The node-based
image editor.
Build once. Export everything. Wire 75 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 and macOS.
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.
Game Artists
200 item icons in 12 color tiers. ArcBrush builds the pipeline once and exports all 2,400 variants. Drop them straight into your project folder.
Pixel Artists & Indie Devs
Pixelate, outline, and dither nodes handle retro styling. Sprite sheet export packs variants into a single atlas with a TexturePacker-compatible JSON manifest. Quantize and Palette Remap keep everything within your target palette.
Illustrators
Character sheets, commission variants, color explorations. Define your palette, see every version instantly. Adjust one and all update.
Concept Artists
AI Image Edit takes your rough sketch and fills in the detail. You control the composition. Iterate on style without starting over.
Texture Artists
Seamless Blend makes any source tileable. Normal Map generates 3D lighting data from grayscale. Noise and Pattern nodes create procedural bases. Tile Preview shows any output tiled in a grid. All in one graph.
Designers
Logos in every brand color on product mockups. Marketing assets at every size. Systematic pipelines that produce every variant without repetitive manual exports.
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 a graph.
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 or macOS. 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.
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.
Nano Banana 2
AdvancedThe 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.
FLUX.2 Max
MaxHighest fidelity generation and editing from Black Forest Labs. Premium quality for both text-to-image and image editing workflows.
FLUX.2 Pro
ProHigh-quality generation and editing. Great balance of quality and capability for production art and professional editing workflows.
FLUX Fast
FastLow cost, high speed. Perfect for exploring ideas before committing to a higher-quality generation. Ideal for rapid iteration.
FLUX.2 Turbo Edit
Fast EditFast, affordable image editing. Great for quick instruction-based edits and simple transformations at the lowest editing cost.
Background Removal
UtilityTwo models at the same cost: rembg (fast, reliable) and Bria RMBG 2.0 (higher quality on complex edges like hair and fur).
AI Upscale
Utility4x 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.
“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 71 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 get 10 free credits.
Starter
Best for trying AI features and occasional generation.
Plus
For regular AI-assisted workflows.
Pro
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.
| Model | Credits | Starter | Plus | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLUX FastText to Image | 0.2 | 1,750 | 4,000 | 9,000 |
| FLUX.2 Turbo EditImage Edit | 0.5 | 700 | 1,600 | 3,600 |
| Remove BackgroundRemove BG | 1 | 350 | 800 | 1,800 |
| AI UpscaleUpscale | 1 | 350 | 800 | 1,800 |
| FLUX.2 ProText to Image / Edit | 2 | 175 | 400 | 900 |
| Nano Banana 2Text to Image / Edit | 5 | 70 | 160 | 360 |
| FLUX.2 MaxText to Image / Edit | 5 | 70 | 160 | 360 |
Under the hood
Native. Not a web app.
Not Electron. Not a wrapper.
ArcBrush is a C++20 desktop application for Windows and macOS. 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.
C++20
Native binary compiled for Windows and macOS. No runtime dependencies, no browser engine. Lightweight installer, fast startup.
14.7 MB Win · 21.7 MB Mac
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
75 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.
Inputs
3
Solid color starting point at any resolution
Load PNG, JPEG, WebP, TGA, BMP from disk or clipboard
Vector import with resolution-independent rasterization
Generators
5
Linear, radial, angular, diamond gradients with multi-stop colors
Perlin, Simplex, Clouds, Voronoi, White noise with fBm and domain warp
Checkerboard, stripes, dots, hexagons, brick
Circle, rectangle, polygon, star, ring with optional stroke and tile mode
Render text with system fonts or custom .ttf/.otf files. Searchable font picker, weight/style selection, alignment, rotation, and interactive drag positioning
Transform
17
Place up to 5 images side by side or stacked for comparisons and layouts
Four-point perspective warp with optional background plate
Extract a region by pixel coordinates or percentage
Pixel displacement driven by a grayscale or red/green channel map
Flip horizontal, vertical, or both
Interactive bicubic Bezier grid deformation. Drag control points to sculpt images freely
Shift the image horizontally or vertically with optional edge wrapping
Add border padding with color or extend modes
Cartesian-to-polar and polar-to-Cartesian coordinate transform
Scale to exact dimensions or percentage with multiple algorithms
Pixel-perfect 90°/180°/270° rotation with no interpolation
Content-aware resize via seam carving. Shrinks images while preserving important content
Barrel and pincushion lens distortion
Pack palette variants into a single grid image for game engines or further processing
Grid-based image repeat with mirror mode, row/column offset, and size reference
Translate, rotate, scale with interpolation control and interactive manipulator
Auto-crop transparent or solid-color edges
Filter
15
Gaussian, bilateral, box, median, edge-preserving blur
Layer blending with 18 modes (Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, and more)
Noise reduction preserving edges and detail
Configurable offset, blur, color, and opacity
Canny edge extraction with adjustable thresholds, kernel size, and custom edge/background colors
Directional emboss with angle and strength
Bloom/glow effect with threshold and radius control
Content-aware fill using mask regions
Generate normal maps from height/grayscale images for 3D lighting
Inner, outer, or center stroke around non-transparent regions
Interactive freehand painting directly on images
Reduce to chunky pixels with configurable block size. Essential for pixel art
Mirror-fold and content-aware blend to make any image tileable
Unsharp Mask and edge-preserving Detail Enhance
Edge darkening with shape, size, and falloff
Mask
8
Select pixels by color similarity with eyedropper pick, tolerance, and softness controls
Flood-fill contiguous color selection from seed points with tolerance and softness
Apply a mask as the alpha channel of an image
Union, intersection, subtraction, XOR of two masks
Extract masks from alpha, luminance, or any channel
Freehand mask painting with brush tools
Erode, dilate, feather, and threshold masks
Interactive bezier spline rotoscoping
Color
19
Convert to grayscale with per-hue channel sliders and film-style presets
Simple brightness and contrast with S-Curve or Linear modes
Rearrange, swap, or fill RGBA channels
Shadows/midtones/highlights color shifting
Solid color overlay with 18 blend modes and adjustable opacity
Single-color hue/saturation shift preserving luminance
Bezier curve adjustment per channel
Floyd-Steinberg, ordered, and blue noise dithering for retro and print styles
Adjust exposure in EV stops with offset and gamma. Works in linear light
Map luminance range to a color gradient
Hue, saturation, brightness adjustment
Channel inversion (all, RGB only, or per-channel)
Input/output range with per-channel gamma control
Clarity/local contrast enhancement
Define named color slots for variant generation
Auto-extract dominant colors from any image
Full palette-driven variant generation (N colors → N outputs)
Reduce color levels for stylized flat-color look
Reduce to N colors with optional dithering
Keyer
2
Green/blue screen removal with spill suppression
Extract matte from brightness values
AI
4
Edit existing images with text instructions
One-click AI background removal to clean RGBA
Generate images from text prompts (4 quality tiers)
4x super-resolution via AuraSR. Adds realistic detail beyond simple resize
Export
2
Export all palette variants as named files or packed sprite sheets with JSON manifest
Save single output as PNG, JPEG, BMP, WebP, TIFF, or TGA
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.
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.
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.
Context menu
Right-click canvas for quick node creation with search filtering. Tab key for instant access.
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, and edge-preserving. Six 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.
Get started
Download ArcBrush.
Build your first graph
in 5 minutes.
Free to use. No account required for the editor. All 71 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.
Linux (coming soon)
Install & launch
Run the Windows installer or drag the macOS app to your Applications folder.
Build a graph
Right-click to add nodes. Wire them together.
Export everything
Connect an Export node. Click export. Done.