Free & Open Source · Digital Painting Powerhouse
🎨 Photoshop to Krita
Leaving the Adobe ecosystem? Krita is a professional-grade, completely free digital painting and image editing application loved by illustrators, concept artists, and comic creators worldwide. This guide maps your Photoshop muscle memory directly to Krita so you can start creating immediately.
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Photoshop | Krita |
|---|---|---|
| New File | Ctrl/Cmd + N | Ctrl + N |
| Open File | Ctrl/Cmd + O | Ctrl + O |
| Save / Export | Ctrl + S (PSD), Ctrl + Shift + Alt + S (Save for Web) | Ctrl + S saves as KRA (native). Use File > Export As for PNG, JPG, etc. Ctrl + Shift + E re-exports to previous settings. |
| Undo | Ctrl/Cmd + Z | Ctrl + Z — Krita supports unlimited undo steps by default |
| Redo | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Ctrl + Shift + Z — same as Photoshop |
| Free Transform / Scale | Ctrl + T | Ctrl + T — identical shortcut, activates the Transform Tool |
| Flatten Image | Ctrl + Shift + E | Image > Flatten Image (no default shortcut; assign in Settings > Configure Krita > Keyboard Shortcuts) |
| Crop Tool | C | C — same key |
| Zoom In / Out | Ctrl + + / Ctrl + - | + / - or Ctrl + Space + drag or scroll wheel |
| Fit Canvas to Window | Ctrl + 0 | 1 (fit page) or 3 (fit width) |
| Select All | Ctrl + A | Ctrl + A |
| Deselect | Ctrl + D | Ctrl + Shift + A |
| Invert Selection | Ctrl + Shift + I | Ctrl + Shift + I — same |
| Levels | Ctrl + L | Filter > Adjust > Levels (or add as an adjustment layer — Krita supports non-destructive filter layers) |
| Curves | Ctrl + M | Filter > Adjust > Curves (also available as a non-destructive filter layer) |
| Hue / Saturation | Ctrl + U | Filter > Adjust > Hue/Saturation/Value (or use as a filter layer) |
| Merge Visible Layers | Ctrl + Shift + E | Layer > Merge Visible Layers — Ctrl + Shift + E |
| Merge Down | Ctrl + E | Ctrl + E — same shortcut |
| Canvas Rotation | Rotate View Tool | 4 / 6 to rotate; 5 to reset — a major Krita advantage for natural drawing |
🛠️ Tools Equivalents
| Tool Type | Photoshop | Krita |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Move Tool V | Move Tool T (or hold Ctrl while using another tool) |
| Rectangular Selection | Rectangular Marquee M | Rectangular Selection R |
| Elliptical Selection | Elliptical Marquee M (toggle) | Elliptical Selection J |
| Lasso Selection | Lasso / Polygonal Lasso L | Freehand Selection E / Contiguous Selection W |
| Magic Wand | Magic Wand W | Contiguous Selection Tool W |
| Quick / Object Selection | Quick Selection W | Select by Color Range (Select > Select by Color Range) — similar concept |
| Pen / Path | Pen Tool P | Bezier Curve Tool (in Vector layer context) — Krita has full vector path support on vector layers |
| Brush / Paint | Brush Tool B | Freehand Brush Tool B — same key. Krita's brush engine is significantly more advanced with 100+ preset brush categories |
| Eraser | Eraser E | Toggle Eraser Mode E (switches any brush to eraser mode — very convenient) |
| Clone / Stamp | Clone Stamp S | Clone Tool — found in the Toolbox; set source with Ctrl + Click |
| Healing Brush | Spot Healing / Healing Brush J | Smart Patch Tool (Krita 5.2+) or use Clone Tool for manual healing |
| Dodge / Burn | Dodge O / Burn O | No dedicated Dodge/Burn tool — use blend mode layers (Screen = dodge effect, Multiply = burn effect) or the Colorize Mask |
| Text | Horizontal Type Tool T | Text Tool T — supports basic text on vector layers |
| Eyedropper | Eyedropper I | Sample Color P or hold Alt while painting to temporarily sample |
| Gradient | Gradient Tool G | Fill Tool (set to Gradient mode) F |
| Bucket Fill | Paint Bucket G (toggle) | Fill Tool F |
| Smudge | Smudge Tool R | Smudge Tool — use the "Smear" brush engine; many presets available in the default bundle |
| Blur / Sharpen | Blur R / Sharpen R | No dedicated blur/sharpen brush — use Filters > Blur or paint on a layer with Gaussian Blur filter layer above |
| Liquify / Warp | Liquify Filter — | Krita has a dedicated Transform Tool > Warp / Liquify mode — comparable feature set to PS Liquify |
📐 Layers & Panels
| Concept | Photoshop | Krita |
|---|---|---|
| Layers Panel | Layers palette (always docked) | Layers docker — always visible by default. Access via Settings > Dockers > Layers if missing |
| New Layer | Click the + icon in Layers panel | Click the + icon in the Layers docker or Ins key |
| Duplicate Layer | Ctrl + J | Ctrl + J — same shortcut |
| Group Layers | Ctrl + G | Ctrl + G — same shortcut, creates a Group Layer |
| Layer Opacity | Opacity slider in Layers panel | Opacity slider in the Layers docker — identical concept |
| Blend Modes | Dropdown in Layers panel (Normal, Multiply, Screen…) | Blending mode dropdown in the Layers docker — most PS modes are present with the same names (Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, etc.) |
| Layer Mask | Click mask icon in Layers panel | Layer > Add Mask > Mask from Transparent Pixels (or right-click layer > Add Mask) — same concept, non-destructive |
| Clipping Mask | Ctrl + Alt + G | Krita calls this Clipping Layers: right-click a layer > Clip to Below Layer — identical behavior, different name |
| Smart Objects | Right-click > Convert to Smart Object | Krita has File Layers — a layer that references an external file and updates automatically. Great for reusing assets. |
| Adjustment Layers | Non-destructive adjustment layers (Curves, Levels…) | Krita has Filter Layers — truly non-destructive and fully adjustable at any time. Add via Layer > New > Filter Layer. A major advantage over both PS and GIMP. |
| Layer Styles | Drop Shadow, Glow, Stroke via Layer Style dialog | No direct layer styles panel — apply Drop Shadow etc. via Filters > Light and Shadow (destructive), or use dedicated filter layers for non-destructive effects |
| Channels Panel | Channels palette for RGB, Alpha, Spot colors | Not a separate Channels docker — alpha/transparency is managed per layer. Use the Canvas > Color Channel visibility toggles for per-channel viewing. |
| Animation Timeline | Timeline panel (CC only) | Krita includes a built-in Animation Timeline — create frame-by-frame animation natively with onion skinning. Access under Settings > Dockers > Timeline. |
✨ Filters & Effects
| Effect | Photoshop | Krita Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Gaussian Blur | Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur | Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur — identical workflow |
| Unsharp Mask | Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask | Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask — same location |
| Noise Reduction | Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise | Filter > Enhance > Noise Reduction |
| Add Noise / Grain | Filter > Noise > Add Noise | Filter > Noise > Add Noise |
| Motion Blur | Filter > Blur > Motion Blur | Filter > Blur > Motion Blur |
| Liquify | Filter > Liquify | Transform Tool > switch to Warp or Liquify transform mode — similar controls including push, pull, rotate, and pinch |
| Content-Aware Fill | Edit > Content-Aware Fill | Edit > Fill with Pattern (limited). For true content-aware results install the Inpaint plugin or pre-process in an external AI tool |
| Drop Shadow | Layer Style > Drop Shadow | Filter > Light and Shadow > Drop Shadow — applied to a filter layer or directly to the raster layer |
| Bevel & Emboss | Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss | Filter > Emboss — basic emboss, no full layer-style system |
| Camera RAW | Filter > Camera Raw Filter | No built-in RAW processing — use RawTherapee or darktable to develop the RAW, export as TIFF or PNG, then open in Krita |
| Neural Filters / AI Tools | Filter > Neural Filters (skin smoothing, style transfer…) | Krita 5.2+ includes AI-powered diffusion via the Generative AI plugin (experimental). G'MIC-Qt plugin provides hundreds of additional image effects for free. |
🎨 Color & Toning
| Adjustment | Photoshop | Krita |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | Ctrl + L | Filter > Adjust > Levels (also assignable as a Filter Layer) |
| Curves | Ctrl + M | Filter > Adjust > Curves (also assignable as a Filter Layer) |
| Hue / Saturation | Ctrl + U | Filter > Adjust > Hue/Saturation/Value |
| Brightness / Contrast | Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast | Filter > Adjust > Brightness/Contrast |
| Color Balance | Image > Adjustments > Color Balance | Filter > Adjust > Color Balance |
| Vibrance | Image > Adjustments > Vibrance | Filter > Adjust > HSV Adjustment (drag Saturation slider with care) or G'MIC-Qt > Color > Vibrance |
| Desaturate / Grayscale | Image > Adjustments > Desaturate | Filter > Adjust > Desaturate — or convert document to Grayscale color model |
| Invert Colors | Ctrl + I | Filter > Adjust > Invert — Ctrl + I |
| Posterize | Image > Adjustments > Posterize | Filter > Adjust > Posterize |
| Color Picker | Foreground/Background color squares at bottom of toolbar | Krita has a dedicated Pop-up Palette (right-click canvas while painting) with a color wheel and recent colors — much faster than the PS picker workflow |
| CMYK Color Space | Native CMYK editing (Image > Mode > CMYK) | Krita supports CMYK documents natively — change in Image > Image > Properties > Color Space. Soft-proofing also available. |
💾 File Formats
| Format | Photoshop | Krita |
|---|---|---|
| Native Project File | .PSD / .PSB (preserves layers, masks, effects) | .KRA — Krita's native format (a ZIP archive), preserves all layers, filter layers, guides, and animation frames. Krita can also open and save .PSD files. |
| Opening PSD in Krita | — | Krita reads most PSD files with good layer fidelity. Group layers, masks, and standard blend modes import correctly. Layer styles (Drop Shadow, Bevel) are flattened on import. |
| Saving as PSD | Native save | File > Save As > Photoshop Document (.psd). Use this when collaborating with PS users. Note: Krita-specific features (Filter Layers, Colorize Masks) may not round-trip perfectly. |
| Export PNG | File > Export As or Save for Web | File > Export As > .png. Use Ctrl + Shift + E to re-export to the last export location and settings. |
| Export JPEG | File > Export As or Save for Web | File > Export As > .jpg — quality slider available in the export dialog |
| Export WebP | File > Export As (PS 2020+) | Supported via File > Export As > .webp |
| TIFF | Full TIFF support including 16-bit | Full TIFF support, including 16-bit and 32-bit floating point when the document color depth matches |
| RAW Files | Opens directly via Camera Raw | No native RAW processing — use RawTherapee or darktable, export as TIFF/PNG, then open in Krita |
| SVG / Vectors | Limited SVG support (shapes as paths) | Krita supports native SVG vector layers — draw shapes with vector tools and they stay editable as scalable vectors |
| OpenEXR / HDR | Supported via plugin (Camera Raw / Bridge) | Krita supports .exr (OpenEXR) natively including 32-bit HDR images — great for VFX and concept art workflows |
📖 Key Differences to Know
| Photoshop Concept | Krita Equivalent | What's different |
|---|---|---|
| Save vs Export | Save = KRA, Export = everything else | Like GIMP, Krita separates saving the editable project (Ctrl + S → .kra) from exporting a deliverable file. Use File > Export As for JPG/PNG. Ctrl + Shift + E re-exports to the same settings without re-prompting. |
| Brush Engine | Standard brush engine with limited customization | Krita's brush engine is one of its greatest strengths — 9 brush engines (Pixel, Color Smudge, Shape, Texture, etc.) with fully customizable parameters. The large preset library out-of-the-box rivals paid PS brush packs. |
| Pop-up Palette | No equivalent (color panel is docked) | Right-click the canvas reveals the Pop-up Palette: a floating color wheel with recent colors and quick tool selection. Game-changer for tablet workflows — keeps your hand on the canvas. |
| Canvas Rotation | Rotate View Tool (cumbersome) | Krita excels here: press 4 / 6 to rotate in 15° increments, 5 to reset. Canvas rotation is a first-class citizen for natural sketching with a tablet. |
| Adjustment Layers | Non-destructive adjustment layers live in the layer stack | Krita's Filter Layers are fully non-destructive — you can add, reorder, reopen, and edit them at any time. They affect all layers below them in the group, matching PS adjustment layer behavior exactly. |
| History States | History panel (max ~1000 states) | Krita uses a linear undo history and supports a very high (configurable) number of undo steps. No snapshot feature. Increase the limit in Settings > Configure Krita > Miscellaneous. |
| Layer Styles | Non-destructive per-layer effects (shadows, glows, strokes) | Krita has no dedicated layer styles panel. Effects like Drop Shadow require either a destructive filter application or a separate filter layer. For outlines/strokes, the G'MIC plugin provides advanced options. |
| Actions / Macros | Actions panel for recording steps | Krita has a built-in Python scripting API and supports macros via the Recorder plugin. More developer-friendly but lacks the simple point-and-click PS Action recorder. |
| Workspace Layouts | Saved Workspace presets | Krita saves your docker/panel layout automatically. You can create and switch between named workspaces via Settings > Dockers layout presets — similar to PS workspaces. |
| Tablet Pressure / Tilt | Limited to basic pressure curves | Krita has industry-leading tablet support: full pressure, tilt, twist, and rotation support for Wacom, Huion, XP-Pen, and most other tablets — all configurable per brush property. |
| Animation | Separate Timeline workspace (CC) | Krita includes frame-by-frame animation built in with an Animation Timeline docker, onion skinning, and the ability to export animated GIF, WebP, or video (via ffmpeg). |
| Plugins / Extensions | Adobe Marketplace / Exchange | Krita supports Python plugins installable from the Manage Plugins menu. Key free plugins: G'MIC-Qt (hundreds of filters), Krita AI Diffusion (generative AI inpainting/outpainting), Krita Scripter (live Python REPL). |