stuck with GIMP.. some questions

[JParrilla]

So my windows vista crashed and I cant afford to get another cd. Its too expensive to have it fixed right now for me so Im forced to use linux. As you know GIMP is basically the best painting software Linux has to offer. What Im curious about is whether or not a realistic painting can be done in GIMP. I know its not the tool but the artist that determines this, but I have never seen a realistic painting done in GIMP before.. so Im thinking maybe the capabilities dont allow it to produce anything more than a cartoony colored look. Im basically a beginner to digital painting, I used photoshop previously. So can anyone help me out or maybe show me some GIMP work that rivals Photoshop/Painter?

[HunterKiller_]

uk2sPl_Z7ZU

[courtyard]

Hi biggjoee5790--I've just started working in digital, so not a very good example, but all of the digital stuff in my sketchbook is done in Gimp. I've gotten to the point where I really like it now...it just takes some getting used to. If you have a tablet, the program has pretty extensive pressure-sensitive settings. You can easily adjust the shortcuts to match those of Photoshop, too. Hope that helps.

[Elwell]

The biggest difference from a digital painting standpoint is Photoshop's brush engine, but that wasn't introduced until PS7, and people were doing amazing work long before then.

[courtyard]

Good point, and one that slipped my mind...that's the only "problem" that I've run up against so far.

[JParrilla]

thanks so much guys
Elwell : what exactly do you mean by the brush engine?
Courtyard : Are all your digitals done in GIMP? very impressive

[~Faust~]

I switched from the photoshop-program years ago... dunno, I think GIMP does just fine for beginners. I'll learn how to use fancy filters, custom brushes and textures as soon as I know how to paint.

[courtyard]

Hi...yes, all done in Gimp. I don't know how impressive they are, but it's a start! I think Faust makes a good point, too...I think if I had access to fancy filters and brushes, it might actually be an impediment as a beginner since I'd probably just be using them to mask my shortcomings. Good luck with it and give me a shout if you have any questions.

Oh, one more thing--Gimp can be really grumpy about recognizing your tablet as a pressure-sensitive device if you've unplugged it and plug it in again. Restarting my computer has resolved this issue every time, but it's a bit of a pain. Also, be sure to start up Gimp using your pen and squiggle it around while the program is loading...if I don't do that, Gimp crashes. :D

[Elwell]

thanks so much guys
Elwell : what exactly do you mean by the brush engine?

The brush system introduced in PS7 is much more flexible and customizable than that in previous versions. Many of those features are missing in GIMP. But like I said, people were doing fine digital paintings without them.

[~Faust~]

Oh, one more thing--Gimp can be really grumpy about recognizing your tablet as a pressure-sensitive device if you've unplugged it and plug it in again. Restarting my computer has resolved this issue every time, but it's a bit of a pain.

Restarting the X-server is really all you need (ctrl,alt & backspace) no need to restart the whole OS.

[JParrilla]

Courtyard Thanks for the advice.. Ill shoot you a PM if I have any other questions

Elwell I see what you mean now, after all im a beginner so I shouldnt even notice. Thanks man

Faust Gotcha.. thanks

[courtyard]

Hey Faust...I'm using Windows (Vista). Do you know if there is a simple workaround in my situation? Thanks!

[Not Pink]

here's a guide I used to turn GIMP into photoshop:
It works pretty well when I'm stuck on linux or to lazy to reboot into OSX or windows 7 (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/03/8-handy-tweaks-to-make-gimp-replace-photoshop/)

[~Faust~]

Hey Faust...I'm using Windows (Vista). Do you know if there is a simple workaround in my situation? Thanks!

Sry, man. I never had Vista, I switched to Linux from XP. AFAIK, restarting is the only opton there, it was with XP anyways.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Friend of mine just linked this to me today (because he likes GIMP more): Handy Tweaks to Make GIMP Replace Photoshop. (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/03/8-handy-tweaks-to-make-gimp-replace-photoshop/)

[JParrilla]

thanks for the links guys!

[arttorney]

I don't have any crashing problems (using GIMP with a Linux OS). When I'm zoomed out my cursor is a little jiggly, but it is exact when I am zoomed in close. Your biggest immediate problem will be the weak package of brushes that comes with the GIMP as you first get it. There is a custom brush tutorial on the gimp.org that will allow you to fix up your own brushes, (though you can go get somebody else's brushes if you want).

You just need to mess around with it for a little bit, because it doesn't do everything the same way Photoshop does. At least with Linux you probably have at least two virtual desktops so you can open the GIMP in one desktop and go to the tutorials at gimp.org in the other desktop and then bounce back and forth following along with the tutorials. I wish I had more time for it because image pipes, perl, and script fu look like they could get pretty fancy if you knew what you were doing.

[d-woo]

uk2sPl_Z7ZU

Damn, got to it before I did...

[Farvus]

GIMP has alternatives for most of Photoshop's tools. I could switch to this program but what mainly discouraged me was:

Horrible performance - I don't know how it works on other computers but on mine there is extreme lag when using even the smallest brushes with big spacing + smallest possible image size + one layer. I'm unable to work when I have to wait for every brustroke to appear on the screen. I can't even imagine how slow it would be with image resolution for print and maybe ten layers.

Lack of adjustment layers - this is something I use a lot in Photoshop. Very useful thing for keeping everything under control.

Brush resizing - it's really annoying when I want to resize brush tip with keyboard.

[JParrilla]

Hey Farvus.. yea I do get some lag but only when using large brushes.. Which is weird cause Im on a AMD dual core Laptop with 4 gigs of ram and a decent video card. What do you mean by brush resizing? I can resize just fine by using the bracket keys on the keyboard. Is that not what you normally use? I used those in photoshop as well

[Farvus]

Yes. I use bracket keys on keyboard too. In Photoshop though the brush sizes are spaced well enough so I can hit key just few times to get something big enough for covering whole canvas. In GIMP it doesn't work that fast and smooth. Of course it's a minor thing. The main problem is that terrible lag. I get it with any brushes.

[JParrilla]

Ahh I see.. ya the lag would be a huge issue if you get it with every brush size