Tweak GIMP To Be More Like Photoshop

I've tried most of this stuff before, but I still just can't leave Photoshop.

I just realized how ugly the GIMP logo is..

ADiSH

The issue with GIMP isn't the interface or extensibility. It's poorly optimized for hardware. It's fine if you're doing 72 dpi web graphics and making icons, but try loading an 24"x36" image at 1600 dpi and attempt to edit. It just won't do it. Most designers start a raster drawing at huge sizes (poster or larger) and then scale down to fit the media requirements. You can always shrink the image, you can't make it bigger without pixelating it.

Photoshop may be a memory hog, but it gets the job done. GIMP can run on limited resources, but when it hits it's limits, you're in for a looooooooong wait, which you'll spend praying that it won't crash.

For users who do light web design and occasional corrections on their photos, GIMP is great, but it is not a tool for professionals. Believe me, every photoshop user goes back to GIMP every 18 months hoping it's improved performance wise before shelling out another $600 for the next adobe upgrade. If it even got close to photoshop, the fact that it's free would make it the industry standard. But it's not, and there are good reasons for that.

I'm not knocking GIMP, it's a great program, but comparing it to photoshop is like comparing a GEO Metro to a Corvette.

@Jahdai Cintron: Agreed - Adobe pulled off what Microsoft couldn't: the irresistible draw toward proprietary software.

No matter how hard you try, you cannot make GIMP like Photoshop.

Travis Whitworth

what about typography. Is gimp any good?

markaduffy

@Jahdai Cintron: I definitely agree. I use Photoshop, InDesign, and Dreamweaver on a daily basis (guess what I do for a living..), and nothing beats the interoperability between these programs. But, that's why it costs money, and GIMP is free, so you certainly get what you pay for in this regard.

GIMP is okay for some things but honestly, it's just too clunky for anything serious. Luckily Photoshop Elements is good enough for most people.

So, I can't get the toolbars to anchor to the main gimp window by using the method described in tweak 6. When I right click the toolbar windows i get a simple restore, maximize, minimize options. I can't find any settings in the preference panel either. Any ideas how to anchor the windows?

thanks

slyfoxlp

@Travis Whitworth: Ya GIMP is better oh and free. There is no reason for photoshop to be 600$!

@slyfoxlp: That's not a gimp option, that's a gnome/kde/etc option. Gimp has this feature though in Edit>Preferences>Window Management>Hint for (x). Change that dropdown box to Utility window, and it will stay on top, and gimp will run in just one taskbar item. (Not counting popups.)

tatsuyame

@dmtofree:
I would think many would disagree with that statement.
The fact that the 600$ seems overpriced to you gives me a feeling you don't actually need everything Photoshop does.
If you think it is overpriced, just buy Photoshop Elements, has the core of Photoshop without the bits that make Photoshop worth that 600$

Fain

Why?

penguiniator

@ADiSH: I change the icon with something from iconfactory.com. Looks like a crying baby dinosaur, and makes me actually think "gimp" when I look at it because its so gimpy and cute.

alteran1

@ADiSH: I don't understand why programs use ugly logos on purpose. GIMP and VLC are great open source softwares, but have some of the crappiest logos I've ever seen.

The one thing that I always need is the GIMP Save For Web plug-in. There's a .deb file on getdeb.net for Ubuntu users and a tarball on the official gimp plugin site. Keeping the toolbars from disappearing behind the main window is definitely a trick worth learning as well.

zoomZAP

@penguiniator: Because open source is not a religion for everyone, and Photoshop is an excellent and well-designed program.

mye

@mye: What does religion have to do with it?

Item 6: Anchor Windows, for instance, I find infuriating. It just keeps the toolbox in my way. I don't call that well-designed. Fortunately, I don't have to put up with it, because GIMP and my desktop environment are both very configurable. Oh well, I guess its just an open source thing.

Sorry, gotta go. Almost late for Sunday worship.

penguiniator

@deanhatescoffee: And they don't even make sense

Angry Numismatist

@Jahdai Cintron: It seems to me like the biggest problem about GIMP isn't all the obscure functions that are in Photoshop and not in GIMP that I never use, but rather the functions that I use daily that;
A) don't act the same/are named a different way?
B) have different shortcuts

Saving time is the key in being productive. If I'm caught peeking at every menu for an option, i'm not productive anymore.

As meatee said, GIMP does not integrated with InDesign or Dreamweaver too, so once again you're wasting time.

The article seems good for Photoshop beginners (which probably shouldn't be using Photoshop if it only takes them 8 steps and 5 minutes to be content with GIMP) but intermediate and advanced users will not find this very useful. Besides, GIMP just isn't robust enough when you're talking about performance and versatility.

polobunny

@Angry Numismatist: Inorite. Wtf does a traffic cone have to do with a media player?

tatsuyame

@polobunny: Shortcuts are fully configurable in Gimp, for every action you can do I believe.

And in response to all the Gimp hate in these comments:
There's no need for it here. Yes, Gimp isn't level with Photoshop. We get it. Gimp is very very useful to people who have patience, and who aren't willing to shell out major bucks when they don't work in a professional art field (where they probably wouldn't have to pay for the programs anyway).
/minirant

tatsuyame

@ADiSH: LOL, the Gimp logo sits in the same boat as Pidgin. Weird, but they kind of work.

@bachya: Fantastic comment.

@Jason Barone: Pidgin's makes sense. It's a pigeon. But is Wilber physically disabled?

tatsuyame

Reading the replies and I suddenly realize: omg, these people are still talking about *print*. Then I had to wait quite a while for my giggling to die down.

As for making Gimp work like Photoshop: I have vivid, painful memories of learning the Photoshop interface, which is almost perversely arbitrary and arcane. Maybe some of it makes sense if you came out of the print world, but for those of us in the 21stc it has something greater than 50% opacity.

I'll take my Gimp neat, thanks. And you can park Photoshop right over there, next to the Linotype.

(yes I know it's still widely used; so are Ford F150s, but that doesn't mean either has a bright future)

sknox

@vlatro: Isn't the point of rasterizing the fact it doesn't matter to/from which size you go? And a crowded poster definitely will not look well done business card size. I don't know, I always start with my intended resultant size.

SamLovesTacos

@tatsuyame: Wait, Photoshop costs money? Here I am, using it all this time without knowing this.

@arienh4: I set myself up for that one.

tatsuyame

@Fain: Or, you know, s/he simply can't afford the damn thing. Some of us need the functions - either for work or hobby purposes - but don't have the money. It's not a question of need, it's a question of funds.

I'm sick and tired of people thinking all of us have the same income. We don't. Salaries aren't equal, and some people are simply at the bottom of the charts. That doesn't mean their needs are smaller or not worthy of attention.

krank23

@krank23: I agree. I've used Photoshop, and I like it. It's an amazingly powerful program, and while I don't need it for my digital art, as it's a hobby, I would greatly love having it. I can't justify spending $600 on a program when I can barely make ends meet as it is. It is extremely overpriced for me. I just make do with freeware programs and take about 3 times as long to do anything.

GimPhoto is an impressive conversion of GIMP into a Photoshop-like app for Windows and Linux (no Mac version): [www.gimphoto.com]

If that doesn't work for you, give Artweaver a shot:
[www.artweaver.de]

Paint.NET could be brilliant if not for the lack of soft-edged brushes (i.e. ones that don't look like MacPaint). There's a ridiculous workaround requiring three layers to simulate the effect:
[paintdotnet.forumer.com]

@SamLovesTacos: I think that you've confused rasterization with vectorization. Bitmaps are raster, AutoCAD or Illustrator produce vector graphics. Vector doesn't care what size sheet you start with, while raster graphics degrade when expanded.

rallen71366

@polobunny: Exactly! There are more of first time Photoshop users who wants to switch to GIMP rather than those starting with GIMP. In such case shorcuts not working as expected is a show stopper. There is this inertia is switching the software. A large number of people (mostly web designers) don't use Photoshop to its full potential and GIMP will do their job absolutely fine. If there was a setup which will get us same shortcuts and toolname as in Photoshop, people will find it easy to switch. I believe its possible with the super extensible GIMP.

SharmilaKosovar

I'm surprised there is no mention of Pixelmator. For $59, you get much of Photoshop's functionality without struggling with GIMP's interface.

SterlingRubonius

@Fain: The GIMP might not compare to Photoshop, but it is *surely* better than Elements

VerdaEurodork

@bachya: I am pretty drawn to Microsoft products. Xbox 360 despite its quality is also very popular, Windows... Adobe has received more flak for being bloated and unstable than Microsoft. Most browser crashes casued by Flash, Adobe reader (up until now) was quite slow. It still comes bundled with Air and Adobe.com....

AlvinaMyrrha

well, since no one said it till now. I use gimp professionally and it changed my life. Ps taught all the wrong things to people and now they think that the adobe way of thinking images is the only (and best) one. Ps is indeed a great software, but for me, far worst than gimp. I think that is better than to say "it's good, just not professional". People are professional, not softwares. I just hope that someday everybody realizes that and stop the nonsense. best of luck to you all. eduardo damasceno http://richguard.deviantart.com

PierceChimpanzee

@vlatro: Yes, it will degrade as you enlarge it, but it will also lose quality when you shrink it-- albeit less noticeably.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Gimp doesn't support tablets well at all (no pressure sensitivity, no understanding of the different ends of the pen, etc).

If you're a professional designer, you probably use a tablet and need pressure sensitivity... I used to recommend Gimp for people who don't have photoshop, until I found paint.net-- which is still not Photoshop, but it does what Gimp can do better (useful for cropping and resizing and rotating mostly).

@tatsuyame:
Very Large Cone?

PsychedelicsSquid

@VerdaEurodork:
It is a fallacy to assume that Photoshop Elements is a crippled version of Photoshop. To quote, well, myself:
"Elements isn't, as assumed, merely a neutered version of Photoshop, punted out to the less geeky pixel pushers out there. It's more a consumer-friendly reworking of the pro application".
read my review of it here:
[www.helluva.co.uk]
It is actually a stunning piece of software that probably 99% of the people using Photoshop illegally, (or the GIMP because they think that the $600 version is the only option) would find completely addresses their needs - and then some.
Plus, you can now get it bundled with Adobe Premiere Elements for about 60-70 quid (about $100) so it's a bargain all round.

Disclosure That link goes to a review written by me on my own website, but it is pertinent to the thread.

@Maffu:
Oops, sorry the link should have been:[www.helluva.co.uk]

Sorry

Actually I just installed the latest version of Gimp on my tablet pc. It does appear to support pressure sensitivity when I tried it out. Not sure how well it does because I havn't had a good chance to play around with it but it definitely works at the basic level.

Daniel M Guenter

@markaduffy:
In my experience no - the type engine is clunky and counter-intuitive. No editing in-situ, Edits are done in a box and must then be committed to see the result. It's one of the things that makes me weep every time I try to use Gimp.
If they could fix just that much I would possibly use it more.

Why not just use GIMPshop?

[www.gimpshop.com]

Photoshop has a paid, dedicated team of developers behind it, GIMP is developed and maintained by a bunch of programmers in their spare time. Trying to compare the two is completely unfair. Photoshop should get recognition for becoming an industry standard, GIMP should get recognition for coming as far as it has for being free and open source. The two were never meant to compete with each other, and to the developers GIMP was never envisioned as becoming a Photoshop replacement(and they don't plan to try and make it one). They're both great programs, they both have their strong and weak points.

Brandon Terrill

Photoshop is overkill for my needs, hence I use Paintshop Pro (ATM version 9). Most of the features of Photoshop, for only around 10% of the price.

I find the GIMP's UI to be downright impractical, its handling of text styles to be a PITA and in general to be nearly impossible to use without RTFM, something I never had to do with PSP or PS other than for the more complex subjects, like masks or colour channels.

@LukeTeaford: i do all my technical drawings at large scale and shrink them down for different media. that said, if i included necessary detail that i'd lose by shrinking, i'm doing it wrong

@vlatro: Got it, I was confused with vectorization and rasterization. Thanks for setting me straight.

SamLovesTacos

@LukeTeaford: Gimp has full tablet support for me.

tatsuyame

I've tried more than once to tweak gimp into a usable program. I find myself googling for hours trying to do really basic changes. The problem is it was written for programmers without any regard to how humans actually use it. They need to take the back end code, and start over with a new interface, enlisting some help from people that care.

sunflower

For those complaining about gimp's UI: Have you actually set it up in a manner similar to photoshop? Like, is this: [gimp.org]
not photoshoppy enough? Or is there something else with the UI that isn't liked?

tatsuyame

@sunflower: What exactly is unusable for you?

tatsuyame

@Maffu: "Edits are done in a box and must then be committed to see the result."

Text for me shows up in real time as I type :/

tatsuyame

@PsychedelicsSquid: Hocrap, is that really it?

tatsuyame

gimp is awesome... i've used it a billion times...

@tatsuyame: I doubt it, just something my head came up with when I saw the icon

PsychedelicsSquid

@tatsuyame: So there's no way to have the toolbars to stay within the main application windows like in every other windows application? I already have the hint manager set to utility windows, but thanks for that tip.

slyfoxlp

@slyfoxlp: Well, not unless you just leave gimp maximized, which I essentially do anyway. I mean, do you run PS in a small window? I usually see it always maximized. But yeah, the panels still float around even with that little fix. I find that a plus, but I see how it can be annoying.

tatsuyame

@spundot.com: I gave up on Gimp long ago in favor of Artweaver. My need to get stuff done finally won out on my need to show off how cool I was.

But ... GIMP is NOT photoshop. How about just using GIMP as GIMP.

This is like trying to get Linux to look and act like Windows because you like Windows. Uhhhhhh... How about just use Windows?

Oh, because you have to PAY? Beggars can't be choosers...

(I apologize for my mood. Honest.)

nobodyzhome

@LukeTeaford: and Gimp does more things better for me (but it's still not Photoshop). Does paint.net even have layer masks or a healing brush yet? I haven't looked at it in a year or so.

Easier for my dad to use != better.

corneliuscrab

@tatsuyame:
Odd. What platform are you using?
Perhaps it is because I use Gimp on a Ubuntu machine. Either that or I've missed something spectacular in the setup.

@PsychedelicsSquid: There is nothing un-awesome about this post.

Andrew Mussey

@sciencetext:
I actually tried to use gimpshop on my Mac but it would crash upon loading. (Yes, I do have X11.) And I thought that I'd have an alternative to Photoshop.

aaldaba1

Last time I used Gimp, there was no metadata editor. In fact, Gimp stripped out all metadata, both EXIF and IPTC, of any file edited. That's a deal-breaker for me.

ChadAegyptus

@tatsuyame: Can you post a link describing how to set up GIMP like that? (it'd be a lot more helpful of you)

ShyamaLabdacus

@ADiSH: How about how ugly the name (GIMP) is... it's embarrassing.

@ShyamaLabdacus: It's actually just the main Gimp image window maximized, with the other panels presumably set to "utility window" so they always stay on top. [Gimp has this feature though in Edit>Preferences>Window Management>Hint for (x). Change that dropdown box to Utility window, and it will stay on top, and gimp will run in just one taskbar item.]

The tool panel (technically called a dialog I believe) has just been resized so that only two icons fit per row.

tatsuyame

@ADiSH: I must be in the minority. I think the logo is cute.

Now VLC, that one is just plain stupid. That's too bad too because VLC rocks, otherwise.

magnoliasouth