next »

[Shambles]

Given the lack of topics in this section I assume either:

• not many members have Photoshop
• not all members are as artistic as others (that'd be me)
• some just "couldn't be arsed" (that'd be me too)

In recent times the term "photoshopped" is commonly used to signify a picture that has been modified in some way, whether by Adobe Photoshop or some other means.

Well, for those who fall into category one in my list, here are 11 12 free alternatives to consider. All are considerably easier to use than Photoshop, providing all you need is basic image editing.


(1) Gimp



Gimp works across several different platform (Linux, Mac, Windows, FreeBSD, Sun OpenSolaris) and is perhaps one of the best free alternatives out there so far. Gimp has a large user community, with great list of tutorials on the official sites.

Download Gimp


(2) Paint.net



[Windows only] This photo editor runs on Windows. It has a large and growing community of users, with lots of tutorials and plugins.

Download Paint.net


(3) Pixia



[Windows only] This free photo editor originates from Japan, with English versions to download. Supports layers, masks, and some basic tools of Photoshop.

Download Pixia


(4) Seashore



[Mac only] Seashore is an open source image editor for Mac OS X’s Cocoa framework. It features gradients, textures and anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes. It supports multiple layers and alpha channel editing. It is based around the GIMP’s technology and uses the same native file format.

Download Seashore


(5) Inkscape



Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format.

Download Inkscape


(6) Xara Xtreme



Xara Xtreme for Linux is a powerful, general purpose graphics program for Unix platforms including Linux, FreeBSD and (in development) OS-X. Formely known as Xara LX, it is based on Xara Xtreme for Windows, which is the fastest graphics program available, period.

Download Xara Xtreme


(7) Chocoflop



[Mac only] ChocoFlop is an image editor for Mac OS X, based on the CoreImage technology. It is currently in beta stage and available freely.

Download Chocoflop


(8) Photoplus



[Windows only] PhotoPlus is the amazing photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance digital photos, create stunning bitmap graphics and even web animations.

Download Photoplus


(9) Cinepaint



CinePaint is a deep paint image retouching tool that supports higher color fidelity than ordinary painting tools.

Download Cinepaint



(10) Krita



[linux only] Krita is an image processor for KOffice, which should be suitable for all your image creation and editing needs.



(11) Photofiltre



[Windows only] It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a vast range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve.

Download Photofiltre

[Dazzler]

Nice Posting M8.. I usually use Paint shop pro.. only because I know my way around it (I have Photoshop 7 and Photoshop CS2 but like you say they both have a steep learning curve...)

[Hemmi]

thanks for that shambles, I use photoshop but its good to know of other softwares

[bikejockey]

Thanks Shambles, I'm about to get a Mac and was thinking of Gimp.

[Shambles]

I've been playing with Gimp and it looks great, so far

[Shambles]

12) FastStone




FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor.

It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments.

It's innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touches the four edges of the screen. Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more. It supports all major graphic formats (BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, animated GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA) and popular digital camera RAW formats (CRW, CR2, NEF, PEF, RAF, MRW, ORF, SRF and DNG).


Download FastStone

[diablo]

FastStone is very good indeed. I use it for 90% of the things I do. Have the external program link set up to send image to photoimpact X3 for other purposes.