There is no fanfare for this post. I have been trying new image software the last few months and I thought I would share a few useful ones.
ScreenToGif
Quickly capture a series of images and turn them into a gif (or webp). Frames can easily be trimmed out and you can play with scaling and time. I had to adjust the settings a few times to get a reasonable file size that was appropriate for my blog posts. Sadly it is Windows only. You can see things in action in my Fauns in Peril post. Download from https://www.screentogif.com/ and visit their subreddit page or discord where the author frequently responds.
Paint.NET
Another Windows exclusive, and free at https://www.getpaint.net/. Think of it as a middle between Paint and Photoshop. For myself, the appeal is how quick it opens and executes on needs. It worked great for sizing, color adjusting, and adding a gradient to the featured image at the top of this post.
Krita (and GIMP)
I am new to this, but Krita (https://krita.org) has been a great painting program and is available for most operating systems in addition to also being free and open source. GIMP is out there if you want a free solution for image editing, but I haven’t checked it out in years and struggled moving from Photoshop. Many seem to do well though using Krita and GIMP in a combo.
There are so many options out there when it comes to image software. You can use AlternativeTo to find even more alternatives to your software preferences.