MtPaint: A Lightweight, Surprisingly Powerful Image Editor

MtPaint is a gem of an application that I've only recently discovered, and I'm so glad that I did. Written by a programmer named Mark Tyler, this a free, open-source application for Linux and Windows, optimized for slower computers. Even though MtPaint has many powerful features, it can run on a computer with a processor as slow as 200MHz with only 16mb of ram. This means even on your super slow work computer, you can still do some decent basic photo editing and digital image manipulation.

The main window will look very familiar to most users; it's very similar to Microsoft paint, just with a few more options. The left hand pane is a color selector, while the image is displayed in a larger pane on the right. The main tool bar is above those two panes and below the menu bar. The standard-looking interface is complemented by common icons for the various painting tools. This gives it a leg up over some more advanced programs--like the GIMP--for average users. Anyone familiar with a few basic paint applications should be able to get up and running in no time!

Even though MtPaint is easy to use, the user won't be disappointed with feature set. It's packed with useful functions, like the ability to split the image window to view more than project at a time as well as compatibility with pressure-sensitive drawing tablets. MtPaint can read and write most of the standard graphics formats, including BMP, GIF, PNG, and TIFF. Support for basic animated GIFs is also present, so it's easy to create a dynamic web graphic. Of course, cropping an image is as easy as pressing a button, and more advanced features like gamma correction, working with alpha channels, and applying user-defined gradients are also present.

Now, even though MtPaint can do lot of things very well, it won't be replacing Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, or even the GIMP for heavy photo manipulation and vector graphics work. Keep in mind that this application is built for quick and easy image editing on older machines.

A nice, familiar workflow, coupled with surprisingly powerful features, make this lightweight and crossplatform application a winner for anyone needing a decent image editor on a less than blazing machine. It's perfect for your brand-new ultra mobile laptop, or even that older computer you have hanging around for the kids. Heck, it's useful enough to use on your main workstation for quick image editing! Find out more at http://mtpaint.sourceforge.net/.