The free online image editor Sumo Paint offers users a powerful range of tools and features for adjusting images and producing creative images. Users of offline pixel based image editors like Photoshop will very quickly feel at home when using Sumo Paint. Many of the tools and features that you'd expect are available.
There are quite a number of free online image editors available currently, many of which are designed for more basic users. Sumo Paint, however, falls into the group of the more advanced editors, which also includes Pixlr Editor and Splashup.
Highlights of Sumo Paint
There are a lot of positives about the Sumo Paint web application.
- Open images from your computer or the web
- Save images to a free Sumo account or your computer
- Layer support with blending modes and layer effects
- Wide range of tools
- Good selection of adjustment features for improving photos
- Nice range of Filters for producing creative images
- Full screen option for maximum working area
Why Use Sumo Paint
Sumo Paint is aiming at a more advanced level of user than some of the more basic free online image editors, so it may not be the best option for complete beginners, but anyone looking to move up a level could do worse than to give it a go.
Its strong range of adjustment features make it a powerful tool for intermediate and advanced users, though the inclusion of Auto Levels means new users can make a one click fix to their photos. It also has plenty of features to allow users to produce very creative results. Working with layers and blending modes can yield very interesting results and the exciting range of Filters can add another level of creativity.
These features can ensure that users' digital photos are looking their best before sharing them with friends and family. Users can register for a free Sumo account into which they can save their finished photos, with an option to make them private or public.
Some Limitations of Sumo Paint
While Sumo Paint does offer users many of the benefits of layers, with layer effects and blending modes, there isn't a layer masks feature. For many users this will be a minor issue, but the ability to edit layers in a non-destructive way can be very useful if you want to edit a photo at a later date.
Unlike some other free online image editors, Sumo Paint doesn't connect directly with some of the popular photo sharing and social networking sites to enable easy sharing of photos and images. This is a shame as online image editors seem ideally suited to those who regularly use such sites for staying in touch. Sumo Paint does, however, allow users to save their images in their Sumo account and if images are made public, family and friends should be able to view them there.
Help and Support
From within the Sumo Paint user interface, there is a Help menu offering one click access to the extensive help and documentation. In this respect, Sumo Paint really does excel with a fantastically well presented page of help topics that can be worked through one by one or treated as a resource that you dip into as required. Many of the help topics are also supported by videos that clearly demonstrate the item being described. With such well-documented tools and features, even a complete beginner should be able to become a Sumo Paint power user if prepared to spend some time working through this resource.
You can click here to try out Sumo Paint for yourself.