What photoshop does that Gimp doesn't do?

[peq42_]

I've used Gimp for a long time, to edit mostly everything related to images that I need to do. But recently, talking to a friend(and then making some research) I've find out that many people share the opinion that "Photoshop is for pros/workers, Gimp for amateurs".

Problem is: I can't find out anything that photoshop does and gimp doesn't(And also can't put my hands on it, since it's paid, so I only really know about gimp). Some people even complain that "gimp's interface is too hard and that makes it slower to edit" but I honestly never had any problems/difficulties with it's interface...
All comparatives between those 2 that I've found give no examples of where photoshop is better than gimp, is mostly always opinions without arguments or using too old information(Like "gimp doesn't do that", when in truth it does since years ago, but the person doesn't know/search).

So what about you? I know that most people here are more artists than programmers, so maybe it's a good place to ask: Do you believe that Photoshop is better than gimp?Equal/similar? Or worse? And why?

 

[Shaz]

"What photoshop does that Gimp doesn't do?"

cost a fortune


The pro/amateur comment is nonsense - usually made by people who've paid for a product and want to feel better/superior. For someone who's not into digital art or just starting out, they both have impossibly hard interfaces to deal with.

IMO if the work you produce in Gimp can't be distinguished from the work you produce in Photoshop, any differences are irrelevant. But if one product does make it easier to produce that work, you'd be doing yourself a favour to use it, as long as what you get from it covers the cost of having it.

 

[Jonforum]

Photoshop are very more efficient if you get some plugin , especially if you want use it for make game.
I used gimp for years, it stands out with some tools but photoshop and AI is really powerful tool for gameDesign.
mapEditor
https://graphicriver.net/item/game-map-generator/17015466
worldmap editor
https://graphicriver.net/item/3d-map-generator-2-isometric/7667950
pixelArtmaker
https://graphicriver.net/item/3d-pixel-art-generation/6944066?s_rank=3
https://graphicriver.net/item/pixel-art-creator-photoshop-action/4069527?s_rank=4
https://graphicriver.net/category/add-ons/photoshop?term=pixel art
cartoon maker
https://graphicriver.net/item/portrait-cartoon-style-action/20929990?s_rank=19
tileSetpack and gui. ....
https://graphicriver.net/user/eldamien/portfolio

 

[gstv87]

vectors?

does gimp handle vectors?

 

[lokirafael]

GIMP UI is composed of multiple windows, that alone makes him slower to work around. Last time I used GIMP it dindt support CMYK either (No clue now). Tool Selection was also very limited. No Smart objects.

I use PhotoShop because I already use it since ever and theres hundreds of tutorials in the internet. If you are a hobbyst looking for a tool just pick the free one (or try the trial PS to see if it's worth the money)

 

[chrrsy]

GIMP UI is composed of multiple windows, that alone makes him slower to work around

Well, actually GIMP has a "single window mode."

 

[OnslaughtSupply]

Some of the masks and filters are a little bit better in Photoshop than Gimp. That said I use Gimp. Gimp has a ton of plugins, almost everything Photoshop has, Gimp has. Its user interface is kind of a pain but with single window mode and a little bit of time, you can figure it out.

Oh Photoshop has a dark layout that Gimp doesn't have that I'm aware of. At the price point though, I'm surprised anybody uses Photoshop.

 

[peq42_]

Oh Photoshop has a dark layout that Gimp doesn't have that I'm aware of. At the price point though, I'm surprised anybody uses Photoshop.

That's another major point I can't understand...

Last time i checked, photoshop was... 1.100U$? Like, what? How can so many people be paying that absurd price?

 

[Jonforum]

That's another major point I can't understand...

Last time i checked, photoshop was... 1.100U$? Like, what? How can so many people be paying that absurd price?

spine cost me 400$usd

 

[HexMozart88]

GIMP doesn't have great pen pressure (last time I checked) and the fill bucket tool is not the greatest. I use Photoshop because I use it for image editing, GUI and drawing.

 

[mlogan]

What is wrong with the fill bucket tool? Honestly curious, as I use it all the time with no problems. But, I can't compare it to Photoshop.

Also, there are "themes" you can get to make Gimp have a dark version.

 

[HexMozart88]

I've seen some people using GIMP, and kind of leaves a couple of pixels of empty space between the lines. I've never personally used GIMP (there's kind of no point since I have Photoshop) but I've seen some reviews of it, and there seems to be no way of filling in the spaces, where as in Photoshop there is a way. I've heard FireAlpaca is more comparable to Photoshop. I've also had some friends who've used GIMP but switched because of problems like that.

 

[falken14]

Selecting and moving multiple layers (as of GIMP 2.8). This simple function in photoshop drives me crazy in Gimp. If they could solve that then I'd be all in.

 

[cabfe]

Selecting and moving multiple layers (as of GIMP 2.8). This simple function in photoshop drives me crazy in Gimp. If they could solve that then I'd be all in.

I did it several times in Gimp. Just lock the layers you want to move and Move them, with Move selected layers checked.
Easy.

 

[JtheDuelist]

GIMP and Photoshop overcomplicate everything, which is why I like the everyday-man layout of paint.net : same/similar features as those two, but far less complicated...

 

[Andreyla]

When you're talking about Pixel art exclusively, the only way Adobe wins out is by cutting down overall work time. I have been an avid user of photoshop, then decided to go completely the other direction and only use free programs. GIMP was was of them. After using it for a few months I decided to go back to Adobe.
Free programs are definitely just as capable of creating amazing art. I think relating an end product to only what software is used is a bit odd.
Without sitting down and dissecting photoshop (it's a huge program, and capable of doing a lot of different things) I think the best summary is work time.
The adobe suite is geared towards creating an end product as efficiently as possible. All of their programs are cross compatible and in a lot of cases don't even need you to export a file to a finished product in order to keep editing it in another program (ie. Illustrator to photoshop to lightroom). It's incredibly powerful at saving time (provided of course you have already learned how to use the software).

To give an example, I created a project in both GIMP and Photoshop and timed myself. It took me 8 hours to do that project in GIMP and only 3 in photoshop. That's a huge time saving, and I felt I was working as fast as I could in GIMP.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is heavily geared towards editing images, with the drawing and painting aspects being more of an addition. This means that things like brush manipulation and creation, pen tablet responsiveness and things like that are definitely utilized better in Photoshop than GIMP. It doesn't mean you can't create the same product, it just means it's more difficult to do so.

Honestly, the Adobe suite is generally only a smart choice if you are using it in your employment. Your hours are precious when you're working on contract or on your own commercial product. If it takes you a year to create a whole project in GIMP and only 3 months in Adobe, depending on how much you earn with your project the cost of Adobe may make you higher profits despite the cost of the program. This is why big gaming companies tend to use them, even though their talent could create the same thing in free programs.

I'm pretty sure you can subscribe on a monthly basis to a single program like Photoshop, which is a lot cheaper than the whole package. I wouldn't recommend just doing a trial as you really need to learn the program before forming an opinion. Just make sure you don't sign up to a year contract, because they don't easily let you out of those.

In my opinion, if you're happily using free programs, I would encourage you to keep using them unless you're starting a legit business. You don't want to try the dark side if you don't have to, it's hard to escape the power

 

[Ryisunique]

The thing I can comment on is GIMP's lackluster Gif-ing abilities. Colors are limited to 256 and it makes it look grainy when trying to make them from video images. Stopped doing that and had to find sites online to do so.

Have heard that people experienced lagging in the past when they try to make larger projects. Something like 3000 px or more.

 

[falken14]

I did it several times in Gimp. Just lock the layers you want to move and Move them, with Move selected layers checked.
Easy.

I know the ways you can work around it to move multiple things (what you described and utilising layer groups), but you cannot simply hold control to select multiple layers to move them in GIMP. It takes much longer to do the work-arounds.

 

[Isabella Ava]

Why don't check google: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/can-photoshop-gimp-cant/
If you're an amateur and all you care about is editing image/ drawing yeah, you should use GIMP. But if you're a pro who working in media industry and has to care about animation/ video editing/ illustrating/ web making/designing ... blah blah - well, you know what to choose (that's why Adobe branch is so famous)

I think amateur/ pro here is not saying about your level of drawing/editing image, since even with PAINT a good artist still can product amazing artworks. You misunderstood the idea

 

[Amysaurus]

The main difference for me is that I can use Photoshop on my laptop, lol. Something about my screen resolution makes it so I can't access or move half of the toolbar on GIMP, so it's practically unusable for certain tasks. I will say that the content-aware fill in Photoshop is lifesaver when working with photos, and making a .gif in GIMP was easily one of the most painful things I've experienced.

I don't use either program anymore - certain things bug me about Photoshop (the pixel grid won't stay off after I zoom out on a sprite, I don't care for drawing in it, I don't like paying monthly for software when I can avoid it, etc.) enough that I switched over to Clip Studio for both drawing and spriting. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯