Although the photography editing tool par excellence is usually Photoshop, we can find many alternatives. One of the most popular is the Paint.NET application, which is open source and can be used without paying anything. Well, right now they are developing the version 5.1which is in the Alpha phase, and which integrates some interesting new features.
This tool was born as a development project at Washington State University under the supervision of Microsoft. This tool is characterized by being written mostly in the C# language. The application is currently considered as the unofficial successor to the native Microsoft Paint software of the Windows operating system.
Despite its name, this program is very different from the one integrated into Windows. It has many more editing and photo retouching options than the Microsoft version. It is so much better that this tool is positioned as a very good alternative to Photoshop.
Upcoming Paint.NET Features
Version 5.1 Alpha features color management support, some new and updated effects, completes the migration of all effects and settings to run on the GPU (which can be used by plugins, by the way!), and adds some color settings. canvas customization.
Specifically, it brings with it the following new features:
- Color management: This new version will allow you to manage the color profile, seeking to ensure that a specific image looks the way it is supposed to. It comes to replace the previous “Apply Embedded Color Profile” feature that was introduced in version 5.0 temporarily.
- Custom profiles: Within this new version in the Alpha phase, the option to select one of the different integrated color profiles is now allowed. In addition, we can import the profiles that we have created and configured in ‘.icc’ and ‘icm’ type files.
- Effect Updates: Two new blur effects have been added, namely with sketch blur and square blur. In addition, various effects are now running directly on the GPU. Included are auto levels, curves, levels, optical painting, noise reduction, surface blur and contour.
- Canvas Customization: Thanks to this element you can alter the parallel shadow of the canvas and the color of the border. This option seeks to provide greater accessibility to people with high-contrast themes. Helps avoid misperception of image size or color bleeding.
All these new features are integrated into Paint.NET 5.1 Alpha. This means that it is in the first phase of integration and operating problems are being sought. Although you can download this new version on GitHub and try the new features, you should only do so if your interest is to contribute to the detection of bugs and thus help development.
There is no date, at the moment, for this new version of the application to be launched. Currently, you can download this tool from its own website or from the Microsoft Store. The developers recommend downloading it from the Windows App Store.
And tell us, do you think these new features will help this tool gain adoption over Photoshop?