FREE Graphics, Photo Editing and Animation Software really helps folks on a limited budget to get their projects going.
Listed below in no order of preference are some of the free graphics software packages out there.
Some of the applications are totally free, and some may be shareware or giveaways touting a more fully featured version
of the application which is available for purchase.

GIMP
GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is popular and commented as being the "Free Photoshop".
It assists with imaging tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
The official website for GIMP is at: http://www.gimp.org

Paint.NET
Paint.NET is free image and photo manipulation software for Windows 2000, XP and Vista.
It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers,
unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.
You can get Paint.NET at: http://www.getpaint.net/

Serif PhotoPlus
Older versions of this software are available for free as an enticement to upgrade to their newer software versions.
PhotoPlus allows you to adjust brightness and contrast, colour balance, remove red-eye and make numerous
other image editing adjustments and enhancements.
PhotoPlus is available at: http://www.freeserifsoftware.com

Picasa
Picasa from Google is free. It can help you edit and add effects to your photos.
It can also help you locate, organize, print and share your images.
You can get Picasa at: http://picasa.google.com

Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition
Adobe® Photoshop® Album Starter Edition is free software that makes it easy to view, find, fix, and share your photos.
You can get it at: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopalbum/starter.html

PhotoScape
Photoscape is photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance photos.
You can get it at: http://www.photoscape.org