As experienced artists leading projects for our clients, we know that the right tools can make a big difference in both productivity and creativity. Over time, we’ve curated a selection of small but powerful tools that help us boost output and keep our focus where it matters most: on our creative flow. Here are our top picks that we recommend you try out:
www.pureref.com
Create a customizable reference board right on your desktop. PureRef allows you to easily gather and auto-arrange images, keeping your visual inspiration close at hand. We store these boards alongside project files to ensure all team members work from the same references.
miro.com/
Miro is an online art board tool perfect for collaboration. Share and brainstorm ideas with your team using features like flowcharts and other management tools. It’s a must-have for any creative team.
flameshot.org
Quickly capture and annotate screenshots with Flameshot. This tool is ideal for communicating ideas and collaborating during screen-sharing calls, especially for quick sketches.
mysticcoder.net/mysticthumbs
Get instant thumbnail previews of all your image files in Windows Explorer, including unsupported formats like PSD and TIFF. MysticThumbs makes navigating your assets a breeze.
www.faststone.org
A fast and efficient way to view, edit, and convert images. FastStone is lean and user-friendly. Perfect for quick image previews.
www.publicspace.net/windows/BetterFileRename
A powerful bulk file-renaming tool that simplifies organizing your assets.
www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel
Easily find complementary, triadic, and other color sets with this interactive tool. Hex values can be copied directly for use in Photoshop or other software.
handbrake.fr
An open-source tool, built by volunteers, for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. Amazing at compressing down video’s without losing quality.
inkscape.org
This free, open-source vector drawing tool has been in development for 20 years. Inkscape is robust and versatile, making it perfect for 2D design.
cpetry.github.io/NormalMap-Online
Quickly create normal maps from images. It’s a straightforward tool for fast results, similar to the old Crazy Bump. For more control, consider Substance Sampler.
www.imgonline.com.ua/eng/make-seamless-texture.php
Upload a texture and receive a seamless version in return. Great for quick, tileable texture creation.
www.screentogif.com
The easiest Gif recording tool out there. Including a post-recording editor!
iconmonstr.com
iconmonstr offers free, simple, and consistent icons for personal and commercial projects — easy to browse, customize, and download for use in apps, websites, and designs.
typescale.com
Streamline your font hierarchy with TypeScale, helping you establish consistent heading sizes effortlessly.
huemint.com
Utilize machine learning to create unique color palettes tailored for your brand, website, or graphic projects.
brandmark.io/tools
Free AI-powered design tools to get color and font ideas for your next logo project
fontjoy.com
Generate harmonious font combinations using deep learning to elevate your typography.
colormind.io
Leverage deep learning to generate color schemes for your designs.
poolors.com
Color combos most or least used by designers
skybox.blockadelabs.com
Generate 360° skyboxes using AI. Perfect for rapid environment prototyping. However, keep in mind that the AI model may be trained on other artists work.
If you know of other great tools we should explore ourselves, please share!