Luna Paint
Version: 0.11 Web: https://github.com/ lunapaint/vscode-luna-paint
Any Paint-like application will eventually come in handy from time to time for a quick art-editing job. In this month’s Hotpick’s we’re looking at Luna Paint, a simple drawing application that comes in an unusual format.
Luna Paint is a small application that can replace Kolourpaint or Drawing with a very similar tool set. Yet it’s not a standalone tool but rather an extension for Visual Studio Code. The latter seems to be a very popular choice among Linux developers as a beefy text editor (or a mini IDE if you like). The point is that since Visual Studio Code has an easy-to-use built-in extension store with a slew of extensions, then why not add another one for managing bitmap graphics?
A Linux developer may need to create or edit an icon for their application, or access and alter any sort of bitmap assets or artwork that the project depends on. With Luna Paint there’s no need to shift focus on a separate imaging application – you can deal with graphics right within Visual Studio Code. Just open a file with it and it’ll automatically call the Luna Paint part.
The program’s editor features a toolbar with basic image-editing tools that enable you to draw lines and shapes, fill areas with solid colours, select and crop images, add text captions and more. It’s also possible to use several layers and change their blending options, manage actions history, and export the image to different file formats.
Installing Luna Paint is straightforward: just search for it in the Visual Studio Code extensions catalogue and hit the Install button – that’s it. Luan Paint is nowhere near being a Gimp alternative, but then again it doesn’t need to be. Instead, Luna Paint is a robust tool for making a limited number of pixel-perfect edits and simple drawings. It’s also another way to your eyes have a little rest from coding, by the way!