Graphics software

[Jim Oaks]

I need a program to make small banners, etc for the forum. My software is really old. I signed up to use Canva online, but it won't let me make anything shorter than 40 pixels.

I was wondering what some of you guys might be using.

 

[Brain75]

Gimp (anything with layers), PhotoFiltre (old version - portable, free, it's fast and has no bloat unlike all the modern things that take forever just to load, downside when working with 4k resolution it is a memory hog, new version has 1000 plugins and filters etc - same slow load as gimp, PSP,etc)

 

[MaicoDoug]

I am an old VISIO user, abuser. Microsoft purchased the company years ago. So it's part of that office package. Draws schematics, anything graphic, file interchange- conversion is why it became popular back in the day.

 

[pentode]

+1 for GIMP. it's free open source Photoshop. Very powerful and complete.

 

[Curious Hound]

I'll second the motion for Gimp. It's open source and free. But that doesn't mean lousy. It's a powerful piece of software. You might have a bit if a learning curve with it. But it's well worth the effort. I've used it in the past and have recently installed it on a computer again. I just haven't gone in and refreshed my skills with it yet.

Personally, I pay for a subscription to Adobe Creative Suite, which gives me Photoshop (photos and a lot of graphics capabilities), Premiere Pro (video editing), Illustrator (aimed at designing printed materials) and Indesign (graphics) plus a bunch of other stuff that fills in the blanks around those. I'd rather not pay. But now that I'm used to using it, I'm hooked. There's a good reason why everybody uses the term "photoshop" when they talk about manipulating images and things.

 

[rumblecloud]

I was a Photoshop user for years at work and as Hound says Adobe anything.
Now I'm using GIMP. A little hard to get used to for me because of my familiarity with Photoshop. Definitely worth the download.

 

[Brain75]

+++ on the gimp learning curve it is counterintuitive and convoluted... which is why I only do stuff requiring layers on it. The biggest things I do in pretty much on all my software is true portable (so no registry puke and simple 1 click install - 'create shortcut') and fast/clean - out with the bloat..

 

[Shran]

Inkscape and GIMP.

I have a subscription to the entire Adobe suite at work so I do use Photoshop & Illustrator quite a bit but Inkscape & GIMP get used quite a bit too and they work great.

 

[pentode]

The big(gest?) problem with GIMP, I think, is for people who are already comfortable with Photoshop because everything is in different places, the menus are different etc. I've dealt with people with no Adobe experience and their learning curves were less steep, although let's be honest, it's a complex piece of software and very powerful so there is learning to do. It's not like it's a nightmare to get going though; your basic cut/paste/select/crop/fill/paint etc can be mastered in under 30 minutes.

 

[Curious Hound]

The big(gest?) problem with GIMP, I think, is for people who are already comfortable with Photoshop because everything is in different places, the menus are different etc. I've dealt with people with no Adobe experience and their learning curves were less steep, although let's be honest, it's a complex piece of software and very powerful so there is learning to do. It's not like it's a nightmare to get going though; your basic cut/paste/select/crop/fill/paint etc can be mastered in under 30 minutes.

And it's free. you've got nothing to lose but time.

 

[Bill]

GIMP. The interface will drive you nuts, but you can do a lot with it.

Screenshots | Inkscape

inkscape.org

The LibreOffice suite includes Draw: https://books.libreoffice.org/en/GS73/GS7307-GettingStartedWithDraw.html

If you are running Linux you can try Karbon: https://calligra.org/components/karbon/

If you aren't running Linux and you have a spare computer or laptop, I suggest setting one up for the free software.

 

[97RangerXLT]

ms paint

Another vote for Gimp

 

[Curious Hound]

ms paint

Another vote for Gimp

Paint has its uses. But very, very, very limited.