Anyone rolling full Linux Workstation for 2D/3D work?

Noth

Imagine this isn't a new subject, but curious if anyone is successfully doing all their work from Linux -- I'm super interested in taking the plunge but haven't, I have Ubuntu installed on a mini-pc for plex but other than that, haven't tried much else with any other distro. Each year windows update makes me think a bit harder about it.

Oblivion2500

I haven’t but if you have windows 11 pro instead of home. You can turn off “get latest updates” to stop latest updates from downloading and installing and be more on the stable channel. You can easily get a Windows 11 pro key for like $10-20 online. The problem with Linux is drivers and lack of full support with software. If you’re serious about your art stuff, it might be tough bet…

I don’t like windows but I just work my way around it. 

iv0_art

I know Linux have problems with adobe suite, for example is not fully compatible with substance designer or substance painter,
but personally I made the hop in these months and I love Linux runs more smoothly and is not annoying like windows,
I personally only use open source tools like Krita, Inkscape and blender even I recommend if you are using videogame engines like Unity and Godot,
but if you personally prefer to use adobe and Unreal engine environment is more difficult to make a complete transition,

Noth

@Oblivion2500 hey! I guess a better title for the thread would be, does anyone else wish they could move to linux fulltime? I did install Win11 pro via rufus and it strips a bunch of bloat out when you create the usb install drive, so I didn't have to register email and all that. I also spend a bunch of time finding different CLI commands to remove stuff and move the UI around, etc so I could get it to look more like win10. I'm at a point now where it's basically the same, I don't have much issue with it really. I'm also inspired by these different open source softwares like Godot and Blender that have native Linux support, I guess we just need more Linux representation for our softwares. I guess then the question is, if you could would you ditch windows for linux for your work desktop?

Oblivion2500

Oh yeah, I’m not a fan of windows. I don’t really think people love windows. They have to use it because there’s no real other options without big compromises. I have a MacBook Pro but I used it for everything personal files, although it actually does a decent job of Blender, Maya, Zbrush and Unreal Engine. But I have a desktop custom build Windows 11 pc for my workstation and 3d modeling and game development which is strictly for that, no personal files or bloatware. Kind of have a computer in best of both worlds. There’s no perfect operating system. Even Linux has its own technical issues with all the fragmented distros and different installation files for software which is a big pain. 

Oblivion2500

Although, speaking for gaming itself. SteamOS has been great for pc gaming with minor compromises. My friend loves his Steam Deck but also loves his PS5 for couch gaming. 

Noth

@Oblivion2500 yeah, I'm looking forward to the GabeCube

@iv0_art cool! yeah I think I'll get a new sdd for my laptop and install ububtu on it and dual boot for a bit to test things out. I switched to Godot for a personal project, and have been enjoying that -- I use maya and photoshop, but could probably be fine switching to Krita really. I don't use substance much, I prefer 3DCoat and Marmoset for what I can do there. I could live without SD and SP currently. I wish Blender wasn't so bloated, but instead just seperate modules so I could just have a lightweight 3D modelling toolkit.. sort of like the marmoset of 3D modelling..

iv0_art

@Noth  as I know Maya works well with Linux but is not native supported on Ubuntu, I think the best option is to get a dual boot and try, and if you like it make a more smooth transition to learn everything,
marmoset works well on Linux and for me Maya load more slow and crashes more on comparison to blender I used to use Maya and changed to Blender and never touched Maya again.

iam717

Noth said: "if you could would you ditch windows for linux for your work desktop?"

Yes maybe, & or make my own o.s. & hardware taking out all possible back-doors & bloat ware.  

An include handy applications & code to inform us of intrusive conducts made by isp's & websites, i.e. malicious activities on the fly with blinking alerts & all that fancy stuff, without the need for LIVE updates.  (just cause, f-km)

This recent

11:59AM

post of mine might be helpful for you.

Don't got anything to hide, just hate thieves an deceiving manipulators.

kanga

@Noth: Marmoset Toolbag does not have an official Linux version, but it can run on Linux using compatibility layers like Wine or Proton (via Steam). 

• Official Support: Marmoset Toolbag is officially availabe only for Windows and macOS.  The developer has stated there are no current plans for a native Linux release.

• Workarounds: Users have successfully run Marmoset Toolbag on Linux using:

  • Proton (Steam’s compatibility tool), which allows running Windows applications on Linux.

  • Lutris or PlayOnLinux, with specific configurations (e.g., setting VKD3D version to v2.11.1 for Toolbag 5). 

• Limitations: While the software runs, features like Wacom tablet pressure sensitivity may not work properly under Wine/Proton, which can impact workflow for artists. 

• System Requirements: For Linux compatibility, the minimum system requirements are Linux Ubuntu 12.04 or SteamOS 2.20, 1 GB RAM, and a compatible GPU. 

✅ Bottom Line: Marmoset Toolbag can run on Linux unofficially, but it’s not officially supported and may require technical setup.  For a seamless experience, Windows or macOS is recommended.

Just sayin

GarageBay9

/waves 
I am. I'm a Linux guy now.

Been running some flavor of Debian for about 5 years now. Windows 7 was my last Windows.

I'm running zBrush under WINE (it has a few quirks but is entirely usable for what I'm doing), and in the rare instances where I need 3dsmax I spool up a VM and it's pretty darn seamless.

Nomad Sculpt is looking real slick and has an Android native version, with a Linux native client that was tried in early testing. If they can ship that as a Flatpak or AppImage I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

I entirely dropped Photoshop for Krita, since I don't really need a ton of actual photo retouching tools (I'm mostly doing scribbles and my own concept development, it's just a digital sketchbook). GIMP is coming along, gradually, but you can get Photoshop to run under WINE. I'll leave it at that.

Blender is a native option but even after all these years the UI is a mess. I looked into the bForArtists fork that's supposed to clean some of that up, and some of the 3dsmax UI conversions; I'm not going to rewire 25 years of max muscle memory anytime soon. But Blender is fundamentally very stubborn about being a 'memorize the hotkeys' workflow, and with brain damage after Covid, I am not memorizing new stuff, so... oh well.

UE5 runs natively and goes like a scalded cat.

Oh, and I have my own Perforce instance running on an Ubuntu server that I can get to from my desktop or laptop, with native Linux clients.

Noth

@GarageBay9 lmao, you're funny dude. I hear you on the neural-plasticity front! or lack there of.. super cool to hear you're having success on linux, that's pretty inspiring -- I'm going to figure something out!

@kanga thanks for pointing that out, I sort of assumed it did for some reason..

Lamont

If I can get Photoshop, Substance and 3DS max on Linux, I'd be on it.

Eric Chadwick

Photopea works everywhere, it's free, has mostly the same UI and hotkeys, and it has a bunch of features PS doesn't have. It's neat reading the Reddit AMA with the sole developer, and he's pretty responsive with bug fixes. Anyhow, no use in paying an Adobe sub for PS.

Alemja

Substance does work on Linux, at least the old Allegorithmic versions had dedicated Linux installers. If you still have a key you can get them from here: https://www.substance3d.com/legacy-builds/

Supposedly the steam versions still support Linux, I'm not sure if that is through the proton emulation layer or if it's dedicated, but that is also an option. Proton is really good at this point.

I've been running Linux for about a year now and I haven't done too much dev work on my personal PC (so grain of salt) but I have manged to get marmoset and zbrush up and running through bottles. Everything else I run has native support.

A lot of programs have native support: Maya, Blender, Pureref, Substance Suite (allegorithmic versions) Unreal, Davinci Resolve, Unity, Unreal, GoDot, Inkscape, Krita, Gimp, OBS, Discord. Installing on linux can be a bit of a process, but depending on the distro you choose it might not be so bad. I'm using Endeavour OS (which is Arch btw)

The older Adobe CS suites (non-cloud versions) work well with wine as well. Though I've kind of given up on my old version of Photoshop CS5 as the license server shutdown means I've lost one of the possible installs. Krita has fairly decent PSD support and Gimp has made some improvements and I'm giving those a try in the mean time. As a former 3DS person, blender has completely taken over my 3D modeling and it's come a looooong way.