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.

 

Photo Study: Road to Nowhere by Petera Oldeman

This photo is incredible.  The ominous feel that the fog and the color bring to the image just throw it over the top.  The curvy road makes the photo exciting.

If you can, try to imagine what this photo looked like before it's edits.  Now, try to think about when, where, and how the photo was taken.  Based on the shadows and the fog, it's pretty obvious this was taken early in the morning.  Odds are pretty good it was taken using a tripod or a monopod.
As I stare at the photo more, I ask myself "If I were to make the fog using GIMP, how would I do that?"  "How did they get that sepia tone?" and also "did they make exposure adjustments using gimp to bring out a bit of extra contrast in the grass and the road?  If so, what would be the best method of duplicating that in GIMP?  The curves tool?  an Overlay with a grayscale copy of the layer?"  There are several different ways to do the same thing, but all tools work a little differently.  You have to think about all of the possibilities.
This my friends, this is how you learn how to edit photos with Gimp.
The original photo can be seen here

Gimpday is near!

Neat! Mahvin drew this in Gimp for the upcoming #gimpday celebration. We're celebrating wilber's birthday on November 21'st - check out this page for more info on the celebrations: http://www.gimpchat.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2548

How to learn gimp from photos

Earlier I talked a bit about how cool the post processing of the Harry Potter DVD art is. I figured I'd upload a video to show you guys what I'm talking about.

PS: the exclusive gimp tutorial videos I mention in the video can be obtained by subscribing here: http://eepurl.com/gECIH

Photo-Editing Contest

PSDTuts+ is hosting a contest in celebration of their new PhotoDune service.  They say that they will select 3 winners for this competition, and here are the prizes:

• 1st Place will win $100 in PhotoDune Credits and a 1-year premium membership to Tuts+.
• 2nd Place will win $75 in PhotoDune Credits.
• 3rd Place will receive an Envato t-shirt.

PSD Tuts+ said this: "Your task is to use at least one of the three images below to create a photo manipulation. You are free to combine these images with assets available on the web or in your personal collection. We will judge your entries based on their creativity, execution, and by how many of the below images that you use."

The best part is this - nowhere in the blog post do they say you have to use Photoshop which to me means that I am free to use GIMP to create my entry. I've already got ideas flowing like crazy, and can't wait to enter. Are you entering?  If you need some help using Gimp, feel free to check out my Gimp Tutorials if you haven't already.

Click here to see the tutorial details.