OT: Any Gimp users?

[William]

Easy to use? How does it compare to say Photoshop?




Thanks,
William

PS: I know what some of you thought when you saw the thread title!!:no::D

.

[aaronv]

There are tools for editing images and then there is Photoshop. Gimp falls into the former category. If you need a once in a while tool for web graphics, Gimp will work fine.

[maxn]

IMO gimp is useless for all but the simplest of tasks, with a maddening UI to boot

[rice rocket]

I thought GIMP tried to clone the PS interface (albeit the interface from 1996, but the general layout hasn't changed too dramatically).

[false_Aest]

It really depends on what you want to do.

I would not, could not with a chimp.
I would not, could not with the GIMP.

At least, not since CS3 came out. CS4, 5, 6 are absolutely fantastic.


The thing is, unless you're doing it for a living, its hard to justify the price of PS. AAAANDDD, Adobe products now "phone home." So using a hacked version is harder and legally dangerous.

[Dave B]

Did anyone else have a Pulp Fiction momentary joke not spring into their head on this one?

Am I the only immature one on here? Surely not.

[merlinmurph]

Never tried Gimp, though I've heard it's a maddening experience to use. That's not what you want. Adobe Photoshop Elements has more capability than you'll most likely ever need for a relatively cheap price. Plus, it has a very extensive support network since it has so many users. If you ever have a question, there's always someone out there that can help, usually within a few minutes.
Well worth the $$$$.
Good luck,
Murph

[biker72]

There are people out there that do quite well with Gimp. I'm not one of them. I use Photoshop CS 5.5.

[PQJ]

Did anyone else have a Pulp Fiction momentary joke not spring into their head on this one?

Am I the only immature one on here? Surely not.

No, you're not alone. My first reaction was to suggest asking Marsellus Wallus for his opinion. I'm thinking he'd say something like "na man, that Gimp is pretty ------ far from ok. You need to get a couple of hard, pipe hittin ----- to get to work on the Gimp with a pair of pliars and a blowtorch."

[William]

I was curious to ask because a friend suggested it last night.

I was commenting about looking into PS and some animation software for our son who is very artistic and is interested in game art and design. Our Mac is only 3 - 4 years old (I know, ancient in computer time) and wouldn't even be able to handle the requirements for the current PS or After Effects. I would have to do a serious upgrade if possible, or just get a new machine. And on top of that the software isn't exactly cheap.


Thanks for all the comments folks!:cool:




William

[choke]

I've been using it for several years. It does everything I want. It was a bit of a pain to figure out and I prefer the UI of an older version (2.4.6) to the latest.

I've never used Photoshop so I can't compare the two.

[efuentes]

Just make sure the Mac has 4gb or so of RAM and it will run Photoshop allright. Or tell him to get started with one of this (Seashore is very nice).

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/11-free-alternatives-softwares-to-adobe-photoshop/

Saludos

[biker72]

I was curious to ask because a friend suggested it last night.

I was commenting about looking into PS and some animation software for our son who is very artistic and is interested in game art and design. Our Mac is only 3 - 4 years old (I know, ancient in computer time) and wouldn't even be able to handle the requirements for the current PS or After Effects. I would have to do a serious upgrade if possible, or just get a new machine. And on top of that the software isn't exactly cheap.


Thanks for all the comments folks!:cool:

William
Make sure to get the educational version of Adobe software. Quite a discount.

[palincss]

Never tried Gimp, though I've heard it's a maddening experience to use. That's not what you want.


I use it and am quite happy with it. I don't do illustration, I use it as a photo editor. I find it capable and not maddening. Admittedly, the whole thing can be hard to learn, not so much because of the user interface but rather because the concepts involved are so alien compared to darkrooms, chemicals and enlargers.

I've never used Photoshop, but I have looked at some Photoshop tutorials. They're almost exactly the same as the GIMP tutorials for the same task.

[AgilisMerlin]

excellent free choice.

everything exactly the same except multiple picture openings, history (open dialog box)for layers a little bit buried in top menu. The filters are not as extensive.

if anyone has an add on for filters let me know how.

thanks ahead of time

[ultraman6970]

Depending on what you want to do Paint.net and inkscape do very good job.

GIMP saves you but the other ones are more photoshop like and free.

[victoryfactory]

I had never heard of gimp, I'll try it.
btw when we were kids in the '50s and '60s we used to make lanyards out
of this colorful plastic flat lacing stuff that we called gimp.
anyone remember that?


"Craft lace or plastic lacing is also called gimp, lanyard,
scoubidou or boondoggle." from yahoo

VF

[rice rocket]

They had gimp in the 80s too, stop making me feel old. :fight:

[jmoore]

Try IrfanView

[esldude]

I use Gimp. I don't like the UI. It is very, very capable as a photo editor. It isn't a photoshop quite however. It probably is more than is needed by most people.

Gimp is free and capable of quite advanced usage.

Paint.net isn't quite as capable, but pretty good and a nice free alternative for almost any use most people have.

Somewhat less capable, but still pretty capable and easy to use is Photofiltre.

Irfanview can do some stuff and is one of the very best photo viewers, but not capable of advanced editing. Fastone viewer is another excellent free photo viewer.

[victoryfactory]

I use Gimp. I don't like the UI. It is very, very capable as a photo editor. It isn't a photoshop quite however. It probably is more than is needed by most people.

Gimp is free and capable of quite advanced usage.

Paint.net isn't quite as capable, but pretty good and a nice free alternative for almost any use most people have.

Somewhat less capable, but still pretty capable and easy to use is Photofiltre.

Irfanview can do some stuff and is one of the very best photo viewers, but not capable of advanced editing. Fastone viewer is another excellent free photo viewer.

Bumping this to give a shout out to esldude.
Fastone is perfect for me. I'm a long time PS (Currently CS5) user and I've
grown tired of the over complicated suite of programs needed to do the basic
stuff.
Viewer, camera info, basic adjustment all in one free (donations accepted)
download.
Havent tried printing yet.

VF

[Tony T]

Not as feature rich as PS, but take a look at Pixelmator (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pixelmator/id407963104?mt=12) (you get a lot for only $30)

[William]

Not as feature rich as PS, but take a look at Pixelmator (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pixelmator/id407963104?mt=12) (you get a lot for only $30)

Tony, are you using pixelmator? If so how is it? I followed your link and the comments talk about many bug issues.





William

[Tony T]

Tony, are you using pixelmator? If so how is it? I followed your link and the comments talk about many bug issues.
William

I use it for minor edits to my photo's. I have not had any problems with it, but my use is limited.
Another inexpensive one to look at is Acorn (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/acorn-image-editor-for-humans/id402280036?mt=12)
See also MacWorld review of Acorn (http://www.macworld.com/article/1159847/acorn3review.html) and Pixelmator (http://www.macworld.com/article/1164855/pixelmator_2_0_provides_powerful_image_editing_in_ a_sleek_package.html)