Layers aren't at all intuitive to me. It should be no surprise that I don't have much an artistic mind but this is ridiculous. I'm just trying to take some text and mirror it and I can't even get the shit to work when following tutorials.

10/28/2008 10:10:14 PM

Well hate Photoshop too then, don't hate the product, hate the method.

Actually don't even do that.

Just go get Paint.NET, it's what you actually want.

http://www.getpaint.net/

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 10:15 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2008 10:14:40 PM

^

10/28/2008 10:27:35 PM

the GIMP kind of sucks. it's got a much steeper learning curve IMO than photoshop and the keyboard shortcuts are all wrong.

but hating layers? come on, layers are essential. just imagine a bunch of cardboard paper laying on top of eachother with holes in different places.

10/28/2008 10:28:57 PM

no way, Photoshop, as hard as it is if you've never used it, is miles ahead of GIMP.

I have GIMP loaded on my Work PC because it still has Win2k (and therefore, no .NET platform), and I hate every time I have to load it up ("have" to load it up for photochops, that is, since my real job has nothing to do with picture editing or graphic work). The palette is such a piece of shit and the menus are worthless


^ he's not hating on layers. He's hating on GIMPs implementation of layers and layer management, a gripe I will echo

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 10:30 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2008 10:30:03 PM

^

10/28/2008 10:30:46 PM

Eh, I'm literally so retarded about image manipulation (be it with Gimp, PS, etc) that it is certainly hindering my ability to do anything at this point, but there really must be something about GIMP that amplifies the effect. I get layers in general in that you're just layering things on top of other things, but just basic stuff within a layer is weird. For example, I'm trying to follow this tutorial

http://ryanler.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/16/

And I get to this step

4. Move the reflection layer into place under the normal text.

And I try to grab the text and nothing happens. I click on the rectangle select tool and I am able to move it this way, but somehow, that doesn't feel right. If I am on a text layer I just created, I select none, then regrab the Text tool and click anywhere on the text of that layer, it will select the text and even bring up the menus for me. It doesn't seem to do that on the duplicated layer I just flipped.

LIke I said, this is the first time I've really tried to dabble in it and things that don't seem to be exactly intuitive to me are a real buzzkill.

10/28/2008 10:38:16 PM

1. http://www.getpaint.net/
2. type text/paste text
3. image -> flip horizontal (or layers -> flip horizontal)
4. profit.

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 10:57 PM. Reason : layers]

10/28/2008 10:57:00 PM

I'm pretty sure that there's a GIMP plugin that makes it look almost exactly like photoshop, even changes the names of some of the effects and things to match.

Dunno, I've used GIMP for some transparency stuff, and it's not really intuitive, but it's do-able.

10/28/2008 11:03:41 PM

i've used GIMP for about any graphics i've made, and Inkscape for everything else... it's not that hard unless you're used to photoshop. statements about the keyboard shortcuts and menus being "wrong" are good examples. that's like saying OS X is useless when you've been using XP for 10 years. different doesn't mean bad.

^GIMPShop i believe. it matches up to the CS(3? and earlier) menu layout etc. (though to be honest i never use it)

don't hate on an app just because you aren't used to it. GIMP can do a lot more than some of you seem to think.

to the OP: if you want to get better with GIMP, or photoshop for that matter.. there are so many tutorials it's ridiculous, and most of them can be used for either app except when photoshop tutorials call for its own filters/effects that aren't available in GIMP.

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 11:58 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2008 11:56:08 PM

I should probably just kill myself. Now I have paint.net. This should be real simple. I select the text tool. Click in the image, type some text. Easy. Now, if I fuck up and accidentally click the tool somewhere else in the image (ie, as if I wanted to put some more text down) but that isn't what I really wanted, how do I reselect the first text I just put down to do something with it? This is what is driving me absolutely insane. Is this a general rule for all image manipulation software? Once you've "placed" the text and set the parameters then it becomes part of the image? Is it because I'm putting the text directly on the background rather than on a new layer or something?

10/29/2008 2:01:44 PM

no, you probably have to reselect the "arrow" or "cursor" tool to re-grab the text and move it around, then probably double-click it to edit the edit.

10/29/2008 2:32:56 PM

i think ctrl-z will go back in selections as well

10/29/2008 2:47:48 PM

^, ^^ You'd think that both of these would work. The arrow doesn't do anything until you've actually selected something (with any of the available selection tools) and ctrl-z just undoes stuff. I think GIMP might actually be slightly more intelligent in that sometimes it would reselect the text if I ctrl-z'd back, but paint.net certainly isn't doing it.

10/29/2008 2:50:29 PM

when you place text it's fixed (flattened). you can't re-edit it in paint.net

you can however move it, but the text needs to be on its own layer

10/29/2008 3:01:53 PM

what the fuck faggot cock shit is this?

10/30/2008 7:26:10 PM

you get what you pay for

10/30/2008 8:04:20 PM

what the fuck faggot cock shit is this?

11/1/2008 1:11:00 AM