Digital art students, professionals, and educators need Linux too. So, I created a new distro[1], which is derived from Bodhi Linux, a lightweight, Ubuntu-based distro that includes only a browser, a terminal emulator, and a few other system tools.
Bodhi Linux is built on the idea that the user should decide what software should be installed and how the desktop interface should look, a job that Bohdi Linux's Moksha[2] desktop (a fork of the Enlightenment 17 desktop) handles very well. For my new distro, called Bodhi Linux Media, I customized the desktop interface, capitalizing on the fact that the operating system is fast and lean (with no random stuff running in the background) and curating the following list of open source software for artists involved in many different digital art practices (e.g., music, video, graphics, interactive art, coding, etc.).
Adobe alternatives
I chose the following Adobe alternatives based on two requirements: professional-grade features and cross-platform compatibility, to ease the workflow across different professional studios.
- GIMP[3]: an alternative to Photoshop
- Inkscape[4]: an alternative to Illustrator
- Natron[5]: an alternative to After Effects
- Scribus[6]: an alternative to InDesign
- Synfig Studio[7]: an alternative to Animate CC
Ardour
Ardour[8] is a professional digital audio workstation, and, unlike many of its closed source competitors, it is cross-platform. It supports LV2[9] plugins and VST[10] (if you really cannot do without it). Ardour handles both MIDI and audio files and supports JACK audio, which is better than any licensed or closed source audio tools. For example, unlike Rewire, Ardour does not limit you