CREATIVE SOFTWARE BEYOND ADOBE
A Guide to Creative Tools
You don't need an Adobe subscription to do professional creative work. This guide is a starting point — a curated collection of free, affordable, and industry-standard tools across creative disciplines. It's not a complete list of everything out there, and it's not meant to be. New software appears all the time, and the best tool for you depends on what you're making and how you like to work.
Use this as a jumping-off point. Try things out, do your own research, and find what fits. The goal is to show you that options exist — not to tell you exactly what to use.
Why this matters: Most schools teach Adobe and only Adobe. That leaves people thinking creative work requires an expensive monthly subscription. It doesn't. Many professionals use the tools listed here — some are free, some are cheap, and some are simply better for specific tasks than anything Adobe offers.
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The Two Programs Everyone Should Know About
These two cover an enormous amount of ground and they're both free.
AFFINITY — Free. Windows, Mac (iPad coming 2026, older apps already free on iPad).
Affinity does what Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign do — in one app. No subscription, no trial period, no catch.
What you get for free:
- Photo editing — edit and retouch photos, work with layers, adjust colors, remove backgrounds, combine images. Everything you'd use Photoshop for.
- Vector design — create logos, icons, posters, and scalable graphics. Draw with precision using shapes and paths. What you'd use Illustrator for.
- Page layout — design books, magazines, brochures, zines, or anything meant for print. What you'd use InDesign for.
- All three in one app — you can switch between photo editing, vector design, and layout mode without leaving the app or opening a new file.
- Works with Adobe files — you can open Photoshop (.psd), Illustrator (.ai), and PDF files directly.
What's the catch? The design tools are genuinely free with no limitations. Canva makes money from optional AI features (like auto-generating images) that need a Canva Pro subscription, but those are extras. The actual creative tools are fully unlocked.
Canva has publicly said Affinity will stay free, that your work won't be used to train AI, and that the tools won't be locked behind a paywall later.
Download: affinity.studio/get-affinity
BLENDER — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux.
Blender is the go-to free tool for 3D. Modeling, sculpting, texturing, rendering, 3D animation — it handles all of it in one program. It's used in major film and game studios, and there are endless tutorials on YouTube for every skill level.
If you're curious about 3D at all — characters, environments, product visualization, motion graphics — Blender is where you start. There is nothing else free that comes close.
Download: blender.org
Adobe costs around 6 300 kr per year. Between Affinity and Blender alone, you can do photo editing, graphic design, page layout, and 3D modeling — for 0 kr. Worth knowing about before committing to subscriptions you might not need
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Adobe has two main photo tools — Photoshop and Lightroom — and they do different things. Most alternatives line up with one or the other, so it helps to know the difference.
Lightroom is where most photographers spend most of their time. It's for organizing your photos, adjusting exposure and color, cropping, and exporting. You work on the whole image. Think of it as your digital darkroom.
Photoshop is for more detailed, hands-on work — removing objects, combining multiple images, working with layers, cutting things out, retouching skin, making composites. You go to Photoshop when you need to change specific parts of an image, not just adjust the overall look.
Lightroom-type tools (organizing and editing your photos):
darktable — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. The closest free equivalent to Lightroom. Organize your photos, adjust them without changing the originals, export for print or web.
Luminar Neo — Around 1 200 kr one-time. Windows, Mac. Uses AI to speed up editing — can replace skies, enhance portraits, and apply quick adjustments. Good if you want fast results.
My pick: Luminar Neo
Photoshop-type tools (detailed editing, layers, composites):
Affinity — Free. Covered above. The strongest free option for this kind of work.
Photopea — Free, runs in your browser. No download needed. Opens Photoshop files. Great if you're on a school computer and can't install anything.
My pick: Affinity
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For creating logos, icons, posters, scalable graphics — anything that needs to look sharp at any size.
Affinity — Free. Covered above.
Inkscape — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. The go-to free vector tool. Great for logos, icons, and technical drawings. Big community with lots of tutorials.
Linearity Curve (formerly Vectornator) — Free. Mac and iPad. Clean, modern vector design app. Feels very natural on iPad.
Figma — Free tier available, paid plans from around 170 kr/month (for teams). Browser-based, Windows, Mac. Less focused on print and illustration than the others — Figma is built for designing interfaces, app screens, and website layouts. Strong vector tools, real-time collaboration, and a prototyping system that lets you link screens together to show how a product flows. The industry standard for UI and web design. Free tier is fully functional for individual projects.
My pick: Affinity
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For designing printed things — books, magazines, brochures, zines, exhibition catalogs, posters with lots of text.
Affinity — Free. Covered above.
Canva — Free with paid options. Browser-based. Not really a traditional layout tool, but excellent for posters, social media graphics, and presentations. Huge template library makes it very quick to get something looking good.
My pick: Affinity
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This is where choices really open up. Whether you draw on a computer or a tablet, there's something for every style and budget.
On desktop:
Krita — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. Made by artists for artists. Great brushes, supports animation, and has tools for comics. One of the best free creative programs out there.
Clip Studio Paint — Around 475 kr one-time on desktop, or from ~46 kr/month on iPad. Windows, Mac, iPad, Android. The standard for comics and manga. Very popular with professional illustrators. Excellent pen stabilization (makes your lines smoother).
My pick: Krita
On tablet / iPad:
Procreate — Around 125 kr one-time. iPad only. Probably the most popular drawing app for iPad. Feels great to draw with, tons of brushes, records a time-lapse of everything you make. One-time purchase, not a subscription.
Artstudio Pro — Around 140 kr one-time. iPad, Mac. Packed with features for the price. Good brushes, layer support, feels a bit like Photoshop on iPad.
Adobe Fresco — Free. iPad. Adobe made this one free with all features unlocked. Really good at simulating watercolors and oil paints.
ibisPaint — Free with paid options. iPad, Android, Windows. Over 47,000 brushes. Works on both iPad and Android, which is a big plus if you don't have an iPad. Huge online community.
Sketchbook (by Autodesk) — Free. iPad, Android, Windows, Mac. Clean, minimal. Great for quick sketches and concepts. No clutter.
My pick: Artstudio Pro
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This covers everything from making 3D characters and environments to designing products and objects.
General 3D:
Blender — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. The go-to free tool for 3D. Modeling, sculpting, texturing, rendering, and 3D animation in one program. Used in major film and game studios. Enormous community and endless tutorials on YouTube. If you're curious about 3D at all, start here.
SketchUp Free — Free, browser-based. Easy to use for architecture and simple 3D models. Good for beginners who want to try 3D without a steep learning curve.
Spline — Free tier available. Browser-based. 3D design built specifically for the web. Create 3D objects, scenes, and animations that can be embedded directly in a website or exported for use online. Considerably more accessible than Blender for web-specific 3D — no render settings, no node materials, no steep learning curve. Good for interactive portfolio pieces, 3D UI elements, and visual experiments. Most features are available on the free tier.
My pick: Spline
Sculpting (shaping 3D models like digital clay):
Nomad Sculpt — Around 190 kr on iPad, 330 kr on desktop. A sculpting app you can use on your tablet with your fingers or a stylus, or on your computer. Surprisingly powerful for the price. Great way to get into 3D sculpting without a big investment.
ZBrush — Around 3 800 kr/year. Windows, Mac. The industry standard for sculpting characters, creatures, and detailed models in film and games. Expensive, but unmatched if sculpting is your focus.
3D Coat — Around 950 kr one-time (indie license). Windows, Mac, Linux. Good all-in-one tool for sculpting and texturing 3D models, especially for game art.
My pick: Nomad Sculpt
Texturing (painting materials and surfaces onto 3D models):
Adobe Substance 3D Painter — Around 1 900 kr one-time on Steam. Windows, Mac, Linux. The industry standard for painting textures directly onto 3D models. If you're making game art or film assets, this is what most studios use. Available as a standalone purchase on Steam, or as part of the full Substance 3D suite (see below).
Adobe Substance 3D (full suite) — From 2 400 kr/year. Windows, Mac, Linux. Includes Painter for texturing, Designer for creating materials, Sampler for turning photos into textures, Stager for scene composition, and Modeler for VR sculpting. Modeler alone is one of the best VR sculpting tools available. The full suite is expensive, but free for students for 12 months through Adobe's education program.
VR sculpting and modeling (creating 3D models in virtual reality):
Adobe Substance 3D Modeler — Part of the Substance 3D suite (from 2 400 kr/year, free for students). Windows. Professional VR sculpting with precise tools for both organic and hard-surface modeling. Works on desktop too, but really shines in VR. Arguably the strongest VR sculpting tool out there.
ShapeLab Max — Around 665 kr one-time (2026 version) or 475 kr/year. Windows (PCVR), also available standalone on Meta Quest. Sculpt and model in VR using your hands and controllers. Supports exporting to standard formats for use in game engines or 3D printing. More accessible and affordable than Substance Modeler.
ShapeLab Lite — Around 140 kr one-time. Meta Quest (standalone). A lighter version of ShapeLab that runs directly on the Quest headset without needing a PC. Good for trying out VR sculpting without a big investment.
CAD and hard-surface modeling (precise, engineered shapes — products, vehicles, architecture):
Plasticity — Around 1 660 kr one-time (indie license). Windows, Mac, Linux. Described as "CAD for artists." Makes precise, clean shapes with an interface that's much friendlier than traditional engineering CAD software. Great for product design, concept art, and hard-surface modeling. One-time purchase, no subscription.
FreeCAD — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. Traditional CAD software for engineering and product design. More technical, but fully capable and free.
Fusion 360 — Free for students. Windows, Mac. Autodesk's professional CAD tool. Industry standard for product design. Free with a student account.
Onshape — Free for students. Browser-based. Professional CAD that runs entirely in your browser. No installation needed. Free educational plan.
Tinkercad — Free, browser-based. By Autodesk. Probably the easiest 3D tool in existence. You build models by combining and subtracting simple shapes. No learning curve to speak of. Great for 3D printing, quick prototyping, or just getting comfortable thinking in 3D before moving to something more powerful.
Spline — Free tier available. Browser-based. 3D design built specifically for the web. Create 3D objects, scenes, and animations that can be embedded directly in a website or exported for use online. Considerably more accessible than Blender for web-specific 3D — no render settings, no node materials, no steep learning curve. Good for interactive portfolio pieces, 3D UI elements, and visual experiments. Most features are available on the free tier.
My pick: Spline or Plasticity
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DaVinci Resolve — Free (paid Studio version also exists). Windows, Mac, Linux. Used on Hollywood films. The free version includes professional editing, color correction, visual effects, and audio tools. This is the strongest free alternative to Premiere Pro and it's not even close.
CapCut — Free. Windows, Mac, mobile. Very easy to use, built-in effects and templates. Popular for social media content.
iMovie — Free. Mac, iPad, iPhone. Simple and clean. Good starting point if you have a Mac.
Clipchamp — Free, built into Windows 11. If you're on Windows 11, you already have this. Templates, stock library, drag-and-drop editing.
HitFilm — Free. Windows, Mac. Combines video editing with visual effects. Good if you want to learn both at once.
My pick: DaVinci Resolve
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Audacity — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. The standard free audio editor. Record, edit, mix, clean up audio. Been around for 25 years. If you need to work with sound, start here.
GarageBand — Free. Mac, iPad, iPhone. Full music production with virtual instruments and loops. Great starting point for making music on Apple devices.
LMMS — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. A full music production studio for making beats and electronic music. Comes with over 16 built-in synthesizers.
Cakewalk by BandLab — Free. Windows. Used to be a paid product, now completely free. Full music production with unlimited tracks.
MuseScore — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. For writing sheet music. If you compose or arrange music, this is the tool.
Reaper — 570 kr (discounted license). Windows, Mac, Linux. Professional music production at a fraction of the usual cost. Very customizable. Has a generous free trial.
No strong pick here — Audacity is the obvious free starting point.
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These tools use AI to make small or low-resolution images bigger and sharper. Useful if you want to print something that only exists as a small image, or if you want to rescue an old or low-quality photo.
Upscayl — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. Runs on your computer, no internet needed, no account needed. The best free option for making images larger without losing quality.
Topaz Gigapixel AI — Around 1 400 kr/year (subscription only since late 2025). Windows, Mac. The leading paid option. Especially good at preserving detail in faces, hair, and textures.
Upscale.media — Free tiers available. Browser-based. Quick and easy — upload an image, get a bigger version. Good for occasional use.
My pick: Upscayl
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For getting your work online — whether it's a portfolio, a shop, or a project site.
Cargo — Free version available, paid from around 125 kr/month. Designed specifically for artists and designers. Beautiful, minimal templates. Very popular in the art and design world.
Squarespace — Around 150 kr/month. Polished templates, built-in shop and booking tools. Great for a professional-looking site without much effort.
Wix — Free version available, paid tiers for more features. Drag-and-drop builder. Very flexible. The free version is decent for getting started.
WordPress — Free (if self-hosted) or paid plans on wordpress.com. The most customizable option. Powers around 40% of all websites. Takes some learning but gives you full control.
Carrd — Free, or 180 kr/year for extra features. Makes simple one-page sites. Perfect for a quick portfolio or link page.
Webflow — Free tier available. More advanced — you design the site visually and it generates clean code. Great if you want to learn how websites actually work.
Framer — Free tier available, paid plans from around 110 kr/month. Browser-based. Similar to Webflow but with a more design-forward approach. Built on Figma-style tools, so if you already use Figma it feels familiar. The free tier publishes to a framer.app subdomain; paid plans unlock custom domains and more pages.
My pick: Squarespace
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Blender (Grease Pencil) — Free. Windows, Mac, Linux. You can do 2D animation inside Blender. Used in professional short films and music videos.
OpenToonz — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. Professional 2D animation software. Used by Studio Ghibli (the studio behind Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, etc.).
Krita — Free. Windows, Mac, Linux. Has built-in frame-by-frame animation tools. Good for hand-drawn animation.
Cavalry — Free community version available. Windows, Mac. For motion graphics and data-driven animation. An alternative to After Effects for more abstract, design-driven motion work.
Rive — Free tier available. Browser-based, Windows, Mac. For creating interactive animations — not for video, but animations that respond to user input or change state based on what's happening in an app or website. Used to make interfaces feel alive: buttons that respond, characters that react, loaders that move in interesting ways. Very different from the other tools here, but it is animation. The runtime that plays Rive animations inside apps is free and open source.
My pick: Procreate Dreams (for hand-drawn animation on iPad)
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OBS Studio — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. The standard for screen recording and live streaming. Used by everyone from students to professional streamers.
ShareX — Free, open source. Windows. Screenshots, screen recording, GIF capture, annotations. Does a bit of everything.
HandBrake — Free, open source. Windows, Mac, Linux. Not a recorder, but essential for converting and compressing video files. If you have a huge video file and need to make it smaller, this is the tool.
My picks: ShareX for quick recordings, OBS for anything more involved
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Color tools:
Coolors (coolors.co) — Free. Generate color palettes. Useful for any design or art project where you need to pick colors that work together.
Adobe Color (color.adobe.com) — Free. Color wheel and palette tool. Free to use even without an Adobe subscription.
Figma — Free tier. Originally a web design tool, but great for making layouts, presentations, and collaborative design. Runs in your browser.
Free fonts:
Google Fonts — Free. Huge library of fonts you can use in any project, no restrictions.
Font Squirrel — Free. Curated fonts that are all licensed for commercial use.
DaFont — Free, but always check the license on each font before using it in professional work.
Textures, photos, and 3D assets:
Poly Haven — Free. High-quality textures, lighting setups, and 3D models. All free to use with no restrictions.
Textures.com — Free tier. Large library of surface textures for 3D work and design.
Unsplash and Pexels — Free. High-quality stock photography. Free to use, even commercially.
Mixamo — Free. Upload a 3D character and it automatically sets it up for animation, plus a library of ready-made animations. Owned by Adobe but free to use.
Sketchfab — Free tier. Browse, download, and share 3D models.
Thingiverse — Free. One of the largest libraries of free 3D printing models. If you want to 3D print something, chances are someone has already made a model for it.
Printables — Free. By Prusa (a well-known 3D printer manufacturer). Growing library of 3D printing models with a strong community. Often better curated than Thingiverse.
MakerWorld — Free. By Bambu Lab. Newer platform with a clean interface and a focus on ready-to-print models. Growing fast.
Smithsonian Open Access — Free. Millions of images and 3D scans from the Smithsonian museum collections. No restrictions on use.
AI-assisted tools:
Stable Diffusion (via ComfyUI or AUTOMATIC1111) — Free, open source. Run AI image generation on your own computer. No cloud service needed.
Remove.bg — Free tier. Upload a photo, get the background removed automatically. Quick and effective.
Cleanup.pictures — Free tier. Remove unwanted objects from photos using AI.
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If you're just getting started and want a solid setup without spending anything, download these:
- Affinity — photo editing, graphic design, page layout (free)
- Blender — 3D modeling, sculpting, rendering (free)
- Krita — digital drawing and painting on desktop (free)
- DaVinci Resolve — video editing (free)
- Upscayl — image upscaling (free)
That covers a huge range of creative work for 0 kr.
If you're willing to spend a little:
- Artstudio Pro — drawing on iPad/Mac (140 kr one-time)
- Nomad Sculpt — 3D sculpting on tablet (from 190 kr on iPad, 330 kr on desktop)
- Procreate Dreams — animation on iPad (125 kr one-time)
- Luminar Neo — fast photo editing with AI tools (1 200 kr one-time)
- Plasticity — precise hard-surface 3D modeling (1 660 kr one-time)
- Squarespace — website (from 150 kr/month)
Total for everything on both lists: around 3 300–3 500 kr in one-time costs (depending on platform) plus a monthly website fee. Compare that to Adobe's 6 300 kr every single year — and Adobe's cost repeats.
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1. Start with what's free. Affinity, Krita, Blender, DaVinci Resolve, Audacity, and Inkscape together cover a huge range of creative work — and they cost nothing.
2. Learn concepts, not just software. Color theory, composition, typography, design thinking — these transfer across any tool. Software changes; fundamentals don't.
3. Match the tool to the task. Blender is incredible but overkill if you just need to sketch an idea. Canva is limited but perfect for a quick poster. There's no single "best" tool — only the right one for what you're doing right now.
4. Don't let cost be a barrier. Professional creative work is possible with entirely free software. Many working artists and studios use the tools in this guide every day.
5. Explore. The best way to find your workflow is to try things. Most of these tools are free or have free trials — download a few, experiment, and see what clicks.
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HOW TO ACTUALLY LEARN NEW SOFTWARE
You don't need a course or a teacher to learn most of these tools. Here's what works.
YouTube is your best resource. Almost every program in this guide has hundreds or thousands of tutorials on YouTube, from absolute beginner to advanced. Search for the software name plus what you want to do — "Blender beginner tutorial," "DaVinci Resolve color grading," "Krita digital painting basics." Many creators have full free courses that rival paid ones.
Learn the terminology first. Every creative field has its own vocabulary. If you don't know the word for what you're trying to do, you can't search for it. Spend some time learning basic terms in your area — things like "masking," "layers," "keyframes," "nodes," "UV mapping," "kerning," "non-destructive editing." Once you know what something is called, finding help becomes much easier.
Ask AI. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are surprisingly good at answering software questions. You can describe what you're trying to do in plain language and get step-by-step instructions. You can paste in error messages. You can ask "what's the difference between X and Y?" This works best when you already know the right terminology — another reason to learn the basic terms early.
Keep your software in English. This is a practical tip that makes a big difference. Most tutorials, forums, and documentation are in English. If your software is set to Norwegian (or any other language), every menu, tool name, and setting will be translated — which means the words on your screen won't match what the tutorial says. You'll waste time trying to figure out which Norwegian menu item corresponds to the English one in the video. Keeping things in English also means you learn the international terminology that works everywhere — in job applications, collaboration with people from other countries, and online communities.
Start with a project, not a course. The fastest way to learn is to have something you want to make and then figure out how to make it. Don't try to learn "everything about Blender" — try to model a specific object. Don't study "all of Affinity" — try to make a specific poster. You'll learn what you need as you go, and it sticks better because you're solving real problems.
Don't be afraid to start over. Your first attempt at anything will probably look rough. That's normal. Professionals got good by making hundreds of bad things first. Save your early work — it's motivating to look back and see how far you've come.
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This list is not exhaustive — new tools appear regularly. Last updated: February 2026.
