-free.php

CDBurnerXP (Windows only)

http://cdburnerxp.se/en/home

Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 (Windows only)

http://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/0710/Offline/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-6

UV Unwrapping

Blender
http://www.blender.org/

UV Mapper Classic
http://www.uvmapper.com/

Kuler Islands
https://vimeo.com/137131326

LithUnwrap (Windows only)

http://www.sharecg.com/v/5169/Software-and-Tools/LithUnwrap---Free-UV-Mapper-for-Window
s

Roadkill (Windows only)

http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page8.htm

3D Texture Painting

Tattoo
http://www.terabit-software.co.uk/Tattoo.aspx

Texture Images

Good Textures
http://www.goodtextures.com/

Texture Ninja
https://texture.ninja/
CGTextures
http://www.cgtextures.com/

10ravens Textures
http://www.10ravens.com/textures/

CanTree (online tree image generator)

http://arnaud.ile.nc/cantree/

Mayang’s Free Textures

http://mayang.com/textures/

Texturify
http://texturify.com/

Rigging

Mixamo Auto-rigger (free for characters under 10,000 triangles)

http://www.mixamo.com/c/auto-rigger

Caustics Pattern/Animation Generator

Kool Lite Tools Caustic Generator v1.4 (Windows only)

http://www.klitetools.com/comments.php?shownews=4130&catid=68

Caustics Generator
http://www.dualheights.se/caustics/

Procedural Texture Creation and Editing

NeoTextureEdit
http://neotextureedit.sourceforge.net/

MaPZone
http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/

tg (Texture Generator)
http://www.blackpawn.com/dev/tg.html

nMaker Tools (Windows only, maybe)

http://www.nmaker.com.br/index.html

NoiseLab
https://sites.google.com/site/noiselab15/

Substance Player (Windows and Mac only)

http://www.allegorithmic.com/products/player

Wood Workshop (Windows only)

http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/ww_overview.htm

Texture Ripper (extracting textures from photos)

http://myclone.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/textureripper/

Auto Normal maps, Ambient Occlusion, etc...

PixaFlux (Windows only)

http://pixaflux.com/index.php
https://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?391893-PixaFlux-PBR-Texture-Composer-Ope
n-Beta-Testing

NormalMap Generator (Windows and Linux only)

https://github.com/Theverat/NormalmapGenerator

MaPZone
http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/

Smart Normal - (browser based, no installation)

http://www.smart-page.net/smartnormal/

SMAK - Super Model Army Knife (Windows only)

http://getsmak.net/

xNormal
http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx

Crazy Bump
http://www.crazybump.com/

HDRI Software

HDR Shop (Version 1 only, Windows only)

http://www.hdrshop.com/

Luminance HDR
http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/

FDR Tools Basic (Windos and Mac only)

http://fdrtools.com/fdrtools_basic_e.php

Essential HDR Community Edition (Windows only)

http://www.imagingluminary.com/Default.aspx

Picturenaut (Windows only)

http://www.hdrlabs.com/picturenaut/index.html

Smart IBL
http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/sibl-edit.html
http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/index.html
http://www.hdrlabs.com/picturenaut/index.html

3D matchmoving

Blender (full 2d tracking, 3d camera solving, and set reconstruction)

http://www.blender.org/

Icarus
http://web.archive.org/web/20021203195907/aig.cs.man.ac.uk/icarus/index.php

Icarus training and links

http://www.colinlevy.com/tuts/IcarusTutorials/Icarus.php

Voodoo - Might be DEAD!

http://www.digilab.uni-hannover.de/docs/manual.html

ACTS: Automatic Camera Tracking System (Windows only)

http://zjucvg.net/acts/acts.html

Vector illustration

Inkscape
http://inkscape.org/

Browser-based Vector illustration

(No Installation, works from anywhere with an internet connection!)

SVG-edit
http://svg-edit.googlecode.com/svn/branches/2.6/editor/svg-editor.html

Janvas
http://www.janvas.com/

Chittram
http://www.chittram.com/

Fractal Generators

Qosmic
http://code.google.com/p/qosmic/

Apophysis
http://apophysis.org/

Apophysis 7x (improved version of Apophysis)

http://apophysis.xyrus-worx.org/

Mandelbulber
http://www.mandelbulber.com/
Oxidizer (Mac only)
http://oxidizer.sourceforge.net/Site/Oxidizer.html

Bitmap to Vector conversion

Autotrace Online
http://www.roitsystems.com/cgi-bin/autotrace/tracer.pl

2D animation

Pencil 2D
http://www.pencil2d.org/

Toonz (soon will be open-sourced)

http://www.toonzpremium.com/

Plastic Animation Paper

http://plasticanimationpaper.dk/

Synfig Studio (similar to Flash)

http://synfig.org

VPaint (still in development, very new)

http://vpaint.org/

Animata (similar to Flash, Windows and Mac only)

http://animata.kibu.hu

Giotto (similar to Flash, Windows only)

http://vectorian.com/giotto/

Creatoon (No longer being developed, Windows only)

http://www.creatoon.com/

KTooN (Linux only)

http://www.ktoon.net/portal/

Tupi (branched from KTooN, Linux and maybe Mac only)

http://www.maefloresta.com/portal/

Stop Motion Animation

Helium Frog Animator

http://www.heliumfrog.com/

qStopMotion
http://www.qstopmotion.org/

MonkeyJam
http://monkeyjam.org/

Sketching/Natural media/Art/Painting

MyPaint
http://mypaint.org/

Krita (Linux and Windows only, Mac is experimental)

http://www.krita.org/

openCanvas (only v1.1 is free, I think Windows only)

http://wistinga.online.fr/opencanvas/

Paint Tool SAI

http://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/
http://detstwo.com/sai/​ (English version)

SpeedyPainter (Windows only)

http://speedypainter.altervista.org/

Verve Painter (Fluid dynamics painting, Windows only)

http://www.taron.de/forum/

GIMP Paint Studio

http://code.google.com/p/gps-gimp-paint-studio/

Windows 7 Open Drawing Package (MyPaint, GIMP-Painter, and Alchemy)

http://vegeti.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59

Artrage 2 (Starter Edition)

http://www.artrage.com/artrage-demos.html

Artweaver (Windows only)

http://www.artweaver.de/

Autodesk Sketchbook Copic Edition (marker rendering)

http://copic.jp/sketchbook-ce.html

Creo Sketch
http://www.ptc.com/products/creo/sketch/

Audio

Audacity
http://www.audacityteam.org/

Ocenaudio
http://www.ocenaudio.com/

Qtractor
https://qtractor.sourceforge.io/

Ardour (Mac and Linux only)

http://www.ardour.org/

Linux Multimedia Studio (Linux and Windos only)

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/home.php

Smasher (Loop slicer and creation)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/smasher/

Sonic Visualizer (in-depth analyzing of audio files)

http://www.sonicvisualiser.org

Psycle Modular Music Creation Studio (Windows and Linux only)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/psycle/

Hydrogen Drum machine (Linux only)

http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/

Open Octave Studio (Linux only)

http://www.openoctave.org/

Music Scoring

MuseScore (Windows only)

http://musescore.org/

Rosegarden
http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/

Browser-based Music Creation

(No Installation, works from anywhere with an internet connection!)

AudioSauna
http://www.audiosauna.com/

Video & Audio Conversions

Freemake (Windows only)

http://www.freemake.com/

Video Software Development Company (Windows only, might install adware, check reviews)
http://www.videosoftdev.com/

PhotoLapse 3 (JPGs to AVI, Windows only)

http://home.hccnet.nl/s.vd.palen/photolapse.html

SUPER (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) (Windows only)

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html
Hamster Soft tools (Windows only, except for ZIP Archiver)
http://www.hamstersoft.com/

Screenwriting, pre-production, & texts

Trelby (Windows and Linux only, Mac coming soon, works with Final Draft formats)
http://www.trelby.org/

Celtx
http://www.celtx.com/

KIT Scenarist
https://kitscenarist.ru/en/index.html

Afterwriting (browser based)

https://afterwriting.com/

WriterDuet (browser based, collaborative, exports to all popular screenplay formats)

https://www.readthrough.com/writerduet#home

oStorybook (novel writing and outlining)

https://ostorybook.wordpress.com/

Free Film Software (Windows only, special instructions for Windows 7 users)
ScriptMaker (screenwriting)
Slang (story development)
Storyboard Tools (storyboard management)
http://www.freefilmsoftware.co.uk/

Microsoft Word Screenplay Template

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/screenplay-TC001018636.aspx

Screenplain (online text-to-screenplay convertor)

http://www.screenplain.com/

Page 2 Stage (Windows only)

http://www.page2stage.com/

Rough Draft (Windows only, no longer updated)

http://www.salsbury.f2s.com/rd.htm

Plotbot (Online only)

http://www.plotbot.com/

Five Sprockets (Online only)

http://www.fivesprockets.com

OpenOffice (full office suite)

http://www.openoffice.org/
OpenOffice Screenplay Template
http://extensions.openoffice.org/en/project/scr2

LibreOffice (full office suite)

http://www.libreoffice.org/

WPS Office
https://www.wps.com/office-free

ReadThrough (1 month trial, will read your script aloud)

http://www.readthrough.com/

Tomboy (note taking & organizing)

http://projects.gnome.org/tomboy/index.html

KeepNote (note taking & organizing)

http://keepnote.org/index.shtml

wikidPad (Wiki-like notebook)

http://wikidpad.sourceforge.net/

Keynote-NF (note taking & organizing, Windows only)

http://code.google.com/p/keynote-nf/

Fountain (some kind of framework for text in screenplay format, I’m not sure)
http://fountain.io/

FreeMind (graphical layout and organization) (Java based)

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

SimpleOCR (Optical Character Recognition)

http://www.simpleocr.com/

Scanning Software

VueScan
http://www.hamrick.com/

FreeKapture 2.0 (Windows Only)

http://www.freewarefiles.com/FreeKapture_program_32165.html

Web design

Kompozer
http://kompozer.net/

NetObjects Fusion Essentials

http://netobjects.com/html/essentials.html
Bluefish
http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/index.html

BlueGriffon
http://bluegriffon.org/

NVU
http://net2.com/nvu/

Desktop Publishing & Page Layout

Scribus
http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus

PagePlus
http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/

Paper Craft Model Layout

Pepakura Designer 3
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/

Font creation

FontForge
http://fontforge.sourceforge.net/

Fontstruct
http://fontstruct.com/

Birdfont
http://birdfont.org/

PDF editing

PDFedit (might be Linux only)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfedit/

PDFforge
http://www.pdfforge.org/

PDFsam
http://www.pdfsam.org/

Ebook Management

Calibre
http://calibre-ebook.com/

Sigil (ebook editor)

https://github.com/Sigil-Ebook/Sigil

Novel writing

yWriter
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html

Thumbnail Viewer

SageThumbs (Windows only)

https://code.google.com/p/sagethumbs/

Zip compression

7zip
http://www.7-zip.org/

Screen Recording & Capturing

Screencast-O-Matic (browser based, no installation necessary!)

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

CamStudio
http://www.camstudio.org/

Open Broadcaster Software

http://obsproject.com/

AutoScreenRecorder 3.1
http://wisdom-soft.com/products/autoscreenrecorder_free.htm

PicPick
http://picpick.org

HyperCam v2 (Windows only)

http://www.hyperionics.com/hc/index.asp

Wink (Windows and Linux only)

http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

Render Queue Management

DrQueue
http://www.drqueue.org/cwebsite/

RenderChan
https://morevnaproject.org/renderchan/

Online Aspect Ratio Calculator

http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/aspect_ratio/

Tracking Data Conversion between commercial Compositing programs

http://tracksperanto.guerilla-di.org/

Pattern Making for Clothing

Valentina
http://valentina-project.blogspot.ru/
https://bitbucket.org/dismine/valentina

Browser based Flowchart creator

Gliffy
http://www.gliffy.com

Lucid Chart
https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/flow-chart

Image Viewer

Irfanview
http://www.irfanview.com/

FastStone
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Matcap Creation (for digital sculpting packages)

MaCrea
http://drpetter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sculptris&action=print&thread=889

Perspective Grid Layout

Carapace (Windows only)

http://epicgames.com/community/2012/11/free-art-tool-released-thanks-to-epic-friday/

Math Graphics, Algebra, Tables, Statistics, and Calculus

GeoGebra
http://www.geogebra.org/cms/

3D Box Image creation from stills

3D Box Shot Maker

http://www.bosseye.com/boxshot/index.htm

Project & Asset Management

Southpaw Tactic
http://www.southpawtech.com/tactic/

Attract (Blender Institute)

https://cloud.blender.org/attract/

OrangeScrum
https://www.orangescrum.com/

Peragro
http://damn.csproject.org/

GanttProject
http://www.ganttproject.biz/

Endeavour Management (possibly Windows only)

http://endeavour-mgmt.sourceforge.net/index.html

Tindio
http://e-pool-productions.github.io/tindio/

FTP transfer

Filezilla
https://filezilla-project.org/

Batch File Renaming

Bulk Rename Utility (Windows only)

http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php

CKRename
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/File-Management/CKRename.shtml

1-4a Rename
http://www.1-4a.com/rename/

Backup Software

FreeFileSync
http://freefilesync.sourceforge.net/

Cobian Backup
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

Windows Product Key Recovery

Keyfinder
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/
Programming Language for Digital Artists

Processing
http://processing.org/

Tracking Open Source code

TLD - Tracking Learning Detection

http://personal.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/Z.Kalal/tld.html

Monitor Color Calibration

ColorHug (not free, but open source)

http://www.hughski.com/

Game Engine

Blender (complete game creation environment and player)

http://www.blender.org/

ZGameEditor (Windows and Linux maybe, not sure)

http://zgameeditor.org/

Free 3D Models/Assets

Polycount BaseMesh collection

http://wiki.polycount.com/BaseMesh

HDRI images

http://www.hdri-hub.com/hdrishop
http://www.openfootage.net/
http://www.moofe.com/
http://hdrmaps.com/freebies

Free Footage

http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/greenscreenplates.html
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/trackingplates.html

Free music
http://musopen.org/
http://www.freesound.org/
http://audiojungle.net/​ (only one free track a month)

Free sound effects

http://www.julianraymusic.com/sounds/soundblend/soundblend_DV.asp
http://www.freesound.org/
http://www.freesfx.co.uk/
http://www.philmichalski.com/​ (some free libraries, others are under $3)
Full Creation Suites

Free Serif Starter Editions (You can purchase versions of these with more features)
Page Plus - desktop publishing
Web Plus - web design
Movie Plus - video editing
Draw Plus - vector graphics
Photo Plus - image editing
Panorama Plus - panorama stitching
Craft Artist Compact - digital scrapbooking
http://www.serif.com/FreeDownloads/

AVS Software - Lots of stuff, go explore!

(for a small registration fee, you can download ALL their programs)
http://www.avs4you.com/index.aspx

DVDVideoSoft (too many programs to list, go have a look!)

http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/

Space Flight Simulator

Orbiter 2010 (Not creative software, but neat! Windows only)

http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/index.html

Still need to sort, or not sure where to put these

More free music

https://vimeo.com/forums/topic:15629

Mikros Image Open Source tools

(playback, calibration, batch processing, render management)
http://opensource.mikrosimage.eu/index.html

Ingex (tapeless recording system)

http://ingex.sourceforge.net/

My Personal Recommendations
As a visual effects artist interested in every aspect of the art, I've professionally used, dabbled
with, or at least understand all the expensive commercial software used in that industry. I've
also used quite a few things on this list. I've come up with a comparison list.

- If you want 3dsMax, Maya, Softimage, Lightwave, or Cinema 4D, get ​Blender​. It can do just
about everything, and sometimes far more, than most of those programs.
- If you want After Effects, Nuke, Fusion, or Shake, get ​Natron ​or ​Blender​. Both are wonderful
node based compositing programs.
- If you want Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, or Avid, get ​Lightworks, Shotcut, ​or ​Blender​.
Lightworks is only on Windows so far, but Blender has a decent video editing program built in.
Shotcut may still be a bit buggy, but usable.
- If you want Adobe Photoshop, get ​GIMP​. ​Krita ​can also do everything Photoshop can, but
GIMP’s interface is more like Photoshop.
- If you want Adobe Flash, get ​Synfig Studio​.
- If you want Corel Painter, get ​Krita ​or ​MyPaint​.
- If you want Adobe Illustrator, get ​Inkscape​.
- If you want texture painting programs like Mari and BodyPaint, get ​Blender​.
- If you want a digital sculpting program like Zbrush or Mudbox, get ​Blender​.
- If you want 3D matchmoving/tracking software like Boujou and Syntheyes, get ​Blender​.
(By this point, if you are not amazed at what Blender can do, you must be crazy!)
- If you want Microsoft Office, get ​Libre Office​. It reads and writes every file Microsoft Office can
read or write, and I actually think Writer is nicer than Word.
- If you want Final Draft, get ​Trelby​.
- If you want Adobe InDesign or Quark Xpress, get ​Scribus​.