Thursday, December 15, 2011

Why Most People Think Photoshop is Better than Gimp (And Why This is Not True.)

Gimp is a wonderful program that can truly do almost everything Photoshop can do (and the program is getting a big update early 2012 that will make it a lot better.)  So if Gimp is just as good as Photoshop, then why isn't the content shown online about the same?

To truly understand why finding good Gimp art is more difficult than finding good Photoshop art, you must first take a look at the respective communities.

A Little About Gimp

Gimp is an open-source program with a majority community of programmers, Open-Source lovers, and amateurs.  Therefore, the majority of the content made from gimp is what a programmer likes to do - make programs, and automated scripts that will create general Photo effects to a photo.  I have seen results from Gimp communities that are applauded by the Gimp community but would be completely detested by the Photoshop community.

A Little About Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a program with a majority community of professionals, and artists, simply because this is what program these people used when they went to college.  Therefore, the majority of the content made from Photoshop turns out to be beautiful works of art, and absolutely incredible pieces of work that often stuns and puts us in awe.  Photoshop content is a generally a reflection of what an artist likes to do - make beautiful art.
In conclusion, don't assume bad things of Gimp because of the content that you see online isn't as good as the Photoshop content you see online because it's not the program that creates the result, but the person telling the program what to do.

If you're looking for some beautiful Gimp art check out Griatch.  He does some incredible work with Gimp.
David Revoy also does some incredible work with nothing but open source software (including gimp.)

Related Posts:
3 great sources for learning how to use gimp for digital art.
4 tools every photo editor should know about.

 

6 comments:

  1. I am a tagger, which means I make digital signatures using tubes, scrap kits, etc. I make all of mine in Gimp & compete against people who use Photoshop. Paint Shop Pro & Animation Shop. Mine are not on scale in many ways since some of these people have been doing this for over 15 years, but I am definitely able to hold my own :)

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  2. That's awesome Tags. Thanks for sharing this.

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  3. We use GIMP exclusively for our photography at http://www.schroedervision.com

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  4. IMAO

    First off, let me say i'm a huge FOSS fan and a Digital Arts and Sciences student and Clarkson University. GIMP is a great program for basic use, and is gaining many features in the future. It gets the job done, just not as well as photoshop.

    Why Photoshop is better than gimp:

    - Non-Destructive Editing
    Adjust photo effects and vector fills and strokes at any point after applying them. This also allows their to be multiple objects on a single layer
    - Photoshop Compatibility and Integration
    Like it or not Photoshop is the norm. Well Gimp can open PSD, good luck switching freely between the two. Photoshop also integrates better with Adobe's other tools.
    - Native CMYK
    important when printing
    - 8, 16, and 32 bit colors
    It can handle a greater range of colors. Important for professional work.
    - Better typography manipulation
    Its far easier to manipulate typography
    - Faster
    For whatever reason, Photoshop typically handles large photos better.

    Keep in mind:

    - Scripting
    Gimp and Photoshop go about this differently, neither is better
    - UI
    Again, this is preference
    - Maturity
    Photoshop has matured more, and thus has more ui options, odd features, and polish.
    - Filters
    They have different filters and effects

    Like others have said, a lot of it is about how your using the software. IMAO basic photo editors are best for touching up and cropping photos, GIMP is best for general basic image editing, and Photoshop is best for people who need a powerful editor.

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    1. FYI gimp can do *professional* work as well, both programs are great nither ARE THE BEST sadly people has failed to get this through their skull...making photoshop best because has more tools on it? sorry i have to laugh at that, listen no one can not tell which program did what..for example..signature making (Tags) if you take the same tag..one made by gimp the other by Photoshop..i bit you cant tekll any diff...can you? i'll let that one for you to answer.

      another thing GIMP also better graphics as well..not just photoshop..and gimp isnt your *basic* program by anymeans...i used photoshop for 4 years and let me tell you this..its not all that cracked upo to be, it lost its fun factor...not user friendly and the buttons are stupidty small compared to gimp, lets not forget photoshop lost its *it* factor as well.

      what IS fact...the reason people say photoshop is BEST is....BY THEIR NAME...everyone alwys go for the name brand than a free software that basicly do the same things as photoshop...the go by the name brand of the product...if its NOT photoshop...everything else sucks...thats their thinking and yours.

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  5. If GIMP is so bad, then I urge you to come check out the Open Source Photography community in Google+. The work some people are producing, is just amazing.

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/110647644928874455108

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About Me

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I teach people how to use gimp with gimp video tutorials, as well as gimp text tutorials. I also work with Photographers by offering photo-editing services.