this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2024
297 points (88.8% liked)

Cool Guides

4700 readers
2 users here now

Rules for Posting Guides on Our Community

1. Defining a Guide Guides are comprehensive reference materials, how-tos, or comparison tables. A guide must be well-organized both in content and layout. Information should be easily accessible without unnecessary navigation. Guides can include flowcharts, step-by-step instructions, or visual references that compare different elements side by side.

2. Infographic Guidelines Infographics are permitted if they are educational and informative. They should aim to convey complex information visually and clearly. However, infographics that primarily serve as visual essays without structured guidance will be subject to removal.

3. Grey Area Moderators may use discretion when deciding to remove posts. If in doubt, message us or use downvotes for content you find inappropriate.

4. Source Attribution If you know the original source of a guide, share it in the comments to credit the creators.

5. Diverse Content To keep our community engaging, avoid saturating the feed with similar topics. Excessive posts on a single topic may be moderated to maintain diversity.

6. Verify in Comments Always check the comments for additional insights or corrections. Moderators rely on community expertise for accuracy.

Community Guidelines

By following these rules, we can maintain a diverse and informative community. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the moderators. Thank you for contributing responsibly!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] x4740N@lemm.ee 78 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Gimp still isn't an effective competitor

It needs gui rework from a UI designer and is still lacking in features that creatives use

https://youtu.be/nHQv4blla7g

Blender is amazing though

Krita is a great program for art but I wish they'd implement full vector functionality

[–] akakunai@lemmy.ca 25 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (5 children)

I'm sure for anyone who has real work to do, GIMP will hold them back compared to Photoshop.

But I grew up using GIMP and got some pretty impressive results with it. Now that I have Adobe CC access and have been using Photoshop through that, I am perpetually confused on how to do x, which I know how to do in a couple clicks in GIMP.

To be fair, I'm sure that'd go doubly so for someone who started with Photoshop since it does have an objectively cleaner UI.

[–] navi@lemmy.tespia.org 13 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'm the opposite. I grew up pirating CS4/5/6 Photoshop but just for simple tasks. I can't for the life of me figure out Gimp.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] criitz@reddthat.com 69 points 3 months ago (3 children)
[–] MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml 14 points 3 months ago

Using pirated Adobe software these days is a much bigger pain in the ass than it was back in the day.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] detinu@lemmy.world 66 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Calling Figma free is like calling complimentary bread sticks a full dinner.

Penpot would be a better alternative. I never used it but it's gaining momentum.

[–] missphant@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 months ago

It's infuriating what basic features Penpot is still lacking and it trips you up all the time if you're used to working with Figma, but what's already in feels pretty good.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 50 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

I suspect they use a different definition of "Free" than we are used to. DaVinci Resolve and Figma are not FOSS, and have free and paid levels.

I believe the others are all free (as in beer) as well as free (as in speech).

[–] curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 months ago

Yup, I'd also say darktable + krita is a far better solution than gimp.

That said, for pro level stuff, resolve is much better than premier in general, so it's a solid competitor from a "Linux support" category.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] tiramichu@lemm.ee 45 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

As a former Photoshop user, I found all the paradigms and ways of thinking in Gimp were just so utterly different from what I was used to. Simple things like cropping, resizing selections and layer management felt like exercises in frustration.

Tried Krita instead, and I'm immediately feeling at home and able to be productive straight away.

I'm sure Gimp is awesome but my brain didn't like it. If anyone else is feeling the same way, give Krita a try.

[–] magic_lobster_party@kbin.run 18 points 3 months ago

I’ve used both Gimp and Photoshop. I’m not super skilled in any of these, but Photoshop feels the most natural to use. I’ve never figured out a good workflow for Gimp.

It’s a shame, because functionality wise Gimp is quite competent. It’s just the UI that’s crap.

[–] bratorange@feddit.org 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It is not just you. I started using gimp and later switched to Photoshop and it was such a great productivity improvement after just a few minutes.

[–] tiramichu@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Try Krita too then, if you're interested in moving to free and open source. The paradigm is very similar to Photoshop.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] cpw@lemmy.ca 33 points 3 months ago (8 children)

This guide is misleading. Sure, the product functionalities overlap, but if you have a mature workflow, you will not be able to switch without investing a LOT of effort in relearning your workflow on the new product stack. This is one of my MAIN reasons I hate the "I tried to switch to Linux and failed" genre of content. You're not going to find identical like-for-like replacements in Linux world that won't require significant effort to relearn. It's something us Linux users through and through need to bear in mind.

Also, we need to be cognisant that "just switching to Linux" narratives, fueled off infographics like this, will lead to frustration and dismissal.

No, I don't know how to change this - and morphing e.g. gimp to be a clone of Photoshop isn't the answer either.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago (10 children)

I really wish gimp could replace Photoshop but it absolutely cannot

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 27 points 3 months ago (16 children)

GIMP sucks and still has a horrid UI experience.

[–] gencha@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Gimp is an alternative to Photoshop the same way a bicycle is an alternative to a car.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 13 points 3 months ago

/c/fuck_cars has entered the chat
/c/fuck_cars: YOU WOT

[–] PlexSheep@infosec.pub 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

A sustainable alternative that keeps the user fit and enhances cities if adopted?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] superkret@feddit.org 6 points 3 months ago

A superior one, got it.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] 737@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 months ago
load more comments (14 replies)
[–] jimitsoni18@lemmy.zip 20 points 3 months ago

This is free as in free beer.

[–] LiamMayfair@lemmy.sdf.org 19 points 3 months ago

Krita for anything graphic design. Krita's UI layout is a lot more similar to Photoshop than GIMP, which makes the switch easier.

[–] Phoenix3875@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago

Figma is the complete opposite of free software. It's a cloud-only proprietary software.

[–] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 3 months ago

Replace Figma with Penpot

[–] lauha@lemmy.one 15 points 3 months ago (9 children)

Correct me if I am wrong but DaVinci Resolve is not really free software, right? It is just free to use proprietary software. Freemium or some such

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 3 months ago

Calling that Free Software was a bit of a poor choice by the author of this graphic

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 13 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Figma and blender are good the rest you're better off with the paid

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] navi@lemmy.tespia.org 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Photopea would be a better drop in than Gimp. But it's a website and that grinds my gears.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] 58008@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Photopea is another good (entirely browser-based) Photoshop alternative.

https://www.photopea.com/

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] akakunai@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 months ago

Figma balls XD

[–] refalo@programming.dev 7 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Every comment in this thread from beehaw is extremely negative.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] riskable@programming.dev 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

My list is a bit different:

Photoshop ➡️ Krita Illustrator ➡️ Krita After Effects ➡️ Blender Premier Pro ➡️ kdenlive Adobe XD and Figma ➡️ Everything about these tools seems wrong to me (see comment below) Cinema 4D and 3DS Max ➡️ I thought everyone ditched those in favor of Blender long ago? LOL

I completely do not understand the appeal of tools like Figma. As a developer who's made lot of single page web applications (though not in a while... Maybe everything is different now? 🤷) tools like Figma seem like they'd create a major headache for developers.

I mean, sure: If a tool gives you a quick, easy, collaborative way to mock up a website and user interactions then by all means! But it looks like people are going far beyond that and using Figma to generate code. In my experience with such tools in the past, that's where everything goes wrong.

If the developers themselves aren't using the tool then the code will drift from the GUI design tool too much over time, becoming a boat anchor that holds development back and slows everything down. But maybe folks are just using it to get things started? I dunno. I just don't get the hype around it.

Then again, I'm a guy who does all his CAD design work in OpenSCAD so I might have something like a superpower in regards to visual reasoning that prevents me from understanding the issues others have with conceptualizing code-as-design 🤷

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Beaver@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 months ago

People need to throw off the shackles of Adobe

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 months ago

If I can't do it in emacs, I do it in Blender.

[–] NoiseColor@startrek.website 5 points 3 months ago

Natron lol? Where did you get this from? Natron never really existed. Davinci has all the functions to replace AE.

Gimp sucks and should stop being mentioned as an alternative for anything.

load more comments
view more: next ›