Will Gimp be fine?

Hello,

I've been using Gimp for a while now, and it has pretty much been working fine, but I was wondering if it is really necessary to be using Photoshop. The reason I use Gimp is because I use Linux, and even if I did use Windows or Mac, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to buy Photoshop.

I've heard that Gimp has poor support for CMYK, but I usually do web design, and I rarely do print design. What web design-related things require Photoshop, and not Gimp?

Thanks

Well all I can say to that is it's kinda like having an old car. You can't really afford to buy a new one but you know you will have to some day. GIMP is a very good program. Can't you download a pluggin for CMYK?
GIMP surely isn't as Robust as CS4 but it surely has it's place. I use CS4 and wouldn't trade it. Adobe is leader of the pack with GIMP not far behind.

PhotoShop is for serious designers. I agree that PhotoShop has more features to offer than GIMP but that doesn't mean that GIMP can't do what PhotoShop can. I prefer using GIMP over PhotoShop because I'm not doing designs all the time.

Its not the tools that make you a good designer or not so it doesn't matter. Just use what you are comfortable with, if you can get hold of photoshop its not a bad shout as its industry standard. But if you can create good designs in GIMP having photoshop won't probably change anything.

From personally have experience with photoshop and GIMP, photoshop definitely has some nice features that GIMP lacks. The toolbar in GIMP is cumbersome for a start as its in a separate window. In the latest photoshop's there is also some nice resizing features to keep the image ratios correct (more for photographs).

Gimp is ok. but eventually you will be pulled by the gravitational force of adobe.

I've been using Gimp for years and have had very few instances where I couldn't achieve the end product I was shooting for. I do sometimes with I had Photoshop because some of the results can be achieved in one or two steps which may take 5 or so when using Gimp.

I agree with Immersion, the design will be created by us and the tools will just help us to achieve it.

You can practice with GIMP and buy Photoshop when you have the money to buy it. Photoshop is a very good investment and you can even earn some income from the designs you made from it.

Originally Posted by freeme I agree with Immersion, the design will be created by us and the tools will just help us to achieve it. You can practice with GIMP and buy Photoshop when you have the money to buy it. Photoshop is a very good investment and you can even earn some income from the designs you made from it.

I am thinking about buying Photoshop soon. I've used a friend's several times now and I think it is going to be a little more difficult to learn since I have used Gimp for so long so if you can afford to buy it up front then I would recommend it.

The advantage of Photoshop is the amount of support available for both free and a price, as there are literally hundreds of tutorials as well as books out there to help you master it whereas with GIMP, resources do exist but are much more limited. However, for basic editing and effects, GIMP should get the job done without spending any additional money - you might just have to research a bit to figure out how to pull off certain things and if you get good enough, you should be able to replicate most of Photoshop's functionality as well.

Serious designers use Photoshop. There's no middle ground in my eyes. If you are serious and not just designing as a hobby then invest in Photoshop. If this is just a hobby to you then gimp will be fine.