News Free, open-source Photoshop alternative finally enters release candidate testing after 20 years — the transition from GIMP 2.x to GIMP 3.0 took two...

PNG quality isn't due to lack of compression. The quality comes from lack of lossy compression. Some image formats, such as JPEG, attain compression with loss.

Both PNG and JPEG are bitmap graphics, and will suffer from scaling. SVG is wonderful as it is neither lossy nor does it suffer in scaling! Imagine puppies wagging their tails...
 
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What GIMP really needs to do, and I say this as someone who has tried to make it work for me on many occasions, is to copy the Photoshop general interface. Anyone who has used Photoshop and then tries GIMP will, almost certainly, struggle to adapt for ages. Even when you basically know what you're doing, GIMP's interface still feels like it's fighting me.

Adobe can't copyright keyboard shortcuts and the default presentation. So use it, please, and GIMP would become so much more useful. Also, it would need an AI-based "context aware" fill, because that's 95% of what I need from Photoshop these days.
 

Math Geek

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i think that was my luck in that i'd never really used photoshop. i just needed to manipulate pics and create and knew gimp was free and powerful :)

that's one thing libreoffice does right is how it looks so much like MS office and is very easy to use if you are familiar like most people are with MS products.

so yah GIMP could def learn from that to make it an easier transition.
 

USAFRet

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i think that was my luck in that i'd never really used photoshop. i just needed to manipulate pics and create and knew gimp was free and powerful :)

that's one thing libreoffice does right is how it looks so much like MS office and is very easy to use if you are familiar like most people are with MS products.

so yah GIMP could def learn from that to make it an easier transition.
If you're not doing it as a paid gig, and if your employer is not paying for it....you do not need actual "Photoshop".

The other free or low cost alternatives are just fine.

My primary is Paintshop Pro. Been using that since last century.
Given discounts, maybe $35.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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My primary is Paintshop Pro. Been using that since last century.
Given discounts, maybe $35.
How does Corel PaintShop Pro (Latest or whatever version you're using) compare with PhotoShop?

The one thing I really like about Corel is that "Subscription Model" is OPTIONAL with no plans on forcing it on everybody, you can still buy to own in perpetuity.

That and I'm a big fan of Corel's software suites in general.
 

USAFRet

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How does Corel PaintShop Pro (Latest or whatever version you're using) compare with PhotoShop?

The one thing I really like about Corel is that "Subscription Model" is OPTIONAL with no plans on forcing it on everybody, you can still buy to own in perpetuity.

That and I'm a big fan of Corel's software suites in general.
I have actual Photoshop at work, paid for by the organization. I am "the graphics guy" among our dev team.

Its ONLY benefit (that I see) over Paintshop Pro is the seamless integration across all of its tools.
A photo can go into Illustrator and go into Premier, etc, etc, etc....

For non=professional use? Paintshop Pro all the way.
AND, you can use Photoshop scripts and actions directly in Paintshop Pro.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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Its ONLY benefit (that I see) over Paintshop Pro is the seamless integration across all of its tools.
A photo can go into Illustrator and go into Premier, etc, etc, etc....

For non=professional use? Paintshop Pro all the way.
AND, you can use Photoshop scripts and actions directly in Paintshop Pro.
From what I can remember, Corel's integration also works seamlessly across it's own software line.

But you would expect that out of products made from the same company that have been iterated on to the nth Degree, and Corel is on the 2024 edition now with annual releases.
 

USAFRet

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From what I can remember, Corel's integration also works seamlessly across it's own software line.

But you would expect that out of products made from the same company that have been iterated on to the nth Degree, and Corel is on the 2024 edition now with annual releases.
Currently, I'm on Paintshop Pro 2021, and Video Studio 2020.
Considering upgrading both.

i25M0vp.png
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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Exactly.

That $35 or $80 is several years of use.
Would carry me to at least 2030.
It makes you wonder, MS recently reversed the decision on discontinuing the individual perpetual releases of MS Office and has released MS Office 2024.

Maybe they finally realized that a giant chunk of their customer base "HATES SUBSCRIPTIONS".

And they didn't want to needlessly cede marketshare to their competitors by not offering Perpetual Licensed versions that they can easily make $ off of.
 

Kamen Rider Blade

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GIMP is somehow not helping FOSS because it's one of these projects that make FOSS alternatives look bad.
Krita is a painting application.
Not photo manipulation.

Krita is an alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

Why can't both exist within the FOSS community?
Each one has a specialty that it focuses on and competes with Commercial Software.

GIMP vs Adobe PhotoShop
Krita vs Adobe Illustrator.

They can both co-exist peacefully, it doesn't have to be a smearing contest between camps.
 

Rokinamerica

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the Corel stuff is on humble bundle all the time. for instance you can get Pro and a bunch of extra stuff for $30 right now

I was able to get Paintshop Pro in a 2 item bundle for $1. I will try it out and if I like it, I will go back to buy some other bundle of software and give them $30 since it said a percent goes to charity.

Never saw the site before, but if legit, looks like some great deals could be had, as well as doing something good at the same time.