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in reply to Zarlin

Next. They should drop everything and solely focus on improving ux & ui . Every time I open gimp to try and get acclimated to it, I close it back out of frustration. Nothing is intuitive in that software. Not even the naming of the tools settings.

Open Source reshared this.

in reply to mtchristo

in reply to rumba

Open Source reshared this.

in reply to Nathan

in reply to rumba

Open Source reshared this.

in reply to mtchristo

i mean its pretty good if you get used to it.. i remember the shortcuts for all the major tools i use and it's very quick and easy to use for me.
in reply to hexagonwin

This is exactly the problem they face. I use GIMP since ~15years. Any change they make will annoy me to a degree. But I also understand that getting into the UI is not that easy. They somehow have to manage these two completly opposing interests.
in reply to mtchristo

To be honest, nothing is intuitive in any complex software. Every time I open Photoshop I want to cry in pain. But it isn't because Photoshop is bad (that I don't know actually), but because I am not familiar with it at all
in reply to mtchristo

It is essential that you explain exactly what you find unintuitive, otherwise -forgive me, but- this feedback is worthless. Make a bullet list, with captures, show how you would rename or rearrange things. Do your part !
in reply to Hadriscus

forgive me, but- this feedback is worthless


Its not useless when literally 99% of the people who tried GIMP Over the past 25+ years have had the exact same reaction, pretending its not a thing its whats useless

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to KneeTitts

How many of those who have never used Photoshop would have the same reaction to Photoshop?
in reply to zenpocalypse

This is what always frustrates me when people complain about GIMP's UI!

The common opinion is to "make it more like Photoshop", but Photoshop is absolutely not beginner friendly - most of those people are just familiar with it already.

I remember being completely lost and constantly getting annoyed when I first started using Photoshop.

in reply to KneeTitts

It is worthless, in fact. Because it's not actionable. Read what the above user said again :

Every time I open gimp to try and get acclimated to it, I close it back out of frustration. Nothing is intuitive in that software. Not even the naming of the tools settings.


Nothing in here is specific enough to do anything about it. Imagine you're a developer, and you read this. What do you do ?

As users, we may not be able to program stuff, but we can do so much design work. Making mockups takes some time but it's within our reach. Let's all contribute to the best of our ability. If all a user can say is "Nothing is intuitive", then their feedback can only be dismissed. Because it's not actionable.

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to Hadriscus

Oh and once you done all of the writeup actually submit it to the devs so they can work with it instead of leaving it to languish on a random web forum
in reply to Trainguyrom

Sure, it would have to happen on whatever they use as version control system
in reply to mtchristo

Don't touch my workflow. Just because you couldn't get acclimated to it, doesn't mean no one did.
in reply to InFerNo

There are many examples of software where the UI etc can be changed. I have never felt comfortable in GIMP's UI, but then again I'm much more of a vector guy.
in reply to nearhat

Thankyou!

Gosh randall is always on point, though. Either a complete psycho or a savant of the human perspective (laziness, i guess? It seems like most of his stuff is mocking the lazy process fails in science, bureaucracy or people interactions)

in reply to mtchristo

I followed some YouTube tutorial to rearrange all the stuff that can be to make it more like photoshop, which did make things somewhat better
in reply to Zarlin

Off-Canvas Editing
Paint tools can now automatically expand the width and height of a layer as you draw! You can select “Expand Layers” in the tool options to enable drawing past the current boundaries of layers.

More features such as guides and auto-expanding layers can be used to work in the off-canvas space!


SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

in reply to Zarlin

I've been seeing quite a few posts about this, pretty funny that it all happened so fast.
in reply to Zarlin

Man, after decades, why does GIMP still have a marketing problem?

Just visit gimp.org/ and compare it to adobe.com/ca/products/photosho…

Just assume both did exactly the same thing and cost the exact same amount (free or otherwise). Which would you choose based on their website?

Why does GIMP (and pretty much all FOSS) have to be so secretive about their product? Why no screenshots? Why not showcase the software on their website?

It's so damn frustrating that every FOSS app appears to be command line software, or assumed that the user knows everything about it already.

Devs, you might have a killer piece of software, but screenshots go a long way to help with gaining interest and adoption.

in reply to Xeroxchasechase

I wish I could, but this is a systemic problem, not a problem with one individual project.

Is the mindset that anyone looking for open source, FOSS, or Linux stuff is already tech-savvy enough to know exactly what they are looking for based solely on a text description?

in reply to Showroom7561

I think it's more so that the kind of people contributing to these projects are on balance not that interested in doing the marketing work.
in reply to sushibowl

Do the operating systems the contributors use not have a screenshot function?

I mean, seriously, simply highlighting a few features would make a massive difference.

I speak for all projects, not just GIMP.

in reply to Showroom7561

These projects are run by volunteers, they don't have the unlimited budget for designers that Adobe does. And to be honest, it kinda seems like you're just criticizing them for no good reason. Have you personally designed and built a website that doesn't suck?
in reply to PeachMan

These projects are run by volunteers, they don’t have the unlimited budget for designers that Adobe does.


A few screenshots would be nice. Not asking them to make a high-production video intro shot on a cruise ship with RED cameras and featuring an A-list celeb.

And to be honest, it kinda seems like you’re just criticizing them for no good reason.


On the contrary. I want to see them reach a wider audience. I want to see FOSS, Linux, and other open-source projects become more accessible and widely available. For me, the way many of these projects present themselves is like gatekeeping to keep people away.

Have you personally designed and built a website that doesn’t suck?


Yes, but I won't doxx myself, so there's no proof I can give you.

Regardless, as a user and someone who wants to see open-source projects succeed, my comment should only be taken as constructive criticism.

in reply to Showroom7561

On the contrary. I want to see them reach a wider audience. I want to see FOSS, Linux, and other open-source projects become more accessible and widely available


then contribute, it's called "open source" for a reason or at least raise an issue where the maintainers can see? Not on some random link aggregation platform about an announcement?

in reply to juli

Contributing is exactly what he is doing. You dont have to make a PR to contribute to a project, he is trying to bring awareness to an issue he is passionate about. Him sparking the conversation can make waves much larger than he can manage by doing the screenshot marketing for projects himself one at a time. There are way too many projects for one person acting alone to make a real dent.
in reply to PeachMan

idk, he got those words into atleast 200 peoples heads from here, and probably many more that didn't vote on it. I would say getting that many people to think about it is pretty good for the couple minutes it took to write that comment down.
in reply to Showroom7561

IF YOU HAVE EXPERTISE, THEN CONTRIBUTE, DAMMIT: developer.gimp.org/core/wgo/

They don't need somebody to tell them their site sucks. They need somebody to HELP them make it better, to DO the work that you seem to be implying is very easy! They're literally begging for it on their website.

in reply to PeachMan

It's like you need high-level programming training to even understand how to contribute to their project. Where's the "Edit" button, for example?

I've contributed dozens of hours to other projects (namely OpenStreetMap), but it's DEAD SIMPLE to contribute there.

in reply to PeachMan

they don't have the unlimited budget for designers that Adobe does.


presses screenshot button

in reply to fubbernuckin

Ah yes, it's a good thing that the only skill required to make a nice website is taking a screenshot
in reply to PeachMan

Not criticizing the website design. I don't expect them to have an expensive flashy website. I am criticizing you for equating the snipping tool with having an unlimited budget for designers like adobe does. It does not take a team of designers to add a screenshot to your website showcasing a feature.
in reply to Showroom7561

You can if you wish. You just choose not to. Like so many of us. If more did volunteer, the problem would disappear. It's that simple.
This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to Showroom7561

What? There are hundreds of thousands of FOSS projects with great presentation. GIMP is the exception these days, not the rule.
in reply to fmstrat

For sure, I don't mean to blanket all FOSS projects under the same observation. But I've seen some projects where the idea is brilliant, and it fills a gap that no other software can, but they have piss-poor instructions (or none at all) and hardly describe what the project is or does. You only learn about them by chance, which is a real shame.

Here's another example: Navidrome (navidrome.org/) is an awesome, self-hosted music streaming software.

But their homepage doesn't have a screenshot, so you have no idea if the UI is just command prompt, ugly, unintuitive, or the best thing ever. Even the "learn more" page has no screenshots unless you really go digging.

Compare that to another FOSS self-hosted music streamer: ampache.org/

Simple website, but at least you can see exactly what to expect from the UI. Huge advantage even if they two apps do the exact same thing (both based on the Subsonic backend).

in reply to Showroom7561

Open Source software is not a product that needs marketing.
The devs making Gimp gain literally nothing from you downloading and using it.
Stop applying capitalist logic to one of the few aspects of life that haven't been monetized yet.
in reply to superkret

Open Source software is not a product that needs marketing.


That's highly debatable.

Surely, if nobody is using the software, then there's no incentive to keep making it.

Marketing generates interest. Interest gets users. Users (hopefully) get donations and/or contributions to the project.

Even from a purely practical standpoint, why not be clear and avoid wasting people's time as they try to figure out what exactly a project is about?

I'm not suggesting that GIMP take out Facebook ads. But my god, would a few screenshots kill the project?

in reply to Showroom7561

You are right. I just checked out gimp.org, and...IS there a single image of the software on that site?

If they want new users, asking them to blindly download software without even a look or maybe a video of new features is not it.

in reply to Showroom7561

This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to superkret

Other programs like Photoshop lose money though. FOSS devs should just quit as they're their own competition.
in reply to Showroom7561

Gimp doesn't have a marketing problem. Its well known its just that not many people like it. It is not a nice program to use. I think gimp3 fixes a lot of the janky ui but I'll have to try it out again
in reply to Fizz

Yeah, every time I have ever tried Gimp, attempting to do anything felt like someone had purposefully been contrarian and made every operation work in the hardest and most confusing way.

And someone may say, "well, you just have to learn it!" OK, sure. Or I can use something that makes much more sense from the jump like Affinity Photo. (Yes, I know you have to pay for it, but it's worth it. Yes, I know not everyone has the money to do so.)

in reply to Fizz

this is exactly my opinion on it. one of my main gripes was the text rendering. if i needed to change some text i basically had to redo all of the work on any shadow or stroke as well, not just correct a spelling mistake or whatever. very excited to check out the new version.
in reply to Fizz

It is not a nice program to use.


Holy hell. I felt like that 20+ years ago when I started using it... I'm surprised that it never got better, from the sound of it.

in reply to Showroom7561

Progress just has been painfully slow. It just now got the update it should've had back then
in reply to Showroom7561

I think it's because marketing is expensive and marketing people know that corporations have money to throw at them, and the moment they lower their prices for a FOSS project, they might not get their old revenue when working for a company that can definitely pay what they ask.

We need some sort of FOSM (Free and Open Source Marketing) that helps FOSS projects based on some sort of queue and whoever has recent changes that needs marketing.

in reply to borth

I think it’s because marketing is expensive


Perhaps I should clarify what I mean by "marketing". I'm not talking about spending tens of thousands of Facebook ads, or any ads, really.

A few screenshots on a product page would be more than enough for some projects. Highlight some key features. Generate interest.

It's really low effort stuff that makes a huge difference.

in reply to Showroom7561

These are all excellent ways someone can contribute to a project. Our project website has a repo anything can contribute to to make changes, even the blog entries are statically generated pages.
in reply to Showroom7561

Idk if GIMP has a marketing problem but I definitely agree that FOSS projects should add screenshots and a description of what the program does to their website and repo. It really annoys me when someone links a piece of software and it just doesn't say what it does and there's no screenshots that would make it easy for me to see what it looks like and how the UI is structured. When there's no screenshots I'm rarely even interested in trying it out because, even with a description, I don't really know what it is. Like, I wouldn't be interested in a car based on only a description, I'd have to see a picture of it too.
in reply to Fisch

This is a frequent source of frustration for me, too. Can't even tell if it's cli or gui a lot of the time, based on the documentation. If I could just see what it looks like, I'd have a good idea right away of whether it might meet my needs.
in reply to Showroom7561

I actually like the GIMP website homepage more than the one for photoshop.

Its simple and efficient. If I want to know more I would go to documentation or tutorials.

The photoshop site just looks like a random squarespace template with a bunch of stock photos.

in reply to piconaut

Yeah… I was expecting a much larger contrast. Give me the one that doesn’t start off with several popups.
in reply to piconaut

in reply to Showroom7561

Dig deeper ?

Homepage text :

The Free & Open Source Image Editor
This is the official website of the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).
GIMP is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows and more operating systems. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes.
Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done. You can further enhance your productivity with GIMP thanks to many customization options and 3rd party plugins.
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to Hadriscus

Man, that text does the app no favours. "Image editor" could mean that it crops photos. But GIMP does a hell of a lot more. It's been "the open-source photoshop" for decades, and they're really selling themselves short. Screenshots would have made it so much easier to see what the software does.
in reply to piconaut

I feel like the Adobe marketing is somewhat pointless. Anyone that has been in the target industries for any amount of time already know the deal.

GIMP is not Photoshop. They are not competitors. It's a difficult transition. I'm not sure we should even bother drawing a comparison.

I've used Photoshop since 1992. I know, I'm old. I started using GIMP about four years ago. I recently got to the point where I can function.

Money and momentum is a motherfucker. Adobe has fuck you money. GIMP has volunteers. Those that don't like their site should volunteer time or money.

Edit: fwiw I like the GIMP site better too.

This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to Showroom7561

Idk I like the gimp page. Two clicks, and you're into the tutorial on how to edit pictures. The first page gives you all you need to know: Image manipulation program.

adobe's page otoh... Well after the first two popups, I gave up.

...

Alright, Second try and four popups later, I'm in. gotta admit the funny animations and the tools they show off are pretty nice

in reply to Showroom7561

I would have to choose GIMP (in spite of this awful name) because that page loaded without javascript and the photoshop page requires me to enable javascript.

I know I'm being a bit facetious, here, but... Adobe can afford to hire full time front end devs and designers. FOSS projects can't really compete with Adobe's investors.

This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to GnuLinuxDude

LOL. Brother, I get what you're saying, but I think you missed the point. If Random User X is just looking for an image editor, and they are presented with a few options they know nothing about. Do you think they're going to even bother with the one image editor that doesn't have any screenshots?

Just another comparison, a little more relevant: rawtherapee.com/

You know EXACTLY what it is and what it does within about 2 seconds. That would be more than enough information for someone to at least make the effort to download the software.

in reply to Showroom7561

If I recommend some software to someone, most normies I know would directly go on to youtube and check some guy using and reviewing a software. The "official website" wouldn't even cross their mind.

In this day and age if a random user really wants something, they have a miriad of options to see what they're about to use. Forums, Youtube, blog posts and so on.

If a user doesn't even bother a bare , they're better off not downloading random executables from the internet.

The website isn't end all, be all of how users find a software demos. You seem to think a single website is enough for users to make their choices these days. It isn't the 90s.

in reply to 0_o7

An informed user goes through that much effort. Most users are not informed and will do a quick search, download something that looks remotely what they think they need, and they're done.

This is why it's frustrating that some really good open-source software end up being lost in a sea of other stuff that was easier for someone to download, without doing a ton of research.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a website, but a website should be "home base" for a software, company, etc. If not the official website, then the developer has less control over the presentation of their product, which would suck.

App stores are successful for a reason: they offer a quick, accessible means to find 1000s of apps or desktop software. And if an app has a poor description or piss poor screenshots, they are skipped very quickly.

The same applies to the UX and UI of an app or website. A poor experience can cause someone to uninstall it (or exit the page), even if it offers them the features they want/need.

in reply to Showroom7561

You're right. I wasn't familiar with rawtherapee but just seeing that home page immediately clued me into the fact that it was some kind of image program. Didn't even need to read a single word.

Come to think of it, there have been a number of times where I've wondered about what a foss project does/looks like and I think a single screenshot would've just been a big help in understanding how it behaves.

in reply to GnuLinuxDude

Come to think of it, there have been a number of times where I’ve wondered about what a foss project does/looks like and I think a single screenshot would’ve just been a big help in understanding how it behaves.


Yes!! I'm glad I was able to illustrate my point better.

in reply to Showroom7561

Krita.org does a nice job of showing off their work and so does Blender

They're not flashy, but they definitely make me want to download them and check them out.

This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to pelespirit

Yeah, I never got into illustration or 3d art/animation, but I sure as hell know what Blender is!
in reply to Showroom7561

It's quite the testament that the Blender name is known to the masses (hope you don't mind me calling you the masses)
in reply to Hadriscus

The whole skateboard community thrives on it where I'm from, especially in this age of everyone wanting their own skate vid.
in reply to Hadriscus

Yeah! I got a couple of them into it when people came to me asking how I do my own edits, and from there it seemed to just be word of mouth.

Thankfully I helped the first through get the basics down and they then passed that knowledge on and so forth, so it's worked out pretty well. A bunch of broke ass skaters will learn anything as long as it's free, it's why we spend most of our time falling.

in reply to pelespirit

How is Krita? I’m on a Mac and my biggest problem with Gimp and Inkscape has always been lack of MacOS integration. Mostly with the UI but even shortcuts were wrong when I tried it. And the mouse/trackpad gestures were the dealbreaker.

I use Pixelmator, which hopefully continues to be a well developed pay once app, even though Apple just bought them. That and Sketch get me all the design tools I need for 2D and web.

in reply to anomnom

It's more of a paint program, and it's great if you have a pen and tablet. I haven't tried out gimp for while, but it was more of a photoshop alternative at that time. I think Apple's version of Krita would be Procreate, but Krita is free.
in reply to anomnom

Have you checked out Affinity?
They support Mac and iPad, and are comparable with the core Adobe suite. Its a buy once scenario (per major version release).
My only problem is they don't support Linux.

Of note, they were purchased last year by Canva, but it has been stated they will keep the Affinity products separate for purchase.

in reply to anomnom

Your first problem is you're using a Mac. But beyond the obvious trolling, Krita excels at painting and is getting better at text as well -so far text tools have left to be desired but they've been working on a revamp for some years now, probably coming rather soon. What I find lacking as a daily user (I do illustration in Krita, animation in Blender) is the general image manipulation tools. Transforming, snapping, transform masks... are often either lacking in flexibility or poorly performing. I use Affinity Publisher on the side for compositing my illustrations with text for print or web, I wouldn't be able to rely on just Krita for that. But for painting, it's absolutely fantastic -performance wise, usability-wise, the shortcuts are so well thought out it's a joy to use. It's really made with painting in mind. If you like using filters, they have a good G'mic integration with hundreds of builtin filters.
I can't comment on their mac builds though, you'd have to try them yourself.
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to anomnom

I don't know about the Mac experience specifically but Krita was incredibly intuitive as someone who hasn't touched creative software in about 15 years. I downloaded it a couple of weeks ago, doodled a little, then remembered I suck at digital drawing and closed without saving
in reply to anomnom

How is Krita?


I fully converted all my workflows to Krita a long time again, its amazing

in reply to Showroom7561

FOSS projects are often labors of love.

Nobody who isn't completely deranged loves marketing.

in reply to GenderNeutralBro

Me: Hello niece, what career will you embark on once college is over?

Niece: Marketing.

Me: [audibly] Ah, I see. [inaudibly] Where did our family go wrong???

in reply to Showroom7561

I mean, the Adobe website flashed me pop-ups about not being in the right location, about cookies - I would choose GIMP based on this.

I choose FOSS 90% of the time because they are not beholden to the same conventions that compel most for-profit products. A lot of the concerns I'm reading about readability, marketability, etc ring absolutely true for life-or-death for-profit ventures, but there are definitely people who don't mind missing all of that stuff in exchange for good and decent software.

The goal, after all, is to be image editing software, not an advertisement.

This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to Showroom7561

Actually I would pick GIMP.

  1. Says what it is, an image editor.
  2. No popups and random interruptions.
  3. Not only AI editing examples which makes me thing the tool is AI only.
  4. An overview of the variety of major features it has rather than just AI editing.
  5. Links to helpful documentation rather than endless marketing pages that say nothing.

Really think only thing I would like to see is some screenshots and examples of using the tool, rather than just info on what it does. But the Photoshop page barely has this, just a few examples of the AI tools.

in reply to Showroom7561

Is it because in Linux the UI is so customisable that there's no definitive 'look' to sell?
in reply to Showroom7561

I couldn't agree more and I see it everywhere as well. It's systemic.

Which would you choose based on their website?


Problem is, people on Lemmy are techies who might actually prefer the Gimp site. But any "normal" person would not.

in reply to SorteKanin

Yeah I admit I kind of prefer the Gimp site. Are you saying Lemmy isn’t an accurate random sample of normal people in reality?
in reply to knexcar

Yes, Lemmy is dominated by people with a certain propensity towards tech. You can't use Lemmy users as a gauge for what is good UX I would say.
in reply to Showroom7561

I mean, the name is a bigger problem than anyone seems to want to admit...
in reply to oyo

Majority of area in the world does not recognize it as negative thing.

Even for English, English itself is diverse language. Singaporean English, Indian English, Asian English, definitely not negative in all of them.

Forcing one standard of language as a universal is a bad precedent for language diversity.

in reply to oyo

I mean, the name is a bigger problem than anyone seems to want to admit


Which is why I use Krita and recommend it to other people... telling them to use GIMP would get too many laughs and weird looks

in reply to Showroom7561

Unless 3.0 has solved it, the gimp has a steep UI problem and a learning curve such that mass appeal on the website would be inappropriate anyway. I love it but I love it because I've been using it my whole life and know it very well. Foss in general struggles with useability due to a lot of hard to overcome problems - mainly, that by the time someone is ready to contribute to any given foss project, they're already intimately familiar with its foibles and probably have strong opinions about what UX elements are sacred cows and should not be fixed.
in reply to socialjusticewizard

Well, it has solved it in large part, yes. Tablet pen buttons are correctly recognized on Windows at last, GTK3 allows panels to be dockable pretty much anywhere, the interface looks generally sleek.

Now perhaps you could specify what aspect of the UI you find problematic, otherwise it's hard to respond to such a vague statement. Imagine you're a developer, and you read a piece of feedback that says "the gimp has a steep UI problem". Where do you go from there ?

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to Hadriscus

I mean, I could make a list of things I think are problems, but I've been using it since a bit after 9/11 so I dont think my guesses would represent new user experiences. I am mostly going off what people tell me when they try to learn it.

otherwise it's hard to respond to such a vague statement


I wasn't writing advice for the devs, I was making a general statement about why foss stuff doesn't tend to suit glitzy, highly marketable front facing stuff, using gimp as an example

in reply to socialjusticewizard

I'm not involved with Gimp development, I've been watching it from the side, so I can't tell if there's an actual lack of contributions related to UX design -but so far I have only seen the public respond with the same sort of vague feedback : "the UI needs work". Unfortunately that's as unhelpful as it gets. Spending some time designing interface mockups, or writing up descriptions of how such and such feature should work, now that's helpful, and is something pretty much any user can do.

I was making a general statement about why foss stuff doesn’t tend to suit glitzy, highly marketable front facing stuff, using gimp as an example


Yea, I believe that's true. And it is always a resource problem, because with limited resources, developers focus on making the thing work first, look nice second

in reply to Hadriscus

developers focus on making the thing work first, look nice someone else's problem
in reply to Showroom7561

dont forget how they expect you to compile it. some projects offer a nice .msi for windows, a .whatever for mac, and then linux users just get a link to their github. i mean cmon.

edit: i'm not talking specifically about gimp, my dudes.

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to umbrella

"They" most of the times is solo devs and you can't blame them for that. GIMP does have flatpak, appimages, etc.
in reply to umbrella

I switched to Linux because there were almost no good open source apps on Windows. The comparison is not fair considering how drastically the parameters are changing.

Also a lot of solo devs do try to maintain some community repos.

I'm not trying to disagree but I haven't come across any projects that only wanted the Linux users to build. You can correct me.

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to Eyck_of_denesle

i have found a couple before but havent bothered with them, i don't remember which they are but it sure peeved me off to be the only one told to "build it yourself"
in reply to umbrella

That's false, not sure why you would say that. Literally just visit the download page

krita.org/en/download/

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to Showroom7561

Agree, however on clicking the photoshop link was first hit with 2 popups before I could see the page.
in reply to Showroom7561

The photoshop page doesn't even have a download link.

0/10 would not download.

in reply to Showroom7561

I mean, tastes are different, but I really did not like the photshop page design.
in reply to The Menemen

Taste aside, you can easily see what features Photoshop has, rather than guessing, right?

I should have used a FOSS example, since Adobe is just bad in general (users saying the page has pop-ups, etc.).

in reply to Showroom7561

All I see is "Ooooh look, we use AI!" which actually repels me quite a lot. The page leaves the impression that photoshop is a toy, not a tool.
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to The Menemen

Ok, let's get off Adobe for a second... here's a FOSS example: rawtherapee.com/

Easy to understand exactly what it does, screenshots are excellent. Surely, you can agree that this is better than how GIMP presents itself, right?

in reply to Showroom7561

Great updated example and I look forward to hearing the arguments against this just like Adobe.
in reply to Showroom7561

I don't know man, I think the Photoshop homepage reeks of corpo crap, whereas the Gimp homepage does a good job at cleanly presenting the program in a quick way. Maybe I'm just used to FOSS, or already too allergic to corporate software, but going by the homepage design, my preference is obvious, there's not even a contest
in reply to Hadriscus

I think my point was missed. I wasn't saying that GIMP should copy what Adobe does (I can't stand Adobe and their “business model” spyware bullshit.

My point was more to show that Adobe showcases the features of the software, so a potential user knows what it does without needing to go through the trouble of downloading it. It may not be what the user wants, and that's ok, at least they know!

But GIMP is so vague in their description and offers no insight to what the app does or looks like. There's no need to be mysterious.

in reply to Showroom7561

the gimp one displays normally, while the adobe one shows a blank white page.

the choice is obvious

in reply to Showroom7561

Hey, you look interested in becoming a marketing volunteer for GIMP. While GIMP is not as competitive in marketing as the others, you can help them if you want. 😎
in reply to Zarlin

Already on flathub. Nice modern packaging world. github.com/flathub/org.gimp.GI…
in reply to Zarlin

FUCK YES!!!!!

I’ve been waiting for this for years! Omg, what awesome news!!

in reply to Zarlin

Incredible. This is one of those hard to believe moments.

It's been 21 years since the release of GIMP 2.0.

It's been more than 10 years since work on a majorly overhauled GIMP 3.0 was announced and initiated.

And it's been 7 years since the last major release (2.10).

I can't wait for the non-destructive text effects. After all these years of dealing with the fact applying drop shadows meant the text couldn't be edited, at last it's no longer an issue.

in reply to Majestic

As a long time - pre version 2 - gimp user my first thought was "what, don't be ridiculous" and now I dont know what to feel. Why would you do this to me personally
in reply to Majestic

Seems like a long time to wait for non-destructive drop shadows.. most other art applications including Krita have had that for a very long time
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to KneeTitts

Yeah GIMP is more than a decade behind Photoshop and a lot of other software in many respects.

It's frustrating. Basic things like content-aware fill for small spaces, not even AI generating huge things for large missing pieces but removing some text over a person's cheek or plaid shirt, something in total 100x100 pixels big or so. Just doesn't exist. You can clone stuff but it's not aware of things like the gradient of a shadow that it should match or a highlight or other basic things so you're left doing extensive work using layers and then cleaning it up to be visually acceptable using multiple tools over 10 minutes of time whereas Photoshop does it with one tool in an instant.

in reply to Zarlin

I've only used GIMP a handful of times, so please forgive my ignorance -- how does 3.0 compare to Krita or IbisPaint?
in reply to LemmyGo

GIMP is generally geared towards photo-editing, so if you have an existing image, you can use GIMP quite well to e.g. cut out parts of it or to apply effects.
It's not really geared towards digital painting or creating new images from scratch, like Krita and presumably IbisPaint are.
in reply to Zarlin

zero screenshots on the announcement page and zero screenshots on the homepage. Exactly what i expect from gimp lol
in reply to XNX

The UI looks the same lol

The layers are the big thing, but its hard to show because the final result looks the same anyways

in reply to AdrianTheFrog

Filtered word: nsfw

This entry was edited (4 days ago)
in reply to XNX

they could have just called gims or gim

naming stuff is important

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to XNX

No self-respecting UI designer would ever want to work on that dinosaur of a codebase. The GIMP team is simply unable to do what Blender did, even if they made the UI their number one priority.
in reply to RoyaltyInTraining

I mean the whole point of doing the mega rewrite to gtk3 was specifically to enable such forward looking progress.

What they did in the 3.0 release was, largely, a massive modernization of a dinosaur code base.

Now that it’s done it makes sense to do a UI overhaul. Before 3.0 it made no sense to even try, now it does.

in reply to mholiv

Why not? Krita did it, they made an entirely new interface (hell they did it over 10 years ago) so why does the GIMP teams refuse to do the same?
in reply to KneeTitts

in reply to mholiv

The 3.0 upgrade was the result of the getting their house in order and modernizing


meh I believe they can walk and chew gum at the same time, I think they just wanna walk and not chew gum at all

in reply to KneeTitts

Think of it like the flooded house analogy. They could paint the dry wall while tearing it out at the same time. But why would they?
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to KneeTitts

They refuse to do the same because migrating from GTK 2 to GTK 3 took 7 years to achieve with a diminutive team and they still implemented a multitude of requested features.
in reply to XNX

My college taught us GIMP for anyone in the CIS program, but not the actual graphic design track.
in reply to XNX

I fear gimp truly doesnt care about its ui/ux


Why, because its been the single most requested change by the GIMP community for 20+ years and its the one thing they refuse to address?? Dont be silly, its not like the devs are acting like the guy who makes Filezilla who has been steadfastly refusing to implement a 'dark' feature simply because he does think anyone wants it.. oh wait

in reply to KneeTitts

Is that seriously a thing with Filezilla? I had to use it for something recently and downloaded it for the first time in years. Couldn't find any way to not blind myself no matter how hard I tried.
in reply to XNX

Filtered word: nsfw

in reply to Zarlin

I opened it, changed brush, got a segmentation fault crash lmao
in reply to ManaOatbun

It's always the user's fault. Why do think you could change the brush using an UI element!?
in reply to ManaOatbun

Hey, it's open source. Just open a C project from the 90s and fix it yourself. Ez /s
in reply to ManaOatbun

Nice. I wonder if they'd be open to rewriting portions in Rust to catch these types of issues with the compiler instead of the user. I'm willing to help if someone else gets the devs on board.
in reply to ManaOatbun

Yeah, pretty much. A segfault happens when you access memory incorrectly, and Rust is all about correct memory access.
in reply to Zarlin

Not having non-destructive editing has kept me from using gimp. I tried but just couldn't use it. I'll have to try again.
in reply to Darkhoof

Good to know, thanks.

Kind of regret not trudging up the steep learning curve of that hellscape GUI earlier now that sounds like it's finally useable, but better late than never.

in reply to Zarlin

Brilliant and huge congrats to the amazing people who worked on it. One silly question though, is the "new" Gimp logo supposed to look out of focus or are my eyes getting old?
in reply to Zarlin

To all of the authors below who have disparaging opinions on the UX/UI experience and or the download ability. It’s a volunteer project for a reason. If you have such grand ideas and abilities put your money where your fingers are and fucking sign up.
in reply to surph_ninja

Helpful Feedback is fine. As the OP said there is no need for disparaging feedback.
in reply to TBi

Declaring that the only legitimate feedback comes from people who are also capable of doing the work is not a good way to solicit constructive feedback.
in reply to NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ

Just scroll up.


To all of the authors below who have disparaging opinions on the UX/UI experience and or the download ability. It’s a volunteer project for a reason. If you have such grand ideas and abilities put your money where your fingers are and fucking sign up.

in reply to surph_ninja

Right, and the initial sentence

To all of the authors below who have disparaging opinions on the UX/UI experience and or the download ability.


modifies the rest of the text

It’s a volunteer project for a reason. If you have such grand ideas and abilities put your money where your fingers are and fucking sign up.


Point being, feedback is welcome, disparaging opinions are not.

Nobody declared that "only legitimate feedback comes from people who are also capable of doing the work."

Reading comprehension, my friend.

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to surph_ninja

...uh...likewise?

I point out to you how you're mistaken, and you just go, "nuh uh."

Cool...

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ

I understand you don’t feel understood. Perhaps you are not communicating as effectively as you believe you are.
in reply to surph_ninja

I get it. You made a mistake, are embarrassed, and are now pointing things back on the messenger instead of just saying, "Oh shit, my bad," and moving on with your life.

Have a nice day, man. Riveting conversation.

This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to TheWilliamist

So true for all FOSS projects, the more successful they become the more new users expect a customer service dept.
in reply to TheWilliamist

A lot of the hate GIMP gets is people coming from Photoshop expecting it to work like Photoshop. In fact that's true for a lot of Adobe-like open source projects. That's why "industry standards" are dangerous and really only exist to keep one company rich.
in reply to the_q

My hate comes from wanting it to work like LView Pro. There's no Linux image manipulation program that comes close to meeting the standard they set in 2001.
in reply to swelter_spark

I think I remember that app? I’m going to have to go look that up. It’s shocking what one forgets in a quarter of a century.
This entry was edited (2 days ago)
in reply to TheWilliamist

It’s been tried. The gatekeeping of GIMP’s monstrously horrific UI/UX is both vicious and impenetrable.
in reply to Zarlin

No, no, no. It's the end of times. I can hear the trumpets of the apocalypse.

Now Valve needs to release half life 3 and the world as we know it will truly perish.

Jokes aside. I hope this means work on a UI overhaul can seriously begin.

in reply to nuko147

Can you get apocalypse insurance? I think I'm in the market for it.
in reply to nuko147

3 Sentences horror story...
Gimp 3, Half life 3, Bloodborne 2
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
in reply to nuko147

Now I really want it officially announced on April 1. It would be a perfect moment.
in reply to Zarlin

GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) version 3 has been released. But when will Valve release Half-Life version 3? They have already released 1, 2, the episodes, and Alyx. But when will Valve release 3.0? This is not fair because even GIMP has reached version 3.0, but Valve's Half-Life has not. 😔