Hey I'm new to graphics editing. Now I've downloaded GIMP to use (mainly because its free) because I don't have the funds to pay silly amounts for a professional program to use. My question is will GIMP meet all my needs, and are there any advantages to using a paid-for programs vs a free one?
Mainly forums signatures, personal image editing and enhancing, maybe some logo creation though not much
certainly its the best you could have when you use it along with Inkscape. the only thing you can't find a lot with it is the tutorials about it. but if you knew how to use photosop, then you will get along well with it.
I would recommend photoshop, but GIMP is alright if you don';t have the resources to get one + for logo design I would recommend checking out some vector programs.
I found Gimp a bit weird first time (lack of tutorials I think) as I used to work with Photoshop & Corel Draw mainly. But then it appeared to be as nice as Adobe products. You don't need much from the editor, so use Gimp, check for its updates and save your money
Gimp is good once you get used to it. So surf a little bit and try it out and you will get used to it. Good luck.
I personally have been using GIMP ever since I swapped to Ubuntu (Linux) and have found its good, but no where near as professional and concise as photoshop. The user-base behind photoshop is also much larger and therefore can offer more support and "after-market" products, always a bonus if you can't figure out how to specifically design an idea you have floating around in your head. @LisaJones, yes I had exactly the same experience with the lack of tutorials, it was like I was photoshopping with my left hand, kept hot-keying and nothing happened!
Not good for photos, also, linux can not be calibrated for color. if you're a pro-no good, otherwise?
My company uses The Gimp exclusively and has so for many years. It does everything we did with Photoshop and just as well. Yes, we also use *nix/BSD. It's great for photos and anything you'd need for the web. Don't let anybody tell you it's not as good or complete as Photoshop.
I've been using Photoshop since v4/5, and simply can't get used to GIMP, as much as I'd like to. I've tried. I want to believe. You're at the perfect point (the beginning!) to go down the open source path. Do it. GIMP will do everything you want to do right now, and probably 99% of the things you want to do in the future. +1 to drhowarddrfine for living the dream
I like free software.. GIMP is nice graph editor. If you can use photoshop (Adobe Product) better.. I think GIMP is not ddifficult to use.
It took me AGES to learn GIMP, so I didn't try too hard. I just used it in-line with my other editors until the weird layout stuck. Pleased I took the time, because it's multi-platform, and I can rely on it to be anywhere and everywhere I need.
Gotta say I actually dislike Photoshop's price, but GIMP cannot yet compare to it in my opinion. It's a nice tool, but still ages behind Adobe's product. For something simple, Gimp is a good solution, if you need a more serious graphic editor, then you've gotta go with Photoshop.