Handy Tweaks To Make GIMP Replace Photoshop
GIMP is the favorite graphics editing program of many designers and graphic artists. It is free and compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux (the two big reasons for its popularity). It has a wide array of features, as well as plug-ins, filters and brushes. Documentation is primarily available in online communities, as well as through extensive add-ons.
GIMP was never designed to replace Photoshop, yet with every release, it comes a little closer to being able to do so. It can be used to author graphics, create logos and edit photos, as well as make short animations (using GAP). Despite these features, the open-source app is a foreign world for many users switching from Photoshop. Familiar tools are missing, menus are laid out differently and tasks must be accomplished in unknown ways.
In this article, we list eight tweaks to make GIMP a more serious Photoshop replacement option. Version 2.6 was used to test the following tweaks, but past versions of the app should work as well.
Installing Plug-Ins, Brushes and Filters
Before continuing, you need to know how to install add-ons. It’s very simple to do, and takes little time. You’ll find three different folders in the application’s program folder. The location of the application folder depends on the operating system you use:
- Windows: the folder is located in C:/Programs/GIMP.
- Mac: right-click and choose the application folder.
- Linux: press Ctrl+H in the Home folder to reveal the hidden .gimp folder.
To install a brush or plug-in, copy and paste it into the appropriate folder and restart GIMP.
1. Add the PSPI Plug-In
The PSPI plug-in allows GIMP to use Photoshop plug-ins. This increases the number of filters available to GIMP and allows Photoshop users to not have to sacrifice their library. If an equivalent GIMP plug-in can’t be found, assembling a kit of Photoshop filters is an potential option.
To start, download the PSPI plug-in from Gimp.org
In the program folder, copy and paste the entire contents of the PSPI plug-in download into the Plug-ins folder. If you’re running Linux, make sure you copy both the PSPI plug-in and the PSPI.exe, or it will not work.
Restart GIMP and open the Filters menu. At the bottom, you will see a new entry: “Photopshop Filters Plug-In Settings.” Select that to open the Photoshop dialog box, and point it to the folder where your Photoshop plug-ins are located. Add all future Photoshop plug-ins to that folder.
2. Install Layer Styles
Layer Styles are a beloved feature of many Photoshop users, and living without them can be a difficult adjustment. Layer Styles are called Layer Effects in GIMP and include: Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, Gradient Overlay, Stroke, Bevel and Emboss, etc. These can be used to quickly apply effects to your layer(s) without having to jump through hoops.
Download the Layer Effects GIMP plug-in from Gimp.org. There are two versions: Script-Fu and Python. The Python version allows for live previews of the effects; the Script-Fu version does not. No matter which version you choose, save the plug-in in GIMP’s Plug-in folder and restart the program.
If you download the Python version, Layer Effects will be added under Image > Layer > Layer Effects. The Script-Fu version will be listed under Script-Fu > Layer Effects.
3. Add CMYK Color Separation
CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, key (black). In the context of photo editors and graphics programs, it is a subtractive color model that is different from the commonly used, additive RGB color model. In simplified terms, RGB colors work by becoming lighter with the addition of white, while CMYK colors subtract the white by overlaying colors, eventually resulting in black; that black isn’t as deep as it should be for printing, so black is added to the CMYK mix.
Many users complain about GIMP’s lack of CMYK support. For many designers and photographers, images have to be converted to CMYK colors for high-quality prints. If you require CMYK separation, download the plug-in Separate+ from Yellowmagic. Save the ZIP file, extract the plug-in to the GIMP plug-in folder, then restart the program.
The new feature will be located in the Image menu.
4. Install Liquid Rescale
Liquid Rescale is a favorite of many users and created quite a buzz when first introduced into Photoshop. Liquid Rescale makes it possible to alter an image’s dimensions from, for example, 16:9 to 4:3 without distortion by eliminating unnecessary pixels in certain areas. This process, known most commonly as seam carving, allows you to resize a narrow photo to widescreen format without stretching the content into a morphed, twisted mess.
To add the Liquid Rescale feature to GIMP, download the plug-in from Wikidot and copy it into the GIMP Plug-In folder. Restart the program.
5. Add Essential Brushes
GIMP comes with far too few brushes; and the ones that are there are small, basic and not all useful. If you’re planning to author graphics, you’ll need a new library of brushes to accomplish anything. Installing brushes in GIMP is as simple as copying the brush file into the Brush folder and restarting GIMP.
Brushes can be downloaded from numerous locations, depending on what you’re looking for. That said, an excellent repository of free brushes of all types — including grunge, fire, splatter, stone and more — is at Blendfu.
If you add the largest brushes available, you can scale the features in GIMP to reduce their size, allowing for high-resolution graphics.
6. Anchor Windows
If you were to ask Photoshop users their biggest dislike about GIMP, they would almost unanimously express a disdain for the loose docks and toolbars. The canvas, toolbar and layers, paths and brushes dock are all free-floating and scattered about the desktop. If you have a decent window manager, this is a benefit; for most users, it’s a hindrance.
If the loose docks in GIMP bother you, affix them to the main window by right-clicking on the dock or toolbar and selecting Always on Top. The toolbars will now stay above the main menu, and the application will work as if the docks were locked within the main window.
If you still aren’t satisfied with the window system, two different versions of GIMP are available that have interfaces similar to Photoshop’s: GIMPshop and GimPhoto. GimPhoto has a slightly more appealing interface, but GIMPshop is based on a newer version of GIMP.
7. Install Animation Package
The GIMP Animation Package, known as GAP, allows users to create animations. The most common use of GAP is for animated GIFs and avatars; but it is sophisticated enough to make full-episode animations, surrealistic landscapes and realistic water motion.
GAP is not automatically included in GIMP. It can be downloaded from an ever-changing number of locations. Mac users can find a download and instructions at GAP-Systems. Windows users have dozens of mirrors to choose from, and a fresh Internet search will yield the best results. Finally, Linux users can download GAP by running a gimp-gap install in the terminal or, if you’re on Ubuntu, searching gimp-gap in the Synaptic packages.
8. Enable GEGL
GEGL is a new feature found only in GIMP 2.6+. According to Gimp.org:
“Many highly requested features of the GIMP will be easier to do using GEGL. Layer effects, layer groups, and adjustment layers are quite easily represented (and efficiently calculated) using the DAG organization of GEGL. CMYK and high bit depth support will be easier because GEGL does not make the same assumptions about color spaces and data types that the GIMP does.”
It is not enabled by default. To activate the feature, simply navigate to Colors > Use GEGL and check the box next to it. Once it is activated, you can use the presets available at Tools > GEGL Operations. Approximately a dozen different presets can be applied to layers and images.
Conclusion
These tweaks, plug-ins and add-ons push GIMP closer to its full potential. While it still wouldn’t replace Photoshop as the top graphics program, it will stand a step higher and provide features that would otherwise be missing.
In addition to the add-ons above, a great deal more can be added to customize GIMP to your own personal needs, including HDR plug-ins, photo cleaners, scrapbook borders and animation effects for GAP. New features are added to the GIMP registry everyday. In addition, if you can’t find a plug-in to meet your needs, you can write your own plug-in script.
For further resources, check out these links:
- 1000 HQ Brushes
- 30 Exceptional GIMP Tutorials
- GIMP Equivalent of PDSTuts
- 17 Awesome Plug-Ins for Web Designers
- 25 Plug-Ins for Photographers
- Official Online GIMP Manual
(al)
Vadim P.
April 5th, 2009 10:25 amGimp save for web on ubuntu: http://www.getdeb.net/search.php?keywords=save+for+web
Ron
April 5th, 2009 1:35 pmIhr habt GiMPShop vergessen
Klaye Morrison
April 5th, 2009 2:57 pmI’ll stick to Fireworks thanks :)
obo
April 5th, 2009 3:23 pmWhy are all you PS users crapping on the GIMP? It’s like a rich kid beating up a poor kid because he’s poor. Why do you PS people care? GIMP’s not ever going to compete, won’t ever steal market share. Why act threatened?
Hell, I hate the GIMP, and I still don’t understand this compulsion of PS fans to beat it up at every turn.
Okibi
April 5th, 2009 5:35 pmPhotoshop spanks all over the gimp. If you consider the gimp to be a photoshop substitute it means you really aren’t utilising all PS’s features. As Lonut posted, yes photoshop has slices but which high level web developers us them? I thought they were for beginners who cut up basic designs into a grid because it was too challenging to have fluid layouts?
cecil
May 23rd, 2013 10:27 pmPhotoshop is for people that don’t know what they’re doing and rely on automation. I do photo editing / compositing for a living and can tell you that the only real feature Photoshop has outside of the presets for professional use is its color handling and conversion. People are utterly lost without the layer styles and auto masking.
Nakiloe
April 6th, 2009 12:27 amSeems that lots of PS users who have a “definitely no” opinion about gimp have never opened it since much older versions :P. Gimp has layers for a loooong time, and is able to open most PSD files, and in the latest versions, can directly use PS brushes.
Of course, it still lacks some features of PS, like grouping layers, or folders for brushes, but Gimp is younger than PS, and it’s UI has been much enhanced in version 2, and new enhancements will be made in next versions. There is a very interesting blog to follow the ideas submitted for next Gimp UI : http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/
And as an everyday user of Gimp, I’m unable to make the most simples things in Photoshop :P (for example, in Gimp, it’s very easy to save a transparency mask as a new picture, while in PS, we’ve spend hours to find how to do it (with a teammate who use PS everyday… ;-) )
shishkebab
April 6th, 2009 5:29 amNEVER i say NEVER compare GIMP with Photoshop,
and coming from smashing it’s a bit of disappointment.
the DtTvB
April 6th, 2009 5:35 amI have been using Photoshop for years, but about 2 years ago I switched to Gimp. At first it was hard to use for me but now I use only open source software to design websites and other graphic things. Now I am very familiar with it. You can’t compare them if you have been using one for years and another one for less than an hour.
baiguai
April 6th, 2009 9:58 amThanks for this article! I am now downloading the layers effects plugin (the only psd tool I miss)
Gimp!! \m/
The Steven
April 6th, 2009 1:12 pmAdd these to “GimpShop” and we can call it a winner!
Mark
April 7th, 2009 1:04 amThanks for this article! Very interesting.
One note, though. When I turn on “always on top” in X11 with Leopard, weird things happen. E.g., the menus appear behind the windows, which is extremely annoying and renders GIMP useless.
Another annoying thing is that I always need to click in a window before I can actually work with it. E.g., click in tools palette, click again to choose brush tool, click in picture window, click again to draw with the brush tool etc. Would be cool if someone fixed that.
On a slightly off-topic note… GIMP misses an easy tool to convert colour values from different colour spaces. That’s why I made a little utility called Color Converter. You can color-converter (shareware).
Best regards,
Mark
Sony Antony
April 7th, 2009 5:58 amHow do you create Image Slices in Gimp?
David Bradley
April 7th, 2009 8:56 amI’d held off reinstalling PS after a Windows rebuild and gave the Gimp a shot, aside from shortcuts being screwy it couldn’t handle the masks I had in the PSD file I wanted to play with. Needless to say, I’m now reinstalling PS…
TX CHL Instructor
April 7th, 2009 10:38 amI have found GIMP to be very useful for the limited photo production that I use. One of the things that I do for my CHL students is provide passport photos to the specifications of the Texas DPS (they are a bit pickier than the passport office). I can take the photos of everyone in class (typically 32 in a class), and lay them out, knock out the background, and adjust the brightness and contrast for optimal appearance on my dye-sub printer, and have them all done in about 30 minutes, at a materials cost of roughly 25 cents per student (2 photos each).
Some of the upgrades to GIMP have been a bit confusing, but lately, it’s gotten pretty good.
The PS folks who so vehemently diss GIMP are basically snobs. Ok, PS is a good tool, and probably worth the money. GIMP is also a good tool, does everything I need in a photo processor, and the only cost is the time to download it. If you want to run around with your nose in the air, fine, but I will continue to use GIMP. Kinda reminds me of the folks that used to belittle me for playing my violin with a fiberglass bow, when I was playing better with my ‘cheap’ bow than they could with their expensive genuine pernambuco sticks. La-de-da.
I was very glad to see Smashing do a GIMP article, and I hope to see more.
BTW, the best tutorial for GIMP that I have found so far is “Grokking the GIMP” (google it). It’s based on a fairly old version, but the techniques still work.
Esace
April 7th, 2009 6:25 pmImpossible; Just a waste of time.
Anna
April 7th, 2009 9:26 pmDid you test any of this on a Mac? I have tried to implement some of the things you suggest, but I’ve run into plugins and scripts that are Windows/Linux only and menu options that don’t seem to exist in the X11 version. I guess the GIMP community is dominated by non-Mac OSX users.
Sha
April 8th, 2009 5:22 amI use Photoshop & I disagree. Like someone above said, GIMP is nowhere near it. It doesn’t even have close to all the features PS has. On top of that, plugins are being made for Photoshop all the time.
Bob
April 8th, 2009 6:17 amBy “GIMP is the favorite graphics editing program of many designers and graphic artists.” you mean 50 or so right? Keep in mind you are saying “DESIGNERS” and “GRAPHICS ARTISTS”
lynx
April 8th, 2009 6:49 amLinux needs competition in the graphics area. GIMP is very lacking.
Corey Johnson
April 8th, 2009 5:38 pmSo far from all the comments it seems this has become the common The GIMP vs. PS debate. Yes The GIMP can be difficult to navigate at first but you need to actually use it to know how to use it effectively (just like PS in my opinion). The GIMP is lacking in some features but they don’t exactly have the same amount of money at their disposal. We need to remember that The GIMP runs solely off of donations, it can’t be expected to replace PS unless you donate $700 every time you download The GIMP.
bryan
April 8th, 2009 6:56 pmIt’s amazing to see the hatred for this program here. I feel the same as many of the users here, but I must say – theGIMP is an amazing undertaking for a development team that doesn’t get paid for it.
I understand that theGIMP isn’t up to snuff when it comes to professional editing, but I also believe that most of this stems from one factor – it’s lack of true CMYK color spaces. theGIMP with CMYK support would be like Photoshop 7 was – relatively unpolished and rough by today’s standards, but it WORKS.
Granted – it needs polish, but as a GIMP user, it does put out decent work. I’ve used it to generate the major bulk of my works on a few occasions and simply done the color seps and CMYK conversion in PS later and it performs admirably, provided you decide to learn to use the program.
sesa
April 9th, 2009 1:48 am10x for this article, it was helpful, but what about the text layers from .psd in GIMP, I can’t edit them, because they are rasterized and they are not text layers any more. Some suggestions to solving this problem?
nice day
Maria
February 22nd, 2012 11:35 pmSesa, in order to be able to re-edit your text, you need to save your files as a .xcf file. .xcf is GIMP’s native file. Saving things as psd’s does rasterize the text. Wish I could have seen this three years ago :D Hope this helps!
Pranav
April 9th, 2009 4:22 amMy rule is simple. I use Gimp because it is FREE and I do not want to use PIRATED version of Adobe software.
Tom
April 9th, 2009 9:28 amWhat a stupid argument Photoshop vs. GIMP is.
GIMP was never intended to be a Photoshop replacement. Publishing pros should use Photoshop and if I were in the biz, I would too. I think some paid a ton for Photoshop and then kind of regret it when GIMP does alot of what they paid a ton for, so they knock GIMP down.
For cryin out loud, you won’t be arrested for using both. I use a film and digital camera equally. I use Digikam and GIMP as I refuse to get a illegal copy of Photoshop….both handle all my needs.
trr
April 9th, 2009 2:56 pmI don’t get an option for “Always on Top” when I right-click a dock in GIMP (WinXP). All I get is Restore/Move/Size/Minimize/Maximize/Close. Is that a Linux only feature?
Also, I installed layerfx.py in my plug-ins folder but when GIMP starts up it complains that it is unable to run plug-in “layerfx.py”. Why is that?
You should also mention that the Use GEGL option has to be chosen every time you start-up GIMP. It doesn’t remember the setting, it seems.
imadoofus123
April 10th, 2009 4:25 amFor number 8, you don’t need to enable gegl to use the gegl tool. That checkbox makes gimp use gegl for curves, levels, and other operations. The only difference it makes is that it’s slower since gegl isn’t as optimized as the other implementations yet.
A00A1
April 10th, 2009 5:48 amGive it time and GIMP will probably have it’s own following. It’s the beauty of open source, as more people catch on more plug ins will be contributed and guess what…many of those contributors will be Adobe users who are being inspired by working concepts of those products. I myself am a complete Adobe CS user (except for my affection for SwishMax) but I love seeing communities produce quality products and would rather use those products than pay 700+ for my software.
Gerald
April 12th, 2009 12:55 amNice roundup. Was actually looking for the “layer effects” plugin but didn’t find it…
Looks like I didn’t search properly…
gimphoto
April 14th, 2009 8:14 pmrather than doing all the steps above, it is easier to just download and install GimPhoto
actually GimPhoto is based on GIMP 2.4 (not latest but most stable) modification using new PS menu layout and new PS shortcuts, packed with many great plugins, such as: CMYK separation, Save for Web, Batch Process, Noise Removal and Photography Filters, and also improved with new brushset, new gradientset, every aspect is tweaked to improve user usability.
available for Windows, Linux (all) and Debian Package (deb).
lolock
April 16th, 2009 4:02 amThere are amaaaazing artists doing amaaaazing things on gimp.
http://www.r-fl.deviantart.com this is an example
Joe
April 17th, 2009 9:10 pmGreat article, and thanks for the commented link, GimPhoto.
Gimp is a very powerful app, and not at all hard to work with assuming you don’t have Photoshop burned into the brain. GIMP’s got a lot of legit, pro-quality potential.
That said, if in the professional field or if you’re a hardcore image editor/creator,
Photoshop IS worth the money, not just for what features GIMP may be lacking, but because you cannot beat a product that’s the de facto standard with tons of money paying dedicated developers.
They’re both great frickin’ apps.
Michael
April 22nd, 2009 1:47 pm[ Why are all you PS users crapping on the GIMP? It’s like a rich kid beating up a poor kid because he’s poor. Why do you PS people care? GIMP’s not ever going to compete, won’t ever steal market share. Why act threatened? ]
The reason I compare Gimp to PS and complain about Gimp is because I need some good tools to do professional level work under Linux. I don’t have Windows installed, and don’t plan to for any number of reasons. PS doesn’t work 100% under emulation. I would really love it if the Gimp developers would concentrate more on usability and less on new features for a while. Simple things like working with alpha channels, increasing/decreasing brush sizes, the brush engine, real layer effects, and better grouping of layers really need to be addressed.
Unfortunately I can’t try to add these features myself because my current employment contract forbids it, and from what I’ve heard of the way the code is organized (or not), I wouldn’t want to try and wrap my head around the current implementation. So the best I can hope for is that the developers pay attention and take to heart the cries of those who try to use Gimp and find it lacking.
Gimp doesn’t have to be a second rate program. It’s not the lack of funding that leads to its problems. It’s the mindset of the developers and what they are focusing on. Gimp has the technology; now it needs the polish to actually be usable and useful to professionals.
Vidarr
April 22nd, 2009 3:14 pmHave you found a way to do a crop/resize like you can in Photoshop?
e.g.- I can set my crop tool to a 6″x4″ setting, select any sized area within that proportion (large or small) and the result is a cropped image that is 6″x4″ in size.
Finalzone
April 22nd, 2009 6:02 pmSpeaking as designer, Gimp and Photoshop can complement each other. The real issue I have with some Photoshop users is they are so familiar to use that program they have lost the fundamental basic: you can change shortcuts of your preferred command and adapt to the tools to your needs.
David Gowers
April 22nd, 2009 8:56 pmGimphoto: It is an occasional misunderstanding, the idea that 2.4 is more stable. Currently the most stable version is 2.6.5 (some people have issues with 2.6.6 crashing)
It’s also important to mention that GIMPhoto is not supported by GIMP developers nor GIMP users
Michael:
“increasing/decreasing brush sizes, the brush engine”
The first has been addressed since .. 2.2?, the second has already been majorly upgraded with 2.6 and further work on the GUI is planned via Google Summer of Code.
Layer effects will come after GEGL is fully integrated and no sooner.
Layer grouping / hierarchy is being worked on for 2.8; It seems to be a fairly involved problem, but it looks likely to get into GIMP 2.8
16bits per channel support is less likely to get into 2.8, but still possible (one of the developers posted a preliminary patch adding simple support for loading 16bit integer and 32bit float images and applying any of the color tools (eg Curves) to them. For support to actually end up in the release, support would need to be much more complete and doublechecked.
“It’s not the lack of funding that leads to its problems.”
This is true. It’s the lack of DEVELOPERS!
machiner
April 23rd, 2009 4:32 amA lot of you have trouble with reading comprehension and you put your demands ahead of reality. GIMP is not, nor has it ever been a replacement for Photoshop. (badly titled article notwithstanding) Do you understand? I’m talking right to you – Do you understand?
Most of this stems from your annoyance that the GIMP is not a replacement. You so desperately want it to be – but it’s not. How do you fit through doors?
Once you get over that you will find the GIMP to be fabulous for what it is. Then, maybe you can come up with some better arguments instead of the same tired bullshit. Honestly.
You that use and like Photoshop, continue. By all means. You have found a program that you love and it does what you like. Why on Earth would you continue to assail a program that’s clearly not for you? I’ll tell you why. Becasue somewhere in your life you developed this completely arrogant sense of entitlement and you figure that your opinion is the only one that matters and that if something doesn’t fit perfectly to your overwhelming ego than it must be shit.
Good luck raising children, if you ever become mature enough for that!
Elwin
April 23rd, 2009 4:57 amIn your step five, installing brushes. No need to restart Gimp, just click the refresh brushes icon in the brushes dialog. As for insufficient brushes, well, there is Gimp’s built in brush editor (which admittedly is limited as to available shapes). It is also fairly easy to make your own brushes. Personally, I have never had much need to have a lot of brushes (but then I don’t “paint” in Gimp). Most of the time, I just make my own when I need a brush that isn’t in the default set.
k
April 25th, 2009 12:34 amActually, the folder with brushes, curves etc. on Windows is now located in your user-specific folder. Type
%userprofile%\.gimp-2.6in your folder address bar to get to it, the full address will be something likeC:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\.gimp-2.6\.(make sure you have set “show-> toolbars ->address bar” to be able to type it in)
k
April 25th, 2009 1:17 amActually, the folder with brushes, curves etc. on Windows is now located in your user-specific folder. Type
%userprofile%\.gimp-2.6in your folder address bar to get to it, the full address will be something likeC:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\.gimp-2.6\.(make sure you have set “show-> toolbars ->address bar” to be able to type it in)
BTW, what does GEGL really provide you? Can you give an example?
Richard
April 25th, 2009 7:48 amI work in a school, and would love to hand out more opensource stuff to the kids. I give out CD Roms with OpenOffice on all the time, and some of the kids barely care that it is a bit different, as its operation is nearly the same for their use. We cannot (ethically or legally) advocate downloading an illegal version of PS.
The school has a Visual Arts Specialism, and Uses CS3 (Master suite) throughout, so its kindof a standard. We constantly get asked for a free version of PS but cannot do this for student home machines or obvious license issues.
- So an opensource PS eqiv would be great for us, and the various Exam groups that need a quality Image editing program but cannot afford the full version.
BUT: I cannot bear to hand out GIMP, on a few grounds.
Is too different to PS. And the name, why should I explain its “real” origins. Yeah I have named files an immature name in the past and put variable names as bad language but calling something GIMP is just sad.
Maria
February 22nd, 2012 11:42 pmRichard, you may not be aware of this, but GIMP stands stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, regardless of what its acronym is.
Tess
May 1st, 2009 12:59 pmThank you for publishing this… you’re preaching to the choir on my end. I do love me some GIMP, but there were still a couple of these plug-ins I didn’t know about.
mark rush
May 6th, 2009 5:32 ami cant get the menu to open that allows me to fix the tool menus also how do i set the ruler size to pixels ?
Big Al
May 18th, 2009 10:10 amThe Photoshop users who say that the GiMP will never be a replacement don’t bother me in the least. The GiMP does what I need it to do and THAT’S what matters. Use the tool that works best for you. This whole argument reminds me of the quote “When you’re a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.”
bob-penguin
May 18th, 2009 11:55 pmVery interesting article, full of useful tips. It would be great if the author published a book, a useful manual always at hand when needed! Or may be she already did it? If so, pls let me know, I’ll jump to Amazon and buy it immediately!
Shane
June 1st, 2009 1:46 pmGIMP stands for “GNU Image Manipulation Program”
Why do you feel the need to explain the “real” origin of the word if it’s an acronym? Maybe the “powers that be” DID have that intention. Who knows? Who cares?
Frankly, I don’t care because it IS an acronym and it’s a wonderful program
Jaap
June 4th, 2009 3:43 amthe CMYK plugin is only Windows supported? I use Mac. No CMYK support for Gimp there?
animator
June 6th, 2009 7:23 pmHmm I always wanted to get my hands on Photoshop, but never had a chance its pricey I stick with gimp I Only draw and animate cats, wolves, and background, but I always wondered what Photoshop was like is there anyway to get away from breaking the law and get it free?Or getting it at a VERY low price?
Aron
June 9th, 2009 12:31 pmOnly for debian (and maybe $buntu)-users:
no need to compile the source-code; the plugins (and a lot more) are packaged in the reppos, just make an:
apt-get install gimp-plugin-registry
and you get:
* Add Film Grain (2.4):
Helps adding realistic film grain to BW images.
* Black and White Film Simulation (1.1):
Converts the selected layer into Black and White using
the channel mixer. Tries to produce results resembling
tonal qualities of film.
* Contact Sheet:
Generates a contact sheet(s) for a directory of images.
* David’s Batch Processor (1.1.7):
A simple batch processing plugin for The Gimp – it allows
the user to automatically perform operations (such as resize)
on a collection of image files.
* Diana-Holga2 (3 juin 2008):
Diana/Holga Toys Cameras effect simulator.
* Exposure Blend (1.3b):
Prompt for 3 images in a bracketed exposure series (e.g. 0,-2,+2 EV)
and blend these into a contrast enhanced image.
* Fix-CA (3.0.2):
Corrects chromatic aberration in photos
* Focus-Blur (3.1.5):
This plugin tries to simulate an out-of-focus blur
* GREYCstoration (2.8):
A tool to denoise, inpaint and resize images
* Layer-Effects (2.4):
This script implements the following effects:
add border, bevel and emboss, color overlay, drop shadow,
gradient overlay, inner glow, inner shadow, outer glow,
pattern overlay, satin.
* Liquid Rescale (0.4.0-4):
Content-aware rescaling. Keeps the features of the image while
rescaling along a single direction.
* Normalmap (1.2.1):
Allows you to convert images into RGB normal maps for use in
per-pixel lighting applications.
* Planet Render (1-2):
Creates a planet. Color, size and sun orientation
can be set.
* Refocus (0.9.1):
The GIMP plugin to refocus images using FIR Wiener filtering.
During image processing operations such as scanning and scaling, images
tend to get blurry. The blurred impression of these images is due to the
fact that image pixels are averaged with their neighbors. Blurred images
don’t have sharp boundaries and look as though they have been taken with
an unfocussed camera.
* Save for Web (0.28.5):
Allows to experiment with various popular web format options. It shows
an automatically updated preview and file size statistics.
* Separate+ (0.5.1):
Separate+ is a plug-in that generates color separations from an RGB
image, proofs CMYK colors on the monitor and exports the CMYK TIFF file.
* Smart Sharpen (redux) (2.4):
This script implements the redux version of smart sharpening. It utilizes
the Unsharp Mask or Refocus plugin to sharpen the image.
* Streak-Camera simulation (0.6):
A streak camera images an object through a slit -
thus getting a “one dimensional image”. This image is
propagated along the second dimension of the image plane
at a constant speed. The result is a picture of the time
dependency of the object.
* Wavelet Denoise (0.2-beta):
The wavelet denoise plugin is a tool to selectively reduce noise in
individual channels of an image with optional RGBYCbCr conversion.
It has a user inteface to adjust the amount of denoising applied. The
wavelet nature of the algorithm makes the processing quite fast.
Benjamin Schran
June 13th, 2009 5:50 amTo be honest gimp has made greater strides in the last few years as comparative growth to adobe photoshop. one of the major things contributing to its drive is Us the users… because its opensource if you the user says “hmm i would like it to do a little more then it does now”. With a little know-how you can add anything you want to it because the source code is out there on the net… the best adobe can give is plug ins… this is a great feature but doesn’t give you the same freedom (as in speech) to make changes. and the best part is its free(as in beer)! Now by no means am i saying that you adobe is not a better software in many ways I am saying that Gimp has great potential and should not be shot down as garbage. One few great examples of opensource software making it into the business world is 1 Open office 2 Linux based servers 3 Blender (yes more of the major motion picture companys are using because of its complete open source nature… making it easier for them to progam plugins for it). So just because its not 100% photoshop doesnt mean you should put it down
Benjamin Schran
June 13th, 2009 6:01 amAnimator to answer your question yes there is a way to get photoshop to TRY for free however it is only for 30days so if you want to give it a look you can pick it up at https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?promoid=EBYEU&loc=en&product=photoshop
Paul Benn
June 27th, 2009 10:15 pmdoes the pspi plugin enable use of pixel creator pro as this program
specifically looks for photoshop. It is a great program but I cant afford photoshop. If it works with Gimp I’ll buy it.
Ali
July 3rd, 2009 12:35 pmjust want to thank u …. helped me alot
oiaohm
July 4th, 2009 4:27 pmPeople always target GIMP usablity but never list the problem.
Its not like photoshop is perfect. I have found both programs have there weaknesses. Having a live historgram of what is selected really handy in gimp.
Most of the issue is not that Gimp interface is bad. Gimp is designed differently to photoshop. Gimp is designed to work well duel screen quad screen… ie how many screens you have. It was not designed to work single screen it has to be convinced to do that well. This comes from GImp being designed on X11 where you have virtual desktops so you always can have more than 1.
That is the major work flow issue. Most photoshop users miss the right click menu option to turn menus into windows. Also they are running on windows so Miss the x11 wm option to lock those windows on top of everything else.
Both are different designs. Both have there advantages.
For what gimp is good at photoshop has bad workflow as well.
I have rewitten tutorials from photoshop to gimp. If you know how to setup gimp right lot of the operations take less actions to happen at equal quality.
If you don’t dock the dockable windows into a usable configuration gimp will drive you up wall. Its not that Gimp GUI is bad. Its just too flexable for photoshop users to use. They are not use to making there tool custom fit there workflow.
If you don’t use the windowable menus and have a os that you can lock them on top gimps workflow also suffers.
Now a GUI design cannot be fixed if you are not saying what is wrong. Saying just make it like photoshop is a wrong answer. Since photoshop it self is not perfect.
Blenders interface recently jumped forwards. Gimp has a open project as well to redesign the GUI. Flaming about the interface is point less.
Bob
July 18th, 2009 3:28 pmI draw a comic and have used both Photoshop and Gimp. I must say that Gimp does not meet my needs as it’s palette is limited (it only allows you to do so many custom colours), the text handling is laughably bad and only till recently it did not allow you to turn off anti-aliasing on the lasso tool. Don’t even get me stared with the speed of Gimp, it’s like a dead mule and it keeps crashing when I try to use my Wacom tablet with it. The brushes do not have enough dynamic options, it sorely lacks a navigation window and although you can make keyboard shortcuts, you cannot assign parameters for it to remember like “Actions” in Photoshop.
Apart from that, it’s doing pretty well.
carusoswi
July 24th, 2009 12:38 amVidar:
Constraining the crop tool is as simple with GIMP as it is in PS. Click the crop tool, and, in the tool box that pops up, check the fixed aspect ratio button, then, select the icon for portrait or landscape, and crop away.
Do it a couple of times, and I think you’ll find it even more intuitive than in PS. The landscape/portrait icons are more conveniently located for me (just a personal preference perhaps because I tend to use GIMP more than PS these days).
Caruso
Chuck
July 25th, 2009 7:14 pmI edit photos for our photography business and I’ve been using GIMP for years. I started using GIMP before it was even available for Windows so I had a Linux machine set up just for photo editing work. Yes, I’ve tried Photoshop and I didn’t like it because it was different from what I’m used to. How’s that for backwards? I also do photo restorations using the GIMP and I have never had anything but happy customers. I also use a Wacom tablet and I have never had any problems with it so maybe, Bob, you might have a driver issue? (Just a thought there) Though I do agree that the limited custom color palete can be a constraint but I’ve never not been able to do a job because of it.
I think Photoshop is expensive but not out of line for professional software. I just simply can’t justify spending our company’s money when I can use what’s available for free and deliver results that our customers are always happy with.
Though that’s all irrelevant to this page. Thanks to Blair Mathis for the great page and tips for expanding the usefulness of GIMP. I also agree that this free program has made some great improvements since it’s early days and no doubt will continue to improve.
Crblev
August 6th, 2009 6:48 amCarusoswi: I think Vidar’s question (and mine) is: ” Can I crop to a print size and resample at the same time?”
For example, I have a 8″x10″ source image at 300dpi.
I want to crop a selected area to 200×100 px (or any selected size) at 72 dpi.
With GIMP, I have to set my aspect ratio 2:1, and crop
THEN, I have to resize to 72dpi.
2 actions, but about 4 steps.
PSD allows one to just enter the size and dpi and it will crop and resample at the same time.
This is a huge time saver if you have many images to visually crop and resample.
I’ve been unable to find/figure out how to do this in GIMP.
Wojciech Migda
August 12th, 2009 4:27 amI’d include some handy plugins as well: Fix-CA for Chormatic Aberration correction (http://registry.gimp.org/node/3726) and wavelet-denoise for noise removal (http://registry.gimp.org/node/4235) You gotta try to believe what they can do
Ryan
August 12th, 2009 3:54 pmI have been using Photoshop now for 3 years in a video game design company, and I must say GIMP whacks it upside the head in user-functionality. Not only is it faster, but buttons and sliders are laid out in a MUCH cleaner fashion, as compared to photoshop where the tools and their functions are seperated. (annoying as hell). Also, GIMP can be isolated into 2 windows + images open, where as I usually have 5 windows + images in Photoshop.
Get GIMP. Learn it. Refund your PS license.
Benjamin Schran
August 27th, 2009 12:48 pmIm glad to see this is no longer a bash fest. I have been using gimp myself since the linux only days and have always felt it looked like it had potential… keep up the good fight my friends.. and happy gimping
pete
October 8th, 2009 10:29 amI used to find the GIMP interface a problem but that was because I was used to Photoshop, lets face it nobody likes change, but if the community who makes the GIMP copied Photoshop then there would be legal issues. they have some very good ideas for making the GIMP better, just look at , I can’t wait for future releases of the GIMP :-), probably give Photoshop a run for it’s money.
Jason
October 18th, 2009 5:19 amHey not bad il give it all that a go. Does anyone think theres not enough of Gimp information on the web? There a decent on here id recommmend http://www.gimp-dojo.com
factotum218
October 25th, 2009 11:17 pmI wonder how many of these people use Photoshop legally and professionally…
Anyways I love GIMP, it’s a great applicationg. But what do you expect, I still use CS….wait for it……2! *gasp!*
brandonjp
October 31st, 2009 7:55 pmMy problem with the “Always on top” trick is that it makes the Toolbox always stay on top of EVERYTHING… maybe I’m missing something, but (at least for me on Ubuntu 9.10) when I switch to another app, the ‘always on top’ Toolbox covers all other apps as well.
pm
November 30th, 2009 6:02 amI’m loving GIMP, it gives me everything I need for web design without the cost of Photoshop. I followed several tutorials online and picked it up quite quickly. I will consider buying Photoshop when I come across something I can’t do in GIMP, so far so good.
Great article, though I can’t seem to anchor the windows. Not sure what I’m doing wrong :-S
Gill
December 2nd, 2009 8:25 amI’ve only just started editing pictures myself and I downloaded a trial of PS and I hated it! It’s practically impossible to use and manuever if you don’t know what your doing. It’s really complicated and way too fussy and drawn out. I also refuse to pay £700 for some software to smooth my skin out and make all my pictures look unrealistic and obviously edited. I’d much rather just take a bloody interesting pic and use real talent to create a stunning picture than pay extortionate amounts (in a reccession!!!) to make a fake pic with some software.
I really could rant on forever about this but I wont.
I like GIMP it’s easy to use and gets the simple tasks done and from the looks of things is constantly being updated and giving people new bits to add to it as they choose. I will most probably never shell out the cash for photoshop. If I got hold of it for free or for like £20 I might consider it however it’s very unlikely that will ever happen so it’s GIMP all the way for me. It’s free and gets the main task (I need it for) done. What more could I ask for?
Arch
December 10th, 2009 2:51 pmTo Gill
well said ! I’ve just switch from Photoshop to Gimp. It took me some time to learn the software, But Gimp gets the job done as well as Photoshop.
kzutter
December 21st, 2009 7:54 amYour link to PSPI is broken… try this:
http://tml.pp.fi/gimp/pspi.html
Steve
December 26th, 2009 9:53 amGreat resource. Thanks!
fr3sh1
January 6th, 2010 5:44 amGimp Rocks! Especially since I discovered the IWarp tool ;-)!
For those who say that Gimp GUI sucks, do as I do. Learn the shortcuts, use right button menu and use Tab button to while working fullscreen (F11) to turn on/off dock windows. This way you have more space for your image and you won’t go back to photoshop :-)
Cheerio!
syntax
January 19th, 2010 1:44 pmFor a web designer with little to no capitol, like myself, can easily use GIMP for projects that, under the control of someone with just a little knowledge, will look just as good as one constructed with Photoshop and Dreamweaver.
Great article! Really really great.
Ariel
January 29th, 2010 11:12 amI’m going to go out on a limb here and say I don’t think GIMP will ever replace Photoshop simply because of the branding. When you see that Photoshop Icon it is bold, professional, sleek, and throws out a great sense of security. It is also part of an amazing suite.
Yes, I agree it gets prices even with Study discounts, but you get what you pay for. I am a cheap s.o.b. but when it comes to my programs and basketball ball shoes..the price is worth it.
I wont give GIMP a chance based on their goofy cartoon mascot. Maybe if I wanted a bowl of cereal I’d choose GIMP.
Adil. Gazdar
January 30th, 2010 3:06 amTo Prakash,
I am keen to use “Gimp” as an alternate to Photoshop & have written a comment seperately too. Its heartening to know that “Gimp” is as good & available as a freeware.
akmalhisyam
February 14th, 2010 7:07 amfor the brush,
actually GIMP can use Photoshop brush..
no plugins required!..
just drop the .abr file into the brush directory..
scd
February 22nd, 2010 3:18 pmThanks for your article. I used gimp many years ago and then I bought PS. not too long ago, I got a wacom tablet which allowed me to upgrade my PS to cs4 at a great cost.
Honestly, I will never switch away from PS, but i still want to thank you for taking the time to write this article. Im sure it will help others, which is the point of it. I dont unserstand why the PS users are complaining.. They are not being forced to use anything, so they need to move on and realize your trying to help gimp users. I use PS a lot, i have a business, that helps justify it… Had i been using gimp, i would certainly give this a shot, and I know someone I am going to show this article to.
kezzart
February 27th, 2010 12:35 pmi am a designer, illustrator and photgrapher and have used photoshop since 1995 with windows 95 – i love photoshop but recently its gotten too big with crap i never use and way too much Internet communication and attempts to sell me stuff through the software – i hate software that constantly keeps doors open to the net – i switched to photoshop elements recently because i hate the new cs versions but the internet crap turned me off – thankfully i found GIMP and will never go back – it does everything i want – as a professional artist i dont need all the amateurish filters and instant fixes of photoshop, just the essential tools – and switching to GIMP has got me to switch to linux so now my computer runs faster than ever with much better screen graphics, brighter and sharper than windows mushy graphics – i love GIMP and i love LINUX
Tim
March 8th, 2010 1:00 amGimp is open source, so I have no idea why no clever designer with programing ability hasn’t taken gimp and made it into a photoshop clone.
The program could do it (that’s why the “not an adobe employee”{haha yeahright} guys are so thretened by this software) and as far as I’m concerned, this forum proves that a version of gimp made as a photoshop clone would be well appreciated (I know I would love it too)
GGRKS
April 7th, 2010 9:36 amI personally hate GIMP AND photoshop. My favourite art program has to be paint tool sai because it’s simple to use unlike photoshop which pisses me off.
But seriously, stop stomping on GIMP guys! It is an AMAZING art program for something that’s FREE!
And to be honest, people might think photoshop is and may well be the best art program out there but I find it too confusing to work with and completely unaffordable!!!!
And you peoples, if you don’t like GIMP don’t comment, cause if you haven’t got anything good to say then don’t say anything at all….
Anonymous
May 9th, 2010 7:09 pmWhen talking about “workflow” as a programmer:
I mainly work in Linux. Mainly because of actual Window Managers (DWM, XMonad, GNOME, etc). Well, that and bash just works. Anyway, while I learned in Photoshop and am an avid fan, until Adobe makes a version that runs in Linux, Photoshop actually DESTROYS my workflow and then spits on it. Having to reboot my entire system (or hibernate, resume, hibernate, resume) as well as store any pictures I needed to edit on a USB drive or somewhere in the cloud completely wastes my time. I find it way easier to just load up the GIMP (as terrible as the UI may be) and make my edits and resume my work.
Now, I realize Photoshop is designed towards graphics professionals (as much of a power user as I like to consider myself, I’m still not a graphic designer, by any means), but, I mean, shouldn’t any graphics designer worth his salt be able to contend with features that aren’t just fancy algorithms designed to do all the work for you? As much as I like some of the new press-button-for-magic features Adobe likes to put in every release, at the heart of it all, doesn’t that go against designing in the sense that the computer is doing the design for you, in the grand scheme of things? I mean, if I were a designer, I would want very minute control down to the very pixel. Sometimes, when using Photoshop, I feel like its tools and “features” are making it harder and harder to do that. I mean, if I wanted to program something for a microcontroller, I would use something more nitty-gritty and more bare-bones, than say, Java. I would want to use C, or, hell, even assembly.
Put simply, when Adobe puts Photoshop on Linux, I’ll never use GIMP again. Until then, I’ll settle for GIMP over screwing up my own workflow. UI I can get over (or customize — a great thing about GNU apps). I can’t very well get over Photoshop not working in Linux on my own (screw WINE).
MikeA
May 10th, 2010 8:47 pmI understand that this article is over a year old but something caught my attention. Photoshop users are threatened by GIMP. I’ve been using Adobe products since 1994 and don’t understand this. Maybe I’ve been around them too long but I don’t see the problem with GIMP. Why would anyone want to say that GIMP is not comparable to Photoshop? It doesn’t matter if it is or not. The fact is that GIMP is a quality product. It works well for many things if you’re not the lazy and/or fearful type.
If you’re really that dependent on the piece of software you are using, you might want to reconsider your worth in the idea of graphic design. If I had my way I’d force you all to use camera’s, exacto knives, and waxer machines in a darkroom full of emulsion stink for a month just to give you a clue to what industry you claim to be a part of.
Chris
May 14th, 2010 1:14 pmThank-you for informing the world of what The Gimp is able to do! You are indeed a talented and very well informed individual!! Congrats!!!
Sadly, we live in a society full of zombie citizens, who are told what to buy, what to eat, how to dress, where to live, when to fart, etc. The culprits behind the brainwashing are happy sitting down and receiving huge amounts of ‘mula’ knowing fully well that on a daily basis they will be able to find new victims to feed on, and agree to their ridiculous license agreements. This is thanks mainly due to their very deep pockets and very expensive marketing schemes.
Even more sad, is how these zombie citizens, only have the ability to regurgitate what they being programmed to say. They have lost the ability and power of thinking for themselves. They gave away a long time ago their basic rights to analyze on their own. They no longer know how to arrive to a sound and logical conclusion when making a fair unbiased opinion.
I teach computer classes for a living, I am also a network administrator. I meet society nurtured zombies on a daily basis, who claim to know, but in reality they walk around with blinders like a horse. Tunnel vision syndrome is very common these days! LOLl
As an educator, I teach the commercial products that most of these zombie citizens are aware of when they walk into my class. However, when they leave my class they are made aware of alternative software products they had never heard of before, such as Inkscape, Blender, OpenOffice Writer, Abiword, Google Docs, Scribus, and many others, including of course, The Gimp.
I’m also very aware that a lot of these students have pirated copies of commercial products. That’s the main reason I teach open source, to slowly weened them off illegal activities. You will hear me saying the following on a regular basis,
“Here, for those of you who cannot afford product x, you can do this without breaking the law by downloading and installing product y, which does the same darn thing but it is free and you can give out copies to friends, and relatives!”
It all boils down to knowing that you have choices. Most of them go the open source method, and are grateful on how much money they have saved. Which in turn they can use to further their educational goals more efficiently.
With the blinders removed, these new de-programmed citizens go out into the world informing others about open source software solutions and more importantly they have been reminded that they have a vast amount of choices! Choices that even extend to film making, operating systems such as, Ubuntu plus other Linux distributions, animation, web design, and many other fields.
I noticed that your article has attracted the attention of these zombie citizens, and that is why I felt compelled to leave a comment. To the wealthy zombies, if you have $1000.00 to burn, good for you! Now go away to your expensive stores…or do whatever, or go wherever wealthy dumb zombies go today!
This article was written for the benefit of The Gimp users, so if you don’t like it, and don’t know how to use it, you should use your wealth to pay for a course and learn how to use it properly. Zombie citizens, I hear, NASA is auctioning some stuff, you should head there soon, since other dumb zombies are bidding on old technology! Don’t let the door hit your buttocks on the way out! LOL
Shawn Kearney
August 27th, 2010 8:31 pmus zombies like 16-bit image processing and non-destructive editing…
braaaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnssssss
Usalabs
May 17th, 2010 10:47 pmAfter reading this page time and time again, and continually retrying to get Gimp to see and use pspi.exe.so, personally, I don’t believe photoshop plugins can be used with Gimp.
My advise it NEVER try to use something that wasn’t designed to be used by anything other that what it supposed to be used with, ie, Photoshop plugins are designed for and to be used by Photoshop,,,,,,Gimp plugins are designed to be used by Gimp.
NEVER try to turn something into what it isn’t.
If a photoshop plugin is wanted for Gimp, look for a Gimp specific equivalent instead.
Trying to put a windows plugin into Linux, is like trying to put a 5′ diameter circle in a 1′ square,,,,it just CAN’T be done.
If you absolutely need to use a photoshop plugin, then install windows using a virtual machine (either vmware, or vbox), then you can use photoshop with all it’s plugins,,, I do, and it works great.
PMcD
May 20th, 2010 1:13 amObviously as stated just above you think you know what your saying but you dont :P
an .exe isn’t a PS plugin is an executable file – photoshop couldn’t open it either no matter what you tried!
However, you could use the exe on windows to “install” the plugin.
GIMP can use PS brushes and plugins if you know what your doing :)
Ron
July 11th, 2010 2:21 pmGimp already can replace photoshop dumbass
Javier designer
August 7th, 2010 11:50 pmI am waiting for gimp layers folders like photoshop.. I think there isn’t any plugin with that funcionality.
Paul
August 25th, 2010 5:55 amGimp is brilliant, however it is too non user friendly to be used by the masses, which is a shame really.
Juan Diegas
October 22nd, 2010 2:56 amI don’t understand all the whining about the Gimp interface as compared to Photoshop. It’s not that different. You can customize the interface to be very close to Photoshop. Some people act like they are completely different. Perhaps they don’t really have a copy of Photoshop. Photoshop, although good, is not perfect either.
As for the cmyk thing for printing, supposedly that may be fixed in Gimp 2.8. The text tool is also inferior (as was Photoshop’s text tool before CS aka PS 8.0.) This will also be fixed in Gimp 2.8. Poor Adobe now seems to be scrambling to find new features to add. Given enough time, open source software like Gimp eventually catch up. If we are lucky, sometimes they become better than the commercial products.
Brett Widmann
October 22nd, 2010 3:09 pmThis is a nice post, but i think I’ll stick to my Adobe products for most things
Sara
October 27th, 2010 1:00 pmCan you open a PSD file in gimp, and then view the attributes of a layer (font, font size, color, background color, etc.)? You can do this easily in Photoshop, but I can’t seem to get this info in Gimp – even though I do see a list of layers. Would love to avoid paying the big $$ to do something so simple.
Thanks.
Marty Fried
October 29th, 2010 1:45 pmI used Adobe products for a long time, and wrote plugins for many of them. When I started using Linux more, I began using Gimp for simple things, out of convenience. After a while, I found that I would try using Photoshop, but switch over to Gimp, because some things seemed easier.
So, I began learning more, a little at a time. It seemed like it could do pretty much everything I needed, although I thought Photoshop was quicker and easier. But, after a while, Gimp began to make more sense than Photoshop. In fact, when I use Photoshop, I now find it lacking in what I consider basic functionality.
This doesn’t mean I think Gimp is better – it just drove home, once more, that you get used to one or another pieces of software, or operating systems, and you begin to think that its features are the only way to go.
Yes, there are things you can do in photoshop that you can’t do in gimp, at least not in the same way. But the same holds true for the other direction; there are things you can do easily in Gimp that you can’t do in photoshop the same way.
For example, Gimp doesn’t have so many layer properties, like backgrounds, outlines, etc. This doesn’t mean you can’t do the same thing, it’s just not a layer property. If this way of doing things is worth the money you pay, and worth being tied to Windows, then stick with it. I use Gimp on Windows, Linux, and Mac. All for free. All without learning new ways to do things. So, I have to create my own background or outline; big deal.
Dorin GRIGORE
December 10th, 2010 12:26 am“I am waiting for gimp layers folders like photoshop.. I think there isn’t any plugin with that funcionality.”
Yes this missing feature is really annoying in more advanced projects.
Greg
January 8th, 2011 8:35 pmTry the new GIMP 2.7.1 (http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-win/files/GIMP%20%2B%20GTK%2B%20(development%20rel.)/GIMP%202.7.1/), it packs a lot more features like layer grouping, be aware that it is a developer/debug version and it uninstall previous stable versions (2.6.x).
arkon
March 24th, 2011 12:01 pmSorry, people must really be ignorant if they think GIMP can replace PS. Since I need to do things commercially and PS is too expensive I had to learn Gimp too.
Gimp obviously never heard the term “realtime preview”, it suffers the ability to tweak settings and instead provides automatic scripts which are basically useless, has a retarded way of creating effects e.g. gradients, and it often forces you to reinvent the wheel each time you did something wrong.
If people only try it out using simple shapes or brushes just for fun, they will never find out how limited GIMP really is. But if you want to do a little bit more in a serious manner, then GIMP is the wrong way to go.
Not everything is bad, e.g. in GIMP you learn how things like shadows, glow etc. can be made from scratch. And if you are used to the conveniences of Photoshop you might never find out how these things could be done, because PS automatically creates it for you and you only need to tweak it. Therefore using GIMP might be quite helpful at the very first time. If you change to PS then, I can guarantee, that you will never ever want to look back.
I agree though with people that 1.000€ is a ridiculous prize for PS as almost nothing changed between CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5. If I had the money I would still buy PS, but I haven’t.
Madi
May 24th, 2011 5:09 pmI used Gimp for a good two years before I got Photoshop Elements as a gift. I’m a fairly serious photographer (though no paying jobs yet as I’m still in school) and I also like to dabble in digital painting. I was using Gimp to edit my photos and create manipulations. PS Elements is great for those who just need to edit photos, crop, maybe recolor, etc. But when I get into my manipulations, it just doesn’t work so well. It is nicer in some aspects (like more layer choices) and masking and all. I stopped using Gimp when I got PS. But I just recently reinstalled it since Elements is awful for digital paining. I switch back and forth with one project to get what I want out of each.
People who haven’t worked with Gimp and just write it off, don’t realize that you can use a lot of PS tools, brushes, textures, and more in Gimp. I was using PS brushes in Gimp for two years! Most things that you can use in PS you can use in Gimp. I’ve also heard that some people can open PSD files in Gimp, but I haven’t tried it myself (so don’t yell at me if it doesn’t work).
I haven’t tried CS5 or any other version so I’m not sure how it compares to Gimp, though I can say, that both have their good parts. I do prefer Elements for basic editing, but Gimp for painting. Both are very low rated, in my opinion, for manipulating. I’ve been doing some really large projects that are very complex, and I’ve had to kill Elements to make it do what I want. I like using it for a lot of its features, but Gimp works the same, or better, than PS Elements for digital painting.
People who complain about Gimp not working, or having some problem with it, are probably not using it right or just don’t know what to do with it since they were working with PS for so long. Now don’t think that I’m picking on anyone, because I’m not. I’m just saying that you need to read tutorials, keep in forums, etc. to get the most of out Gimp. I loved it and I like it now, since I experienced PS. I can’t say it’s a full replacement of PS but it’s a darn good one.
If you aren’t very serious, I highly recommend Gimp. I didn’t care if I got PS or not and quite frankly, I wouldn’t die if anyone took away Elements. If your career, schooling, or another serious thing, requires it, than sure, spend the money. But if you’re like me, where it’s pretty serious but it’s still in the advanced hobby stage, use Gimp.
There’s my two cents. Hope I helped someone. :)
madjo
June 16th, 2011 12:54 amThe link to the PSPI manager in this article (under tip #1) is dead.
Here is the new link:
http://tml.pp.fi/gimp/pspi.html
Pz1a4
July 7th, 2011 9:57 amPeople do not realise that most free software is often many many years behind mainstream competitors. The millions of dollars and years of development from hundreds of programmers and designers it took to create PhotoShop, simply wont happen in GIMP for years to come. GIMP (the name really should be changed, gimp is usually a slang term for a handicapped person!) is a great program for beginners or people who just like to do hobby stuff. As far as using in as a tool for a professional graphics designer, sadly no.
Adobe offers a leasing program for people who can’t afford it, the Master Collection is around $150USD/month. That is cheap for someone who is using the software to make money. Simply lease it until you make enough money to buy it flat out. If you run your business correctly, this won’t be a problem.
I have used both GIMP and PhotoShop extensively. PhotoShop graphics tend to be more “crisp and clear” whereas creating the same image in GIMP tended to lack in quality.
I’m not trying to come across as a GIMP basher or PhotoShop promoter, I’m just giving my opinion. The dev’s at GIMP have done an excellent job in creating a free open-source design program.
As far as the people saying they’re not going to download PhotoShop illegally, you don’t have to, download a fully functional 30-day trial from Adobe. In that 30-days, use the software to create images to sell at places like: http://www.designcrowd.com or http://www.freelancer.com, sites like that. After your trial is up you should’ve been able to make enough to either pay for the software in full or be able to pay for your first month’s lease. That’s what I did, it’s not that difficult. Stop having that “I CAN’T” attitude, you’re life will be much better if you stop thinking like that. This can be applied to many aspects of life, not just determining what image software to get.
To squash any backlash comments about only having Linux. If your a professional designer, Windows 7 is around $100USD. I have dual boot Windows 7/Ubuntu Linux. I use Windows 7 for my Graphics Designing and Gaming, and Linux for programming and everything else. If you’re computer isn’t good enough for Windows 7 then your missing out. Computers and Laptops are extremely cheap now a days. If $400-600 is too much for you all at once, simply have patience and save $10+/week and you’ll have it eventually. It’s mathematically impossible for you not to own a new computer saving a certain amount each week or whenever you get paid.
Itachi
July 22nd, 2011 2:03 pmHey I use GIMP and it is really amazing when you take your time and patience because if you do that it looks exactly like what Photoshop can do but maybe even better and I have created loads of good GIMP Photoshop-ish pictures so get some time to know about GIMP and then we can kick Photoshop out Yeah!
YOURS AWESOMELY
Itachi
trlkly
September 8th, 2011 11:21 amTurning on GEGL is a bad idea. It doesn’t really add anything yet. All it does is slow you down tremendously, as it isn’t optimized at all yet.
The beauty of GEGL is its potential. As long as it’s just being used to do things that can be done faster without it, it’s totally pointless, except for testing.
Doc
November 24th, 2011 5:43 am“Windows: the folder is located in C:/Programs/GIMP.” No, on most machines, GIMP will be installed to the default folder of “C:\Program Files\GIMP-2.0″ (note the backslashes, which Windows uses) or “C:\Program Files (x86)\GIMP-2.0″ (on a 64-bit version of Windows XP, Vista, or 7/8).
Chris
January 3rd, 2012 4:28 pmThe link http://www.gimp.org/~tml/gimp/win32/pspi.html is dead and there IS no Plug-in folder for Windows GIMP. Do I have to make one or is it deeper in the GIMP directory?
Chris
January 3rd, 2012 4:35 pmNevermind, I found it. It was deeper in.
Zeros
February 1st, 2012 10:21 amHey GIMP-users, is it possible to open a PS file in GIMP? What PS features will get lost? For example: what about text effects, alpha channels, layer masks etc. Is there a list with importable features somewhere?
Thanks in advance. I would consider the change to GIMP, if I could open my psd files without losing anything…