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Graphite is an in-development raster and vector 2D graphics editor that is free and open source. It is powered by a node graph compositing engine that supercharges your layer stack, providing a completely non-destructive editing experience.
"Valley of Spires" vector artwork made in Graphite, a web-based vector graphics editor.
Near-future node graph mockup demonstrating how the the layer panel directly corresponds to the node graph. Thick vertical (upward) lines represent compositing stacks between layers and horizontal (rightward) links represent data flow connections between nodes. This workflow is coming soon.
With great power comes great accessibility. Graphite is built on the belief that the best creative tools can be powerful and within reach of all, from students to studios.
Graphite is designed with a friendly and intuitive interface where a delightful user experience is of first-class importance. It is available for free under an open source license and usable instantly through a web browser or an upcoming native client on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
It's easy to learn and teach, yet Graphite's accessible design does not sacrifice versatility for simplicity. The node-based workflow opens doors to an ecosystem of powerful capabilities catering to casual and professional users alike.
Stop jumping between programs. Planned developments will make Graphite a first-class design tool for these disciplines (listed by priority):
Graphic Design
Image Editing
Digital Painting
Desktop Publishing
VFX Compositing
Motion Graphics
While working in Graphite, your edits are saved into the Node Graph. Its nodes represent operations and effects like Magic Wand selection and Blur. Node parameters can be altered anytime, helping you iterate faster. The graph is organized into layers and folders, and a layer panel provides a simpler, compact view of the graph.
Just like vector artwork, which is based on curves instead of pixels to preserve quality at any scale, Graphite's raster paintbrushes, generators, and other tools work the same way. A resolution-agnostic render engine lets you zoom infinitely and export at any size.
Graphite aims to be the ultimate 2D tool for every technical artist. From procedural artwork to data viz and automation, it is designed from the ground up to fit into studio content pipelines. You can also integrate Graphite's render engine into your game, app, or server.
RAW photo editing. Procedural texture generation. Advanced typesetting and desktop publishing. Motion graphics and animation. Physically-based digital painting. HDR and wide-gamut color handling (ACES/OpenColorIO). Real-time collaboration. A rich ecosystem of custom nodes.
Learn more about the planned technology in forthcoming Graphite releases:
Features
Always on the bleeding edge and built to last— Graphite is written on a robust foundation with Rust, a modern programming language optimized for creating fast, reliable, future-proof software.
The underlying node graph engine that computes and renders Graphite documents is called Graphene. The Graphene engine is an extension of the Rust language, acting as a system for chaining together modular functions into useful pipelines with GPU and parallel computation. Artists can harness these powerful capabilities directly in the Graphite editor without touching code. Technical artists and programmers can write reusable Rust functions to extend the capabilities of Graphite and create new nodes to share with the community.
The Graphite project could not exist without the community. Building its ambitious and diverse breadth of features will require contributions from developers, designers, technical experts, creative professionals, and eagle-eyed bug hunters. Help build the future of digital art! Join the project Discord server and ask how you can help.
Rust, web, and graphics programmers should check out the contribute page for a quick technical overview and resources for getting started. Or just ask where to begin in the #development channel on Discord and the community will get you set up.
Follow along.
High-quality open source software is a community endeavor. Hang out with hundreds of friendly Graphite users and developers.