Here are a list of free tools that can be used to develop video games and other visual art projects:
Easy to use cross-platform game engine with visual editors and tools that aid in game development. Unity is well-known for it’s ease of use and fast development iteration time.
Unreal Engine – https://www.unrealengine.com/
Robust cross-platform game engine that powers some of the biggest games in the industry like Fortnite, Borderlands 3, Guilty Gear Strive, and Valorant. Unreal is generally regard as the top choice for high end visual effects and technology.
Blender – https://www.blender.org/
Open source “modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking” software with loads of tutorials and support found across the internet. Project Living in America used it to model and animate Slinky and Blitz in our game “Flippin’ Birds”.
Open source image editor. It can be used to create textures for 3d models, draw backdrops and skyboxes in video games, create crosshairs and other user interface widgets, and much more.