GNU Image Manipulation Program

GIMP, a powerful free alternative to Photoshop, with ability of tons of customization and configuration flexibility.

Krita is far better than GIMP in many ways and beyond
- https://krita.org/en/
- it, at the same time, aims to be a free alternative to Corel Painter and PaintTool SAI

From Photoshop to GIMP

updated 2016.11

Quick Conclusion for Photo Retouch
- for lack of adjustment layer, it is hurting the fast workflow for non-destructive photo retouch workflow
- it has clone, and basic heal for 2nd layer retouch, but lack of quick spot heal and patch tool may slow down the retouch process a bit
Quick Conclusion for Graphic Design
- lack of “mask unlinking feature” and “quick multiple layer selection” are slowing the arranging layout process
- same, lack of adjustment layer is quick no no for fast multiple alternation version creation.
- text is not able to keep editable after rotation or scale, and lost vector graphic information, which means big No No for graphic design.
Quick Conclusion for general usage for image editing
- it has all the essential tools for non-professional graphic user to get the job done.

PS	GIMP	Krita
selection
hide selection	ctrl + T	ctrl+H
Deselect	ctrl+shift + A	ctrl+shift+A
Layer Operation
ctrl+j	ctrl+c, ctrl+v, ctrl+shift+n	ctrl+j
lock layer movement	can't, but only limit move active layer	Yes
lock layer paint,alpha	yes, there is icon on layer panel	Yes
move multiple layers	can't, but only with layer link or layer group make it like photoshop 7 in 2016	Yes
mask	layer menu > mask > add layer mask	Yes
unlink mask	can't, have to use selection trick to move them independently a pain for a serious tool	Yes
shape layer	no, you have to path+pixel layer to manually generate for each change	Yes, vector layer
brush	P key, [] for size change	B key
dodge, burn	shift+D, ctrl to toggle	NO
pen	B key, close with ctrl click first point	Yes
adjustment layer	can't, this is making GIMP a totally useless for serious photo editing, I would rather use a free compositing software than gimp for this missing feature	Yes
blend mode	yes, lighten, darken, screen, multiply, soft lighten	Yes
Retouch operation
clone	C key, same functions as PS	Yes, under brush preset
heal	H key, only source target heal	Yes, clone with right click option : healing
spot heal	can't, only clone with soft brush basically a auto small patch
patch	can't, only clone with soft brush auto clone a patch from source and blend them
Filter
high pass filter	need install plugin	Yes
blur, sharp filter	built-in	Yes