There’s no doubt that Adobe Photoshop is a great image editing software program. And you may find numerous softwares for creating and editing images. Many such softwares need installation, product key and upgradation. For those who can’t afford up to
hundreds of dollars or more to buy such high-priced and closed-source software programs, we’ve come up with an alternative. (We’ve already mentioned some “free online tools for creating and editing images” before.)
This time we’ll let you know about a free downloadable and powerful photo & image editing software program. Let’s learn about it.
“Gimpshop is an excellent and powerful Photoshop equivalent that has far more features than you, or most people you know, have ever used. If you’re looking to do something as simple as touch up photos, or something far more sophisticated, like work in multiple layers, it has all the tools you need.” It’s a free downloadable photo and image editing software program which is similar to photoshop in every way except price.
With its latest build 2.8, Gimpshop has acquired world–class standards with remarkable features like layers, channels, masks, filters, levels, advanced pattern matching and much more.
GIMP 2.8 Features:
Single window mode:
The older versions of GIMP have a multiple window interface where Toolbox window is separated from the Main window, and dialogues are housed in yet another window. Each time you open an image in GIMP, it will appear in its own separate window. This feature is comfortable for some users while many others find it annoying.
Now GIMP 2.8 introduces an optional single-window mode which allows users to work with all the GIMP dialogs inside one big window, usually with the image(s) centered inside.
Layer Groups:
With GIMP 2.8, it’s possible to group a set of layers and treat them like a single entity. It allows users to switch a group on or off or move it in the layers dialog. Users can add / remove existing layers to a group or create / delete a layer inside the group and are also able to create embedded groups of groups. This great feature improves the workflow with complex multilayer images making them easier to manage.
Improved Text tool:
The new version of the Text Tool supports different text styles within the same text frame, which makes using text in GIMP 2.8 a much more intuitive experience.
New Brush Tool:
GIMP 2.8 comes up with a great brush tool which allows you to change the brush transformations in two ways: angle & aspect ratio.
Cage transformation tool:
The cage transformation tool is a new addition to GIMP 2.8 tool box which helps users to easily wrap selected areas of a layer.
The above mentioned are a few of the new tools with which GIMP 2.8 is upgraded. This version is available for Mac as well as Windows operating systems.
Tutorials:
A comprehensive help library and a complete tutorial section have been built-in to the Gimpshop 2.8 workspace, so you are always just a couple of clicks away from step-by-step guidance on hundreds of photo and image editing techniques. On their official website, you find numerous videos on tutorial section which help you learn the techniques of Gimpshop.
Achievement:
Invited to participate in Google’s “Summer of Code 2012”, GIMP has joined the ranks of other highly popular, bleeding-edge Open-Source development projects and has confirmed its status as a world-wide leader in photo editing software.
“…One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, the upgrades make the GNU Image Manipulation Program eminently comparable to Photoshop…The application provides professional tools that can stand against the big boys without the hefty price tag…Extremely powerful and easy to work with, GIMP is ideal for both amateur and pro photographers, Web designers, or anyone who wants to create and edit professional-quality digital images on a budget.” – Anonymous user.
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