Don’t get me wrong, I love Gimp. Unfortunately it doesn’t love me. I’ve being trying to run it on a Windows 8 64 bit Lenovo laptop and the UI keeps bugging out - misses clicks, won’t click and drag, brushes won’t work etc. I’ve tried 2.8.0, 2.8.2, 2.8.4 and third party compilations - no dice. I suspect it’s an obscure GTK+ incompatibility.
So I need an alternative. I mainly want to do simple technical image stuff - resizing, copy & pasting & scaling, adding alpha layers rather than retouching or original art.
Dont forget you can also install a virtual machine on your computer, this will allow it to run both linux and or MAC OS. VMware offers a free version of its virtual machine software, and linux is also free. With that you have access to apps like Krita (which also exists for windows though is a bit buggy). I highly recommend Krita, even for windows but depending on what you are trying to do it might not be the best option for that particular feature.
Also you shouldnt be having problems with GIMP, have you tried making sure your computer is up to date? Check out http://sourceforge.net/projects/gtk-win/ which might help solve your problem.
May I also add it does not have window problems, does not suffer from all of GIMPS annoying incomplete functionality, is free, and well documented with a huge community and is also available on Mac while at the same time recognized as a required tool by all industry professionals.
So I need an alternative. I mainly want to do simple technical image stuff - resizing, copy & pasting & scaling, adding alpha layers rather than retouching or original art.
Regarding Gimp, the 2.6.x serie of Gimp is the one that works the best (smoother and faster) on a window OS so you could give a try it’s a very solid version (but a pity the 2.6.x brush engine does not have all the very usefull functions like rotate and etc… as in recent versions, very annoying lack when you work on textures) , Gimp 2.7.x/2.8.x are slower and buggier due to indeed some problem with the version of GTK used in those newer releases and all the window OS.
Hopefully it will be sorted out one day, but still the same problem as in many FOSS regarding window support : there’s no window coder that help the Gimp devs (that are all on linux).
Meanwhile on Window if you need a free image editing program, i found Paint.NET to be very good due to its enormous amount of plugins to download on their boards to add features and functionalities, as by default Paint.NET is too bare bone in comparison to Gimp image editing function.
By example you have a Liquify plugin for Paint.NET that is nearly as good as the one from Photoshop (and so immensely much better than Gimp own very limited Iwarp function).
But Paint.NET big cons is the brush system that is comparable (and so as bad) as the default MS Paint that comes with any window OS, if you want to paint Paint.NET is definitively not the good choice, but for image editing it’s not bad at all as an alternative to Gimp.
For painting if you want a free app and if you want to avoid Gimp, give a try to MyPaint, while unfortunately the version 1.1 is not for Windows (due to the same usual FOSS problem : no window coder is joining to help), MyPaint 1.0 (and lower) are still -very- good painting applications on a window OS.
Krita is very good, but still it had some problem on windows (again the no window coder problem) , but each new releases are better and better on windows, hopefully one day it will easily replace Gimp as the prominent free image editing/painting if you’re on Windows.
It should be noted that its not intended for commercial purposes unless you have an original photoshop license. So technically its not free, but rather just made available to those who might have a license for it in the past. Still worth using though, and I know adobe has no way of telling if you use it commercially or not…so its mostly existing on a type of honor system.
Thank you for all the suggestions - sorry I put the original thread in the wrong place. I’ve tried rolling back to 2.6.11 with no luck - same problems. I’ve tried install the latest GTK+ runtime, but it only seems to be 32bit and I can’t find a 64bit version. Just installing the runtime didn’t help. I think I need the 64bit version to copy over the dlls in the Gimp directories.
Annoyingly I can’t find anybody else who is having a similar problem - and indeed 2.8.4 runs fine on my older Win 7-64 machine. It looks like a GTK+ on Win 8-64 on a Lenovo problem…
So I think I’ll try the CS2 link - I’m not using it commercially. I don’t want to be faffing about with virtual Linux machines and I’ve heard lots of depressing reports about Krita on Windows (which is a shame, it looks good).
Actually Paint.Net seems to hit 95% of what I do with GIMP (lacks neat selection tools) and is much lighter and faster. CS2 massive and a bit of a mess. Now to find some decent plugins - any suggestions?
CS2 has brushes, just download what you want and put them in the brush folder. I dont know how you can call Photoshop a mess when your coming from GIMP, lol. Anyways you said you wernt using for original art, Photoshop wasnt made for painting. There is a reason we have Painter, Sketchbook Pro, Art Rage, Sai Tools, etc…
If you don’t own a license, using this version is the same as using a pirated version - as stated by Adobe.
Well too be blunt, its there own damn fault if they have a problem with it for releasing the whole thing for free on the official web sight. Its like giving a dog some stake and expect her/him not to eat it.
So it’s okay to steal an Apple from a market stand that is left unattended for a minute? Or to download Accutrans and keep on using it, although the developer trusts its users to pay the shareware fee after one month’s use? Or to use someone’s image on Flicker for a non-profit project while it is clearly stated next to it that no-one is to use it for profit or public use? Or to keep the money in a wallet you found lying on the street? Or to drive away in a car that is still running and has the keys in it and the door open?
Adobe definitely stated that CS2 is only to be downloaded by those who have a license. If not: you are breaking the law. You can try kicking the ball into Adobe’s court and blame them for trusting their user base not to abuse that “free” download - you are still accountable for your actions.
I initially installed CS2 after hearing about that download. Once it became clear this was meant for licensed customers only, I uninstalled it.
Nope - whatever you say, you are still breaking the law*. Simple as that.
*whether that is morally and/or ethically the right thing to do depends on the individual situation.
What I don’t get is why the download page doesn’t have a system that requires you to enter your serial number before it initiates.
It would be a very basic security measure that would send a clear statement that they are not just giving out old Photoshop versions for free. (Has anyone contacted Adobe on doing that?)
Sorry but I have no gripe if someone wants to “steal” cs2. If adobe was concerned they would have put protection on the download. And why would anyone be in an Adobe court? This is business were talking, adobe knows pirating is a problem and they presented a creative solution to make themselves more popular through it.
Sure, that’s your call - your responsibility. It’s still not legal. Comparable to some countries tolerating the sale of soft-drugs, it seems Adobe is tolerating the download of CS2 by non-owners - though, according to the letter of the law: you are not supposed to be doing that.