I’ve always been jealous of those folks who are fabulous with Photoshop. It just seems like there are so many awesome things you can do with that program.
But really? Seventynine dollars?!?
I just haven’t been able to do it. Especially since I’d then have to take time to learn it-and who knows when I’d fit that in. Likely I’d buy the darn thing and then it would sit there for months before I got around to using it. So why spend the money.
There is a very highly rated free program called GIMP out there. It is FREE-which is my favorite price. And lots of folks use it and love it! There are plenty of tutorials on how to use it as well. But it always seemed to be a pretty big program, and I was too chicken to download it.
Today on Twitter I found out about two new Paint/Editor programs which are free ! GadgetBoy recommended SUMO Paint which is an online program (no wasted HD space!) and Wazzy recommended Paint.net a downloadable program he says was easier to navigate than GIMP.
There are some tutorials out there for Paint.net, and a nice review article about SUMO Paint.
So, if you had been hoping that Santa would stick a copy of Photoshop under your tree this year, maybe one of these free options will take a little pressure off of the guy in the red suit.
Photo by Cayusa
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Jenn-
I have another tip for Christmas. I am making candy bags from Santa for my kids. I am using decorative goodie bags and putting in bulk gummi bears, shelled nuts, M&M's etc for a fabulous mix and stocking stuffer. I have been looking at the cost of different individually wrapped candy, and thought I could save the trash mess kids like to make and a little bit of money as well. We still have Halloween candy!!!!!!!!
Amyrlin
Picnik is also a good place to do your photos. It’s online, and doesn’t require registration, but you can save your photos to your computer after editing them. It’s at http://www.picnik.com
Amyrlin-You are full of great ideas.
Keeling-thanks for the additional suggestion.
And that is only the stripped down version – the real deal is about $650 right now. If you want a fuller featured program but don’t want to go over $500, there is always Paint Shop Pro X2 Ultimate – right about $100. Not as frugal as the freebies, but you can do way more with it.
GIMP is a wonderful program and very easy to understand. I’m a fan of the Pioneer Woman’s blog site, and she only uses photoshop. I can follow her tutorials but use GIMP and get the same results! For free! It is a big program, but if you are into taking pictures, it’s worth it. Plus, the money you save on not getting photoshop, you can use to get a fancy digital camera….on sale lol.
I am enjoying paint.net – have not tried GIMP yet…one of my photo buddies uses both and says they each have their strengths. I will have to get better at editing before I can tell!
dlyn-thanks for the recommendation. I don't use a program enough to justify buying ANYTHING right now (my personal choice) but it may be after I start messing around w/the free programs that I may want to step up!
Amiyrah-I didn't know that GIMP & Photoshop were close enough to use each other's tutorials. Good to konw. . . and I had forgotten about Pioneer Woman!
Steph-My problem exactly. I don't know how to use it well enough to even use what it's got to start with. . .
I also recommend using Paint.Net as mentioned in my post http://frugaltech.blogspot.com/2008/11/paintnet.html
I also use plain-ol MS Paint for the very basic needs http://frugaltech.blogspot.com/2008/11/ms-paint-free-tips-and-tricks.html