Screen Calipers

For fast, accurate (to the pixel) measurements on-screen, this is the tool to use. It simply blows other 'ruler' tools away. It actually looks like calipers, allows easy adjustment by mouse or keyboard and liiks great. Hey, it's skinnable! Works with any application, integrates with FrontPage and will cooperate with any version of Windows.
  

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Blender

An "integrated 3D creation suite allowing modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback with cross-platform compatibility." Free plug-in is available for playback by those without Blender software. Lots of examples, textures, guides and tutorials. Win 9x/Me/2K/XP. Requires divulging name, Email to download, but that's a pretty small cost.

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ZPaint

You want three-dimensional buttons? Get 'em right here easier than you could possibly imagine. Circles, squares, oblongs bars, created with virtual one-touch simplicity. See the screenshot here. Works best in conjunction with an image editor. Win9.x/NT.

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POV-Ray

This freeware 3-D rendering software is celebrating it's 10th anniversary. Longevity and versatility beg its inclusion here. Hundreds of websites exhibit Ray-Traced art and the latest version, 3.5 is fresh and new as of January 15, 2002. Visitors will find lots of information at the POV website. Win 9x/Me/NT.

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GIMP

Still as close to PhotoShop as can be had in a free package, the latest release is relatively bug-free and capable of amazing effects. As porting this to Windows is a spare time project for the developer, updates just come when they come. Check the website for fixes and add-ons for functionality. This is a wonderful and amazing program.

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Pixia

Not another paint program, but rather a painting program. This will turn your lil' ol' mouse cursor into a paint brush, creating textured strokes as if using oil paints on canvas. There are galleries of examples on the Pixia website, but even with a fast connection, pack a lunch. If this sounds appealing, it would be worth the download just to give it a try. Check the website for additional downloads and plug-ins.

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Project Dogwaffle

Where Pixia, above, creates pictures like paint on canvas, Project Dogwaffle creates surreal landscapes, plasma clouds in space and realistic planets. Containing over 80 filters, this program allows multiple undo's, particle painting and supports many file formats. Win 9x/Me/NT/2000 are supported, which means it'll likely run on XP.

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Zoner Draw 3

This might best be described as a publisher app with great graphics capabilities. It'll design brochures, leaflets, business cards, price tags, letterheads, postcards, signs, blueprints, greeting cards, and more and  create graphics for Internet presentations, including vector animations. Visit the website for a list of all the features. Use the link here to avoid divulging your name and Email, required for downloading from the website. Win 9x/Me/NT/2000

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Easy Thumbnails

With a name like this, an explanation seems redundant. Yes, it does what is says, and easily. Pay attention during installation to enable this option as part of the Windows shell. That'll make it available from a right-click on any image. Saves in many formats and even optimizes. Works with Win 9.x/Me/NT/2000.

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Splitz!

So, you've made your pretty pictures, but slam 'em into a website all in one piece & they take forever to download. Slice up those creations for placement in table cells and see the (at least perceived) difference. This proggie will not only accomplish that task, but will also generate the code necessary to put 'em back together. Life is good.

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Movies 12

Animated gifs may be an annoyance or a work of art depending upon the execution, but having a program that streamlines the process is always a great help. Using nearly 100 animation wizards, this program will help you create your moving masterpiece. Also converts avi to gif or gif to avi. From the fine mind at Jan's Freeware.

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ColorPad

There are plenty of little apps out there that show RGB and HEX colors, but this has the advantage of being skinable. What's more, since it's the most popular app of it's kind, there are scores of skins available. (see links for sources). It's also a pretty good color picker. All Windows.

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IrfanView32

This is one of those proggies that was listed because I got so many Emails from the nice folks who visit, telling me that my first choice (the fine 20/20 viewer) was not really the 'best of the best'; IrfanView is. I checked it out and, hey, they were right. This little guy rocks. Reads more graphics types that I knew existed and saves in many. Also 'views' video and audio files. A plug-in (available at the website) is necessary for certain formats. 'Might as well have the best for free! All Windows platforms.

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osiva

This tiny app allows you to view a set of images as a virtual stack of images. Osiva attempts to simulate the experience of working with a stack of paper photographs. You can spread the images across the screen, shuffle them, pick one up to look at it closer, and group them back together. Individual images are shown without window borders or frames, and they may be viewed as non-rectangular windows. Installs nothing to the registry, so there should be no Win version conflicts.

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