For many schools teaching computer graphics is a challenge not only because of the computer hardware needed but also because of the cost of commercial software licenses. The access students have to the facilities and the software is often an issue, they usually cannot freely install a legal copy of the software on their laptop or home computer

On this page you can find free alternatives. The packages listed are all open source, meaning among other things that their source code is available for modification at no cost. Free software is available without a license fee and allows the user to redistribute and change the code. This kind of software is usually maintained by a community of users.

This list is provided as a service to the community. The ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee is not endorsing any particular packages.

• Audacity
  Multitrack Audio Editor
• Blender
  Fully featured 3D modeling and animation packages, supported by a large community. Offers tools for modeling, animation, simulation, rendering and game design
• GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program
  Image editing tool for bitmap images. Supports multiple image layers and has many tools and filters.
• Inkscape - Open Source vector graphics editor.
  Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface.
• Pencil
  Drawing and animation, aimed at hand drawn (cartoon) animation using both bitmap and vector graphics

An extensive listing of free software can be found at the free software foundation