Beginning GIMP

Ravi writes "Any one who has had the opportunity to manipulate images would be aware of Adobe's Photoshop - considered to be the market leader in image manipulation software. But with its high price tag, buying Photoshop is akin to putting strain on your bank balance. What is interesting is that there is a very popular free alternative to Photoshop in GIMP. For those in the dark, GIMP is a state of the art image manipulation software which runs on multiple architectures and OSes and which is released under the GNU free License (GPL). I have been using GIMP exclusively for touching up images for many years now and it has met all my graphics manipulation needs." Read the rest of Ravi's review

Beginning GIMP - From Novice to Professional
author	Akkana Peck
pages	550
publisher	APress
rating	9
reviewer	Ravi
ISBN	1-59059-587-4
summary	A great book to learn Gimp

Unfortunately, for a beginner who is taking his first baby steps in GIMP, the interface might feel a bit kludgy and he/she might need some hand holding. This is where a book related to Gimp gains prominence. I recently came across this book called "Beginning GIMP - From Novice to Professional" authored by Akkana Peck. Divided into 12 chapters and 6 appendices, this book aims to cover the whole gamut of features found in Gimp.

In the first chapter, the author takes the reader through an in-depth tour of Gimp interface. This chapter introduces various dialogs,windows and configuration options that play an important part while working on ones images in Gimp. Even though I was conversant with most of the features of Gimp, I found this chapter impart a very good understanding of Gimp interface which is imperative for putting this software to productive use.

But it is not enough if one jumps right into editing images. It is important to have a good understanding of the various image formats used, their pros and cons as well as situations where different formats are ideal to use. The second chapter of this book titled "Improving Digital Photos" explains just that. The author further shows the image settings in Gimp which helps one to optimize the image while saving to disk as well as tips which could be very useful for photography buffs such as color correction, viewing the histogram to aid in bringing clarity to an image, rotating the image, fixing red eye and so on.

One of the most useful features of any graphics suite worth its name is its support for Layers. In Gimp, it is possible to save different images in layers. The third chapter of this book deals exclusively in giving an introduction to the concept of Layers and how it can be put to use in Gimp. At the end of the chapter, the author also explains how to create simple Gif animations.

Gimp has a great collection of tools at par with any other graphics suite in the market. These tools form the life line of any graphics artist in aiding his creations. In the subsequent three chapters , the author provides a detailed explanation of all these tools and how they could be put to use. Almost all the tools are covered in these three chapters and the author even provides the steps in creating images using these tools which gives it a practical touch to the whole narration.

In the seventh chapter titled Filters and Effects, one gets to know about the rich set of filters and scripts which are bundled with Gimp. There are hundreds of filters and effects categorized into three sections of Filters, Python-Fu and Script-Fu and most of them are described in this chapter with the aid of relevant examples.

From the 8th chapter onwards, the author turns to explain the more advanced concepts which pertain to graphics editing, knowing which, differentiates an expert from a beginner. Concepts such as color manipulation, compositing, masking and the different layer modes are described in detail with the aid of examples.

One of the biggest advantages a Gimp user has is the capability to create his own scripts in Gimp which allow him to accomplish complex tasks with the click of a button. Gimp scripts and plug-ins can be created using various languages like python, perl or C. But it also has its own scripting language called Script-Fu which also simplifies the process of creating scripts. And not surprisingly, there are hundreds of scripts bundled with the default installation of Gimp which makes it a viable option for creating complex graphical effects with ease. The 11th chapter of this book titled "Plug-ins and Scripting" gives an introduction to creating ones own scripts using different languages including script-fu. But I found this chapter to be more useful for a person who is interested in creating plug-ins than the normal users.

The final chapter of this well illustrated book deals with topics which couldn't fit in any other chapters such as tips on configuring Gimp to use the scanner and printer. There is a section which gives details of various resources found on the web which could be used to further enrich ones knowledge on using Gimp.

All along, the author gives interesting tit-bits on various aspects of image creation and modification which would be eye openers for most people who are getting introduced to the art of graphics manipulation. Reading the book, I was able to get valuable insights into different aspects of image editing such as antialiazing, hinting text and such, which plays an important part in creating good graphics.

In relevant sections, the author has provided important details which are highlighted in a bright vibrant color which makes reading this book a pleasant experience.

Many might wonder why some one would take time and efforts to write a book on Gimp when Adobe's Photoshop is considered the dominant leader in the graphics market. But the truth is Gimp enjoys a wider user base than all the other non-free graphics manipulation products combined as it is bundled by default on all Linux/Unix distributions worth their name. Considering that Gimp has also been ported to Windows and Mac OSX coupled with its hard to beat price (it is a free software released under GPL) and excellent features at par with any other professional graphics suite, this software has become a viable option for any one interested in developing graphics for the Web. And I found this book to contain relevant information which could be invaluable in ones journey into the fascinating world of image manipulation using GIMP.

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You can purchase Beginning GIMP - From Novice to Professional from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Does it have a "healing brush"?

Does it have a "healing brush"? That's really the only neat feature I can think of that photoshop offers that the gimp doesn't/didn't. The "healing brush" basically makes retouching a picture to remove, say, a zit a fool-proof 5 second job. Which is nice.

Re:Does it have a "healing brush"?

Actually, I never liked the healing brush in Photoshop, half the time it wouldn't do a great replacement job. I prefer to use clone stamp and sample the replacement area myself which still only takes 5 seconds.

Re:Does it have a "healing brush"?

Yeah, they just don't call it that: Gimp skincare [gimps.de]

Comments from people who actually create Creative?

While I can buy the notion that The GIMP is suitable for many tasks that programmers might require, does anyone on here who considers him/herself first and foremost a designer use The GIMP as their daily composition tool?

I've always seen it (rightly or wrongly) as a tool made by programmers for programmers who want to make/modify and image here and there, but I'd like to be shown to be wrong about this.

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

If you are looking to see if it has similar power to Photoshop without having to learn a new interface, try GimpShop [gimpshop.net], which is the GIMP with a Photoshop interface.

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

By the same token, don't assume that because The Gimp does something differently than Photoshop that it's a better way. Traditionally in image editors (and not just Photoshop), the brush icon does the bitmap painting and the pen does the vector drawing.

Without claiming that "the Gimp sucks" just because it's unfamiliar, I do think there's PLENTY of room for improvement in its interface (my opinion, based on screenshots and descriptions and admittedly never having used it).

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

I've used it to do professional compositing work and with three books in front of me I managed to make it do the job.

I would love to recommend it as a free tool to my friends that do this sort of work 45 hours a week. But I can't. Not due to any single missing feature but because Artists are not inherently computer-people. It's not just a list manipulators to them, it's a set of tools like pencils or brushes-in-the-hand that they have invested their thinking in. Until GIMP does a great emulation of an existing popular UI it would be a crime to put someone through that painful learning curve to save a couple days wages on a toolset that they don't already "think in."

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

Also, it's impossible to recommend a program called "GIMP" to anybody without sounding like a complete tool.

Honestly... Isn't it time somebody came up with a name for this app which can be spoken out loud in polite society???

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

Isn't it time somebody came up with a name for this app which can be spoken out loud in polite society???

Sure, such a name already exists: call it the "GNU Image Manipulation Program."

Glad I could help clear that up for you!

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

While I can buy the notion that The GIMP is suitable for many tasks that programmers might require, does anyone on here who considers him/herself first and foremost a designer use

Really? I tried to create myself a simple test image in GIMP and needed 5 tutorials to do anything. Sure I can do "burn marks" with a single button, but drawing a straight line requires a tutorial [gimp.org]. It may be powerful, but it is so unintuitive, and made me long for MSpaint.

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

If you're talking print, you'll probably find very few designers who use GIMP. But if you're talking artists and web designers, there are plenty. GIMP might lag on some features and tools that Photoshop has, but it's every bit as useful as Photoshop. I dropped Photoshop from my DTP business some years back when the costs were too much to justify and I don't believe in piracy. I haven't looked back since. GIMP can do everything that Photoshop can but in some cases might require the workaround skills you learned in Photoshop 3.x and up. Most of the timesaving features of the newest versions of Photoshop might be missing, but that doesn't mean you can't get the same output. The only issue remaining is print...

Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati

Disclaimer: I'm a fan of the GIMP and am extremely glad for it's existance.

I've used GIMP for some years and on the odd occassion have used it to do professional 2D work. While it is extremely powerful when used with knowledge, the core developers are a guarded and decidedly stubborn bunch with a penchant for ignoring basic feature requests from users that they feel might somehow 'threaten' their political differentiation against Photoshop. Of course they care very little to admit this overtly apparent and often discussed tendency.

As a result we are still stuck with an insane GUI windowing model whereby all palettes, brushes, dialogues, and main toolbar need to be *managed* as separate windows. This makes GIMP a very click-intensive application to use, and this is something that no RSI-fearing designer worth their weight in pixels would want to dance with.

Is it really such a demoralizing design concession that GIMP adopts the 1 parent window, many-child-window model that nearly every graphical application (including 3D modelers) use? Providing a toggleable full screen option (tricky in X I know) and the ability to quickly define which of your child-windows are visible would boost productivity with the GIMP (for most) a great deal (currently GIMP is really only as productive as Photoshop with a dual-screen setup - a luxury not all have). It would also aid those that want to transition from Photoshop - and there are many, believe it or not.

Frankly, although Inkscape is a vector graphics application, it's general interface model is light years ahead and GIMP should really take note. If you haven't tried it, you should. Inkscape is one very sensibly designed graphics application and is an absolute pleasure to use.

Furthermore, GIMP has bizarre and difficult keybinds in place for the most common operations. SHIFT-CTRL-A (note not the easier CTRL-SHIFT-A) to select nothing, and then depending on what window is in focus, it may simply not take at all. There is also counter-productive persistence in the tool-states. Should you have cropped an image with the crop tool and then click somewhere on the image, the crop tool dialogue will pop up again (very likely and annoyingly *on top* of the to-be-cropped area). Why not just go back to a default pointer tool after a tool operation? What are the chances I'm going to want to crop an image twice instead of do something else with it? This persistence leads to all sorts of back-tracking and I for one have never quite got used to it. There are several other gripes but one line more would qualify as a rant.

If I've spoken wrongly about GIMP, or am missing some fundamentals on it's use, please let me know about it.

Gimpshop!

I tried and failed a few times to get into GIMP, but the interface just wasn't doing it for me. I recently discovered Gimpshop, [plasticbugs.com] an elegant hack of GIMP which emulates the Photoshop interface. It's fantastic, I find it much more intuitive than plain GIMP, and I've even managed to use it to get a Photoshop-trained graphic design guru to explore FOSS with it.

Re:Gimpshop!

I find it much more intuitive than plain GIMP

I believe you meant to say:

I find it much more like photoshop than plain GIMP

Familiarity and intuitivity are not the same :-)

Re:Gimpshop!

"Have GIMP developers?"

Of course, do you think the GIMP devs created the worst UI ever made purely by luck? NO!

Re:Gimpshop!

Gimpshop really did hit the nail on the head in a powerful way. Let's face it; most amateur graphics artists are using a pirated copy of Photoshop. They'll continue to do so not only because it's the interface that they're familiar with, but also because the thousands if not millions of graphics tutorials in print and on the web assume the Photoshop interface. The issue is not introducing novices to the concepts of Layers and Color Correction, but rather transitioning the Photoshop savvy into the GIMP environment. Open source is software developed by the community for the community. But the problem is always that the development community isn't very interested in making it easy for the community at large to use said software.

Re:Gimpshop!

Open source is software developed by the community for the community. But the problem is always that the development community isn't very interested in making it easy for the community at large to use said software.

Which means... it's actually not "for the community," but for the developers who actually give it birth... since they're always going to be intimately familiar with it, and don't have to scratch their heads about an inscrutible UI. Making it for the user community would mean making their UI needs an important part of the effort - which isn't the case with the GIMP.

What's a tit-bit?

See review, then see subject.

Re:What's a tit-bit?

> What's a tit-bit?

Zed: Bring out the Gimp.
Maynard: But the Gimp's not installed.
Zed: Well, I guess you're gonna have to go compile it, won't you?

(a few minutes later)

Marsellus: What now? Well let me tell you what now. I'm gonna call a couple layer-usin' designers, who'll go to work on the source image here with a pair of plugins and a tit-bit.

Save tons of cash

One thing that will save you tons of cash when buying PS is to get a used/old stock PS 5.5 and just buy the upgrade. At aprox $275 CDN you'd have to be stupid not to take this route.

Photoshop Elements

Hmm, well, for those who think GIMP is too hard and Photoshop too expensive, there does exist an $80 version of Photoshop called Photoshop Elements.

Sometimes you can get a good discount with bundles for scanners or cameras or printers, too.

I figure the GIMP isn't the only player in the "low end" space. Of course if you are dedicated to free/OSS, you can feel free to ignore PE.

First Krita post

I like The GIMP and still use it most often for routine graphics stuff. However, I've recently come to love the direction Krita is going. A lot of it is personal preference, just as the single-window interface, but some of its features are very nice (like built-in CMYK, color management, a line drawing tool that works like you'd expect it to, and a file chooser that doesn't make me want to commit hari kari).

It's not perfect, and not quite yet a complete replacement for The GIMP, but it's close enough that I've started testing it on a regular basis. If you simply can't wrap your brain around GIMP, then it's probably worth your time to check out Krita.

Oh, for crying out loud...

"State of the art"? For web graphics, perhaps. In fact, for web graphics GIMP has quite a few nifty tricks up its sleeves.

But please don't pretend it's anything like a Photoshop competitor. It doesn't even compete with low-end professional tools like Corel Photopaint. Far from being "at a par with any other graphics suite in the market", for print work GIMP is no more "state of the art" than MS Paintbrush is. It can't even do trivial, bottom-of-the-range, entry-level stuff like simply working with CMYK images (no, the Seperate plugin is not a solution, or even the beginnings of a solution).

Let's not deceive ourselves here. GIMP is a great amateur tool for anyone whose needs begin and end with websites and cheap inkjet printers. But show me a professional who uses it, and I'll show you a professional who someone else has to clean up after before his work is any use to anyone.

Re:Oh, for crying out loud...

And Me too. I use Photoshop EVERY day to do images of ER diagrams, that are then written as Acrobat files. Does GIMP have the auto tool to allow me to batch together as many as 50 diagrams into one command of the tool and save myself time? Some of these diagrams are measured in FEET across, too.

I've been using Photoshop since version 2.3, when I actually bought a full blown copy. I recently upgraded to CS2. Still the leader of the pack. Upgrading was only about $100, so it didn't break the bank. I have one copy at work (company pays for that) and one at home - mine. And the big reason for Photoshop - compatibility with my scanners - which GIMP isn't.

I also managed to finally get a full blown copy of Acrobat, using a student discount. (Even as a working professional, I still have a current student ID at a local college). With the correct plug-in, I set up 9 hour runs from my case tool thru Acrobat. This by automating the process, including Photoshop and Acrobat. Let's see GIMP do that.

still waiting for GEGL and/or 48bpp support

I love GIMP, but I am still waiting for GEGL [gegl.org] and/or 48 bits per pixel [gnome.org] (16 bits per channel per pixel) support. I conduct scientific research and the thought of trowing away extra data to work in the 24 bits per pixel space is unnerving. I mean most digital cameras support 48bpp pictures now using the RAW format which is supported by linux.

Buying Photoshop

"But with its high price tag, buying Photoshop is akin to putting strain on your bank balance."

Which leaves me asking if this could be one of the most warezed applications ever. Photoshop is a must have for a lot of teenagers nowadays and since no one gives a shit about Photoshop Elements, I wonder how many actually buy it. Sure, I bought my own copy but even I started out with a cracked version because I simply couldn't afford it. Adobe knows it: it is better for them to let pirates copy their software rather than funding competitors like Paint Shop Pro and Gimp, which ultimately results in more competition. They might even turn out to buy Photoshop in the end when they can actually afford it - like I did.

The price of Photoshop is so steep that most people who get it don't even know if they want to use it as a serious tool or not. When I first got it, I only manipulated a few images. When I discovered that I had skills, I purchased the copy. Before that, if there was no pirated version whatsoever, I would NEVER consider buying Photoshop simply because it would seem like buying something I don't have enough time to evaluate.

All in all, Photoshop requires a year of evaluation. Amusing but true :)

Comparison Pricing:

Street prices:

Beginning Gimp (book) - $40

Photoshop Elements 4.0 (software) - $80

Note that Photoshop Elements includes a printed manual with tutorials, and extensive help files. Gimp does not.

this is a great book!

I've been reading and using this book for a few weeks. It's great!

One thing not mentioned in the review is how badly the open source community needed an updated gimp book. Gimp is already a mature open source project, and two books that came out a few years ago were long outdated.

The best thing about the book is the generous use of images to illustrate her points.. A Press did a fantastic job with layout and making it easy to find things.

I appreciate how the book reviewed a few basic points with general information. In short, this book has a little bit for everybody.

Where the Gimp really does excel.

First off let me just say that I've never used Adobe Photoshop so I can't speak to its features as compared to Gimp, but I can say that my wife uses Gimp for all of her photo editing needs. My wife is not a pro, yet. She does do some cool things with our photos, and I would say that Gimp is very competative with Photoshop Elements. (I have used this once.) My wife feels that the Gimp is superior to elements.

Just to point out a few things that make the Gimp great for your average user with a digital camera.

1) Most consumer digital cameras, including mine, use RGB color space and usually JPEG as storage. The Gimp does RGB so you can edit your photos. You are not creating original art for commercial printing as much as a derivative work based on your photos, as such my wife doesn't need CMYK.

2) The Gimp, in its attempt to lure creative types, has features that PS elements will not have for fear of poaching on full Photoshop teritory.

3) The Gimp is free. Let me just stress this. I am a student. My wife enjoys digital photo manipulation and digital scrapbooking. The Gimp meets all of our needs. My wife also is somewhat of a Gimp evangelist now on some of the digital scrapbooking forums where PS elements reigns supreme. I don't know how many converts she has, but she has received inquiries and is very outspoken on the economic advantages of a free program that gets the job done well.

That said, there are a few "rich ladies" (my wife's term) on the message boards who have the full Photoshop and expensive DSLR cameras. Some produce, by my wife's admission, spectacular photos and pages, but some others produce the highest resolution garbage you've ever seen. Often money cannot buy results.

I am very happy with the Gimp. It provides a creative outlet for my wife and doesn't break the bank. For editing your personal digital photo collection, I and my wife think it is a first rate piece of software.

What's wrong with the interface?

Everyone is whining about The Gimp's interface, and I can't see why. I like the interface. Could someone please tell me what is so horrible about it, 'cause I feel like I'm missing something here.

Re:BUYING Photoshop?

Officially, people DO buy windows... however, lots of people don't, and it suits Microsoft very well (however much they may "protest") for this situation to continue... after all, I'm pretty sure Microsoft would rather have someone running a pirated copy of windows than discovering the joys of Linux...

and I'm pretty sure Adobe enjoy this situation as well, as the ease with which people can get cracked copies of photoshop means fewer people are tempted to use The GIMP or other cheaper alternatives to PS.

Re:But what about the hand?

Middle click and drag. Those other buttons are there for something. Click the cross in the bottom right hand corner of an image window to scroll over a thumbnail.

This question always gets asked

This comes up in any discussion of GIMP, and has been answered many times. RAW isn't one image format, it is any proprietary unprocessed image data from a scanner or camera. Proprietary, that's the key word. GIMP, being free, can not afford to license the necessary file conversion software from the scanner and camera manufacturers, but every scanner and camera out there comes with software to convert its proprietary RAW format to TIFF or JPEG. Why would GIMP need to do this?