I curious as to who is using GIMP for serious work. I have tried it numerous time in the past but always end up going back to PS. As of late I been making a switch to Affinity Photo but have always been pulling for GIMP.
It has for me.
I can download and work on GIMP virtually anywhere on the planet on virtually any computer for absolutely free.
That is not possible with Adobe Anything.
- +90% of my work is on linux. While gimp has progressed to the point of being marginally useful on windows, it's terrible on MacOS. The difference between using it on Linux and another OS is quite dramatic.
- It is not a 100% replacement for Photoshop. There are significant differences in functionality, both in scope and workflow. That said, in conjunction with Krita, DarkTable, Inkscape, and Scribus I've had all the functionality I've ever needed that would otherwise require the Adobe Suite (and differnt OS)
- I don't really have to collaborate with 3rd parties using Adobe Suite. If that were the case it would be difficult, if not impossible to make it work.
The only complaints I've had are that development has always been slow, and interface was clunky until 2.0.
Before that I often used PaintShop Pro on Windows for the same tasks.
If you're into vector illustration, Affinity Designer is a straight replacement for Adobe Illustrator.
Also consider awesome software such as Studio Artist (https://synthetik.com/), and Escape Motions offerings (https://www.escapemotions.com/).
Any conscientious artist should evaluate and consider these alternatives, if only to break up the industry's idiotic enslavement to Adobe.