Note that you need to have $HOME/.nimble/bin in your $PATH.
Also note that since Nimble does not support optional dependencies, it will download transitive dependencies that are not actually needed for the project. I am looking into ways to solve this issue.
Usage
Launch Vier via the command line on the picture(s) you want to edit:
vier cat.png dog.png
Alternatively, you can launch it without arguments to create a new picture:
vier
Modes and Tools
In most graphics editing programs, there is the concept of a tool, a state of the editor which determines what action is performed when clicking on an image. This is also the case for Vier, but like in Vim, there is also the concept of modes – a state which affects more generally how keys are interpreted.
Vier has these modes:
Inject mode I
In this mode, the user can move around the selected picture using HJKL keys and draw with the currently selected tool. The color of the pixels being drawn is replaced by the selected color, so this can also work as an “eraser” if the selected color is transparent. If multiple pictures are opened, they can be switched between using Ctrl-H and Ctrl-L.
Add mode A
In this mode, the user can move around the selected picture using HJKL keys and draw with the currently selected tool. The selected color is added on the color of the pixels being drawn, which allows shading an area with a transparent color. If multiple pictures are opened, they can be switched between using Ctrl-H and Ctrl-L.
Select mode V
In this mode, the user can move around the selected picture using HJKL keys and select a part of the picture using the currently selected tool. The selection is currently useless; copy-paste functionality will be implemented later. If multiple pictures are opened, they can be switched between using Ctrl-H and Ctrl-L.
Color mode C
In this mode, the user can move around a color palette (displayed at the top of the screen) to change the selected color (displayed in the upper left corner). If multiple palettes are available, they can be switched between using Ctrl-H and Ctrl-L.
Command mode ;
In this mode, the user can enter a command, displayed at the bottom of the screen, to perform complex actions such as opening a file. The commands are in the Spry programming language, though this is not important for basic usage. The command is executed by pressing ⏎ or cancelled by pressing Esc.
The following tools are available:
Brush B
The brush tool selects pixels that it moves over.
Segment S
The segment tool selects a line segment.
Rectangle R
The rectangle tool selects an axis-aligned rectangle.
Rectangle outline Shift-R
The rectangle tool selects the outline of an axis-aligned rectangle.
Ellipse E
The ellipse tool selects an axis-aligned ellipse.
Ellipse outline Shift-E
The ellipse outline tool selects the outline of an axis-aligned ellipse.
Flood F
The flood tool selects a contiguous area of pixels with the same color.
Keyboard mappings
The key mappings are inspired by Vim. They are currently not customizable.
Key
Alone
Shift
Ctrl
⎵
hold to draw
hold to draw with secondary color
A
Mode ← Add
B
Tool ← Brush
C
Mode ← Color
D
delete pixel
E
Tool ← Ellipse
Tool ← Ellipse outline
F
Tool ← Flood
H
move left
previous picture/palette
I
Mode ← Inject
J
move down
K
move up
L
move right
next picture/palette
P
paste
Q
quit
force quit
R
Tool ← Rectangle
Tool ← Rectangle outline
redo
S
Tool ← Segment
U
undo
V
Mode ← Select
W
write picture
write all pictures
X
swap colors
Y
pick color
pick secondary color
-
zoom out
zoom out all pictures
=
zoom in
zoom in all pictures
;
Mode ← Command
Note that the mouse can also be used to draw and select colors. The right mouse button draws with the secondary color.
Selection keyboard mappings
Some keys work differently when used with an active selection.
Key
Alone
Shift
Ctrl
Esc
cancel selection
A
add selected color on selection
I
fill selection with selected color
Y
copy selection
Commands
e image.png
open a file for editing (the filename is a symbol)
edit "image.png"
open a file for editing (the filename is a string)
flip-x
flip the current picture horizontally
flip-y
flip the current picture vertically
new
create a new picture with a transparent background and the default size
resize 16 8
resize the current picture, anchoring at the northwest corner
resize-nn 16 8
resize the current picture using the nearest-neighbor algorithm
w image.png
save the current picture under the specified filename (the filename is a symbol)
write "image.png"
save the current picture under the specified filename (the filename is a string)
Note that currently, edits done via commands are not added to undo history and break it.
Planned features
Roughly in order of priority.
upscaling (various algorithms)
better editing support and tab completion for the command line
mirrored drawing
color picker, palette editing
variations of tools (wide brush, fill with tolerance)
programmable configuration
gradients
animated sprite editing
Non-features
These things will never be added to Vier.
GUI buttons
GUI animations
text tool
integrated web browser
advertisements
telemetry
cryptocurrency mining
Badges
Name
I partially created Vier as a semestral project for a Computer Graphics course at my university. The name of the lecturer can be loosely translated as “fear”, so I decided to name the project after a German word which is pronounced the same way. The word means “four”, which hints at the editor treating images as a square grid (with squares having four sides, obviously). I also came up with the backronym “Vim-Inspired Editor of Rasters”.
Inject mode I
Add mode A
Select mode V
Color mode C
Command mode ;
Brush B
Segment S
Rectangle R
Rectangle outline Shift-R
Ellipse E
Ellipse outline Shift-E
Flood F
