ArcBrush – Node-based 2D image editor

# ArcBrush - The Node-Based Image Editor Source: [https://arcbrush.com/](https://arcbrush.com/) Free download, no account required ## Thenode\-based image editor\. Build once\. Export everything\. Wire 79 nodes into non\-destructive pipelines that produce every color variant, every format, every asset, automatically\. One graph replaces hours of repetitive manual work\. Free to use\. No account needed for the editor\. Native C\+\+ desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux\. Built for:Game Artists · Pixel Artists · Illustrators · Concept Artists · Texture Artists · Designers · Anyone tired of repetitive exports Who it’s for ## If you’ve ever exported the same thing twice, this is for you\. **Familiar territory\.**If you’ve used node\-based tools in Houdini, Blender, Nuke, Substance, or Unreal, you already know the paradigm\. ArcBrush applies it to 2D image production\. How it works ## Your process, as agraph\. In ArcBrush, every operation is a node\. Load an image\. Apply a filter\. Warp it\. Mask an area\. Remap colors\. Export\. Wire them together and the graph does the rest\. Change one parameter and only the affected nodes re\-evaluate\. Nothing is ever baked\. Everything stays live\.  ### Wire anything to anything Typed connections ensure compatibility\. Images, masks, palettes, and variants each have their own pin type, and the graph prevents invalid wiring automatically\. ### Non\-destructive forever Every parameter stays live\. Adjust blur radius, swap palettes, change AI prompts, even six months later\. The graph re\-evaluates only what changed\. ### Portable graph files Save your workflow as a`\.arcb`file\. Share it with your team\. Open it on Windows, macOS, or Linux\. It just works\. Every parameter, every connection, every embedded asset, exactly where you left it\. ### Live pipeline Layer\-based tools produce one output at a time\. ArcBrush pipelines produce N outputs from one configuration\. Toggle "Watch File" on your source images and the graph re\-evaluates every time the file changes on disk\. Edit in Photoshop and see the result in ArcBrush instantly\. The killer feature ## One graph\. Every color variant\. Automatically\. Define a palette with 9 named colors\. Wire it into Palette Remap\. Connect Export Batch\. Click export\. Nine named PNG files appear in your folder, each one recolored while preserving every highlight, shadow, and gradient from the original\. Change the palette, re\-export\. Done\.  $Output:potion\_red\.pngpotion\_orange\.pngpotion\_yellow\.pngpotion\_green\.pngpotion\_sky\_blue\.pngpotion\_blue\.pngpotion\_purple\.pngpotion\_magenta\.pngpotion\_pink\.png ### Luminance preserved The remap shifts hue and saturation in perceptual color space\. Highlights stay highlights\. Shadows stay shadows\. The recolor looks painted, not tinted\. ### Import palettes from your tools Drop in palette files from Aseprite, Photoshop, GIMP, Krita, Illustrator, Affinity, or Inkscape\. ArcBrush reads`\.gpl`,`\.ase`,`\.pal`, and`\.aseprite`files, including names and colors\. ### Sprite sheet export Export all variants as individual files or pack them into a single sprite sheet with a TexturePacker\-compatible JSON manifest\. Ready to drop into your game engine\. ### Named variants Each palette slot has a name\. Export Batch uses that name in the filename\.`potion\_red\.png`,`potion\_blue\.png`\. Consistent, automatic, every time\. ### Palette From Image Don't have a palette? Feed any reference image into Palette From Image\. It extracts the dominant colors automatically\. Wire that into Palette Remap\. ### One change, all variants update Adjust the source art\. Every variant re\-exports with the change\. Adjust the palette\. Every variant shifts\. The graph is live\. AI integration ## AI on your terms\. Not the other way around\. ArcBrush is a complete image editor without AI\. Every filter, mask, warp, color tool, and export pipeline works without an account or internet connection\. AI nodes are optional\. They wire into the graph like any other node, receive your masks, edge maps, and images as structured inputs, and produce images as outputs\. Use them when they help\. Skip them entirely if you prefer\. The graph is the product\. The most capable model in the lineup\. Powered by Gemini, Nano Banana 2 accepts multiple input images simultaneously: reference photos, style examples, and masks in one call\. Text\-to\-image, image editing, multi\-image fusion, and guided generation\. Text\-to\-ImageImage EditingMulti\-Image InputStyle Transfer Highest fidelity generation and editing from Black Forest Labs\. Premium quality for both text\-to\-image and image editing workflows\. Text\-to\-ImageImage EditingHighest fidelity High\-quality generation and editing\. Great balance of quality and capability for production art and professional editing workflows\. Text\-to\-ImageImage EditingPro quality Low cost, high speed\. Perfect for exploring ideas before committing to a higher\-quality generation\. Ideal for rapid iteration\. Text\-to\-ImageFast iteration ### FLUX\.2 Turbo Edit Fast Edit Fast, affordable image editing\. Great for quick instruction\-based edits and simple transformations at the lowest editing cost\. Image EditingFast iteration ### Background Removal Utility Two models at the same cost: rembg \(fast, reliable\) and Bria RMBG 2\.0 \(higher quality on complex edges like hair and fur\)\. Background removalClean alpha 4x super\-resolution powered by AuraSR\. Two model versions: v1 for general use, v2 for photographs and non\-AI images\. Enable overlapping tiles for seamless results on large images\. 4x upscaleSuper\-resolution1 credit **“Just another node\.”**AI outputs wire into filters\. Filter outputs wire into AI\. Chain multiple AI calls\. Branch into parallel paths\. The graph doesn’t care what a node does internally — it just connects typed inputs to typed outputs\. ArcBrush is fully functional without AI\. All 75 non\-AI nodes, including every filter, transform, mask tool, warp, and export, work without an account, without signing in, without limits\. AI generation is an optional add\-on powered by credits\. If you want to try AI, sign in with one click and get10 free credits\. ### Starter $10one\-time Best for trying AI features and occasional generation\. Most popular ### Plus $20one\-time For regular AI\-assisted workflows\. ### Pro $40one\-time For heavy AI use and production pipelines\. Lowest per\-credit cost\. #### Generations per model At standard resolution \(up to 1024x1024\)\. Higher resolutions use more credits\. ModelCreditsStarterPlusProFLUX FastText to Image0\.21,7504,0009,000FLUX\.2 Turbo EditImage Edit0\.57001,6003,600Remove BackgroundRemove BG13508001,800AI UpscaleUpscale13508001,800FLUX\.2 ProText to Image / Edit2175400900Nano Banana 2Text to Image / Edit570160360FLUX\.2 MaxText to Image / Edit570160360 Credits never expireNo subscription10 free credits on signupUniversal across all models Under the hood ## Native\. Not a web app\. Not Electron\.Not a wrapper\. ArcBrush is a C\+\+20 desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux\. OpenCV processes your images on the CPU and GPU\. OpenGL renders your previews\. Every operation runs natively on your hardware\. AI nodes reach out to the cloud only when you tell them to\.  Native binary compiled for Windows, macOS, and Linux\. No runtime dependencies, no browser engine\. Lightweight installer, fast startup\. 14\.9 MB Win · 22\.1 MB Mac · 11\.0 MB Linux ### GPU\-accelerated Image processing automatically offloads to your GPU when available\. Larger images route to GPU for speed, with full CPU fallback on every operation\. Automatic GPU/CPU routing ### Parallel processing Every per\-pixel operation distributes across all your CPU cores automatically\. Large images process in fractions of a second\. All cores · Adaptive threading ### Smart evaluation Only nodes downstream of a change re\-evaluate\. Fast nodes update instantly, heavy nodes wait for you to stop dragging\. Nothing recomputes unnecessarily\. Incremental · Adaptive debounce ### Typed connections Five pin types \(Image, Mask, Palette, Variants, Size Reference\), each with strict connection rules\. The graph prevents invalid wiring automatically\. 5 types · Strict rules ### Open format & auto\-save `\.arcb`files are human\-readable JSON\. Your work is auto\-saved at regular intervals with crash recovery on next launch\. JSON · Portable · Crash recovery Node library ## 79 nodes\. 9 categories\. Infinite combinations\. From basic inputs to AI generation, from pixel\-level color control to mesh warps and batch export, every operation in your workflow has a dedicated node\. Each one is composable with every other\.  Image In Load PNG, JPEG, WebP, TGA, BMP from disk or clipboard  SVG Import Vector import with resolution\-independent rasterization  Canvas Solid color starting point at any resolution  Gradient Linear, radial, angular, diamond gradients with multi\-stop colors and seven interpolation modes  Noise Perlin, Simplex, Clouds, Voronoi, White noise with fBm and domain warp  Pattern Checkerboard, stripes, dots, hexagons, brick  Shape Circle, rectangle, polygon, star, ring with optional stroke and tile mode  Text Render text with system fonts or custom \.ttf/\.otf files\. Searchable font picker, weight/style selection, alignment, rotation, and interactive drag positioning  Arrange Place up to 5 images side by side or stacked for comparisons and layouts  Corner Pin Four\-point perspective warp with optional background plate  Crop Extract a region by pixel coordinates or percentage  Displace Pixel displacement driven by a grayscale or red/green channel map  Mirror Flip horizontal, vertical, or both  Mesh Warp Interactive bicubic Bezier grid deformation\. Drag control points to sculpt images freely  Offset Shift the image horizontally or vertically with optional edge wrapping  Pad Add border padding with color or extend modes  Polar Remap Cartesian\-to\-polar and polar\-to\-Cartesian coordinate transform  Resize Scale to exact dimensions or percentage with multiple algorithms  Rotate 90 Pixel\-perfect 90°/180°/270° rotation with no interpolation  Smart Scale Content\-aware resize via seam carving\. Shrinks images while preserving important content  Spherize Barrel and pincushion lens distortion  Sprite Sheet Pack palette variants into a single grid image for game engines or further processing  Tile Grid\-based image repeat with mirror mode, row/column offset, and size reference  Transform Translate, rotate, scale with interpolation control and interactive manipulator  Trim Auto\-crop transparent or solid\-color edges  Blur Gaussian, box, median, motion, bilateral, edge\-preserving, radial, and zoom blur  Composite Layer blending with 18 modes \(Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, and more\)  Denoise Noise reduction preserving edges and detail  Drop Shadow Configurable offset, blur, color, and opacity  Edge Detect Canny edge extraction with adjustable thresholds, kernel size, and custom edge/background colors  Emboss Directional emboss with angle and strength  Glow Bloom/glow effect with threshold and radius control  High Pass Isolate detail by subtracting a blurred copy\. Per\-channel or luminance modes for sharpening, frequency separation, and texture flattening  Inpaint Content\-aware fill using mask regions  Normal Map Generate normal maps from height/grayscale images for 3D lighting  Outline Inner, outer, or center stroke around non\-transparent regions  Paint Interactive freehand painting directly on images  Pixelate Reduce to chunky pixels with configurable block size\. Essential for pixel art  Seamless Blend Mirror\-fold and content\-aware blend to make any image tileable  Sharpen Unsharp Mask and edge\-preserving Detail Enhance  Vignette Edge darkening with shape, size, and falloff  Color Range Select pixels by color similarity with eyedropper pick, tolerance, and softness controls  Magic Wand Flood\-fill contiguous color selection from seed points with tolerance and softness  Mask Apply Apply a mask as the alpha channel of an image  Mask Boolean Union, intersection, subtraction, XOR of two masks  Mask From Image Extract masks from alpha, luminance, or any channel  Mask Paint Freehand mask painting with brush tools  Mask Refine Erode, dilate, feather, and threshold masks  Roto Interactive bezier spline rotoscoping  Black and White Convert to grayscale with per\-hue channel sliders and film\-style presets  Brightness/Contrast Simple brightness and contrast with S\-Curve or Linear modes  Channel Merge Combine four single\-channel images into one RGBA image, with per\-channel fill defaults for any unconnected input  Channel Shuffle Rearrange, swap, or fill RGBA channels  Channel Split Split an RGBA image into four single\-channel images \(R, G, B, A\) for independent downstream processing  Color Balance Shadows/midtones/highlights color shifting  Color Overlay Solid color overlay with 18 blend modes and adjustable opacity  Color Remap Single\-color hue/saturation shift preserving luminance  Curves Bezier curve adjustment per channel  Dither Floyd\-Steinberg, ordered, and blue noise dithering for retro and print styles  Exposure Adjust exposure in EV stops with offset and gamma\. Works in linear light  Gradient Map Map luminance range to a color gradient  HSB Hue, saturation, brightness adjustment  Invert Channel inversion \(all, RGB only, or per\-channel\)  Levels Input/output range with per\-channel gamma control  Local Contrast Clarity/local contrast enhancement  Palette Define named color slots for variant generation  Palette From Gradient Sample a palette from a gradient with seven interpolation modes\. Edit colors via the gradient editor; slot names persist across swatch count changes  Palette From Image Auto\-extract dominant colors from any image  Palette Remap Full palette\-driven variant generation \(N colors → N outputs\)  Posterize Reduce color levels for stylized flat\-color look  Quantize Reduce to N colors with optional dithering  Chroma Key Green/blue screen removal with spill suppression  Luma Key Extract matte from brightness values  AI Image Edit Edit existing images with text instructions  AI Remove Background One\-click AI background removal to clean RGBA  AI Text to Image Generate images from text prompts \(4 quality tiers\)  AI Upscale 4x super\-resolution via AuraSR\. Adds realistic detail beyond simple resize  Export Batch Export all palette variants as named files or packed sprite sheets with JSON manifest  Export Image Save single output as PNG, JPEG, BMP, WebP, TIFF, or TGA 79 nodes5 pin typesType\-safe Features ## Everything you need\. Nothing you don’t\.   ### Auto\-save Your work is saved automatically at regular intervals\. Crash recovery restores your last state on relaunch\. Never lose progress\. ### Interactive tools Mesh Warp \(drag a Bezier grid\), Roto \(bezier spline masks\), Corner Pin \(perspective warp\), Text \(drag\-position and rotate\), Paint and Mask Paint \(freehand brush\)\. Draw and sculpt directly in the preview\. ### Warp & distortion Five warp nodes: perspective \(Corner Pin\), freeform mesh \(Mesh Warp\), displacement maps \(Displace\), polar coordinates \(Polar Remap\), and lens distortion \(Spherize\)\. ### Text rendering System font browser with instant search, weight and style selection, custom \.ttf/\.otf loading\. Position by dragging, rotate with the ring handle\. Missing fonts flagged on file open\. ### Pixel art workflow Pixelate for chunky retro pixels\. Outline for sprite borders\. Dither \(Floyd\-Steinberg, ordered, blue noise\) for stylized color reduction\. Quantize to a limited palette\. Export as sprite sheets\. ### Sprite sheet export Export Batch can pack all variants into a single sprite sheet PNG with a TexturePacker\-compatible JSON manifest\. Configurable columns, padding, background, and power\-of\-two dimensions\. ### Texture tools Seamless Blend makes any image tileable\. Normal Map generates 3D\-ready lighting maps from grayscale\. Noise generates seamless tileable output\. Pattern produces geometric bases\. Tile Preview shows any node tiled in a grid\. ### Channel isolation View individual Red, Green, Blue, or Alpha channels in the preview panel\. Instantly see what's in each channel without exporting\. ### Histogram Live histogram overlay in the preview panel shows the tonal distribution of any node's output\. ### Node groups Backdrop boxes to organize complex graphs\. Drag, resize, rename\. Nodes automatically belong by spatial containment\. ### Node notes & sticky notes Attach text annotations to any node\. Drop standalone sticky notes on the canvas for documentation and reminders\. ### Undo/redo Full undo stack for every operation: node creation, parameter changes, connections, group edits\. Ctrl\+Z / Ctrl\+Y\. ### Minimap Bird's\-eye view of your entire graph\. Click to navigate\. Toggle on/off\. ### Preview panel Full\-resolution preview with zoom, pan, pixel grid at high zoom, and color value readout\. Lock to any node\. Channel isolation and histogram overlay\. ### Quick\-Lock preview Double\-click any node to lock its output to the preview panel, so you can inspect upstream nodes without losing your view\. Double\-click empty canvas to release\. ### Display color management Images display correctly on monitors with non\-sRGB color profiles\. ArcBrush reads your monitor's ICC profile and applies color correction automatically\. What you see matches what you export\. ### 6 color themes Violet \(default\), Emerald, Ocean, Rose, Amber, and Graphite\. Choose the UI tone that suits your eye\. ### Wire styles Curved \(default\), rounded, straight, or right\-angle wires with automatic node avoidance\. ### Snap to grid Nodes snap to a configurable grid when moved or created\. Adjustable spacing from 8px to 64px\. Enabled by default for clean, aligned layouts\. ### Graph search Find any node by name instantly\. Ctrl\+F to search, Enter to navigate\. ### Favorites Star any node from its Properties panel header to pin it to a Favorites section at the top of the Node Library and the right\-click Add Node menu\. Your most\-used nodes stay one click away no matter how categories are arranged\. ### Keyboard shortcuts Standard shortcuts for all operations\. Ctrl\+S save, Ctrl\+Z undo, Delete to remove, F5 to re\-evaluate, Tab to open add\-node menu\. ### Drag\-and\-drop Drop image files onto the canvas to create Image In nodes\. Drag from the node library panel\. ### Clipboard paste Ctrl\+V to paste images from clipboard directly as new Image In nodes\. ### Quick export Ctrl\+Shift\+E to export selected export nodes\. Export All in the File menu runs every export node in the graph at once\. ### 6 export formats PNG, JPEG, BMP, WebP, TIFF, and TGA\. Both single\-image and batch export support all formats with quality control\. ### Relative export paths Type export/sprite\.png and the path resolves relative to your \.arcb file\. Directories are created automatically\. Keep exports portable alongside your project\. ### File watching Toggle "Watch File" on Image In or SVG Import nodes\. When the source file changes on disk, the node reloads automatically\. Edit in Photoshop, see it live in ArcBrush\. ### SVG import Load vector graphics at any resolution\. Resolution\-independent rasterization via ThorVG\. ### Collect Files Copy all referenced assets into a single folder next to your \.arcb file\. Share or move projects with everything included\. No broken links\. ### Smart node deletion Delete a node and its upstream and downstream connections are automatically reconnected\. The signal chain stays intact\. No rewiring needed\. ### Relative file paths Image In, SVG Import, and Export nodes all support relative paths\. Type assets/logo\.png and it resolves relative to your \.arcb file\. Projects stay portable\. ### Node bypass Disable any node without deleting it\. The graph routes around bypassed nodes\. ### Y\-key wire cut Hold Y and drag across wires to slice them\. Fast graph restructuring\. ### Package as \.zip Bundle a project and every file it references \(images, SVGs, fonts, AI outputs\) into a single shareable archive\. Recipient unzips and opens with no missing\-file errors\. ### Parallel AI generation Run multiple AI nodes at the same time: generate an image, edit another, and remove a background all in parallel\. No waiting for one to finish before starting the next\. ### Generation log Track all AI generations with timestamps, prompts, and per\-call costs\. Session and lifetime cost tracking\. ### Eyedropper Every color picker in the app has an eyedropper button for picking colors directly from the canvas\. Color Range node uses it for pixel\-precise selection\. ### Multiple blur modes Gaussian, box, median, motion, bilateral, edge\-preserving, radial, and zoom\. Eight algorithms, each optimized for different use cases\. ### 18 blend modes Composite node supports Normal, Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Color Dodge, Color Burn, Difference, Exclusion, Hue, Saturation, Luminosity, and more\. ### Procedural noise & patterns Noise node generates tileable textures with a seamless toggle\. Pattern node produces geometric patterns\. Five noise types, five pattern types, all with full parameter control\. ### Pro gradient engine Seven interpolation modes including perceptual OKLab and OKLCh, pigment\-mixing Kubelka\-Munk, and stepped Constant, with Hue Path control for directing the sweep around the hue wheel\. Floyd\-Steinberg dither eliminates banding\. Shared by the Gradient, Gradient Map, and Palette From Gradient nodes\. Get started ## Download ArcBrush\. Build your first graph in5 minutes\. Free to use\. No account required for the editor\. All 75 non\-AI nodes work immediately, with no signup, no activation, and no trial period\. When you’re ready for AI features, sign in with one click and get 10 free credits to start\. 1 ### Install & launch Run the Windows installer, drag the macOS app to Applications, or make the Linux AppImage executable\. 2 ### Build a graph Right\-click to add nodes\. Wire them together\. 3 ### Export everything Connect an Export node\. Click export\. Done\. ### What you get 79 composable node typesFree Non\-destructive graph editingFree GPU\-accelerated processingFree Unlimited palette variantsFree Batch export \+ sprite sheets \(6 formats\)Free Auto\-save & crash recoveryFree Windows, macOS & LinuxFree \.arcb portable graph filesFree AI generation \(optional, cloud\)Credit packs \(no subscription\)