Our summer programs feature the latest software from companies like Adobe, Microsoft, Apple and Valve. But our campers are always looking for free software as well. The problem is that a lot of free stuff on the Web isn’t very well made or even very stable. So the last thing you want to do is download some program that ends up not working and hogging your disk space in the process. At Giant Campus, we spend a lot of time evaluating software, looking for the coolest stuff out there. Here are three free tools that we think are well worth taking a closer look at:

1. Blender. This powerful 3D modeling tool packs a ton of functionality into one easy to install, easy to maintain package. And the documentation and user community at Blender.org is very well developed. If you’re new to 3D modeling and you aren’t ready to plunk down $1000 for one of the big packages like Maya or 3D Studio Max, Blender is a great place to start. But this is no toy. Blender is a full-on 3D modeling environment. Check it out!

2. Inkscape. Here’s another tool that is feature-rich and easy to install. It has many of the features you’d expect to find in expensive drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator, but it’s free. The approach to some tasks are a little different in Inkscape, but the price is right. And the Web site features some of the cool things you can do with it. Check it out at Inkscape.org. 

3. GIMP. If you need to edit images but don’t have Photoshop, GIMP (short for Graphic Image Manipulation Program) is great open source tool. Sure, it doesn’t have all of the Photoshop features, but it does have a nice collection of effects to choose from. And though the user interface takes a little getting used to, it’s worth the investment. It’s a great tool for accomplishing some of the basic photo editing tasks like cropping, resizing, saving and even creating effects with masks, fonts and filters. You’ll find it at Gimp.org.