5 ms·

A polite reminder that the (quite extraordinary) Photopea[0] is available which replicates most of Photoshop's features in the browser, and is free - with a pai

by wgx 5y ago

A polite reminder that the (quite extraordinary) Photopea[0] is available which replicates most of Photoshop's features in the browser, and is free - with a paid ad-free option. 0. https://www.photopea.com/ https://www.photopea.com/

andai 5y ago
I wonder if this was what spurred it! A few years ago a free fan operated RuneScape server running an old version became more popular than the actual game. Jagex asked them to shut down, but they also launched their own version in kind: OldSchool RuneScape.
- throwaway889900 5y ago
  Moparscape was always running even before that, albeit not as polished and the server owners had full control over how ridiculous the game was.
al3xandre 5y ago
How have I never heard about his before. This is amazingly useful.
achow 5y ago
...and created by 1 person. My name is Ivan Kutskir and I am the only developer of Photopea. I am 27 years old graduate of the Charles University in Prague. I live in Prague, Czech Republic, but I was born in Ukraine. https://blog.photopea.com/creating-photopea.html https://blog.photopea.com/creating-photopea.html [Edit] Reddit AMA (3yrs ago) and HN discussion on it. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380
- arthur_sav 5y ago
  If i remember correctly, the whole app runs in the browser without a backend which is pretty amazing.
  - jjice 5y ago
    And no WASM either last time I checked. The author also has multiple open source imaging JS libraries on his GitHub that he created for PhotoPea
    - 8eye 5y ago
      that’s impressive
- achow 5y ago
  He (Ivan Kuckir) has been building this online photo editor for 7 years now, and it’s paying off. Last year (2020), he broke the line of $500,000 ARR, and it’s still growing. https://www.lunadio.com/blog/the-story-of-a-unicorn-solo-founder-making-dollar500000-arr/ https://www.lunadio.com/blog/the-story-of-a-unicorn-solo-fou...
dperfect 5y ago
The fact that Photopea is better than GIMP in so many ways (does GIMP still not have adjustment layers for non-destructive editing?), and was created by one person is a little depressing, but also inspiring at the same time.
- chrismorgan 5y ago
  A lot of the best software is made by one person. Large codebases and organisations have significant inertia that make producing good stuff hard. You’ll also get greater deviation from the mean in a single developer (so a lot of the worst software is also made by one person).
- Tenoke 5y ago
  Yes, GIMP layers are still in limited and a pain to use. I'll definitely try photopea next time.
- coldtea 5y ago
  >Better than GIMP in so many ways (does GIMP still not have adjustment layers for non-destructive editing?), and was created by one person This makes total sense. GIMPs problem was never feature quality or quantity, it was mostly focus and coherence. A single person brings that.
  - folmar 5y ago
    The main trouble with GIMP (and Inkscape) is lack of first-class CMYK, making it irrelevant for any print-targeting activity. Otherwise the features have advanced in the last few years and the coherence is not bad, the photoshop crowd being in the same ballpark for me.
- avian 5y ago
  You know what's more than little depressing? That each time any similar topic comes up you don't have to scroll down very far to find someone in the comments that will bash GIMP for some random thing. You're comparing an ad-supported/subscription web service making a good part of 6 figures per year with software maintained largely by volunteer work for the past 20+ years.
toastercat 5y ago
Yep, I use this all the time when I need to do some quick image editing. I tried to get used to Krita, but PhotoShops hotkeys and menus were already burned into my brain. PhotoPea does a great job emulating them.
pupppet 5y ago
Wow even some of Photoshop's more obscure shortcuts are the same. Embarrassing that it feels snappier than my actual copy of PS.
Tenoke 5y ago
Wow, it even seems to work great on a phone, better than any free app I've tried.
Shadonototra 5y ago
they only share a similar name and UI/UX it doesn't even support 10% of what Photoshop is capable of, including performance and handling of RAW files
- Jyaif 5y ago
  Most people use less than 10% [1] of what Photoshop is capable of. It is the subset of features that is used by 90% [2] of people that Photopea covers. That means Photopea could take 90% of the market share of Photoshop, which is pretty good return on investment! [1][2]: Like in the parent's comments, all percentages are made up.
  - Shadonototra 5y ago
    I guess you are right!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
dang 5y ago
Discussed in a few past threads: Photopea: A free alternative to Photoshop used by millions of people - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26898836 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26898836 - April 2021 (5 comments) AMA: Ivan Kutskir, creator of Photopea - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26768550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26768550 - April 2021 (267 comments) AMA with the Creator of Photopea - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24143189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24143189 - Aug 2020 (6 comments) Reddit AMA on Photopea, a free alternative to Photoshop used by 1.5M people - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380 - Nov 2018 (179 comments) My name is Ivan and I want to make the best photo editor - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15924402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15924402 - Dec 2017 (80 comments) Surface Blur and Median - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12612720 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12612720 - Sept 2016 (34 comments) Photo Pea 0.3 – New features - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6624264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6624264 - Oct 2013 (7 comments) HTML5 image editor wants to replace Photoshop and Gimp - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6396474 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6396474 - Sept 2013 (4 comments)
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
ChrisArchitect 5y ago
polite thank you -- not sure if I checked it out in the earlier days or something but hadn't been back and stunned at how GIMPy it is (in a good way). And totally jump-right-in useable. Impressive.

by wgx 5y ago

andai 5y ago

I wonder if this was what spurred it! A few years ago a free fan operated RuneScape server running an old version became more popular than the actual game. Jagex asked them to shut down, but they also launched their own version in kind: OldSchool RuneScape.

throwaway889900 5y ago
Moparscape was always running even before that, albeit not as polished and the server owners had full control over how ridiculous the game was.

al3xandre 5y ago

How have I never heard about his before. This is amazingly useful.

achow 5y ago

...and created by 1 person. My name is Ivan Kutskir and I am the only developer of Photopea. I am 27 years old graduate of the Charles University in Prague. I live in Prague, Czech Republic, but I was born in Ukraine. https://blog.photopea.com/creating-photopea.html https://blog.photopea.com/creating-photopea.html [Edit] Reddit AMA (3yrs ago) and HN discussion on it. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380

arthur_sav 5y ago
If i remember correctly, the whole app runs in the browser without a backend which is pretty amazing.
- jjice 5y ago
  And no WASM either last time I checked. The author also has multiple open source imaging JS libraries on his GitHub that he created for PhotoPea
  - 8eye 5y ago
    that’s impressive
achow 5y ago
He (Ivan Kuckir) has been building this online photo editor for 7 years now, and it’s paying off. Last year (2020), he broke the line of $500,000 ARR, and it’s still growing. https://www.lunadio.com/blog/the-story-of-a-unicorn-solo-founder-making-dollar500000-arr/ https://www.lunadio.com/blog/the-story-of-a-unicorn-solo-fou...

dperfect 5y ago

The fact that Photopea is better than GIMP in so many ways (does GIMP still not have adjustment layers for non-destructive editing?), and was created by one person is a little depressing, but also inspiring at the same time.

chrismorgan 5y ago
A lot of the best software is made by one person. Large codebases and organisations have significant inertia that make producing good stuff hard. You’ll also get greater deviation from the mean in a single developer (so a lot of the worst software is also made by one person).
Tenoke 5y ago
Yes, GIMP layers are still in limited and a pain to use. I'll definitely try photopea next time.
coldtea 5y ago
>Better than GIMP in so many ways (does GIMP still not have adjustment layers for non-destructive editing?), and was created by one person This makes total sense. GIMPs problem was never feature quality or quantity, it was mostly focus and coherence. A single person brings that.
- folmar 5y ago
  The main trouble with GIMP (and Inkscape) is lack of first-class CMYK, making it irrelevant for any print-targeting activity. Otherwise the features have advanced in the last few years and the coherence is not bad, the photoshop crowd being in the same ballpark for me.
avian 5y ago
You know what's more than little depressing? That each time any similar topic comes up you don't have to scroll down very far to find someone in the comments that will bash GIMP for some random thing. You're comparing an ad-supported/subscription web service making a good part of 6 figures per year with software maintained largely by volunteer work for the past 20+ years.

toastercat 5y ago

Yep, I use this all the time when I need to do some quick image editing. I tried to get used to Krita, but PhotoShops hotkeys and menus were already burned into my brain. PhotoPea does a great job emulating them.

pupppet 5y ago

Wow even some of Photoshop's more obscure shortcuts are the same. Embarrassing that it feels snappier than my actual copy of PS.

Tenoke 5y ago

Wow, it even seems to work great on a phone, better than any free app I've tried.

Shadonototra 5y ago

they only share a similar name and UI/UX it doesn't even support 10% of what Photoshop is capable of, including performance and handling of RAW files

Jyaif 5y ago
Most people use less than 10% [1] of what Photoshop is capable of. It is the subset of features that is used by 90% [2] of people that Photopea covers. That means Photopea could take 90% of the market share of Photoshop, which is pretty good return on investment! [1][2]: Like in the parent's comments, all percentages are made up.
- Shadonototra 5y ago
  I guess you are right!
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

dang 5y ago

Discussed in a few past threads: Photopea: A free alternative to Photoshop used by millions of people - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26898836 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26898836 - April 2021 (5 comments) AMA: Ivan Kutskir, creator of Photopea - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26768550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26768550 - April 2021 (267 comments) AMA with the Creator of Photopea - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24143189 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24143189 - Aug 2020 (6 comments) Reddit AMA on Photopea, a free alternative to Photoshop used by 1.5M people - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18397380 - Nov 2018 (179 comments) My name is Ivan and I want to make the best photo editor - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15924402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15924402 - Dec 2017 (80 comments) Surface Blur and Median - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12612720 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12612720 - Sept 2016 (34 comments) Photo Pea 0.3 – New features - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6624264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6624264 - Oct 2013 (7 comments) HTML5 image editor wants to replace Photoshop and Gimp - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6396474 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6396474 - Sept 2013 (4 comments)

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

ChrisArchitect 5y ago

polite thank you -- not sure if I checked it out in the earlier days or something but hadn't been back and stunned at how GIMPy it is (in a good way). And totally jump-right-in useable. Impressive.