Like my previous list, this is to help people switch to Linux and Open Source. This time, the focus is on creative professionals and hobbyists: artists, musicians, writers, etc.
Not all apps and services listed will be open source or even free (as in free beer), but they will at the very least be either freedom-respecting or non-subscription-based. The simple rule is: once it requires an account (email, phone number, etc.) to use it, then it will be placed after the ones I actually recommend.
Of course, there will be a few exceptions, but these are ONLY to point out that even big, well-known software is available on Linux as well. These exceptions will be at the end of each section.
Each section lists my recommendations in order of best (in my opinion) to good enough. In most cases, proprietary and non-freedom-respecting app/services will be last in each category, except for Obsidian, which is proprietary but respects your freedom and privacy. If you don't like my choices, click on the app to search for alternatives right here on this website. Convenient.
Note: This list was originally started as an unfinished thread I was writing. A very long one that goes into more than just alternatives, but also why you should use them — like protecting democracy and freedom, how your tax dollars should be spent, how important open source is in our digital age, etc. Here is that unfinished thread: https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/wip-how-to-tell-if-you-can-switch-to-linux-software-alternatives/58912#p-574301-creators-31
Lastly, the Linux operating systems (or distros) are at the end of the list because no matter which you choose, the majority of these apps can be installed on Windows, and can certainly be installed on any of the distros.
Blender can also be used as an all-in-one tool, and it will be available on mobile devices soonish, with a UI-overhaul that caters to both desktop and mobile users.
A free, open-source painting program for professional artists offering customizable UI, 9 brush engines, layer support, and color management.
Open source vector graphics editor supporting SVG with features like custom brushes, pressure sensitivity, and layer management across multiple platforms.
Advanced image manipulation tool offering comprehensive tools for photo retouching, composition, and batch processing in a free package.
Graphite is a free, open source vector graphics editor and animation engine, available now in alpha. Get creative with a fully nondestructive editing workflow that combines layer-based compositing with node-based generative design.
MyPaint is a fast, distraction-free, and easy painting tool for digital artists. It supports graphics tablets made by Wacom, and many similar devices.
Open-source DTP tool with flexible layouts, typesetting, CMYK support, and interactive PDFs, ideal for creating newspapers and brochures.
Paintstorm Studio is created for professional digital painting. And a major role in this program play the brushes. We did our best so that you can easily and quickly adjust the brushes suitable for your painting style.
Included because there are ways to get it to run on Linux, but because it's not officially supported, your mileage may vary. As such, it's better to just use an alternative higher in the list.
Professional software for comic and manga creation, optimized with panel layouts, perspective rulers, sketching, inking, toning, vector support, and 3D model import, suitable for artists seeking advanced drawing and coloring tools.
Included because there are ways to get it to run on Linux, but because it's not officially supported, your mileage may vary. As such, it's better to just use an alternative higher in the list.
A precise vector graphic design software built for creative professionals, offering vibrant colors, high-speed performance, live gradients, customizable shapes, and unique non-destructive features for superior design flexibility.
Included because there are ways to get it to run on Linux, but because it's not officially supported, your mileage may vary. As such, it's better to just use an alternative higher in the list.
Real-time image editing software supporting extensive colour spaces, unlimited layers, non-destructive edits, and a streamlined workspace for complex tasks on Windows, Mac, and iPad.
Included because there are ways to get it to run on Linux, but because it's not officially supported, your mileage may vary. As such, it's better to just use an alternative higher in the list.
Affinity's professional desktop publishing software offers seamless integration with the Affinity suite, live document views, cloud collaboration, and advanced typography tools, providing users a flexible editing experience with support for large files, preflight tools, customizable UI color management features.
Pixelorama is a free and open source sprite editor, ideal for pixel art. In this page you'll be learning about the latest added features, as well as its features in general. It's made with 
Godot Engine, using GDScript.
There is no native Linux version, but it launches and runs without any extra setup needed through WINE.
MagicaVoxel is a free lightweight 8-bit voxel editor and path tracing renderer.
Simple, but powerful voxel graphic editor with 24-bit color support, unlimited scene size and undo buffer, layers and much more.
Krita can be used for 2D animation. And Blender can also be used as an all-in-one tool, especially as it will be available on mobile devices soonish, with a UI-overhaul that caters to both desktop and mobile users. Krita is already available on Android.
OpenToonz is an animation program that is a free software version of Toonz, the animation software used by Studio Ghibli, amongst others.
Synfig is a free and open-source, industrial-strength, vector-based 2D animation app designed for producing feature-film animations.
Toon Boom Harmony Network is the industrial animation software for studios worldwide.
TVP Animation is the leading paperless drawing and animation tool, able to imitate traditional techniques such as Pen Brush, Gouache, Watercolour, Pencil, Felt-tip and Airbrush, and animate them over frames.
Added a bunch of proprietary apps to this section, again, simply to make people aware that they are supported on Linux by these big companies. Why doesn't Adobe support Linux? Linux stands for freedom and ownership. Adobe is against both of these things.
Free open-source 3D software for modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, rendering, compositing, video editing, and simulation.
A versatile open-source 3D CAD modeler with modular architecture, suitable for engineering applications across multiple platforms, supporting Python scripting.
Natron is an open source, cross platform nodal compositing application. It is built around industry standard open source tech such as OpenFX, OpenEXR, OpenColorIO and OpenImageIO. The feature set includes realtime playback/RAM cache, multi-threaded rendering, 2d tracking...
Make realistic 3D animation from scratch or improve mocap, all while retaining full control over the results. Cascadeur is a standalone software for creating keyframe animation of 3D characters, humanoid or otherwise.
Houdini covers all the major areas of 3D production, including:
EmberGen uses the full power of your GPU—so you can simulate and render volumetric phenomena in real-time for faster iterations than ever before. Utilize random seeds to generate new variations on the fly.
3D-Coat is the one application that has all the tools you need to take your 3D idea from a block of digital clay all the way to a production ready, fully textured organic or hard surface model.
MARI is a creative texture-painting tool that can handle extreme projects. MARI was developed at Weta Digital to handle the massively complex, highly detailed look development work demanded of the texture department by projects such as District 9, The Lovely Bones, and Avatar.
Comprehensive software for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering, trusted by top artists for films and games, with tools to enhance workflows.
Digital sculpting and texture painting software for creating detailed organic and inorganic 3D assets with efficient layer workflows.
Godot Engine is a feature-packed, cross-platform game engine to create 2D and 3D games from a unified interface. It provides a comprehensive set of common tools, so that users can focus on making games without having to reinvent the wheel.
A quick and easy to use drag and drop retro game creator for your favourite handheld video game system.
GDevelop is an open-source game making software designed to be used by everyone. Any kind of 2D games can be created with it and no programming skills are required to get started. Logic of games are made using visual events.
Real-time 3D engine enabling collaboration to create immersive, interactive experiences on Windows, Mac, and Linux, with extensive platform support.
Unreal Engine is a professional suite of tools and technologies used for building high-quality games across a range of platforms. Unreal Engine’s rendering architecture enables developers to achieve stunning visuals and also scale elegantly to lower-end systems.
Blender can also be used as an all-in-one tool, and it will be available on mobile devices soonish, with a UI-overhaul that caters to both desktop and mobile users.
Intuitive multi-track video editor with robust hardware-accelerated support; offers chroma key, color grading, and extensive audio/video format compatibility.
OpenShot is a free and open-source video editor for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS, designed to be easy to use and quick to learn.
Free, open-source video editing with multi-format timelines, frame accurate seeking, and robust capture support up to 4k for diverse projects.
Advanced video editing and color correction with integrated visual effects, motion graphics, and audio post-production tools, used by professionals.
There are proprietary apps in this section starting with Reaper, but only apps that are available on Linux.
Ardour is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application. Record, edit, and mix on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.
Free cross-platform DAW supporting VST plugins, MIDI, and lossless audio. Offers music loopers and sequencers with privacy, no ads, and offline capability.
Open-source DAW for GNU/Linux with MIDI and audio sequencing, LV2, VST, DSSI plugin support, multitrack recording, and non-destructive editing.
I hope this list is helpful to people of all sorts:
Like I said, this website has MANY alternatives to what I recommend, so click on an app's icon/name to see a list of alternatives if you prefer something else.
