Like Paint for Mac?

June 4, 2008 9:58 AM

Can you suggest a simple 2d drawing program for Mac OS X (Tiger)? I'd like something with the simplicity of MS Paint. I'm trying to draw some very simple line diagrams. If it's free (or cheap) that would be good.

I've tried Pixen, but it really seems geared toward drawing small things. Inkscape would be best, but it always crashes on my machine. I've tried Seashore, but it doesn't really seem to be a drawing program.

posted by bluefly to computers & internet (11 comments total)

It's got a host of higher-end features you probably wouldn't need, but the tools you do are most certainly there:

Seashore
posted by self at 10:05 AM on June 4, 2008

Paint.Net
posted by Midnight Rambler at 10:09 AM on June 4, 2008

I've tried Seashore (see original post), but it doesn't seem to have drawing tools (Like simple shapes or ellipses or arcs). Is there something I'm missing?
posted by bluefly at 10:11 AM on June 4, 2008

Pixelmator is a highly regarded bitmap image editor. If you are looking to work with rasters, this might be a good pick.

For vector drawing, there are many options, including Intaglio and Lineform.
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 10:11 AM on June 4, 2008

^ blueflyPoster: "I've tried Seashore (see original post), but it doesn't seem to have drawing tools (Like simple shapes or ellipses or arcs). Is there something I'm missing?"

I'm sorry I missed that, I don't usually graze over an OP detail like that.
posted by self at 10:13 AM on June 4, 2008

Isn't Paint.net for windows only?
posted by bluefly at 10:14 AM on June 4, 2008

Try Skitch... its awesome. Might be a little too simple for what you're trying to do, but give it a shot.
posted by hummercash at 10:30 AM on June 4, 2008

If you just want a bitmap editor like MS Paint as opposed to a vector drawing app, I'd suggest either Acorn or Rita. As a registered user of Pixelmator, I wouldn't recommend PixelMator.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 10:57 AM on June 4, 2008

ArtRage 2 has a free version.
posted by joshrholloway at 11:22 AM on June 4, 2008

Paintbrush.
posted by nfg at 12:11 PM on June 4, 2008

Also check out Omnigraffle? It's not a "painting" program, but if you want to make line art diagrams it might be good. It's more of a visio clone, but it's got some nice features for creating diagrams. Lots and lots of shape templates. There's a free trial but it's expensive to purchase ($79?)
posted by zpousman at 1:10 PM on June 4, 2008