GrassPaint (Touch some grass by drawing some grass)

Note

The project is a work in progress so anything might change at any time.

Description

GrassPaint is a cross-platform drawing application built on Java Swing, designed for users who prioritize keyboard-centric workflows and speed.

I initially had the idea for this software after buying a drawing tablet and feeling constrained by the limited and rigid shortcuts in existing applications. While GrassPaint doesn't implement Vim's modal editing, it is engineered to offer a high degree of shortcut customization and key bindings to boost your drawing efficiency.

Key Features (v1.0.0)

This current release includes the essential features for the core drawing engine:

• Persistent History: Reliable Undo/Redo stack for managing drawing actions.
• Canvas Control: Resizable drawing canvas and dynamic resizing upon image loading.
• Refined UI Feedback: The thickness slider value is only displayed while the slider is actively being dragged.
• Core Tools: Pencil, Eraser (with dynamic background matching), Color Picker, and color presets.
• I/O: Load and save artwork as PNG files(currently you have to specify the extension but in future releases they will be automatically appended).

Shortcuts

• <C-o> -> Open a file

• <C-s> -> Save file

• <C-u> -> Undo action

• <C-r> -> Redo action

• <C-c> -> Exit application

• <C-l> -> View License

• Alt + p -> Toggle pencil

• Alt + e -> Toggle eraser

Usage

Prerequisites

You must have Java Development Kit (JDK) 17 or newer installed to compile and run GrassPaint.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/INNOCENT-ops806/GrassPaint.git
cd GrassPaint

Running the Application

You have two options to run the project:

A. Build and Run from Source (Recommended)

Run the run.sh script, which handles compilation and packaging.

# Ensure the script is executable and run it
chmod +x run.sh
./run.sh

B. Download the JAR File

Download the executable .jar file from the latest release on GitHub: Releases

To run the JAR file:

java -jar /path/to/GrassPaint-v1.0.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar

Screenshots

GrassPaintV0.9.0

Picking a color

Opening an image

License dialog

Reporting Bugs & Feedback (Beta)

If you find a bug, please open an Issue on this repository or send a detailed email.

When reporting an issue, please include:

1. Operating System (e.g., Windows 10, Kali/WSL2).
2. Your Java Version (java -version).
3. The exact steps required to reproduce the issue.

Libraries and Credits

Libraries

• Core Technology: Java Swing (Standard Desktop GUI Library).
• Look and Feel: FlatLaf (provides the FlatLafLight theme used for this software).

Credits

• Inspired by the ideas and structure of: swing-paint-application