Is Gimp the Solution to Your Image Editing Needs?
When it comes to image editing, Gimp is an editor that’s often forgotten or left out of people’s choices. As a beginner, you’re often pointed towards either easy-to-use free image editors like Paint.net or Pixlr; or they immediately suggest professional, paid solutions like Photoshop.
I would like to make a case here that Gimp is definitely a good option for either beginners or aspiring professionals alike.
Who is Gimp for?
If you are not able to pay for Photoshop then Gimp is the next best semi-professional alternative for you. It offers similar features to Photoshop all at no cost and it’s miles ahead of any other free image editors out there. I’ve even personally met a couple of people that use Gimp exclusively in a professional context.
By default, Gimp is not set to Single-Window Mode, you can change this by going to 'Windows' >> 'Single-Window Mode' through the upper menu.
A Big Learning Curve
Gimp is definitely not known for its ease-of-use, it offers so many options that you could literally spend years trying to master the application. Luckily there have been many great tutorials released over the years, something that was lacking just a few years ago. It’s also definitely possible to just use Gimp for easy projects, like making simple thumbnail images. Once you’ve learned how to do something, it’s very easy to replicate it. The thumbnail image that I used took me about 5 - 10 minutes to make, it might not win any prizes but it gets the job done.
Unrivaled for its Price
Gimp offers so much more than than other free image editors. You have access to an amazing range of filters and other enhancements, which you can all apply to separate layers. It’s even possible to write scripts for Gimp, which can automate part of your production process.
User Interface
Gimp does get a fair amount of criticism because of its non-intuitive user-interface, but that’s a point where I personally disagree. It’s true that Gimp’s user-interface might be difficult to understand, especially when you’re used to Photoshop; but learning how to use any new application is something that’s always somewhat difficult. After using Gimp for a couple of days/weeks, I found that it wasn’t as confusing as everyone made it out to be.
Bottom Line
If you’re strapped for cash but still want an advanced image editor, then Gimp is the right tool for you. Even if you just want to use it to make thumbnails for your Steemit posts, it might be worth looking into. I would even argue that you could keep using it as a Photoshop alternative, to a certain extent at least. Some of the filters found on Gimp do not even have a Photoshop equivalent and do not lack in quality.
Question for You
Have you ever used Gimp before? If so, how was your experience with it?
Additional Info & Downloads
The official Gimp Website
Nick Saporito's Youtube channel which has lots of awesome Gimp tutorials
Gimp is open-source software, that means that you're free to view and adapt the source code
I've used these images to create the thumbnail:
Image 1 -- No attribution required, Free for commercial use
Image 2 - CC BY SA - Found on Gimp website
All other images are screenshots that I've made myself
This is very interesting since Adobe products are in general expensive.
Yeah and with Gimp you actually get a lot of the features Photoshop has, even more in some instances.
I must be honest. I've never heard of Gimp before. It looks pretty good though.
It's very good in my opinion, Photoshop is obviously better, but it's expensive.
To the question in your title, my Magic 8-Ball says:
Hi! I'm a bot, and this answer was posted automatically. Check this post out for more information.
Use it, but reluctantly 🤣