What it does
Krita is a free, open-source painting application with configurable brushes, layers, stroke stabilizers and drawing assistants. Its vector tools also support comic panels and speech bubbles.
Choose File > New to set the canvas dimensions, then select a brush from Brush Presets. F5 opens the Brush Editor; E switches the current brush between painting and erasing. Save the working drawing as .kra to retain the project’s data.
For a comic panel, keep ink and colour on separate layers and use the stabilizer options for controlled curves. Speech-bubble templates can be dragged from the vector library and reshaped by editing their anchor points. Krita uses SVG, a scalable vector format, for these elements. Custom workspaces and shortcuts preserve a preferred panel arrangement.
The direct download is free, with no trial deadline or required registration. Paid store editions support development and provide store-managed updates. Krita permits commercial artwork, and its software licence does not impose that licence on the pictures you create.
Strengths
- Different brush engines support painting, smudging and other effects.
- Custom workspaces and shortcuts can match a drawing routine.
Watch out for
- Krita does not support iPads or iPhones.
Best for
- Digital painting
- Illustrated comic pages
Sources
- Krita: Digital Painting. Creative Freedom. (Oct 27, 2026)
- Features: Krita (Oct 27, 2026)
- Starting Krita: Krita Manual (Oct 27, 2026)
- Download: Krita (Oct 27, 2026)
- License: Krita (Oct 27, 2026)