i have to upgrade form pant shop pro 7. i've fiddled with both but haven't done anything that is major for me with either.
i didn't like the gimp because of the interface but gimpshop is available.

any suggestions or comments?
please and thanks.

Adobe Illustrator

Photoshop

EDIT: So you suggest illustrator when he's looking for a photoshop analogue. Makes sense

Its actually Raster, illustrator does vector

Paint.NET

I, too, distate the GIMP interface. I haven't used it in some time but I hated everything being a separate window. But I've used Paint.NET for a good while.

I have never used paint.net but I hate it because it is named like a web site but it is not one

I also hate Gimp because its interface is weird

It's named after the .NET framework you clod.

Paint.NET because GIMP's interface is garbage.

back when I tried GIMP it crashed on me all the time.

Uh, you can't hate both. PICK ONE DECIDE NOW

I guess we can all agree on GIMP being gimped.

..


Actually, I tried Gimp on a MacBook. I got confused and angry, especially after using Photoshop for awhile. Which is understandable.

I enjoy Gimp, but I agree that its interface is hard to get used to and could definitely use some improvement (look for some in 2.6 and more to follow). I've never used Paint.net, but my brother likes it.

If you decide on Gimp, keep in mind that you can rearrange the dialogs any number of ways (the image window will still be separate from them). I'm not sure if it works in Windows, but if you go into Preferences -> Window Management you can set the hints to "Utility Window," which should keep it from spewing windows all over your taskbar.

I havent had much experience with GIMP, but i tried to use it to make a website logo for a Linux users group I am in a couple weeks ago and gave up. They wanted me to use GIMP since it was the main graphics program offered on Ubuntu Linux, (which im currently using) but i figured if they really wanted a new logo that bad (and they did need one that bad) they would let me use Photoshop. All said and done I used Photoshop, simply because I have been using it for years and the interface on GIMP was frustrating and hard to get used to. I think the biggest thing was the windows being separate (although, there is a way to get around that, but its just more tinkering)..so i guess bottom line.. If you are willing to spend the time to learn GIMPs interface it can do about anything PS can, but otherwise i would opt for Photoshop, or in your case, paint.net.

TheGIMP has a terrible UI. Krita is great on Linux, Paint.NET is nice on Windows but really that's a consequence of both of them 'borrowing' the Photoshop UI.

I think you should use Krita or Paint.NET while you save your money to buy the full version of Photoshop CS3. Even better, Wacom Graphires come with a $300 rebate now, so your tablet will be basically free.

They both suck.

I PICK PHOTOSHOP

PWONED

This thread sucks. I love gimp. and i hate photoshop. but, unlike everyone else on the entire earth, I started on gimp and used it for years before ever touching ps.
And everything doesn't have to be in a seperate window. for me all tools, layers, brushes and everything are in one window and then I have the image window. that's it. Gimps interface is far more flexible than photoshop.
It also has far more options with assigning shortcuts. Photoshop limits what you can set the shortcuts to.

But anyway, if the choice is between paint.net and gimp then I say gimp simply because it is far more capable.

My favorite thing about thegimp is how it crashes almost constantly, even when you're doing something as innocent as attempting to view a folder on your desktop

I can understand that it crashes for many people but it's never had consistent crashes for me. It's crashed a few time when I've had multiple 70+ MB images open at once but outside of that it's never given me any trouble.
It did back at version 1.6 when I first started using it but even then it wasn't as constant as everyone says.

It supprises me for the number of people that say they have constant crashes I must be the only person for whom it acctualy works.

upgrade from paint shop pro 7 is photoshop.

Get photoshop elements if you really want, it doesnt cost a lot.... unless youre about buying photoshop

I can't remember it ever crashing on me either, even in Windows. Of course I rarely have more that a couple of images open at once, and they usually aren't that big.

If you really want a good image application then get Photoshop, it can do most things you'd ever want to.

i'm all about paying for my software so a full version of cs3 is out of the question. and i thought they discontinued elements. i don't know where i got that from. :/ i'll price it out around town.

i used the gimp for a little while a few years ago and i didn't like it even after giving it a chance (it never crashed on me). has anyone tried gimpshop (http://gimpshop.com)?

Yes, it's obvious that a freeware program is much more capable and has many more features than a corporate program which has been around longer, is on more platforms, and whose developers get paid well.

Obvious especially in how many corporations use it.

Oh...wait.

GIMP is just as powerful as Photoshop in the same sense that a spoon is just as useful for digging as a backhoe.

Because you got use to a particular UI doesn't mean the interface is "good". If your car is as responsive in controls as a truck and you had to use everyday, you will probably get fond of it handling that way and can manage well enough. But that doesn't mean the car's controls don't "suck".

Try reading my post again

Try reading MY post again. I'm not saying pick photoshop (my post was a joke post...well sorta) but there's no reason to think that either of those programs is on par or even superior to photoshop.

Ah, my appologies, I understand what you're saying.

Photoshop Elements gets another vote from me!

im so fat i count for a lot of people

Has anyone here actually paid for photoshop?

I've never used Gimpshop, but I've heard that it's an ugly hack. It's always a few versions behind Gimp proper, and currently they are still in 2.2.x while Gimp 2.4 was released in October. Gimp 2.4 introduced several new features and made some minor but helpful alterations to the interface. Also I've heard that the renaming of menu items from the Gimp's names to Photoshop's names for similar things (really its only feature aside from sticking stuff inside one window) makes it hard to follow tutorials written for either product. Also, if you're using Windows there is a "deweirdifier" plugin for Gimp; I think this is what Gimpshop uses, but it never worked right for me.

There are certainly things that Photoshop does better than Gimp or Paint.net or that the latter two don't do at all, but unless you do professional graphics work it probably won't matter to you. Really, if you tried the latest version of Gimp and didn't like it, just install Paint.net without uninstalling Gimp. Then you can use either one whenever you like. The good thing about software you don't have to pay for is that there's little penalty for making the "wrong" decision.

Does gimp still spew hidden sub-folders full of thumbnails all over the filesystem?

No, thankfully it hasn't done that in quite a while.

Gimp itself is an ugly hack so this is kind of moot

paint.net it is.

thanks.

actually the conclusion we came to was photoshop

but i'm not buying photoshop and the next thing was paint.net.

No, the next was Photoshop elements.