Caffeinated Dreams

The GNU Image Manipulation Program
Difficulty Level: Introduction. This assumes you are using version 2.2

Ah, The GIMP. A very misunderstood and often over-looked program, overshadowed by the powers that be (Adobe Photoshop).

Little do people know, this program packs quite a punch in certain areas that Photoshop users can only dream of. Script-Fu is what I’m talking about. That is for another article all together though. ;) Here I am going to try and introduce you to The GIMP, and how to find your way around this program. Sadly, a lot of people instantly despise the layout. These people are usually the ones coming fresh from Photoshop (I was one of them).

Speed. That is how the user-layout is designed, for the quickest access to tools and options, or at least that is how I perceive it. Throughout this page, I will give you a run-down on how to navigate through The GIMP. However, since there is so much you can do, I can’t go through every detail. The best way to learn is to explore, but hopefully this will get you started on your way. :) Continue on to the next pages to learn the basics.

Finding Your Way Around GIMP

So you have The GIMP started, now what? File -> New, of course. Since version 2.2 now has pre-sized templates, let us use them! We are using the 640 x 480 template, because it is nice and small.

What I love the most about GIMP is the right-click navigation. For people coming from Photoshop, this may seem a little odd at first, but once you use it a few times, you’ll end up trying to right-click in Photoshop only to be dissappointed. Trust me, it will happen. Remember what I said about speed earlier? Well here it is.

For those who prefer the “classic” (and slower) way of doing things, each document will have the same menu at the top as in the right click menu.

As you can see, here is where all the options, tools, and other commands are.

• File: This has the typical commands to manage your document, such as saving, opening, or closing.
• Edit: As the name implies, options for editing your document such as outlining, copy, cutting out parts, or paste.
• Select: Options for selecting either all or specific parts of your document. Also has the awesome tool of Rounded Rectangle!
  
• View: Here are the options to customize the user-interface of GIMP, or different viewing options for the document (zoom in, zoom out, etc).
• Image: Document/Image size, properties, and rotate commands. Here you can flip you image horizontal, vertical, 90CW or CCW, or even at 180.
• Layer: Options for creating new layers, layer properties, and individual layer colour modes/transparency. Also gives you individual
  layer size properties.
• Tools: Self-explainatory — Tools. Transform tools, colour tools, paint tools, paths, etc.
• Dialogs: A.k.a, Windows or little boxes. Go here to create individual windows/boxes for layers, colours, text, etc., very handy. I could compare it to the “Window” menu in Photoshop, only this one is more flexible.
• Filters: Woohoo, filters! The newbies paradise! Filters are for creating small effects that you can work with. Most are highly customizable, giving you plenty of options to blend them together. Don’t confuse these with Script-Fu, which will be explained next.
• Script-Fu: This is what sets The GIMP above many other imaging software; it’s the punch I was talking about earlier. A very powerful feature and tool, it is best summed up as an “all-in-one”. Like a special combination of filters, blending options, and other effects, but don’t want to re-do it all the time? No problem, make a script of it through Script-Fu.

Whew. There is a general run-down on The GIMP and how to find your way around it. Some “real” tutorials will go up soon enough. Now go exploring.