TranslateProject/sources/tech/20210212 4 reasons to choose Linux for art and design.md

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选择Linux来做艺术设计的4个理由

开源会强化你的创造力。因为它把你带出私有化的思维定势,开阔你的视野,从而带来更多的可能性。探索一些开源的创意项目。 在一台电脑屏幕上的喷涂艺术

2021年人们比以前的任何时候都更有理由来爱上Linux。在这个系列我会分享21个选择Linux的原因。今天让我来解释一下为什么Linux是艺术设计的绝佳选择。

Linux在服务器和云计算方面获得很多的赞誉。让不少人感到惊讶的是Linux刚好有一系列的创意设计工具并且这些工具在用户体验和质量方面可以轻松打败那些流行的创意设计工具。我第一次使用开源的设计工具并不是因为我没有其他工具可以选择。相反的我是在接触了大量的这些领先的公司提供的私有化的设计工具后才开始使用开源设计工具。我之所以最后选择开源设计工具是因为它们更合情而且我能获得更好的产出。以下是好几个方面让我来慢慢解释吧

High availability means high productivity

The term productivity means different things to different people. When I think of productivity, it's that when you sit down to do something, it's rewarding when you're able to meet whatever goal you've set for yourself. If you get interrupted or stopped by something outside your control, then your productivity goes down.

Computers can seem unpredictable, and there are admittedly a lot of things that can go wrong. There are lots of hardware parts to a computer, and any one of them can break at any time. Software has bugs and updates to fix bugs, and then new bugs introduced by those updates. If you're not comfortable with computers, it can feel a little like a timebomb just waiting to ensnare you. With so much potentially working against you in the digital world, it doesn't make sense to me to embrace software that guarantees not to work when certain requirements (like a valid license, or more often, an up-to-date subscription) aren't met.

Inkscape application

Inkscape

Open source creative apps have no required subscription fee and no licensing requirements. They're available when you need them and usually on any platform. That means when you sit down at a working computer, you know you have access to your must-have software. And if you're having a rough day and you find yourself sitting in front of a computer that isn't working, the fix is to find one that does work, install your creative suite, and get to work.

It's far harder to find a computer that can't run Inkscape, for instance, than it is to find a computer that is running a similar proprietary application. That's called high availability, and it's a game-changer. I've never found myself wasting hours of my day for lack of the software I want to run to get things done.

Open access is better for diversity

When I was working in the creative industry, it sometimes surprised me how many of my colleagues were self-taught both in their artistic and technical disciplines. Some taught themselves on expensive rigs with all the latest "professional" applications, but there was always a large group of people who perfected their digital trade on free and open source software because, as kids or as poor college students, that was what they could afford and obtain easily.

That's a different kind of high availability, but it's one that's important to me and many other users who wouldn't be in the creative industry but for open source. Even open source projects that do offer a paid subscription, like Ardour, ensure that users have access to the software regardless of an ability to pay.

Ardour interface

Ardour

When you don't restrict who gets to use your software, you're implicitly inviting more users. And when you do that, you enable a greater diversity of creative voices. Art loves influence, and the greater the variety of experiences and ideas you have to draw from, the better. That's what's possible with open source creative software.

Resolute format support is more inclusive

We all acknowledge the value of inclusivity in basically every industry. Inviting more people to the party results in a greater spectacle, in nearly every sense. Knowing this, it's painful when I see a project or initiative that invites people to collaborate, only to limit what kind of file formats are acceptable. It feels archaic, like a vestige of elitism out of the far past, and yet it's a real problem even today.

In a surprise and unfortunate twist, it's not because of technical limitations. Proprietary software has access to open file formats because they're open source and free to integrate into any application. Integrating these formats requires no reciprocation. By stark contrast, proprietary file formats are often shrouded in secrecy, locked away for use by the select few who pay to play. It's so bad, in fact, that quite often, you can't open some files to get to your data without the proprietary software available. Amazingly, open source creative applications nevertheless include support for as many proprietary formats as they possibly can. Here's just a sample of Inkscape's staggering support list:

Available Inkscape file formats

Inkscape file formats

And that's largely without contribution from the companies owning the file formats.

Supporting open file formats is more inclusive, and it's better for everyone.

No restrictions for fresh ideas

One of the things I've come to love about open source is the sheer diversity of how any given task is interpreted. When you're around proprietary software, you tend to start to see the world based on what's available to you. For instance, if you're thinking of manipulating some photos, then you generally frame your intent based on what you know to be possible. You choose from the three of four or ten applications on the shelf because they're the only options presented.

You generally have several obligatory "obvious" solutions in open source, but you also get an additional dozen contenders hanging out on the fringe. These options are sometimes only half-complete, or they're hyper-focused on a specific task, or they're challenging to learn, but most importantly, they're unique and innovative. Sometimes they've been developed by someone who's never seen the way a task is "supposed to be done," and so the approach is wildly different than anything else on the market. Other times, they're developed by someone familiar with the "right way" of doing something but is trying a different tactic anyway. It's a big, dynamic brainstorm of possibility.

These kinds of everyday innovations can lead to flashes of inspiration, moments of brilliance, or widespread common improvements. For instance, the famous GIMP filter that removes items from photographs and automatically replaces the background was so popular that it later got "borrowed" by proprietary photo editing software. That's one metric of success, but it's the personal impact that matters most for an artist. I marvel at the creativity of new Linux users when I've shown them just one simple audio or video filter or paint application at a tech demo. Without any instruction or context, the ideas that spring out of a simple interaction with a new tool can be exciting and inspiring, and a whole new series of artwork can easily emerge from experimentation with just a few simple tools.

There are also ways of working more efficiently, provided the right set of tools are available. While proprietary software usually isn't opposed to the idea of smarter work habits, there's rarely a direct benefit from concentrating on making it easy for users to automate tasks. Linux and open source are largely built exactly for automation and orchestration, and not just for servers. Tools like ImageMagick and GIMP scripts have changed the way I work with images, both for bulk processing and idle experimentation.

You never know what you might create, given tools that you've never imagined existed.

Linux artists

There's a whole community of artists using open source, from photography to makers to musicians, and much much more. If you want to get creative, give Linux a go.


via: https://opensource.com/article/21/2/linux-art-design

作者:Seth Kenlon 选题:lujun9972 译者:amorsu 校对:校对者ID

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