What foss tools do artists use to create their pixel art or art in general ?

What foss tools do artists use to create their pixel art or art in general ?

With GIMP 2.8 and the revamped UI interface has gimp managed to have more converts to its fold or Inkscape or Blender or some other FOSS tool which artists use to create their art ?

For 3D I guess Blender is the answer, although there is also BGE (Blender Game Engine) but dunno how many people have played with it and how good/bad their experience has been ?

Are there any pet peeves that people have with the projects shared above ? Somethings which could make creation of art easier ?