GIMP

Pros

• A program that's completely free
• Open source GPL, so updates often
• Has most of Photoshop's features
• Runs a lot lighter than other editors

Cons

• Not as many automated features yet
• Doesn't have as many tutorials

An alternative to Photoshop that has almost as many features, is even easier to learn, and best of all is entirely free and open source

An Overview Of GIMP

From graphic designers to hobbyists, everyone knows about Photoshop's prowess and status as the king of imagine editors. However, GIMP is a free alternative that many people appreciate just as much. It's lighter, easier on the computer, a lot easier to learn, and can do almost as much.

GIMP is available on a range of different platforms and operating systems. This particular download version is specifically for the Mac OS X. It's an open source GPL program, which means basically that the community of users work out the bugs and kinks.

What GIMP Is and What It Does

GIMP is an awful lot like Photoshop in many different ways. However, the first thing you might notice upon downloading this program is how light it is in comparison. It opens up easier and doesn't instantly start sapping up your RAM. It's a lot smoother and gentler on your computer.

This is purely an imagine editor that has wand and resizing and layering and dozens of other tools. The program also updates a lot, so you're constantly getting new features. It is set up to be direct competition to Photoshop, so GIMP users will eventually get all those Adobe features.

Features of GIMP

In terms of features, you can pretty much say that this mirrors more expensive image editors. From your air-brushes and pencils and gradients to your layering and cloning tools, you have everything available here to really make some professional image edits.

The coolest feature of GIMP, far and away, is the fact that everything is laid out with an interface that's far more user-friendly and a lot easier to learn. The icons are bigger, more easily accessible, and the undo feature with GIMP is a lot more forgiving, so you can learn on the fly without making huge mistakes.

Pros and Cons of GIMP

Pros

• A program that's completely free
• Open source GPL, so updates often
• Has most of Photoshop's features
• Runs a lot lighter than other editors

Cons

• Not as many automated features yet
• Doesn't have as many tutorials