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I'm new here. I need for a Linux Distribution for my girlfriend, to install on her computer (in a VM, to be more exactly).

She studies Graphic Design, and she use to work on Windows XP, but she got problems with License and other stuffs (also, her machine is a little older), so a proffesor on her University recommended her to work on Linux.

I do some research and I found Ubuntu Lucid Lynx here, and it looks like it will work for her. I've seen the tools that the distro has, but I don't know how useful are. She works a lot with Photoshop and Illustrator as far as I know, but she could use some other tools.. The question is, is this the best choice for an SO oriented to graphic Design? Better a newest version, or an older ? What other tools she can get on this distro ? Are another option better? Also, about the requerimients, she has a Pentium IV and 2 GB RAM (a little older). I don't remember how much free space disk she has.. Is this a recommended version, or a newest will work better ?

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    I think your girlfriend will be happier with a Mac. Unix goodness for you, Adobe friendliness for her.
    – Warren Young
    Jul 7, 2012 at 7:35
  • It's an option for the future maybe, but right now there is now money to buy a computer. Thanks anyway
    – Gonzalo.-
    Jul 7, 2012 at 16:11
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    note that Ubuntu Lucid is a couple of years old. probably the oldest you should get is the latest LTS, 12.04 Precise Pangolin.
    – strugee
    Sep 19, 2013 at 16:35

4 Answers 4

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Pretty much any recent distro should do: they all are able to run GIMP and Inkscape (the main Photoshop and Illustrator alternatives for Linux).

But they might not run very well on a Pentium 4. You might want to try Xubuntu, which provides a lighter desktop environment while keeping the Ubuntu structure. (Other lightweight distros like Arch Linux exist, but they have a tougher learning curve)

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  • thanks! So in Xubuntu she can run GIMP and Inkscape? Also, do you know another tools for graphic design?
    – Gonzalo.-
    Jul 7, 2012 at 3:13
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    Yes, she can. For other graphics design apps you might want to take a look at the tools shipped with the Fedora Design Suite and with Ubuntu Studio.
    – Renan
    Jul 7, 2012 at 3:19
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    GIMP and Inkscape are some very powerful tools for dealing with raster and vector graphics, respectively. However, GIMP is primarily a image editor. If you want to have a good image painting application, you may want to check out Krita. Fair warning: Krita is KDE-only, so you may either want to get a distribution with KDE on it (Kubuntu) or install KDE on whatever disto you use.
    – fouric
    Jul 7, 2012 at 3:19
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Ubuntu has dedicated version for graphic designers and Multimedia artists. Try Ubuntu Studio

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  • Hey good recommendation but someone (@Renan) mentioned that in the other answer.
    – Cole Busby
    Sep 19, 2013 at 17:20
  • Nice suggestion. There's also the OpenArtist distro, which might be worth looking into. Looks like a release was put out just a few days ago (27 Jan 2014).
    – waldyrious
    Feb 3, 2014 at 21:56
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Ubuntu Studio is a good choice. Although any Linux with the right software can get you started fast.

Here is a one line command for the Ubuntu terminal that would give you everything you need:


sudo apt-get install -y gimp inkscape icc-profiles-free imagemagick gmic gimp-plugin-registry gimp-gmic gimp-ufraw gimp-data-extras fontforge darktable
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There is no problem with Linux. The real problem is that the hardware is weak and can not run the latest versions of Adobe software but you can use the GIMP program

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