Free, but high-end

This is the first time that I'm reviewing GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), and it's definitely long overdue. As the open-source image editor of choice, the feature list of GIMP 2.6 is very long, and despite its status as a free application, it's as feature-packed as any commercial application. GIMP is loaded with the up-to-date tools many demanding professionals need: Bézier path editing with brush stroking, tablet support, Heal Tool, alpha channels, multiple-undo History, area-averaged eyedropper, PSD file compatibility, and a wackload of other high-end tools that are impressive in their attention to detail.

This isn't my first time with GIMP—in my series of image editing tutorials, I used version 2.2 alongside Photoshop in an effort to keep the information as application-agnostic as possible. Version 2.6 has added a lot since then, so you can rest assured that it's a lot of program for the zero buck. I reviewed the whole application based on how it's suited to certain common or professional tasks that potential users might perform—testing it over a span of a few weeks on OS X and Ubuntu 8.10. So how'd GIMP do in the hands of a professional graphics guy? Read on.

Test system

MacBook Pro

Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz

4 GB RAM

Nvidia 8600M (256 MB)

OS X 10.5.6

Linux version tested in Ubuntu 8.10 64-bit under VMWare Fusion 2.

Bring Out the GIMP

Before I started throwing serious workhorse tasks at GIMP, I needed to set up a few important tools: Intuos3 tablet support, my brushes, and color calibration. On OS X, where X11 isn't the default window engine, this proved to be a bit tricky. After a bit of digging around, I found out that the X11 that ships with Leopard doesn't support pressure-sensitive tablet input, so I had to download the latest release candidate build of XQuartz (note that you need at least 2.3.2 for Wacom support). After enabling the Intuos mouse in the Input Devices panel in GIMP preferences, I was up and running:

With my tablet ready, brushing on images gave me full variation in stroke width and transparency:

GIMP also has velocity support for affecting brush size, opacity, hardness, and color (not shown).

Drawing, overall, is quite fluid, but as you can see from the image above, there are some issues with the default settings, which leads me to the next section.