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GIMP Image editing - Autumn 2010
This Thursday, at 7 pm in the Ohio Union Senate Chamber, Brian Swaney will be demonstrating use of the GIMP image editor. GIMP is what some might consider an open source alternative to the proprietary $800 Photoshop application, except that many people refuse to consider it on the grounds that it is allegedly inferior, and therefore unusable. While I'm not familiar with Photoshop, I will debunk the myth about GIMP being unusable, and show just how powerful GIMP can be for those who take the time to learn it. I'll do this by teaching you how to perform arbitrary Photoshop-esque techniques in GIMP.
Image manipulation is done a by-case basis, so what works on one image may not work on another. Use of these editors is best learned by practice, as opposed to lectures, so the presentation will be interactive and based on audience feedback. Use of a laptop with GIMP already installed was recommended. Questions are also encouraged, so please come prepared with ideas of what you would like to see - as basic as "how do I save as a JPEG" to as advanced as "how do I remove braces?" or anything else you can think of. Asking your questions below in advance will help me to prepare relevant content for you.
While I have some example content, basic to advanced, the talk will be focused on what you want to cover. This can be anything from a quick adjustment of the color/contrast/angle for your pictures, to completely removing a girlfriend/parent/sibling, to rendering lightning bolts, to making the picture just... lie. By the time you leave, you should qualify as a Fox News editor.
Here is a time-lapsed example of what GIMP is capable of in the right hands by krc453:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 layers.xcf | 4.15 MB |
 gimp.odp | 565.77 KB |
Comments
Links and updates
I uploaded the files I displayed during the presentation and attached them above. If anything is missing or forgotten, please reply in a comment. Also, a member of the audience asked about specific information on GIMP's resynthesizer plugin. Here is the author's page: http://www.logarithmic.net/pfh/resynthesizer and for documentation on GIMP's features: http://docs.gimp.org/2.6/en/
GIMP does have a couple of specific tutorials, but it is sorely lacking and at least one of them was out of date last I looked. The above documentation site for learning how specific tools work is far more helpful. Generally, if you want to learn more about GIMP, I recommend exploring and learning new tricks as you go along, instead of reading a book or following a website tutorial. If you see a feature you can't figure out, hover over it and press [F1] for the help dialog, or check the documentation. If you have something specific you want to do on the spot, however, an internet search is the way to go. The internet is, unfortunately, polluted with Photoshop tutorials, and there is no one source for GIMP tutorials. I recommend including "gimp" in any search terms. If you're new to image manipulation in general, then seeing Photoshop-specific tutorials can still be helpful in learning the techniques although not helpful for learning how to do them in GIMP.
Thank you!
This was a fantastic meeting!
I know a good bit about GIMP but this meeting brought some features to my attention that I didn't even know GIMP had. For example the Resynthesizer is pretty impressive for what it does. Also the fact GIMP had it before Adobe Photoshop did is really impressive.
Thank you!
You're welcome.
Keep in mind that resynthesizer is a plugin that's unfortunately not (currently) included with GIMP by default. You'll need to download and install it separately. There is a possibility that I will be presenting again sometime next quarter if there is enough demand for it and the GIMP developers keep to their schedule...