Join / Forgotten your password?
 
HomeFeaturesStoreForumsWikiWorkshopsJobsPortfolioGalleryEvents Members
 
> CGWiki Home       > Community Portal       > Current Events      > Recent Changes     > Random Page       > Join       > Support Forum       > Help     
 

Gimp

The GNU Image Manipulation Program is an open source 2D raster image editor suitable for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

The GIMP is usually compared with the very popular Adobe Photoshop. The Gimp can deal with 8 bits per channel, while Photoshop can deal with 16 bits per channel, with means that both are fit to work with regular RGB images, but Photoshop has the advantage when dealing with images with high dynamic range (HDR) images.

Apart from this very basic limitation, the GIMP is generally capable of performing the same tasks as the aforthmentioned closed source application, been their diferent interface approches their main subject of discrepancy among enthusiast users of both programs.

Akin to most Open Source software, the GIMP makes the effort to read Photoshop´s native image file format (PSD), while Photoshop will not read the GIMP`s native image file format. For more standarised formats, both applications can read the images written on the other program.

One of the critical limitations of the Gimp, namely the management of CYMK images can be circumvented by using Scribus (another open source program somewhat similar to Pagemaker to "postprocess" your Gimp files.

Finally if you have forked over the heavy cash to buy (if you have stollen it you are not coherent in your worldview, but then you are probably not the only one) the closed source alternative, it is still useful to learn enough Gimp to postprocess a Photoshop image and be able to provide à "reusable" image to your clients (particularly if they are open source users, but in all case it enables them to do minor monifications on you files (change a title or somesuch) without stealing closed source software.

[edit]

External Links

Gimp Homepage

This Article is a Stub - You can help CGSociety Wiki by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://wiki.cgsociety.org/index.php/Gimp"