Krita 5.3 and 6.0 Enter Beta With Text and Tooling Overhauls

Krita Unleashes Power-Packed Beta Releases: 5.3 and 6.0 Bring Groundbreaking Features for Digital Artists

The Krita project has just unleashed its first beta builds for two major upcoming releases—Krita 5.3 and Krita 6.0—and digital artists everywhere are buzzing with excitement. Both versions are built from the same cutting-edge codebase, but they diverge in one key way: Krita 5.3 stays rooted in Qt 5, while Krita 6.0 boldly leaps forward with Qt 6. This move promises a host of new capabilities, performance boosts, and a future-proof foundation for the beloved open-source painting software.

A Text Revolution: Editing on Canvas Like Never Before

One of the most jaw-dropping changes in these betas is the complete overhaul of the text object system. Say goodbye to clunky, off-canvas text editing—Krita now lets you type and tweak text directly on your canvas. But that’s just the beginning. Text can be wrapped inside vector shapes, placed along vector paths, and styled with unprecedented flexibility. This isn’t just a cosmetic upgrade; it’s backed by a massive internal overhaul of font handling, OpenType support, font metrics, and typesetting behavior. Whether you’re working with Latin scripts or complex non-Latin writing systems, Krita’s new text engine has you covered.

Linux Users, Rejoice: Native Wayland Color Management Arrives

For Linux aficionados, Krita 6.0 brings a game-changing feature: native Wayland color management. This means that when you’re running Krita in Wayland mode, your colors will be managed natively—no more workarounds or compromises. However, this feature is exclusive to the Qt 6 build and is officially supported only under KDE’s KWin compositor. If you’re a Linux user looking for the most accurate and consistent color experience, Krita 6.0 is the way to go.

New Tools, New Possibilities

Krita’s toolkit just got a serious upgrade. The new knife tool is a dream come true for comic artists and illustrators, allowing you to split or merge vector objects with ease—perfect for intricate page layouts. The freehand drawing tool now boasts a pixel-art stabilizer, making it easier than ever to create crisp, clean pixel art. And if you’re a fan of the liquify transform tool, you’ll be thrilled to know it’s now significantly faster, letting you warp and reshape your artwork with lightning speed.

Refined Assistants and Expanded Filters

Krita’s assistants—those handy guides that help you draw in perspective or align objects—have been refined for simplicity and power. A brand-new curve-linear perspective assistant joins the lineup, giving you even more control over your compositions. The filter set has also grown, with new propagate colors and color overlay mask filters adding fresh creative possibilities. And for those working in HDR, rest assured that all blending modes have been meticulously reviewed and corrected for accuracy.

Brush Engines and File Formats Get a Boost

Krita’s brush engines, the heart and soul of the software, haven’t been left out. The pattern option has been extended with a new soft-texturing mode, opening up new avenues for expressive brushwork. File format support has also expanded: Radiance RGB is now natively supported, JPEG-XL handling has been improved, and interoperability with Adobe Photoshop files is better than ever. Text objects in PSD files can now be loaded as editable text, and Krita can even save text back to PSD—though with some limitations.

Beta Availability and System Requirements

Ready to dive in? Beta builds of Krita 5.3 and 6.0 are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. However, Krita 6.0 is not yet available on Android or ChromeOS, where Qt 6 remains unstable. On Linux, the minimum supported Ubuntu version is now 22.04 LTS, and the primary distribution format remains AppImage—making it easy to try out the latest features without a full system upgrade.

What’s Next?

With these betas, the Krita team is inviting the community to test, provide feedback, and help shape the final releases. If you’re a digital artist, illustrator, or comic creator, now is the perfect time to jump in and see what’s new. For more details, download links, and the full announcement, head over to the official Krita blog.

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