Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

alternatives to GIMP / Photoshop?

wowser

wowser

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2004
895
0
Inglaterra, Europa
I have the GIMP, but I really don't like the interface, or the fact that it needs X11 to run (takes ages to start up). Could anybody suggest a program (ideally free, or very cheap) that will do a similar job, ideally like Paint Shop Pro for Windows? I know I sound a bit of a cheapskate, but I wondered if there was anything? Thanks in advance
 
I'm not sure you're going to find a program that is as powerful as those two for free. Gimp's interface is different, but it really IS a sweet program. The only beef I have with it is on the Mac is if, say you want to select a different tool you have to click once to bring the toolbox into focus and again to select the tool. Very annoying, anyone know a way around this?
 
Just wondering, is there any plans to port GIMP to cocoa/OS X? That'd be cool, even though I'll keep using Photoshop CS, which I legally bought.

I loved Paint Shop Pro on Windows. It was my first program for web editing, and I owned on it. I've since moved on to Photoshop since I've switched to OS X, but if PSP ever gets ported to OS X I'll switch back. :)
 
If you only need it for a short while, you can download a fully functional demo of Photoshop CS from adobe.com

30 days...
 
There is Caffeine Software's TIFFany3, but it isn't supported anymore as the developers are now working for Apple on CoreImage.

TIFFany3 was THE image editing program for Mac OS X before Photoshop and the like were finally ported.

Other long time image tools for Mac OS X (again pre-dating Photoshop/Gimp ports) include Caffeine Software's PixelNhance (free, works hand in hand with TIFFany3 too) and ToyViewer (free, nice feature set).
 
i have a Photoshop upgrade disc, but no other copy of it :(
Paint Shop Pro was perfect, as for someone like me who found Photoshop overkill, it was still powerful enough to do some great things. I can't really be arsed registering to download a Photoshop demo (i found cheap AND lazy now, i suppose :p )
 
Photoshop Elements version 3.0 is not Photoshop--it should still be around $50 with a rebate--and does a lot of the same work that Photoshop does. It seems a lot better than Paint Shop Pro but Paint Shop Pro is definitely pushing Adobe to add functionality.
 
Do you have a copy of Appleworks with your Mac?
If so, there are drawing and painting document types in Appleworks that appear to have most of the features of MS Paint.
 
or buy a version of like photoshop 2 on eBay, and use that to get the upgrade CD to work.

Lee Tom
 
The Appleworks drawing part is fine, but there were some odd quirks about it, if i remember rightly, about it being a bit funny about opening jpgs and stuff.

I think i may go down the eBay route. Is Photoshop elements like a stripped down version of Photoshop?
 
Elements is a good alternative

Elements is built on the same engine as Photoshop but omits many of the pro features that real pros use. However even version 2 which I use has enough features for making seriously complex images. It is also a lot easier to use than Photoshop (and Photoshop's not hard so think how easy elements is!) with better thought-out placement of menu items etc. Version 3 has hopefully carried on that tradition. So for Photoshop power at a reasonable price I recommend elements. BTW I got my copy with a Wacom art pad I bought - if you haven't got one yet consider buying one for the shear joy of drawing straight to screen :)
 
I liked Expression 3 very much, but as i rarely have a use for vector imaging, i rarely used it. Once it has more of an OS X feel, it should be very nice

I think i will give Elements and PhotoEdit a try
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back