After working with Krita for some time, I decided to give it a try in a linux environment, in which I am new, so please forgive my ignorance.

I downloaded the Kubuntu 12.04.2 and installed in a separate disk. With no pain at all, I have now a system with windows 8 and Kubuntu running perfectly.
I found Krita, it installed well but I noticed that it is an early version (2.4).
I am not really sure how to upgrade it, the upgrade manager( not sure about the name) tells me there are none to be found.
I am aware that each distribution supports up to a specific version of software.

So my question is, which is the way to go in order to get the 2.7-2.8 Krita version?

I did as much research as I could on this, still I am not sure

Thanks,
Odysseas

Krita download page on userbase http://userbase.kde.org/Calligra/Downlo ... le_Release, lists known distros that have unstable releases available (probably others also exist)

Ubuntu

Ubuntu users can get a nightly build of Calligra with the Project Neon, you need to add ppa:neon/ppa to your sources.list and install project-neon-calligra package.

Warning
"Be warned though, stuff here is REALLY unstable, we do not guarantee it will work all the time and won't eat you data, use at your own risk. Now that we have warned you, enjoy!" Project Neon wiki page

This script installs project neon and calligra:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neon/ppa \
&& sudo apt-get update\
&& sudo apt-get install project-neon-base \
project-neon-calligra \
project-neon-calligra-dbg

In order to run the installed packages you have to logout and choose "Project Neon" from the login screen. Neon always has the latest version, not necessarily the beta releases.

Before adding Project Neon repo you might wish to investigate and see if it's too bleeding edge and risky for you purposes and what else is involved, especially what logging into "Project Neon" entails

Oh perhaps you should stick to 2.6 for now since 2.7 isn't out yet. In which case you simply follow the download instructions at Krita/downloads and add the ppa. It will add a ton of other stuff BUT since you run Kubuntu most is already in there

To get the last stable version use the following PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install krita

The project Neon thing is a completely different beast than 2.6

As for the best for Krita... I dunno. The older the version of Ubuntu/Mint/Debian and so on the less up to date their repositories of software are which is why only 2.4 was available in Kubuntu 12.04.

why are you running 12.04 when 13.04 is the current release? as mentioned above by jensreuterberg older versions of *buntu don't always have available the most current sw

2.6 does not seem to be in the backport repo for 12.04, see http://krita.org/download

Ubuntu / Linux Mint
Systems based on 12.04 Long Term Support provide Krita 2.4.x in the default repositories.
For 12.10, Krita 2.5.x is available. 13.4 has 2.6.x.

you could see if the Lime PPA works with 12.04, again see http://krita.org/download

Ubuntu
For *buntu, Dmitry Kazakov provides the Krita Lime PPA with builds from Git Master (which is mostly fine for production work):

Add the PPA to /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/dimula73/krita/ubuntu YOUR_UBUNTU_VERSION_HERE main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/dimula73/krita/ubuntu YOUR_UBUNTU_VERSION_HERE main
where YOUR_UBUNTU_VERSION_HERE is either precise, quantal, raring or saucy.
Add the key of the PPA:
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 188D29195E2B20CF
Install Krita:
sudo sudo apt-get install krita-testing krita-testing-dbg

Hi, thanks for the quick replies!

The only reason was that I found the Wubi tool which says it supports up to 12.04 version, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to give a quick try.
But the cheap way is often proved to be more expensive afterwards, as they say:
The installation didn't go that well, and I ended up with a Kubuntu well and running, and an incomplete installation with wubi.
I am not sure if it was my fault or wubi's, but better not take more fancy chances with that one.
I had a good cleanup session in my computer and now I am downloading the latest Kubuntu (13.04)
The only thing I have to figure out how to get windows 8 and linux to work in the same machine - separate disks of course.

Ok, I will have a look at these as soon as I finish with the installation (any tips on that would be most welcome)

Thanks a lot!


-Update-

So, everything went well. I downloaded the 13.04, burned a dvd and went on with the installation.
Krita 2.6 is already loaded and working like a charm on kubuntu - remember I only had windows version to compare, and this is a big difference!
I was looking for the newer versions because of performance issues in w8, but here the opengl works fine.

Thank you very much for the tips and suggestions, I am going back to paint some more

@odysseus-art
Since you have krita_2.6 this tip is probably just an alternative, but it works *very* well for me.
Distrowatch [sp?] has a new version of ArtistX on DVD (about 3.8 GB) and that has krita_2.5.3 on KDE_4.9.5
as well as some other great apps. I burned ArtistX to a live DVD and have been using it for twenty hours .

Hi Sword,
thanks for the tip!
I will definitelly check it out as soon as I find the time. At the moment I am overwhelmed with getting used to the possibilities of linux, it is really a pleasure to see an environment that is trully customizable - and I am also talking about very simple essential things to usability, like colors and font sizes. The latter has been a big struggle for me with commercial software and os.

Well never ever use Wubi is I think the best take-away from this (its really wonky appearently)

If you feel like trying different versions of Linux remember that there are always Live-USB versions of most so you can try it out before installing (if you ever feel like distrohopping).

And as someone who dropped Windows about two years ago: its a brand new world out here in Linux-land. More options than you can imagine and no one says "no you can't do that on your own machine, its too difficult/dangerous/we-dont-like-it".

Hey jensreuterberg, yes the dual booting can be tricky enough, and wubi is just adding a lot to the unpredictable failures.
Thanks for the tip, as you said it is a whole new world, and for the moment I am content to set up some of my task in kubuntu. As much as I would like to, it is impossible for me to just 'hop' into linux immediatelly - not with deadlines and projects running.

What you say is true, and I might add that what I like in the linux environment is that with every obstacle you actually learn something about your system's possibilities and how it works.
In commercial OS's I usually have the feeling that with every obstacle I get aware of new things I cannot do with my system!

Thanks for the tips!

Manuel, the maintainer of the Pencil animation app just told me today that Krita runs perfectly in a Linux virtual machine in vmware player -- but his host OS is OSX.

Interesting, good to know! Maybe it is less of a headache than having to maintain two OS in the same machine. If this is possible in win8 my only concern is the overal erformance. But in my case it is probably worthwhile, because I run windows on a SSD, while linux is in a 5400 rpm HDD.
hmmm..