Top 15 Foreground Reference Utility Alternative and Similar Softwares | Dec 2024

Useful for digital artists who want to use a photo reference with virtually any 3D package (i.e. zBrush, Silo, Blender, Messiah, etc).
It only runs in Windows, and seems to run better on an NVIDIA card...but the price is right: It is free.

1. Image Overlay Utility

Image Overlay Utility Image Overlay Utility is a small, easy-to-use program for graphic artists to overlay transparent, click-through images anywhere on screen!Use it as virtual tracing paper for painting, sketching, or tracing under an image (in graphics software which doesn't have layers), for unobtrusive watermarks during live demos, presentations, and screencasts, or simply......

2. CThruView Transparent Image Viewer

CThruView Transparent Image Viewer CThruView is a free transparent image viewer that allows mouse clicks to go through the image. This makes your image see through and click through, so use it as tracing paper, splash screen or watermark. The image can be made opaque or semi-transparent, flipped, rotated, zoomed (scaled up or down),......

3. Custom Desktop Logo

Custom Desktop Logo Create static or animated desktop logos using PNG images. Use it for presentations and fair booths to help brand your company or product. Your mouse movements and clicks pass right through the logos so it doesn't interfere with your work.......

4. ImageSorter

ImageSorter ImageSorter is a freeware for automatic visual sorting images on your computer. It also does help to find visually similar images on your computer.......

5. Viu 2

Viu 2 Viu 2 is a very small picture browsing/viewing software and it is totally free.Features:- Minimalistic design - File browser with Clipboard and Drag&Drop support- Support of many picture formats- Bookmark your favorite folders and pictures- Batch resize pictures with sharpening- Lossless JPEG rotation- Embed/Remove/Update your thumbnails- Wallpaper creation tool- User......

6. LPhoto

LPhoto LPhoto is a free, Open Source application for GNU/Linux that allows you to manage your photo collection.The Lphoto project was started by Linspire, a Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. It features tools to import, re-touch, manage, and share digital photos quickly and easily.......

7. Galapix

Galapix Galapix is an image viewer that allows you to directly zoom into large collection of tens of thousand of images from tiny thumbnails down to the images original size fluently with very short load times and no loss of interactivity. It accomplishes this by keeping a tile cache which stores......

8. Osiva

Osiva Osiva" is an acronym that stands for "Overly Simple Image ViewingApplication." Osiva presents images as virtual tangible objects on the desktop.There are no GUI elements except a floating toolbar and a right click menu, both of which violate the Osiva primary design criteria. Osiva is too simple to be really......

9. First Impression

First Impression First Impression is a free and minimal image viewer with a focus on maximizing the space used for viewing your images by doing away with command bars and buttons. First Impression is controlled entirely by keyboard shortcuts and a small menu accessed by right clicking on the image viewing window.......

10. GImageView

GImageView GImageView is a yet another image viewer which solves hopless situation under displaying a lot of images. It provides not only viewing image function but also managing image files function which looks like expolore of MS-Windows or tabbed web browser.The main target platform of GImageView is X Window System, but......

11. JustLooking

JustLooking Fast and simple image viewing program for Mac OS X. JustLooking is designed to be used instead of the Preview application on your computer for browsing most image file formats.......

12. PicTwiddle

PicTwiddle PicTwiddle is an image viewer that remembers how you last chose to display each of your images, and displays them the same way.Zoom level, positioning, cropping and rotation are saved for each image and reapplied when the image is next viewed. The zoom is adjusted when you go into fullscreen,......

13. GQview

GQview Thumbnail list display.Thumbnails can be cached to disk for faster subsequent loads.One click file selection.Zoom in, out, and fit to window.Slideshow.Mode that zoom reverts to on a new image can be configured.File filtering options.Supports most file types if the libraries are available on the system.Basic file operations (create directory, copy,......

14. gimmage

gimmage Gimmage is a small gtk image viewer, perfect for command line usage as it accepts directories and image filenames as arguments. It also has a filechooser integrated into the main UI, making accessing images and directories a snap.......

15. Pictomio

Pictomio Pictomio is a software application intended for managing, categorizing, searching, and archiving photos as well as geotagging photos and videos that also allows you to generate animated 2D and 3D slideshows.......