A few days ago the The team behind Pinta has announced the availability of version 3.1. An update to this popular open-source raster image editor that not only modernizes the core of the application by rewriting the canvas rendering, but also adds improvements to tools specifically for technical illustrators and graphic designers.
Now based on GTK 4.18+ and libadbita 1.7+, Pinta 3.1 aligns with the latest GNOME desktop technologies, ensuring better performance and more consistent visual integration.
Main novelties of Pinta 3.1
In this new version of Pinta 3.1, one of the most profound changes, although invisible at first glance, is the complete rewrite of the canvas widget. Now It uses the Gdk.Texture class for renderingThis translates into a noticeable improvement in performance and a significant reduction in memory consumption, especially when working with enlarged images or high zoom levels.
Another improvement in the new version is in the creative tools: "Isometrics and Polygons." This is especially useful for artists working in pixel art or technical design. Paint 3.1 introduces an axonometric gridThis feature greatly simplifies the creation of isometric graphics (2D images that simulate 3D) by providing a precise visual guide. It can be activated from the View > Canvas Grid menu.
Furthermore, the The selection tool has gained versatility. With the new polygon selection mode within the Lasso tool, you can create selections with straight and precise edges, ideal for cutting out complex geometric shapes.
Improvements to the interface and workflow
The tools also received several improvements:
- Gradient control: The gradient tool now includes direct handles on the canvas to adjust the length and direction of the fill in real time, eliminating the need to guess numerical values.
- Layers context menu: Right-clicking on a layer now displays a menu with quick actions applicable to that specific layer.
- visual information: The horizontal and vertical rulers now highlight the projection of the selected area, making it easier to measure elements precisely. In addition, the selection outline ("marching ants") is animated to improve its visibility against complex backgrounds.
- Keyboard shortcuts: The tooltips in the button bar now display the corresponding keyboard shortcut, helping users memorize the combinations for faster work.
New effects and adjustments
The filter catalog is expanded with the new "Cells" effect that It creates interesting organic textures. Meanwhile, the Dithering effect can now use Paint's active color palette instead of being limited to presets.
For perfectionists, It is now possible to manually edit the "random seed" values. (random seed) in the generative effects, allowing you to recreate exactly the same result in different sessions.
In the distribution section, An official installer for Windows on ARM64 architecture has been added. expanding support to devices like the Surface Pro X and other modern laptops with ARM chips.
Also Annoying errors have been fixed, such as the behavior of the text tool (which now allows you to delete entire words with Ctrl+Backspace and draws the outline behind the text so as not to obscure it) and display problems in KDE Wayland sessions.
Finally, if you want to know more about it, you can check the details by going to following link
How to install Pinta 3.1 on Ubuntu and derivatives?
For those interested in installing this application on their system, you can do so either from Flatpak, Snap, or from a repository. Starting with the latter (repositories), simply open a terminal and type:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pinta-maintainers/pinta-stable sudo apt-get update
Having done this, we will now install the application with:
sudo apt install pinta
Another way to install Pinta is with Flatpak, which requires support. To install Pinta, type:
flatpak install flathub com.github.PintaProject.Pinta
Finally, another method of installing Pinta is with Snap:
sudo snap install pinta