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A while back I was working on an indie game dev project and I wanted to see if I could do it without using Photoshop and in my naïveté I downloaded gimp expecti

A while back I was working on an indie game dev project and I wanted to see if I could do it without using Photoshop and in my naïveté I downloaded gimp expecting it to be an easy switch over. It was probably one of the most frustrating experiences in software in my life, I knew what I wanted to do but it seemed like gimp was going out of its way to make it as difficult and unintuitive as possible. I was literally getting angry in front of my computer which never happens. My solution in the end was to download Krita, without using any tutorials I was able to figure it out and was working on assets and textures with very little friction. Now days Photopea, a web based editor is much more useful and less frustrating than gimp. I still think of gimp as one of the worst UX experiences in my life and it makes blenders interface seem amazing in comparison which is sad because blender too has an awful unintuitive interface that keeps getting “fixed”. In the end, what the gimp team should focus on is the UX of gimp and make using it not feel like pulling teeth.

Beijinger 3y ago
Thanks for mentioning it. Gimp is okay, except for the missing CMKY. There was once a CMKY support plug-in, wasn't there? Do you know what I miss? The inkscape competitor Xara Xtreme (XL). Gone..
- prokoudine 3y ago
  The separate+ plugin isn't maintained, but GIMP 2.99/3.0 has late binding for CMYK (basically, work in RGB, export in CMYK).
j1elo 3y ago
Bear with me and take a breath :) If you think with a cold head about it, do you believe the frustration came from the fact that Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features? (tools, menus, options, etc...) Or would you say it's just that they took a different path, not worse nor better, just wholly different, and that makes things more confusing for people who are used to, and have the different thing made by Photoshop, ingrained in their minds? (btw your mention about Krita was very spot-on, because otherwise conversation usually ends up revolving about how Gimp is FOSS and thus they cannot afford having a full time designer working on the best possible UI... but in this case it seems clear that Krita has been better for you, while also being FOSS)
- LadyCailin 3y ago
  I learned photoshop from nothing a lot faster and easier than I learned Gimp. Paths for the same process aside, I think Gino absolutely could learn from photoshop when it comes to making things intuitive. Even if doing the task itself is done differently.
- archerx 3y ago
  “ do you believe the frustration came from the fact that Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features? (tools, menus, options, etc...)” Yes, yes absolutely without a doubt because I can use photoshop, photopea, krita, paint.net and maybe Corel if ever use it again without issues. Gimps interface is objectively bad.
- n6242 3y ago
  As someone who's used gimp for more than 10 years because it covers all my needs without issues, and I can work reasonable efficiently because I've already memorised its UI and quirks... Yes, the frustration most people have is because Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features, not just that they took a different path. At this point I've got muscle memory for many things, but I still sometimes find myself frustrated about the UI being so bad.
- raincole 3y ago
  > If you think with a cold head about it, do you believe the frustration came from the fact that Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features? (tools, menus, options, etc...) Not the GP. GIMP was my first image editor (granted it was almost a decade ago so it might be much better today). And the answer is yes. Yes a thousand times. Once I switched to CSP+PS (later Krita+PS) it's quite hard to imagine going back to GIMP.
- LysPJ 3y ago
  I've been using GIMP for well over a decade, and the UI still deeply frustrating. When I see what Blender has achieved over that time, I wish GIMP could have done the same.
- tauntz 3y ago
timvdalen 3y ago
I think it's just what you're used to. I mainly work with GIMP, but have to switch to Photoshop for CMYK every once in a while. For me using Photoshop feels like pulling teeth: everything is hidden, I can't find tools to do what I want, and the tools I can find work unintuitively.
- Ferret7446 3y ago
  Same, I grew up on GIMP and it works great. Tried Photoshop and it was painful. I've had similar experiences with all complex GUI suites, like DAWs and IDEs, each one is different.
- archerx 3y ago
  Photoshop was not my first image editing program. I used to use Corel back in the day and moved to PS when it became industry standard. Unfortunately I think gimp baby duck syndrome (the is an argument gimp users like to use against other without irony) because why can I jump between a handful of image editors without issue except gimp? Gimp is the odd one out unfortunately.
- oblio 3y ago
  > I think it's just what you're used to. If most of the mainstream programs work the same way, there's an age old set of UI/UX axioms for developers of competitor programs: 1. The users aren't wrong, <<you are wrong>>. 2. If you think you aren't wrong, <<you're still most likely wrong>>. 3. And if you still think aren't most likely wrong, <<show me your usability studies>>. Open source programs basically have 0 usability studies because they don't have money for them, so this argument basically dies at step 4: 4. <<Shut the f** up user, I'm giving this away for free>>. :-)
  - b112 3y ago
    Uppercase is strongly discouraged at HN, suggest you switch to italics. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - 3y ago
enriquto 3y ago
Your message intriguing... Can you point to some specific examples of frustration? I've never used Photoshop, but as an occasional user of gimp it seems quite natural and intuitive to me. I'd like to see what could be greatly improved about it.
- snodnipper 3y ago
  I agree - I have used the gimp since 1998 and when using other apps (e.g. Affinity) I often return to Gimp and Inkscape because I understand their UIs best.
virtue3 3y ago
From what I understood about GIMPs development is that they have to purposefully make things "different" from photoshop so as to not get sued. Which makes going from PS to GIMP incredibly painful (I too, tried a few times). I think if you come into GIMP fresh without using other tools it is probably beter. I usually ended up relying on paint.net back in the day instead of GIMP on windows tho.
- timeon 3y ago
  Yeah GIMP has it's issues but GP is influenced by vendor lock-in. Better example is Inkspace (because it is more comparable to closed-source alternatives): transition from Corel Draw to Inkspace is much easier then from Adobe Illustrator. I feel GP's pain, I'm in same situation ...but there are different UX/UI paradigms.
  - oblio 3y ago
    > Yeah GIMP has it's issues but GP is influenced by vendor lock-in. He mentioned Krita as being better 2 paragraphs in, how does "vendor lock-in" make any sense here?
- prokoudine 3y ago
  > From what I understood about GIMPs development is that they have to purposefully make things "different" from photoshop so as to not get sued. I don't know how these rumours get started but that is simply not true. GIMP does some things differently and then it does some things the same (because it's just how this type of features work). And then some things were purposefully verbatim-copied from Photoshop (think Heal tool and Perspective Clone tool) because they looked like a good idea. Personally, I find it incredibly frustrating that this type of conversation always boils down to "If you are asking for explanation why copying Photoshop is good, then you are flat-out refusing to change UI and purposefully making things different".
OliveMate 3y ago
As someone who went through the same experience it'd take a lot for me to even think about touching GIMP again. I'm sure that it's a viable Photoshop alternative but any functionality is obscured under a web of riddles. Blender's UI used to be nightmarish and backwards for any newcomer (why would they make right click select things instead of left??), but as someone who's tinkered with it over the last decade the UI changes introduced in 2.8 finally made things comprehensible. GIMP needs much the same, but I doubt it'll happen until a wider community (or some industry) incentivise it.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
FireInsight 3y ago
> I still think of gimp as one of the worst UX experiences in my life and it makes blenders interface seem amazing in comparison I never get the comments like this I see about Blender. After the 2.8 redesign, on which the major versions after it have only improved, I felt that the program is really good to use. Well, I'm a Blenderer, I know the basic Blender keybinds. If I didn't, the experience would be much worse. But once you know about shift+a, tab, and x, using the program should be no problem. I feel that the UI is pretty intuitive and internally consistent. But this is just my experience... Maybe some have a harder time forming intuitions.
- Conscat 3y ago
  I hate Maya ever since I tried Blender 2.8
- archerx 3y ago
  I can use 3Ds max with pretty much one hand and when I zoom with the mouse wheel it zooms where the cursor is an not the center of the screen. The metaphor I like to use for blender is it is like riding a bike with the seat missing, you can get to where you need to but the ride is much less comfortable. Gimp is like a bike with no seat, you have to peddle in reverse and the handle bars also work in reverse. I’ve used many other 3D programs, even some that don’t exist anymore like XSI so no baby duck syndrome here but I just find blender just not fun to use. Even milkshape 3D back in the early 2000s was way more intuitive than blender.
  - jdiff 3y ago
    It is possible to configure Blender to work this way, it's one of the first things I do on a new install. If I'm remembering right it's under your Navigation preferences.
fredley 3y ago
Photopea is an embarrassment to GIMP. I had a very similar experience trying to use GIMP once. Using Photopea was seamless and easy and it hasn't lacked any feature I've wanted yet.
b112 3y ago
For me, the relentlessly changing gimp gui is what drives me nuts. I need to use it, every so often (once a year, but for a week or more), and every couple of years, options move, settings change, everything. And it always does seem to do things in a weird way.
- mariusor 3y ago
  I'd be very curious to learn which parts of the GUI you mean, I think in 15 years of using GIMP, I've never had this problem, though granted, I never used it at a professional level. The only things that I can think of is some more tools appearing on the same buttons in the interface, or more options in the Tools/Filters menus.
masfoobar 3y ago
Not suggesting your comment is not without merit. I can understand going from Photoshop to Gimp can be frustrating but I think we can pick many examples that follows the same pattern. I guess it is more about what you are use to than anything. I am a software engineer, and familiar with Windows and GNU/Linux systems. There are a few good development software I use. However, If I was handed an Apple Mac Laptop for working on a new project, I am sure it will be a very frustrating experience for me. It is not because the 'apple experience' is bad. It seems like a well-though-out system but I am sure to be annoyed and wasting time trying to figure how to do things in the OS as well as the software I am using. Now I do not call my self a graphic designer by any means. I do know enough of Gimp to do a number of things. I guess I am good with a working knowledge. I am sure if I was given Photoshop I would be frustrated trying to do X, Y and Z. Maybe there is a bit of bias showing on my part. To have a package like Gimp (or Blender, Inkscape, etc) that is Free Software is just a huge win. Of course, maybe I can say that considering I am not an expert designer that needs to use these types of software 24/7. With GIMP (and Blender) I am mostly using the keyboard shortcuts. Maybe this helps balance what is annoying UX? I dont know.
- archerx 3y ago
  Going from photoshop to gimp is not like going from windows to mac os. Mac os is annoying in the fact that its restrictive because it wants to be safe and protect the user from themselves at all cost but it is still very very intuitive.
  - doubled112 3y ago
    Maybe I'm the odd person out, but I don't find most Apple UIs all that intuitive. The iPod Classic was fantastic but we're a ways past that. I've used Windows, and Linux on the desktop for a lot of years, and struggled with my new Mac this year. The last time I used a Mac was System 7. Tons of normal options are hidden and undiscoverable, except by accident or tradition. Maybe my annoyances are just because they feel restrictive, as you say. I'm not sure. Calculator on iPhone is an example. Vertical for standard, horizontal for scientific. Simple once you know, but I only found that because I put my phone down on my desk with it open, but back to the Mac. Please let me stick windows to corners. Do not make me hover a UI element with my mouse to see more options. Mac's built in window management is less powerful than Windows 7's. If it isn't what you're used to, a program being open but not having any windows is a strange way to work. And how do I show hidden files in Finder? I was convinced I just can't find the menu item, but if you Google it, you get some suggestions for command line options, and running Automator tasks.
rightbyte 3y ago
> In the end, what the gimp team should focus on is the UX of gimp Oh I hate to break it to you, but you are part of the problem ;) Please Gimp, leave the things exactly where they are. Thank you. Learning new UIs just sucks. It is the way it is.
- raincole 3y ago
  I really wonder how many people still believe Blender should have stayed in 2.79 UI paradigm today.
  - blooalien 3y ago
    Certainly not I, because nothing of real value was lost during the improvement phase. Everything that made Blender good is still there today. Only genuine improvements and new features have been added.
- d3w4s9 3y ago
  Yeah, that kind of attitude is surely going to help the development of GIMP. There are lots of alternatives to Photoshop these days, free or paid, open source or not, and most of them are vastly better than GIMP in many ways. Yes I have used almost all of them. I won't be surprised if GIMP is forgotten to oblivion in a few years and only mentioned in forums like hacker news by amateurs who for some reason loves this abusive relationship.
- archerx 3y ago
  Because of people like you gimp will never reach its full potential and wallow in mediocrity. Gimp can have a blender style redemption arc but people like you will fight tooth and nail to prevent that from happening because five guys like the UI as it is the thousands who say it is horrible be damned. Learning bad UIs sucks and thats not the way it should. I relearned the unreal engine ui three time udk/ue4/ue5 and it never sucked, in fact it was a lot of fun.
  - emmet 3y ago
    Sometimes it feels like people want to keep GIMP unintuitive so as to keep their little club as exclusive as possible. How else would they be able to look down on people and say "well you're just not clever enough to understand it". I'm very happy to see blender fix itself and become so popular as a result. Tons of cool stuff coming out of that community these days.
d3w4s9 3y ago
Agreed. I am willing to pay for a Photoshop license out of pocket than getting paid to use GIMP. Every time someone says "use GIMP" I wonder how much time they have spent designing/drawing anything and what level of experience they have. It is not a matter of different UX -- it is a matter of whether the UX makes sense at all. GIMP stands in your way of productivity. And I notice UX is a big problem for GNU software from that era, and to some extent community driven open source software in general. Of course there are notable exceptions like IINA, but often it is like "we have this feature" and are done with it and nobody bothers to work on improving the UX.
darajava 3y ago
I agree. I also think this about Figma though. I’ve been using it a fair amount for a few months now, and while it’s powerful, a lot of it is very unintuitive.
skripp 3y ago
I also can’t stand the gimp ui/ux. I haven’t tried it myself but I just googled this[0]. [0] https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP
unixhero 3y ago
Should have gone with Krita
- blooalien 3y ago
  Krita is a great piece of software for certain tasks, for sure. I use it alongside Blender, GIMP, and Inkscape. Well worth keeping it installed and ready for those times it's just the best tool for the job at hand.
ponorin 3y ago
I'm a happy user of GIMP whe also happened to have switched from Photoshop. I even managed to use keyboard shortcuts cuz it's so intuitive. I never make efforts to learn them, not in gimp not elsewhere, but the description was straightforward that I would have a hard time not learning it. (P for paint/pen, M for move, T for text, Shift+E for erasor) Now I like Krita too, but mostly because of the pen library. Krita is actually less intuitive than GIMP imo (Why are there different moving tools for vector and raster layers? How do I enlarge my selection? How do I flip the canvas for correction reasons? I know there's a shortcut for that, I pressed it by accident.) Would I call Krita bad UX? Not really, it has a place in my workflow. But I prefer GIMP for its power and since I can get around it well. They have been obviously stretched thin for a long time, I myself have been waiting for features and improvements in GIMP for years. But really, I think people underestimate the complexity of these tools and quick to label them unintuitive. I don't think you can overhaul the UI without removing some or many features GIMP currently has.
cchance 3y ago
100% with you i kept hearing about. gimp being the defacto FOSS standard for image editing/creation, but holy crap its like you need a degree to get started with it
jailbirdBD 3y ago
Used Photoshop since its really early days, but since I moved to Linux as an OS, it's really hard to find an alternative. Eventually, I fall back to Photopea, as Gimp is just a PITA to work in.
- bj-rn 3y ago
  For a quick edit I am using Affinity Suite in bottles/wine: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/182758-affinity-suite-v204-on-linux-wine/ https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/182758-aff... If it gets more involved I boot into windows.

Beijinger 3y ago

Thanks for mentioning it. Gimp is okay, except for the missing CMKY. There was once a CMKY support plug-in, wasn't there? Do you know what I miss? The inkscape competitor Xara Xtreme (XL). Gone..

prokoudine 3y ago
The separate+ plugin isn't maintained, but GIMP 2.99/3.0 has late binding for CMYK (basically, work in RGB, export in CMYK).

j1elo 3y ago

Bear with me and take a breath :) If you think with a cold head about it, do you believe the frustration came from the fact that Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features? (tools, menus, options, etc...) Or would you say it's just that they took a different path, not worse nor better, just wholly different, and that makes things more confusing for people who are used to, and have the different thing made by Photoshop, ingrained in their minds? (btw your mention about Krita was very spot-on, because otherwise conversation usually ends up revolving about how Gimp is FOSS and thus they cannot afford having a full time designer working on the best possible UI... but in this case it seems clear that Krita has been better for you, while also being FOSS)

LadyCailin 3y ago
I learned photoshop from nothing a lot faster and easier than I learned Gimp. Paths for the same process aside, I think Gino absolutely could learn from photoshop when it comes to making things intuitive. Even if doing the task itself is done differently.
archerx 3y ago
“ do you believe the frustration came from the fact that Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features? (tools, menus, options, etc...)” Yes, yes absolutely without a doubt because I can use photoshop, photopea, krita, paint.net and maybe Corel if ever use it again without issues. Gimps interface is objectively bad.
n6242 3y ago
As someone who's used gimp for more than 10 years because it covers all my needs without issues, and I can work reasonable efficiently because I've already memorised its UI and quirks... Yes, the frustration most people have is because Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features, not just that they took a different path. At this point I've got muscle memory for many things, but I still sometimes find myself frustrated about the UI being so bad.
raincole 3y ago
> If you think with a cold head about it, do you believe the frustration came from the fact that Gimp has made actually bad choices about placement and design of its features? (tools, menus, options, etc...) Not the GP. GIMP was my first image editor (granted it was almost a decade ago so it might be much better today). And the answer is yes. Yes a thousand times. Once I switched to CSP+PS (later Krita+PS) it's quite hard to imagine going back to GIMP.
LysPJ 3y ago
I've been using GIMP for well over a decade, and the UI still deeply frustrating. When I see what Blender has achieved over that time, I wish GIMP could have done the same.
tauntz 3y ago

timvdalen 3y ago

I think it's just what you're used to. I mainly work with GIMP, but have to switch to Photoshop for CMYK every once in a while. For me using Photoshop feels like pulling teeth: everything is hidden, I can't find tools to do what I want, and the tools I can find work unintuitively.

Ferret7446 3y ago
Same, I grew up on GIMP and it works great. Tried Photoshop and it was painful. I've had similar experiences with all complex GUI suites, like DAWs and IDEs, each one is different.
archerx 3y ago
Photoshop was not my first image editing program. I used to use Corel back in the day and moved to PS when it became industry standard. Unfortunately I think gimp baby duck syndrome (the is an argument gimp users like to use against other without irony) because why can I jump between a handful of image editors without issue except gimp? Gimp is the odd one out unfortunately.
oblio 3y ago
> I think it's just what you're used to. If most of the mainstream programs work the same way, there's an age old set of UI/UX axioms for developers of competitor programs: 1. The users aren't wrong, <<you are wrong>>. 2. If you think you aren't wrong, <<you're still most likely wrong>>. 3. And if you still think aren't most likely wrong, <<show me your usability studies>>. Open source programs basically have 0 usability studies because they don't have money for them, so this argument basically dies at step 4: 4. <<Shut the f** up user, I'm giving this away for free>>. :-)
- b112 3y ago
  Uppercase is strongly discouraged at HN, suggest you switch to italics. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - 3y ago

enriquto 3y ago

Your message intriguing... Can you point to some specific examples of frustration? I've never used Photoshop, but as an occasional user of gimp it seems quite natural and intuitive to me. I'd like to see what could be greatly improved about it.

snodnipper 3y ago
I agree - I have used the gimp since 1998 and when using other apps (e.g. Affinity) I often return to Gimp and Inkscape because I understand their UIs best.

virtue3 3y ago

From what I understood about GIMPs development is that they have to purposefully make things "different" from photoshop so as to not get sued. Which makes going from PS to GIMP incredibly painful (I too, tried a few times). I think if you come into GIMP fresh without using other tools it is probably beter. I usually ended up relying on paint.net back in the day instead of GIMP on windows tho.

timeon 3y ago
Yeah GIMP has it's issues but GP is influenced by vendor lock-in. Better example is Inkspace (because it is more comparable to closed-source alternatives): transition from Corel Draw to Inkspace is much easier then from Adobe Illustrator. I feel GP's pain, I'm in same situation ...but there are different UX/UI paradigms.
- oblio 3y ago
  > Yeah GIMP has it's issues but GP is influenced by vendor lock-in. He mentioned Krita as being better 2 paragraphs in, how does "vendor lock-in" make any sense here?
prokoudine 3y ago
> From what I understood about GIMPs development is that they have to purposefully make things "different" from photoshop so as to not get sued. I don't know how these rumours get started but that is simply not true. GIMP does some things differently and then it does some things the same (because it's just how this type of features work). And then some things were purposefully verbatim-copied from Photoshop (think Heal tool and Perspective Clone tool) because they looked like a good idea. Personally, I find it incredibly frustrating that this type of conversation always boils down to "If you are asking for explanation why copying Photoshop is good, then you are flat-out refusing to change UI and purposefully making things different".

OliveMate 3y ago

As someone who went through the same experience it'd take a lot for me to even think about touching GIMP again. I'm sure that it's a viable Photoshop alternative but any functionality is obscured under a web of riddles. Blender's UI used to be nightmarish and backwards for any newcomer (why would they make right click select things instead of left??), but as someone who's tinkered with it over the last decade the UI changes introduced in 2.8 finally made things comprehensible. GIMP needs much the same, but I doubt it'll happen until a wider community (or some industry) incentivise it.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

FireInsight 3y ago

> I still think of gimp as one of the worst UX experiences in my life and it makes blenders interface seem amazing in comparison I never get the comments like this I see about Blender. After the 2.8 redesign, on which the major versions after it have only improved, I felt that the program is really good to use. Well, I'm a Blenderer, I know the basic Blender keybinds. If I didn't, the experience would be much worse. But once you know about shift+a, tab, and x, using the program should be no problem. I feel that the UI is pretty intuitive and internally consistent. But this is just my experience... Maybe some have a harder time forming intuitions.

Conscat 3y ago
I hate Maya ever since I tried Blender 2.8
archerx 3y ago
I can use 3Ds max with pretty much one hand and when I zoom with the mouse wheel it zooms where the cursor is an not the center of the screen. The metaphor I like to use for blender is it is like riding a bike with the seat missing, you can get to where you need to but the ride is much less comfortable. Gimp is like a bike with no seat, you have to peddle in reverse and the handle bars also work in reverse. I’ve used many other 3D programs, even some that don’t exist anymore like XSI so no baby duck syndrome here but I just find blender just not fun to use. Even milkshape 3D back in the early 2000s was way more intuitive than blender.
- jdiff 3y ago
  It is possible to configure Blender to work this way, it's one of the first things I do on a new install. If I'm remembering right it's under your Navigation preferences.

fredley 3y ago

Photopea is an embarrassment to GIMP. I had a very similar experience trying to use GIMP once. Using Photopea was seamless and easy and it hasn't lacked any feature I've wanted yet.

b112 3y ago

For me, the relentlessly changing gimp gui is what drives me nuts. I need to use it, every so often (once a year, but for a week or more), and every couple of years, options move, settings change, everything. And it always does seem to do things in a weird way.

mariusor 3y ago
I'd be very curious to learn which parts of the GUI you mean, I think in 15 years of using GIMP, I've never had this problem, though granted, I never used it at a professional level. The only things that I can think of is some more tools appearing on the same buttons in the interface, or more options in the Tools/Filters menus.

masfoobar 3y ago

Not suggesting your comment is not without merit. I can understand going from Photoshop to Gimp can be frustrating but I think we can pick many examples that follows the same pattern. I guess it is more about what you are use to than anything. I am a software engineer, and familiar with Windows and GNU/Linux systems. There are a few good development software I use. However, If I was handed an Apple Mac Laptop for working on a new project, I am sure it will be a very frustrating experience for me. It is not because the 'apple experience' is bad. It seems like a well-though-out system but I am sure to be annoyed and wasting time trying to figure how to do things in the OS as well as the software I am using. Now I do not call my self a graphic designer by any means. I do know enough of Gimp to do a number of things. I guess I am good with a working knowledge. I am sure if I was given Photoshop I would be frustrated trying to do X, Y and Z. Maybe there is a bit of bias showing on my part. To have a package like Gimp (or Blender, Inkscape, etc) that is Free Software is just a huge win. Of course, maybe I can say that considering I am not an expert designer that needs to use these types of software 24/7. With GIMP (and Blender) I am mostly using the keyboard shortcuts. Maybe this helps balance what is annoying UX? I dont know.

archerx 3y ago
Going from photoshop to gimp is not like going from windows to mac os. Mac os is annoying in the fact that its restrictive because it wants to be safe and protect the user from themselves at all cost but it is still very very intuitive.
- doubled112 3y ago
  Maybe I'm the odd person out, but I don't find most Apple UIs all that intuitive. The iPod Classic was fantastic but we're a ways past that. I've used Windows, and Linux on the desktop for a lot of years, and struggled with my new Mac this year. The last time I used a Mac was System 7. Tons of normal options are hidden and undiscoverable, except by accident or tradition. Maybe my annoyances are just because they feel restrictive, as you say. I'm not sure. Calculator on iPhone is an example. Vertical for standard, horizontal for scientific. Simple once you know, but I only found that because I put my phone down on my desk with it open, but back to the Mac. Please let me stick windows to corners. Do not make me hover a UI element with my mouse to see more options. Mac's built in window management is less powerful than Windows 7's. If it isn't what you're used to, a program being open but not having any windows is a strange way to work. And how do I show hidden files in Finder? I was convinced I just can't find the menu item, but if you Google it, you get some suggestions for command line options, and running Automator tasks.

rightbyte 3y ago

> In the end, what the gimp team should focus on is the UX of gimp Oh I hate to break it to you, but you are part of the problem ;) Please Gimp, leave the things exactly where they are. Thank you. Learning new UIs just sucks. It is the way it is.

raincole 3y ago
I really wonder how many people still believe Blender should have stayed in 2.79 UI paradigm today.
- blooalien 3y ago
  Certainly not I, because nothing of real value was lost during the improvement phase. Everything that made Blender good is still there today. Only genuine improvements and new features have been added.
d3w4s9 3y ago
Yeah, that kind of attitude is surely going to help the development of GIMP. There are lots of alternatives to Photoshop these days, free or paid, open source or not, and most of them are vastly better than GIMP in many ways. Yes I have used almost all of them. I won't be surprised if GIMP is forgotten to oblivion in a few years and only mentioned in forums like hacker news by amateurs who for some reason loves this abusive relationship.
archerx 3y ago
Because of people like you gimp will never reach its full potential and wallow in mediocrity. Gimp can have a blender style redemption arc but people like you will fight tooth and nail to prevent that from happening because five guys like the UI as it is the thousands who say it is horrible be damned. Learning bad UIs sucks and thats not the way it should. I relearned the unreal engine ui three time udk/ue4/ue5 and it never sucked, in fact it was a lot of fun.
- emmet 3y ago
  Sometimes it feels like people want to keep GIMP unintuitive so as to keep their little club as exclusive as possible. How else would they be able to look down on people and say "well you're just not clever enough to understand it". I'm very happy to see blender fix itself and become so popular as a result. Tons of cool stuff coming out of that community these days.

d3w4s9 3y ago

Agreed. I am willing to pay for a Photoshop license out of pocket than getting paid to use GIMP. Every time someone says "use GIMP" I wonder how much time they have spent designing/drawing anything and what level of experience they have. It is not a matter of different UX -- it is a matter of whether the UX makes sense at all. GIMP stands in your way of productivity. And I notice UX is a big problem for GNU software from that era, and to some extent community driven open source software in general. Of course there are notable exceptions like IINA, but often it is like "we have this feature" and are done with it and nobody bothers to work on improving the UX.

darajava 3y ago

I agree. I also think this about Figma though. I’ve been using it a fair amount for a few months now, and while it’s powerful, a lot of it is very unintuitive.

skripp 3y ago

I also can’t stand the gimp ui/ux. I haven’t tried it myself but I just googled this[0]. [0] https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP https://github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP

unixhero 3y ago

Should have gone with Krita

blooalien 3y ago
Krita is a great piece of software for certain tasks, for sure. I use it alongside Blender, GIMP, and Inkscape. Well worth keeping it installed and ready for those times it's just the best tool for the job at hand.

ponorin 3y ago

I'm a happy user of GIMP whe also happened to have switched from Photoshop. I even managed to use keyboard shortcuts cuz it's so intuitive. I never make efforts to learn them, not in gimp not elsewhere, but the description was straightforward that I would have a hard time not learning it. (P for paint/pen, M for move, T for text, Shift+E for erasor) Now I like Krita too, but mostly because of the pen library. Krita is actually less intuitive than GIMP imo (Why are there different moving tools for vector and raster layers? How do I enlarge my selection? How do I flip the canvas for correction reasons? I know there's a shortcut for that, I pressed it by accident.) Would I call Krita bad UX? Not really, it has a place in my workflow. But I prefer GIMP for its power and since I can get around it well. They have been obviously stretched thin for a long time, I myself have been waiting for features and improvements in GIMP for years. But really, I think people underestimate the complexity of these tools and quick to label them unintuitive. I don't think you can overhaul the UI without removing some or many features GIMP currently has.

cchance 3y ago

100% with you i kept hearing about. gimp being the defacto FOSS standard for image editing/creation, but holy crap its like you need a degree to get started with it

jailbirdBD 3y ago

Used Photoshop since its really early days, but since I moved to Linux as an OS, it's really hard to find an alternative. Eventually, I fall back to Photopea, as Gimp is just a PITA to work in.

bj-rn 3y ago
For a quick edit I am using Affinity Suite in bottles/wine: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/182758-affinity-suite-v204-on-linux-wine/ https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/182758-aff... If it gets more involved I boot into windows.