Limner
Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
What it is
Limner is an app for painting, illustration, vector art, animation, and comics, available on Windows, macOS, and iPadOS. Its drawing tools support pressure and tilt, custom brushes, and importing Photoshop ABR brushes. Layers, masks, and live adjustments are included. Animation mode supports frame-by-frame work with onion skin and exports to GIF, MP4, or numbered PNG sequences. Limner can also record drawing sessions and export timelapse videos up to 4K. The manual lists PSD import and SVG export.
The desktop free tier runs on Windows and macOS without an account or key. Vector, animation, and book projects are Limner Plus features on desktop. A free 14-day Plus trial is available on Windows and macOS; post-beta pricing has not been announced. During the iPad beta, all features are unlocked. The download page supports Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), macOS 13 Ventura or later, and iPadOS 16 or later. Limner says artwork, documents, and settings stay on the device, and that the app contains no analytics, telemetry, or crash reporting. Its license permits personal and commercial creative work.
For and against
For
- Drawing tools support pressure and tilt.
- Animation exports to GIF, MP4, or numbered PNG.
- Timelapse videos can be exported up to 4K.
- Desktop free tier requires no account or key.
- Artwork, documents, and settings stay on the device.
Against
- Desktop free tier excludes vector, animation, and book projects.
- Plus post-beta pricing has not been announced.
- Supported operating systems have stated minimum versions.
The verdict
Limner brings illustration, animation, and comic tools together, with a free desktop tier and an iPad beta that unlocks all features. Desktop users who need vector, animation, or book projects will need Limner Plus; its post-beta price is not yet stated.
Who it suits
Limner may suit illustrators, animators, and people working on comics or manga projects. It supports personal and commercial creative work across desktop and iPad devices.
Plans and prices
iPad beta
All features unlocked · no key or purchase required
Read 19 Oct 2026 · limnerart.com
Limner Free
Raster illustration · brushes · layers · masks
Read 19 Oct 2026 · limnerart.com
Limner Plus
Vector workspace · image trace · animation studio · comic and manga Books
Read 19 Oct 2026 · limnerart.com
Free tier
Windows and macOS; no account or key required; vector, animation, and book projects are Limner Plus features on desktop
Read 8 Oct 2026 · limnerart.com
On the record
- Activation limitation
- Desktop Plus keys are tied to one device and require periodic online revalidation, with an offline grace period of about three weeks.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Animation
- Animation mode supports cel timelines, onion skinning, keyframed cameras, motion curves, parenting, audio, and GIF, APNG, MP4, PSD, and PNG-sequence output.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Animation export
- Animation mode supports frame-by-frame work with onion skin and export to GIF, MP4, or numbered PNG sequence.limnerart.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- API and SDKs
- The official product, manual, download, and support pages document file-format interoperability but do not describe a public API or SDK.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Artwork privacy
- The app contains no analytics, telemetry, or crash reporting, and artwork, documents, and settings stay on the device.limnerart.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Beta limitation
- The terms warn that beta software may contain errors, change, be interrupted, or be discontinued without notice.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Brushes
- Brush Studio lets users create brushes and exchange Photoshop ABR files and Limner LBRUSH presets.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Canvas limit
- The desktop document loader accepts canvas dimensions from 1 to 16,384 pixels per side.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Comics
- Book projects hold multiple Illustration or Vector pages in one limnerbook file and include page management and comic panels.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Company
- Limner LLC is a Virginia limited liability company with an address in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States.limnerart.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters
- The legal entity lists 3419 Virginia Beach Blvd #5120, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452-4419, United States.opengovus.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Company registration
- Limner LLC was incorporated in Virginia on July 1, 2026 and is listed as active with Parker Vincent as registered agent.opengovus.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Desktop requirements
- The stated Windows minimum is a dual-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, and a GPU with a working Direct3D 12 or Vulkan driver.limnerart.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Developer documentation
- The manual links developer-level material for Limner file-format layout and version history rather than a general programming API.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The official manual is a searchable 45-chapter guide covering tools, workspaces, file formats, animation, Books, troubleshooting, and shortcuts.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- Drawing tools
- It supports pressure and tilt, custom brushes, and importing Photoshop brushes.limnerart.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Earlier defect history
- The 0.8.7 release notes describe fixes for locked-layer painting, keyframed-layer corruption, brush-pack rejection, memory failures, and unsafe revocation handling.github.com · read 19 Oct 2026
- File formats
- The documented formats include Limner, limnerbook, PSD, OpenRaster, SVG, PNG, JPEG, and CMYK TIFF.limnerart.com · read 19 Oct 2026
