I’ve been using GIMP as long as I can remember, more or less. Say what you will about the UI/UX but it remains top tier free software. So glad to see this.
But then again, it's a free program and I'm not owed anything by its authors and contributors. It's just a little... sad, maybe, to have all their work UXed into relative obscurity, at least from my point of view, and probably that of a few other people who share my frustration. And even so, if this is the way they want to make the GIMP and they're happy with it, then more power to them - and less to me.
idk what you're referring to but gimp has also supported editing text after it's been placed. what's new is non-destructive filters and non destructive outlining of text (despite what some may claim you were able to draw an outline of a text even before gimp 3, by converting it to a vector path.)
Here's a funny one from my history, 12 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G13TXE9agYM
Unpopular opinion, but I think the UI/UX works just fine? It never got in the way of what I wanted to do, and now I am familiar with where all the options are.
The fact something is a well known free software program ensures a few extra features: it’s more likely to still exist in 5 years, you will still have a license to use it in 5 years, you can have it available on all of your computers and it is likely just one package manager command away from being available.
I just saw the other day a coworker fighting up with an MS Excel that refused to open a .csv file because it could not find a license.
I asked him why not use LibreOffice in the meanwhile. He looked to me like I was crazy and asked if it had better features.
Well, yes, it does have more features than Excel without a license and yes, the .csv importer has more features and will help you select the limiters with a nice preview and organize the column width automatically after importing.
Nevertheless, both are wonderful pieces of software! I'm not a graphics pro but do find myself editing images quite regularly, and I usually reach for GIMP as it's more familiar to me. Krita on the other hand has a great brush engine, so if I feel like drawing something, I go for that.
Also, of course, whichever one has GMIC on that particular day! Some of the stuff in that plugin is absolutely wild. Usually that means Krita again, though iirc at some point it was broken there for some time, but I found it for GIMP...
Btw, anyone know if there's a Rebelle Mixbox-style color mixing feature for either of the two?
GIMP is the one that's still missing proper colorspace handling, especially regarding CMYK.
And Krita has had vector layers with text support for quite a while as well.
But not proper native support for CMYK and spot colors as you might know from Adobe or Krita, where everything internally tracks CMYK data throughout.
One is for digital painting and the other is, as it name says, an image manipulation program.
True. Usability, accessibility, and basic UI quality are all important focuses for the Krita devs.
I doubt there is anything that couldn't be done in either and it is simply a matter of time spent in the UI and personal preference.
It is much easier to make a photo collage in Inkscape than Gimp.
You used to be able to learn a program by simply running the mouse across the menus to see the hotkeys and icons too.
(Not sarcastic.)
You know how pasting creates this special "floating" layer? While in this mode, the "Layer->Merge Down" menu command is replaced by "Layer->Anchor Layer" - which has the keybind. "New Layer" also becomes "To New Layer".
While I can see how it makes sense on some level, it's also a whole new kind of counterintuitive.
The problem with it is that we've had a good UX understanding of how modal behavior works for ages, and if you're going to do something modal, you need to make clear to the user that the mode has changed (especially to the naive user, who has no reason to anticipate paste enters a novel mode). The indicators that mode has shifted are too subtle: one is the buttons going green on the layer panel (which I think can be hidden at that point? I'd have to check), and the other, I have now learned, is some menu options changed. No dialog box, color switch, or text indicator to say "PASTE MODE: choose how this pasted data should be added to the image."
And when it's so high on the critical path of using the software (how long does the average user use an image editor before they try to paste something?), it's a huge hit to the overall experience and makes the user feel like this tool is too complicated.
The relevant docs for the temporary floating layer that's created on paste are here: https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-selection-float.html
Barring that, I'd also prefer it to surface anything to tell the user what's going on. Pasting subtly switches modes into a context where a lot of the UI isn't working right until you make a decision on what to do with the floating layer. That kind of mode-switch should be signalled loudly to a user. The signal Gimp chose? Two small buttons in the layer panel highlight green.
> Copying and pasting now creates a new layer by default rather than a “floating selection”, which many users found confusing. Floating layers can still be created with the “Paste as Floating Data” option for those who prefer that workflow.
so it's solved now.
Just don't mention the name.
I didn't want my christian conservative parents to keep berating at me as if I turned in to the devil for choosing a OS that has a mascot that resembles one.
[1] I think they knew Beastie was a harmless computer thing, but they also thought the moon was the size of a basketball.
But of course that won't happen