Image Editing Software

[Trobby]

So...I've got Illustrator and Inkscape here on my computer. They're nice. They're good for creating art and stuff, drawing with simple lines and whatnot. That's good. I like that.

But...I'm starting to miss Photoshop. My old computer had an old version of it, and it was great for cleaning up the white space on most images and putting together image-cropped art. Even paint used to be pretty good at that...though unfortunately, the current iteration on Windows 7 is not so great at cropping as the old one was, and nowhere near as good as Photoshop.

So...I think I need something new. Something cheap-as-free. Which is why I'm asking you, playgrounders of great wisdom, where I can find a good alternative to Photoshop.

My requirements for this software are:

-An equivalent to "Magic wand" to help clear images of unwanted junk colors.
-A "Lasso" tool for selecting specific parts of the image.
-A Gradient tool for creating special effects.
-A transparency tool for creating convincing layers.
-LAYERS for creating multi-layered images.

So...is there any tool out there that is particularly good for this kind of work? I've heard good things about Paint.Net, but if there's anything else you can recommend, I'd be happy for the help.

[Dogmantra]

The GIMP

[Anima]

GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/), it's a great image manipulation program, that's comparable to Photoshop.

[frogspawner]

Don't know if it's what you want, but I've always found IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) to have really useful features (usually buried away though, so you have to look hard for them). But it's free!

[Dallas-Dakota]

Ofcourse Photoshop is best but...

Seconding GIMP, I've always found Irfanveiw to be a tad too deep/complicated.


Yesterday I found this nifty free program called Sumo Paint (http://www.sumopaint.com/home/), it has all your requirements and more, and I just started experimenting(with no guide) yesterday.

[Trobby]

Oohh...Gimp, you say? I have heard good things...I shall try Gimp! Thanks all. :smallwink:

[Deadly]

Gimp is crap, especially if you're used to Photoshop. Or at least that's my opinion, which may or may not count for much. I hear they are working on it, but I've been hearing that for a few years and still haven't seen any sign of it actually happening.

I use Gimp only for cropping, and even for that I'm starting to think Inkscape may be worth using instead. And that's saying something because Inkscape is about as bad as it gets for cropping.

[thubby]

paint.net is pretty bare bones but can do what you're after.

[Trobby]

Gimp is crap, especially if you're used to Photoshop. Or at least that my oppinion, which may or may not count for much. I hear they are working on it, but I've been hearing that for a few years and still haven't seen any sign of it actually happening.

I use Gimp only for cropping, and even for that I'm starting to think Inkscape may be worth using instead. And that's saying something because Inkscape is about as bad as it gets for cropping.

Interesting...why exactly is GIMP so bad? The only thing I'm really having an issue with so far is the yellow box around my pasted-in image that seems to refuse allowing me to drag any part of the image out of it, lest the image be devoured by the surrounding space.

Probably just need to mess with the layers to fix that though...

Yeah...the only real problem I have so far is that the tool boxes seem uncomfortably close to the work space.

And since I'm trying out GIMP, the first thing I should try is to do a really bad "photoshop" job. so ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce...THE DOUBLE GUN!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/Introbulus/DoubleGun.png
Emphasis on "Bad Photoshop job".
Because, you see, two is a much bigger number than one. :smallbiggrin:

[Deadly]

Interesting...why exactly is GIMP so bad?

Mostly has to do with the interface, windows and menus. It's a mess and very annoying to work with. Or I think it is, I've never been able to get used to it even when I make an honest effort to give it a chance.

The yellow box you mention, if its the same thing I think of, certainly is a bother too. If nothing else it looks terrible and makes it slighty difficult to see details at the edge of an image.

I also think the whole thing looks... amateurish, is that the proper word? I just can't stand to look at it, really. But that's more of an aesthetic problem than a technical one, and arguably not very important (except to people like me who tend to think aesthetics is more important than function).

But surely if you have no problem with it and it does what you need, I shall shut up and let you continue with it :)

[Trobby]

Heh...well I agree with you on all fronts, actually. ^^; The interface is anything but user-friendly so far, with tool bars that are insanely annoying and aggravating rules for interface that have to be learned in order to do anything, and I've only used it once so far! ^^; And I agree that it does look like a very...amateurish tool, not the sort of polished software that I would use for a larger project certainly.

It works though...and it's free. And it's not like I have to keep using it for everything I do. ^^; So I can live with it for now. Thanks for the warning though. ^^;

[Deadly]

You're welcome :D I like venting my dislike of things for no good reason.