Serious photographers - Free Photoshop clone on Wndows --GIMP

Edwin · Feb 6, 2024

Ghot said:
I've not tested this... just googled HiPaint for PC and this came up...

You have to run it in an Emulator..., pointless!

Wynona · Feb 6, 2024

glasskuter said:
A question Wyn. Do you think the majority of your seniors have a need (or a want) to learn extreme photo editing? I know the ones I taught for a while were more interested in understanding computer basics and how to perform Windows tasks rather than using specialty software that might have limited appeal. But then, the ones I helped were total puter novices.

That's the thing . . . The only ones I think may want to learn extreme photo editing would be someone who is into photography. What I'm aiming for is to teach the basics. Some may go further and some may be satisfied to just take the red out of their dog's eyes.

I just found PaintNet (Paint.Net). I had been looking for it as paint.net, but finally snapped to leaving out the dot and finally found the download. I may give that a try.

ShamrockRig said:
Oh dyou not have a smartphone? I understand then as you can't. If it is...wasted money on a smartphone with loads of features you won't use for some reason. Its a pc in a handheld environment, Isn't just for calling. Like saying i have a car, but wont put down the windows or turn on the music because i use it solely as a car, Only.

You really don't need to talk down to me. I know exactly what a smartphone is and I'm not wasting money on it. In fact, the one I have cost less than $100.00 and is up to date with both talk and text among other things I choose not to use. So it's a teeny tiny PC; I don't want a teeny tiny PC. I quite like this dual boot desktop with dual 27" monitors for the work I do. Besides, try buying a phone that's not a smartphone today and you'll be sorely disappointed.

Actually, my Ford Crown Vic lets me pick and choose what I want to use and what I don't want to use, just as my smartphone lets me pick and choose what I want to use and what I don't want to use.

Wynona · Feb 6, 2024

Edwin said:
You have to run it in an Emulator..., pointless!

Thanks, @Edwin.

hdmi · Feb 7, 2024

Wynona said:
I use my cellphone as a phone. Only.

Unless HiPaint is a computer program, I'm afraid it's not what I'm looking for.

It is a free, very easy to learn app for drawing digital art on Android and iOS so, it not only should be able to run on just about any half decent, relatively affordable smartphone I would guess, but also runs on various Android tablets (and on the iPad or the iPad Pro also). So, because there exists an Android version of HiPaint, it also can be a great alternative to Procreate especially for those who don't have an iPhone or iPad. HiPaint

Another good example of very easy to learn software for drawing digital art is MediBang Paint, which is also available for Windows. Also available for Windows, another good choice IMO is Krita. Krita is completely free, beginner-friendly, but also feature-rich so, beginners can still nevertheless tend to easily become lost or be intimidated while they are trying to navigate it and want to figure out what all the tools do. The only "trick" here is knowing to be more patient and take this comparatively more extensive learning curve one small step at a time.

If you know how to choose the right keywords to search on YouTube you can find numerous video tutorials and guides to get you started with this creative hobby, or art. Not all graphics programs/apps aim specifically toward digital drawing/painting, though.

Wynona · Feb 7, 2024

hdmi said:
It is a free, very easy to learn app for drawing digital art on Android and iOS so, it not only should be able to run on just about any half decent, relatively affordable smartphone I would guess, but also runs on various Android tablets (and on the iPad or the iPad Pro also). So, because there exists an Android version of HiPaint, it also can be a great alternative to Procreate especially for those who don't have an iPhone or iPad. HiPaint

Another good example of very easy to learn software for drawing digital art is MediBang Paint, which is also available for Windows. Also available for Windows, another good choice IMO is Krita. Krita is completely free, beginner-friendly, but also feature-rich so, beginners can still nevertheless tend to easily become lost or be intimidated while they are trying to navigate it and want to figure out what all the tools do. The only "trick" here is knowing to be more patient and take this comparatively more extensive learning curve one small step at a time.

If you know how to choose the right keywords to search on YouTube you can find numerous video tutorials and guides to get you started with this creative hobby, or art. Not all graphics programs/apps aim specifically toward digital drawing/painting, though.

Nah, I don't want a teeny tiny PC disguised as a smartphone.

I'll look at MediBang Paint and Krita, but I don't think they're what I need for editing photos. I want to teach my students the basics of fixing problems within photos they (most likely) take with their phones and transfer to the computer. We've studied moving photos from their phones to their computers. That was a hoot, but everyone accomplished what we set out to do.

idgat · Feb 7, 2024

I find my colour crayons and paper much easier to use.

Wynona · Feb 7, 2024

idgat said:
I find my colour crayons and paper much easier to use.

Much better'n a teeny tiny PC!

Wynona · Feb 7, 2024

@jimbo45

I think I need to apologize for hijacking your thread on Gimp. It seems that because I said, "How did you know I'm in the market for such a free program?", we now have three pages of posts mostly suggesting programs and apps for me to try.

So, here's my apology . . . I'm sorry. :boom:

Steve C · Feb 7, 2024

Adobe Lightroom is more useful to most photographers than Photoshop. I have both and only use Photoshop for detailed pixel level changes and Photoshop is sometimes better for photo merge to create a panorama from separate photos.

jimbo45 · Feb 7, 2024

Wynona said:
@jimbo45

I think I need to apologize for hijacking your thread on Gimp. It seems that because I said, "How did you know I'm in the market for such a free program?", we now have three pages of posts mostly suggesting programs and apps for me to try.

So, here's my apology . . . I'm sorry.

That's fine -- but the problem with the internet today where people weren't brought up on old BBS's with strict sysops and serious "netiquette" is people just post any old thing without reading or understanding the initial brief which was about FREE EDITING programs. So all those suggesting Photoshop / Lightroom or anything else even if only 69 USD aren't of relevance even if those are OK.

Never mind about smart phones vs PC's etc etc or phone cameras vs DSLR's --that wasn't the brief !!!!!!

Same when looking on a Mercedez Benz forum you are looking for a solution / particular obscure accessory and you get all sorts of "Smart Asses" saying Buy a Harley Davidson etc etc. !! Harley's are fun I know but that wasn't the point at issue of course.

Anyway hope you and your students got what you (and they) are looking for --you are never too old to learn new skills. I'm currently learning to be a flying instructor --have had a ppl for years but would love to teach youngsters (and even oldsters) flying small aircraft.

Cheers
jimbo

hdmi · Feb 7, 2024

jimbo45 said:
That's fine -- but the problem with the internet today where people weren't brought up on old BBS's with strict sysops and serious "netiquette" is people just post any old thing without reading or understanding the initial brief which was about FREE EDITING programs. So all those suggesting Photoshop / Lightroom or anything else even if only 69 USD aren't of relevance even if those are OK.

Never mind about smart phones vs PC's etc etc or phone cameras vs DSLR's --that wasn't the brief !!!!!!

Same when looking on a Mercedez Benz forum you are looking for a solution / particular obscure accessory and you get all sorts of "Smart Asses" saying Buy a Harley Davidson etc etc. !! Harley's are fun I know but that wasn't the point at issue of course.

Anyway hope you and your students got what you (and they) are looking for --you are never too old to learn new skills. I'm currently learning to be a flying instructor --have had a ppl for years but would love to teach youngsters (and even oldsters) flying small aircraft.

Krita meets all the criteria of a free editing program like GIMP. As for staying on topic and netiquette, both Photoshop (which, BTW, you mentioned in your thread title...

) and GIMP can support touchscreens with a stylus pen. As a matter of true fact, GIMP is also being further improved in that regard. See: GIMP - Development version: GIMP 2.99.8 Released
Politics used to be "not netiquette". But soapbox politics are special kind of politics so... for you, I'll kindly make that exception! :eyeroll:

Wynona · Feb 7, 2024

hdmi said:
Krita meets all the criteria of a free editing program like GIMP. As for staying on topic and netiquette, both Photoshop (which, BTW, you mentioned in your thread title... ) and GIMP can support touchscreens with a stylus pen. As a matter of true fact, GIMP is also being further improved in that regard. See: GIMP - Development version: GIMP 2.99.8 Released
Politics used to be "not netiquette". But soapbox politics are special kind of politics so... for you, I'll kindly make that exception!

@hdmi

Will Krita edit photos in Windows 11? That's the main reason I started my search for an app to teach my students the basics.

hdmi · Feb 7, 2024

Wynona said:
@hdmi

Will Krita edit photos in Windows 11? That's the main reason I started my search for an app to teach my students the basics.

It will, just not in the particular sense that it can also be used as an overall replacement for basic photo editing in GIMP. I use both Krita and GIMP on my laptop with Windows 11 so when it comes to photo editing tasks I primarily use GIMP, but also use Krita for those specific photo editing tasks (or parts of the photo editing job) where GIMP falls short in certain ways compared to Krita.

In short, even though GIMP is still superior to Krita in terms of photo editing for the most part (i.e., mainly as a result of the fact that Krita is primarily a digital drawing/painting program as opposed to is primarily a photo editing program), doesn't also mean that GIMP renders Krita completely obsolete in terms of photo editing. Albeit the main reason why I brought up digital drawing/painting was to also get the point across that "a graphics program/app" isn't necessarily always the same thing as a photo editing program/app. (Only some of them are.)

Here is a somewhat outdated (and a bit long maybe) video that tries to explain some of this at least to some extent: