A Free Alternative to Photoshop

If you are looking for a graphics program that is similar to Photoshop, without the hefty price tag, your search may soon be over.  Introducing GIMP, a free image editing software program that has become very popular.

The GNU Image Manipulation Program, more commonly known as GIMP, is a software program you can use to create and edit bitmapped images.  This makes it an ideal program for editing photographs and web graphics. GIMP is powerful enough for the serious digital artist, but fun enough for the graphic artist wannabe.  Oh, and did I mention it's FREE.

GIMP made it's internet debut in 1996.  Five years later, it has already become so mainstream, that there are many how-to books documenting it's use.  I recently checked out a 500+ page book, "Beginning GIMP: From Novice to Professional" by Akkana Peck, from my local library.  After briefly skimming through the chapters, I discovered that GIMP has many many features.  This is a very serious image editing program!
 

While commerical products, like Photoshop (the king of them all) may still be superior, many people are finding that GIMP can pretty much do the same things.  In addition, since it's first release, GIMP has been updated a few times, so it looks like it's developers are willing to invest their time to make the program even better.

Since the cost of Photoshop can run into the hundreds of dollars, GIMP is a great alternative for anyone who can't afford to spend that much.  To download GIMP, at no charge, visit the official GIMP website.  GIMP can run on multiple operating systems, including: Windows, Mac, Linux, and most versions of UNIX.   

Both of my sons have been using GIMP for over a year and are very happy with the results.  When they first learned about GIMP, they just downloaded the program and jumped right in.

Here is a quick demo of me using the GIMP program:

Finally, here is a very short audio podcast of my eldest son's experinece with GIMP: