Tux Paint

Introduction

Features:

Multi-Platform

Works on Mac (Intel and PPC), Windows (Windows95 through Vista), Linux and other systems.

Simple Interface

• A number of useful drawing tools are made available.
• The drawing canvas is a fixed size, so the user doesn't need to worry about 'pixels' or 'inches' when making a new picture.
• The entire program fits on a screen as small as 640×480, and can be displayed full-screen, to hide the computer's underlying 'desktop' interface. (It defaults to 800×600 mode, but can run at larger sizes and in portrait or landscape mode, as well.)
• Loading and saving of images is done using thumbnails, so no knowledge of the underlying operating system's filesystem structure is needed. Even filenames are unnecessary.

Entertaining Interface

• Fun sound effects are played when tools are selected and used.
• A cartoon version of Tux, the Linux penguin, appears at the bottom to give tips, hints and information.

Drawing Tools

• Paint brush
  • Various brushes available
  • Parents/teachers can add more brushes
  • Brushes can be animated
  • Brushes can change shape depending on the direction they're drawn
  • Alternate color palettes can be created and used
• Rubber stamp
  • Hundreds of photographic and cartoon stamps images are available
  • Parents/teachers can add more stamps and create categories
  • Stamps can have descriptive text and sound samples (names, facts, etc.) and/or sound effects assigned to them
  • Stamps can be resized, flipped and mirrored
  • Raster bitmaps (Portable Network Graphics ("PNG")) with full-color and alpha transparency (32bpp RGBA) supported
  • Vector graphics (Scalable Vector Graphics ("SVG")) supported
• Line tool
  • Uses Paint Brush's brushes
  • 'Rubberband' shows where the line will be drawn as you move the mouse
• Shape tool
  • Draw various filled and unfilled polygonal shapes
  • Rotate shapes (this feature can be disabled for younger children)
• Text tool
  • Comes with various fonts
  • Bold, italic and size can be changed
  • Parents/teachers can add more fonts
  • Supports numerous languages
• 'Magic' (special effects) tool
  • Blocks - turn parts of the picture 'blocky'
  • Blur - blur parts of the picture using the mouse
  • Bricks - paint realistic large or small brick patterns
  • Calligraphy - a smooth brush that changes thickness depending on how quickly you stroke
  • Cartoon - make parts of the picture look like a cartoon
  • Chalk - make parts of the picture look like a chalk drawing
  • Darken - darken the colors of parts of the picture
  • Distortion - slightly alters the position of the picture under the brush
  • Drip - make parts of the picture look like it's dripping away
  • Emboss - gives the image's edges highlights and shadows
  • Fill - 'flood-fill' an area with a particular color
  • Flip - flip the image vertically
  • Flower - draws curvy-stalked flowers
  • Foam - paints foamy bubbles that grow as you
  • Glass Tile - see your drawing through glass tiles
  • Grass - paint realistic clumps of grass on the screen and into the distance
  • Kaleidoscope - four symmetric brushes
  • Light - draw beams of bright light on your picture
  • Lighten - fade the colors of parts of the picture
  • Metal Paint - paints shiny metallic colors
  • Mirror - flip the image horizontally
  • Negative - invert the colors of parts of the picture
  • Rainbow - draw using a brush that paints in all colors in the rainbow
  • Ripples - rippled waves over your image
  • Shift - move the entire picture around
  • Smudge - push the colors around as though smudging wet paint
  • Tint - change the color of parts of the picture
  • Waves - wiggle your picture
  • ... plus, programmers can easily and quickly create new 'Magic' tools using a plug-in interface!
• Eraser
• Undo
  • Multiple levels of undo
  • Undo actions can themselves be undone with the 'Redo' button

Commands

• Save
  • Save a picture to the virtual 'picturebook'
  • One-click save: No file browser dialogs or filename prompts are used
  • If saving an opened picture, choose to save over it (like 'Save' in desktop programs), or save a new picture (like 'Save As')
• Open
  • Open a previous drawing by selecting its thumbnail in a virtual 'picturebook'
  • Delete previously-saved pictures
• Slides
  • View a slideshow of multiple saved drawings
  • Control the speed of playback; create class presentations or simple looping animations
  • Go forward or back using the arrow keys or mouse
• Starts
  • Various coloring-book-style images included
  • Photographic scenes included, with foreground and background elements that you draw in between
• Print
  • Print pictures on a printer