Discover a treasure trove of open-source software and free CGI tools in our comprehensive list. Unleash your creativity, boost productivity, and save costs with these powerful resources for CGI enthusiasts and professionals alike. Embrace the world of limitless possibilities as we highlight top-notch solutions for your CGI projects.
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3D modeling, animation, and rendering
Blender (complete 3D animation, fx, simulation, sculpting, texturing, rendering, etc)http://www.blender.org/
SketchUp
http://sketchup.google.com/
fSpy (camera alignment)
https://fspy.io/
Clara.io (web based 3D)
https://clara.io/
Form Z Free
http://www.formz.com/products/formzfree.html
Gaffer (Lighting, shading, and compositing, Linux and Mac only)
https://github.com/GafferHQ/gaffer
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/
Dust3D (modeling, Windows and Mac, build your own for Linux)
https://github.com/huxingyi/dust3d
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 modeling only)
http://ayam.sourceforge.net/ayam.html
Nurbana (NURBS modeling 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/
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, maybe 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 photo modeling 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
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/
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/
Photogrammetry (modeling from photos)
Mushroom (Open source photo modeling)https://github.com/alicevision/meshroom
https://alicevision.github.io/
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/
Stereo (Photomodelling, a student project from 1996-97)
http://stereo.sourceforge.net/
Rendering engines
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/
Other links for using Renderman with Blender
http://www.blendertorenderman.org/p/links.html
Ogre (renderer only)
http://www.ogre3d.org/
Horde3D (rendering engine)
http://horde3d.org
LuxRender (renderer only, for most 3D programs)
http://www.luxrender.net/en_GB/index
Video editing
Lightworkshttp://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/
ClipChamp Create (browser-based editing)
https://clipchamp.com/en/products/create
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)
https://jliljebl.github.io/flowblade/index.html
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)
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 (multi-frame painting & retouching, Linux and Mac OS only)
http://www.cinepaint.org/more/
Moviepaint (multi-frame 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
Slo-mo video (Linux and Windows only)http://slowmovideo.granjow.net/
http://slowmovideo.granjow.net/builds.php#h3_Windowsexecutables (Windows version)
CAD (Computer-Aided Design)
NanoCADhttp://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.gcad3
Doubled.org/CAD 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=d47a993c0b9558b68f9f89c122d45098
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)
VLChttp://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
POT Player (Windows only)
https://potplayer.daum.net/
MPV player
https://mpv.io/
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 transcoding 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
GIMPhttp://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/
AzPainter
https://frankqbe.deviantart.com/art/AzPainter-212-English-Version-Download-488404806
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/image-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!)
SumoPainthttp://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!)
WeVideohttps://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
DVDStylerhttp://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
Blenderhttp://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-Windows
Roadkill (Windows only)
http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page8.htm
3D Texture Painting
Pixafluxhttp://www.pixaflux.com
ArmorPaint
http://armorpaint.org/
Tattoo
http://www.terabit-software.co.uk/Tattoo.aspx
Texture Images
Good Textureshttp://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
NeoTextureEdithttp://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...
Materializehttp://boundingboxsoftware.com/materialize/
PixaFlux (Windows only)
http://pixaflux.com/index.php
https://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?391893-PixaFlux-PBR-Texture-Composer-Open-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
Inkscapehttp://inkscape.org/
Browser-based Vector illustration(No Installation works from anywhere with an internet connection!)
SVG-edithttp://svg-edit.googlecode.com/svn/branches/2.6/editor/svg-editor.html
Janvas
http://www.janvas.com/
Chittram
http://www.chittram.com/
Fractal Generators
Qosmichttp://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 Onlinehttp://www.roitsystems.com/cgi-bin/autotrace/tracer.pl
2D animation
Pencil 2Dhttp://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 Animatorhttp://www.heliumfrog.com/
qStopMotion
http://www.qstopmotion.org/
MonkeyJam
http://monkeyjam.org/
Sketching/Natural media/Art/Painting
MyPainthttp://mypaint.org/
Krita (Linux and Windows only, Mac is experimental)
http://www.krita.org/
openCanvas ( v1.1 only 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
Audacityhttp://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!)
AudioSaunahttp://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/
ScriptMaker (screenwriting)
https://scriptmaker.jaleco.com/
Slang (story development)
https://slang.en.softonic.com/
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
VueScanhttp://www.hamrick.com/
FreeKapture 2.0 (Windows Only)
http://www.freewarefiles.com/FreeKapture_program_32165.html
Web design
Kompozerhttp://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
Scribushttp://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus
PagePlus
http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/
Paper Craft Model Layout
Pepakura Designer 3http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Font creation
FontForgehttp://fontforge.sourceforge.net/
Fontstruct
http://fontstruct.com/
Birdfont
http://birdfont.org/
PDF editing
PDFedit (might be Linux only)http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfedit/
PDF converting and altering
https://www.ps2pdf.com/
PDFforge
http://www.pdfforge.org/
PDFsam
http://www.pdfsam.org/
Ebook Management
Calibrehttp://calibre-ebook.com/
Sigil (ebook editor)
https://github.com/Sigil-Ebook/Sigil
Novel writing
yWriterhttp://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html
WriteWayPro
http://www.writewaypro.com/
Thumbnail Viewer
SageThumbs (Windows only)https://code.google.com/p/sagethumbs/
Zip compression
7ziphttp://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
DrQueuehttp://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
Valentinahttp://valentina-project.blogspot.ru/
https://bitbucket.org/dismine/valentina
Browser-based Flowchart creator
Gliffyhttp://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)
MaCreahttp://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
GeoGebrahttp://www.geogebra.org/cms/
3D Box Image creation from stills
3D Box Shot Makerhttp://www.bosseye.com/boxshot/index.htm
Project & Asset Management
Southpaw Tactichttp://www.southpawtech.com/tactic/
Attract (Blender Institute)
https://cloud.blender.org/attract/
OrangeScrum
https://www.orangescrum.com/
Peragro
http://damn.csproject.org/
Prism-Pipeline
https://prism-pipeline.com/
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
Filezillahttps://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
FreeFileSynchttp://freefilesync.sourceforge.net/
Cobian Backup
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm
NAS software
FreeNAShttp://www.freenas.org/
Windows Product Key Recovery
Keyfinderhttp://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/
Programming Language for Digital Artists
Processinghttp://processing.org/
Tracking Open Source code
TLD - Tracking Learning Detectionhttp://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
ZGameEditor (Windows and Linux maybe, not sure)http://zgameeditor.org/
Sylphis 3D (game engine)
http://devnet.sylphis3d.com/
Physically Based rendering free book
http://www.pbr-book.org/
Language Learning
Duolingohttps://www.duolingo.com/
Free 3D Models/Assets
Polycount BaseMesh collectionhttp://wiki.polycount.com/BaseMesh
https://www.yobi3d.com/
Free Textures
https://texturehaven.com/
https://www.sharetextures.com/
HDRI images
https://hdrihaven.com/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.htmlhttp://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.asphttp://www.freesound.org/
http://www.freesfx.co.uk/
http://www.philmichalski.com/ (some free libraries, others are under $3)
Space Flight Simulator
Orbiter 2010 (Not creative software, but neat! Windows only)http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/index.html
Follow the links to download the Software, search it on Google and Youtube for more details. Youtube is filled with video tutorials for most of these.
if you find a link that is incorrect or outdated, let me know, I’ll fix it.