Recommend distribution for Graphic Design

Question

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 ?

Solution 1

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)

Solution 2

Ubuntu has dedicated version for graphic designers and Multimedia artists. Try Ubuntu Studio

Comments

[Warren Young]

I think your girlfriend will be happier with a Mac. Unix goodness for you, Adobe friendliness for her.

[Gonzalo.-]

It's an option for the future maybe, but right now there is now money to buy a computer. Thanks anyway

[user2914606]

note that Ubuntu Lucid is a couple of years old. probably the oldest you should get is the latest LTS, 12.04 Precise Pangolin.

[Gonzalo.-]

thanks! So in Xubuntu she can run GIMP and Inkscape? Also, do you know another tools for graphic design?

[Renan]

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.

[fouric]

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.

[Cole Busby]

Hey good recommendation but someone (@Renan) mentioned that in the other answer.