Well, for the record, GIMP and PAINT.NET have good reputations after many years and can be downloaded from a reputable site.

Yes, Inkscape is a good one for vectors, didn't know that was a requirement Lloyd, or I'd have suggested it earlier.
I found out about it a couple years ago when I had to handle some complex SVG files in a web app. Inkscape isn't intuitive for images/photos, but for some things it's great (and it's free!).

May be boring;
We layered SVGs on PNG files and kept the SVGs resizable and spinnable on ipods/Androids, both files were then sent separately, including position data (basically XML), to a server that emailed a combined/layered image to the user, saved it and then copied to another server that handled sales leads, and the separate files/data were finally copied over to another corporate server .. app distributed through Apple (for androids we made a downloadable installer).
Apple Apps .. what a pain for developers.
In contrast once I put the (free) ImageMagick library on the main server, it took about 8 lines of code to handle all the graphics work!

To add to the freebie list;
PhotoFiltre (free fast basic image editor that will run from a thumb drive, meaning no real install needed) and FastStone Image Resizer.
Weak point with PhotoFiltre is transparency and layers. But it's fast for basic stuff.

FastStone does batch conversions with high quality and lots of options.

http://www.photofiltre-studio.com/pf7-en.htm
http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm

Last edited by rharv; 12/14/16 03:03 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!