GIMP kind of sucks
 

While my desktop computer is getting its shit sorted out I am stuck trying to do a lot of stuff on my linux powered laptop. I am this close to downloading a pirated version of windows 7 and putting it back on this machine except I'm not sure how it handles all that genuine advantage bullshit.

Anyway, I have a bunch of photos of the lathe project and I want to crop them, adjust perspective, correct exposure and other stuff. In theory, you can do that in GIMP. Maybe even in practice, but...

The interface and arrangement of tools is far from intuitve and some of them seem not to work at all. For example, brushes. I finally figured out how to make a new brush of a certain size. There is an option to edit an existing brush, except you can't really. If you click on the brush, and select edit it lets you change the hardness but no other parameter, those options are grayed out. What you need to do is create a new brush, not edit an existing brush (unless you are editing a brush you created) After creating a new brush with the size and hardness attributes I wanted, it didn't actually work, it kept acting like a 20 pixel brush instead of a 750 pixel brush.

FAIL

Then, when you use the rotate, shear, perspective or any other transform tools, they give you a helpful reference grid, except the grid moves along with the image so you have no way of telling how much effect you've applied to your image since the baseline reference moves with the image.

FAIL

It may be extra frustrating after coming from over a decade of photoshop use, but it is sad indeed that everyone regards this as the hands down best linux photo editing tool.

It seems like it was designed by people who never actually did any photography or image manipulation, but thought it would be easy to just write a program.

Two enthusiastic GET THE HELL OF MY LAWNs for them.

you should ask for a refund...



;)

Adding text and then editing it or moving it around is poor too.


I lost my receipt.:right:

I had a double my money back guarantee coupon, I keep it with my √-9

Next time get an Apple they always work except when they break.

This showed up a while back, I haven't tried it

This Theme Pack Makes GIMP Look and Work Like Photoshop

I have just bought rented Photoshop for the next year for $119.

This ends the long piratey relationship I have had with Photoshop for many years. I still treasure the debate we had about that. Now that Adobe has put everything into a much more sensible pricing situation, I can no longer object.

I also rented their video editing software Premiere Pro for @30/month for two months. It's pretty good stuff.

Email me the photos and I'll post them while you get it sorted out.

I can't believe Toad has gone straight.

Foot, check out Pixlr. (www.pixlr.com) It's browser based, although you can buy a version. Works pretty much like Photoshop. I'm not sure if the downloaded version would work with linux.

UT reminds me that I need to renew my Abode sub. Of course, since I don't work for a university anymore, I don't get it on the cheap...but it's worth the cost.

I'm happy with CS5 and XP*

Fuck progress updates

*or I will be when I get shit working again.

I like GIMP.

I learned how to do image editing when I got a legal version of photoshop about two decades ago. I was used to photoshop. At first it was annoying when I switched to the GIMP. I couldn't find anything. But then you just learn the new interface and where the shit is located. You are right that it's not always intuitive, but I don't think photoshop is either. You just use it for a while and then learn where stuff is.

Not sure what you are talking about with brushes. It's easy in my version to mess around with brushes. (Change the size and hardness, at least.) Changing the contrast and color saturation in levels is totally doable. I haven't used photoshop in some time, so maybe it's easier there.

I think you just have to get used to it and learn it.

Did you try looking on youtube for a tutorial on what you are trying to do?

Is gimp still free, or does it start asking for money sometime after installation?

It's free. At least the version I use is. I haven't updated in a year or so.

I made a 750px wide brush and a 1500px wide brush and they both have the same 10px wide effect. Googling it, this seems to be a common complaint. bug in the code.

In PS open the brush dialogue and all the controls are right there. You can easily change a brush's size, shape, opacity, hardness - all on the fly. In GIMP, if you try to edit an pre-existing brush you get the dialogue but everything is greyed out except hardness. Why even bother? They don't explain that you can't edit a preinstalled brush, you have to make a new one.

And the transform thing makes no fucking sense at all. Why would I want the reference framework moved as I move the image? Why even have a reference framework? I can already see how my image is being changed, I need to see how it is being changed in relation to something static. It's like having a level whose bubble always shows level.

I really think they wanted to make something like PS but had to change it enough to not get sued and the differences they created were different enough but not very well thought out.

And their help also sucks, not that PS is any better.