GIMP for Windows. Updated on 2020-06-11: GIMP 2.10.20 installer revision 1 Slightly faster and smaller due to optimized build parameters Download GIMP 2.10.20 via BitTorrent Download GIMP 2.10.20 directly. The download links above will attempt to download GIMP from one of our trusted mirror servers. Download old versions of Gimp for Mac. Free and open-source software for creating and editing images. Luminar (7-day Free Trial) If you hate spending hours tweaking all kinds of controls to refine your.
GIMP, a popular photo editor for Windows and Linux, is also available for the Mac! In 2012, GIMP was made available to the Mac platform as a standalone app. Here, we’ll dive into GIMP’s features, and discuss some alternatives.
While our cameras take great photos, they sometimes need fine-tuning. That’s where great photo editing software comes into play. Maybe the background blur isn’t quite what you were looking for, or you want to enhance the colors in a photo before sharing to social media.
GIMP 0.54 was released in January 1996. It required X11 displays, an X-server that supported the X shared memory extension and Motif 1.2 widgets.It supported 8, 15, 16 and 24-bit color depths, dithering for 8-bit displays and could view images as RGB color, grayscale or indexed color.It could simultaneously edit multiple images, zoom and pan in real-time, and supported GIF, JPEG. This is a rather short article since adding brushes to GIMP on Mac is straightforward. My step by step process for adding brushes to GIMP is basic. Find the brushes, download them and then add to GIMP. The steps are quick and easy. It might take you longer to find the type of brushes you want than to actually add the brushes to GIMP.
But is GIMP a great photo editor? Is its feature-set really the best available for Mac users? Let’s dive right in.
What is GIMP?
GIMP stands for “GNU Image Manipulation Platform,” which highlights its origins as a Linux app. While Linux as a desktop operating system is typically left wanting for high-profile photo tools, the GIMP editor stands out as one of the best options for that platform.
GIMP for Mac is also popular! An open-source app, the GIMP photo editing software has a robust toolkit. You can edit the color and tone of photos, but also add filters. You can use GIMP for Mac to create original artwork, and as a tool for graphic design. One of GIMP’s main draws is its extensibility; you can use it with apps like Scribus, Inkscape, and SwatchBooker, or programmatically alter images using languages like Python, C, C++, Perl, and Scheme.
How to Download GIMP for Mac
Downloading GIMP is simple. First, head to the GIMP homepage. At the top of the screen, you’ll see ‘download’ on the menu bar, which is the direct link for the GIMP download for Mac (or GIMP OSX, if you’re on a legacy version of macOS); the word ‘download’ should also appear on the banner image up top, alongside the most recent version of GIMP on Mac.
Clicking either download button will take you to a new screen. Here, you can select a GIMP download from two sources: BitTorrent, or direct. Either option is fine.
Once the file is finished downloading to your Mac, head to your download folder and double-click the file named gimp-(file version)-x86_64.dmg. (The file version identifier is unique to each new version, but will look something like “2.10.14”.)
Once the file is opened and the download is complete, a new window named “GIMP 2.0 Install” will open. You’ll see an icon for the GIMP photo editor, and an arrow to an Applications folder. This is asking you to add GIMP to your list of Applications. Simply drag the GIMP icon to the Applications folder to do so.
GIMP Photo Editing Software: Key features for Mac users
Most will use GIMP as a photo editor, and the GIMP app is great for this purpose – so we’ll focus on that here. To open an image for editing in GIMP, got to File > Open in the menu bar when the GIMP app is open.
Find the file you want to edit (we suggest adding the images you want to edit to your desktop to make finding them simpler), and select “open” on the bottom right. Your image will open in the main GIMP window, ready for editing.
On the left side of the window, you’ll see various icons for things like adding blocks of text, or cropping the image. You can also draw or paint on your image. Below the icons, you’ll see options that change with the tool you have selected. Here you can do things like change the cropping size you want to use (handy if you’re trying to crop images for use on the web, or for social media), and fine-tune tools like the brush (it allows you to change the size and opacity of the brush head).
On the right side of the screen, you’ll see a “Mode” menu, where you can do things like edit the shading and color of an image. This is also where you’ll find a list of the layers you have for your image, which can be hidden or edited independently of one another.
GIMP on Mac is a powerful tool, but it’s a bit clumsy. Some may find its interface too difficult to master. One major feature of any photo editor is filters, and GIMP has them – but they’re buried int he menu up top. While “Filters” having a spot on the menu bar is great, it’s far different from other apps, and the granular options for altering those filters is not straightforward. You simply have to tinker with the filters a bit to find the effect you’re looking for.
Meet advanced GIMP software alternatives for Mac
If the GIMP app doesn’t sound like your cop of tea, there’s nothing to worry about. Though powerful, the app leaves many people looking for something more suitable to their needs.
This is when you should really consider what your needs are. It’s also where you should consider that you may not know what you even want! It’s okay – we’ve got you covered.
Photolemur for automatic AI enhancements
If you’re looking for a desktop app that helps you get the best out of the photos you’ve taken without a lot of fuss, Photolemur may be your best choice. It’s lightweight, but oh-so-powerful.
Photolemur prides itself on making life easier for its users. It bills itself as the “first fully automated AI photo enhancer.” Instead of leaning on granular controls to get you the best results, Photolemur uses artificial intelligence backed by machine learning to make your images better.
The app analyzes “millions” of details in your photos, and enhances each of those data-points. This behavior allows Photolemur to assess your image via its gathered data, and adjust each pixel to its maximum brilliance. It’s really sort of magical!
Photolemur also lets you edit batches of images. Select the images you want to edit, and let Photolemur take over. This is a really great option if you’ve shot in low-light on a night out, but really need your pics to pop for sharing to social media.
If you were at an event, Photolemur also has a handy renaming option for edited images. That weekend getaway can be tagged and enhanced, all in one seamless action.
Another great benefit from Photolemur’s AI is its “Face Finish” feature. This AI-based editing tool automatically adjusts for things like skin smoothness, and removes imperfections. It also brightens and whitens your smile so you’re always looking great!
CameraBag Pro for the best photo filters
If filters are your thing, then CameraBag Pro should be your go-to app for photo editing.
CameraBag Pro has more filters than you probably know what to do with – and that’s a good thing. Rather than lean on AI or self-guided controls, CameraBag Pro hosts its image editing as filters.
The great part about this is it makes photo editing simpler; instead of fiddling with white-balance or shadows from the start, you simply scroll through a series of filters until your image looks right. If you like what you see, just use the filter!
And if you’re in-between filters for your image, CameraBag Pro lets you fiddle with the finer points, too. Things like exposure, contrast, and saturation can all be controlled within filters. It’s great for those times when you just need to adjust one small aspect of a filter to get the absolute best image possible.
And the coolest thing about CameraBag Pro’s filters is many of them are meant to mimic old-school film photographs. While Instagram made its name styling images after a polaroid, CameraBag Pro takes it to the next level with filters meant to mimic old Kodak, Fuji, and other manufacturer’s cameras. It’s the best way to make an image of something old look like it was from the same era.
Luminar Flex as a smart addition to your editor
Luminar Flex doesn’t eschew filters, and it has some AI mixed in as well – which might just make it one of the best photo editors around.
Rather than use AI to enhance entire images, Luminar Flex uses it to make elements of an image pop. If the blue sky in your pictures wasn’t as brilliant as you’d like (or remember), Luminar Flex can enhance the blue hue of the sky to make it stand out.
As filters go, Luminar Flex has plenty to keep you satisfied. It boasts “pro-level” filters for things like color correction. The filters are easily accessible via a slide-out side menu, just like the other features of Luminar Flex. The app even guides you, letting you know which application is best for a filter.
“Luminar Looks” is one of the app’s most interesting features. It’s a set of professionally-inspired filters, which can be used as one-off filters for your images if you like. That alone is great – but you can also fine-tune each Looks filter and re-save it as your own.
Luminar Looks has a dedicated icon on the top bar of the app’s window, and filters show up at the bottom. After choosing one, you simply select the icon for the side-menu, and an “edit filter” button allows you to fine-tune Looks filters.
The aforementioned side-bar is called a workspace, and is where all your editing features live. Here, you can get a granular as you like with editing, and all filters are laid out as slider bars, making things much simpler. And if you just want to start over from scratch, there is always an option to simply ‘clear’ the workspace.
Luminar Flex’s editing features alone are top-notch, but it has one more trick up its sleeve. The app also doubles as a plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements, and Apple’s own Photos app. As a plugin, you get access to all of Lumina Flex’s filters, even those Looks you may have designed yourself!
Choosing the best photo editor for Mac
While GIMP for Mac is an excellent and robust photo editing app, Mac users will probably enjoy the powerful-yet-stylish Luminar Flex as a replacement. It’s a lot easier to use, and just plain has a better interface.
If you don’t need or want the fine-tuning photo editing software as your primary option, CameraBag Pro is a great choice. We really like that you can choose to edit aspects of a filter, and dismiss those edits if you decide against having them included in your final version.
If you really want sharp, basic photo editing, Photolemur is an excellent choice. We really enjoy its use of AI for editing photos without asking too much of you. Batch editing is also a great feature you may find yourself using often.
Of all the options discussed here, keep in mind only the photo editing GIMP workflow allows for creating images from scratch. If you’re looking for a photo editor that also allows you to create original artwork, GIMP is worth a look – but that’s a very small audience.
For pure, performant, engaging photo editing, any of the three GIMP alternatives mentioned here are great options. Best of all, all of them – CameraBag Pro, Luminar Flex, and PhotoLemur – are available as part of Setapp’s 7-day free trial period. In that week, you can give each of these apps a whirl to find out which is best for your needs.
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- January 02, 2020
- 23 min to read
Gimp For Mac Not Opening
GIMP is a raster graphics editor that was released in 1996. It provides users with many tools that can be used to edit pictures, convert them and even draw vector illustrations. Although it’s popular with many designers and photographers, its developers still try to improve it and constantly release new updates.
However, there are a lot of alternatives that can keep up with GIMP. They’re great both for beginners and advanced users. Also, each application has features that will certainly amaze even professional experts. And if you don’t want to waste a lot of time searching the best GIMP alternative, this list is just the thing. Besides, we’ve divided it into three different categories to simplify your searches (Free, Online and Paid).
This category includes the best free applications for picture editing. Even though some of them can’t offer a wide choice different tools, effects or filters, they’ll be definitely useful for people who need to change something in their images without spending a good deal of money. Also, these applications will be convenient for photographers, who want just to try themselves in picture editing.
1. Krita (Free or 10$+ for Paid Version)
Looking for free software to work with pictures? Then you certainly should look at Krita. It offers useful features such as templates for any type of project, a variety of wonderful effects and opportunity to open multiple images. The application supports such files as PNG, GIMP, TIF and JPEG. Besides, it’s even possible to connect your drawing table to Krita.
Disappointingly, the application has some drawbacks, such as the absence of a history tool and camera RAW option. However, it stands to mention this software has already gained thousands of positive comments from photographers and graphic designers. Also, if you want to express your gratitude and sponsor the developers, you can buy a paid version.
2. Luminar (7-day free trial)
This app is a surefire way to get incredibly beautiful images. It’s provided with Accent AI 2.0, a special AI assistant that can help you make more realistic pictures. It can fix tone, colour and modify any detail. Moreover, it can recognize people on a picture using its “human aware” technology. Actually, with the help of the Accent, you can get a breathtaking photo only with one click.
The app offers user-friendly interface, so even if you’ve just started learning about picture editing, you won’t be confused after launching Luminar for the first time. Also, it offers tons of unique effects and filters such as sunrays, golden hour, high key and Orton effect. Use them and your pictures will certainly amaze anyone.
The photo editing has been never easier before because the app provides its users with the opportunity to cut out any detail in two clicks. Besides, thanks to the library feature, Luminar will help you to keep all your pictures organized. No doubts, it’s really great GIMP alternative that will definitely save your time. And take into account that there are three different versions available - basic version, signature edition and Luminar Creative Pro.
3. Paint.NET (Free)
In actual fact, this application is a modification of MS Paint, that’s why both apps have many common features. It’s the right choice for people who need GIMP alternative, but don’t have enough money to buy professional software. Among the app’s benefits is the history tool, support of layers and blending modes. The first one can help users cancel edits in a common project without any difficulties. Paint.NET works with all popular photo formats.
On the flip side, the app has cons, such as the absence of the auto-snapping. Also, only Windows owners can use this application. However, in spite of all these drawbacks, Paint.NET is good enough for simple picture editing. There are no doubts that beginner photographers and graphic designers will be satisfied with this app.
4. Seashore (Free)
If you’re Mac user and want to download a GIMP alternative, you should definitely get acquainted with Seashore. The app provides users with such useful features as support for layers and pressure sensitivity. Besides, the app’s interface is really user-friendly, so even a beginner will be able to use it.
Unfortunately, the app doesn’t offer any effects and looks really outdated. But still Seashore is totally free and hundreds of positive comments from its users make this app one of the best graphics editors for macOS.
In this category, you’ll find the photo editors available both for Mac and Windows users. Furthermore, you even won’t need to download anything. And notwithstanding that these are online photo editors, they offer a wide range of useful tools and awesome effects. In addition, you can use each app absolutely for free.
5. Pixlr (Free or 5$/m Pro Version)
Indeed, this is a great application to work with pictures. First of all, it’s provided with a load of useful tools such as history and healing tools, a rich variety of beautiful effects and filters. It’ll come in handy if you need to change a photo without spending a lot of time.
Plus, you can purchase a pro-version. It allows using Pixlr for editing PDF and PSD formats. Although the app doesn’t have a pen tool, thanks to the variety of other features, Pixlr is an amazing online photo editor that you can use to make your pictures better.
6. Sumopaint (30 day trial)
Although this application doesn’t offer as many useful features as GIMP, it still has a bunch of advantages. The first thing is that it offers a free version that supports layers and blending modes. And tons of different effects and filters are another big benefit of this app.
However, everything is not so great, because Sumopaint doesn’t offer support for guides and rulers. Moreover, its interface looks out-of-date especially in comparison with modern photo editors. The app works only with SUMO, PNG and JPG. But still, you always can buy a pro-version that will provide you with access to such necessary tools as text tool, line tool, etc.
7. PicMonkey (7-day Trial)
If you aren’t satisfied with two previous applications, then PicMonkey may be just the right app for you. As well as two previous photo editors, this one works online. Also, it supports layers, has loads of effects and great text tool that offers a lot of different fonts. There is even a mobile app, so it’s possible to work on your projects wherever you are.
But still, PicMonkey has some drawbacks. You’ll have to purchase a pro-version to be able to export the pictures. The cheering news is that there is a 7-day trial version, so don’t miss your chance and use it to decide whether you like this photo editor or not. Besides, take into consideration that PicMonkey works only with JPG and PNG formats.
If you are ready to spend money to get professional picture editors, you definitely should check out each app from this list. They offer so many tools and features to make your pictures better. Moreover, some apps below can improve your images automatically. No doubts, they can not only provide you with top-quality photos but also save your time.
8. Affinity Photo (Free Trial or 40$ Paid Version)
This is truly one of the best GIMP alternatives on the market. It’s possible to download it on any platform. You’ll get access to the healing, clone and pen tools. Furthermore, the app supports layers and blending modes. Also, Affinity works with all popular image formats.
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On the contrary, this app still hasn’t a Camera RAW tool and its UI is really difficult to work with. Fortunately, you can download a trial version to check all Affinity’s features before the purchasing.
9. Pixelmator (Free 30 Days or 40$ Paid Version)
It’s a cool picture editor for macOS platform. Alongside with standard tools, the app has unique functions developed by Apple. For example, you’ll be able to export or edit pictures saved in the High-Efficiency Image format. Plus, the app supports SVG files and has a live preview feature.
Although Pixelmator has a wonderful UI with special guidelines, the app still is recommended for people who already have basic photo editing skills. Fortunately, a 30-day trial provides users with the opportunity to taste the application before the purchasing.
10. PhotoLine (30 Days for Testing/ 59€ Full)
This app is a perfect balance of functionality, user-friendly interface and price. Of course, PhotoLine will provide you with the widest breadth of effects and filters that can help you to create a breathtaking image. In addition, graphic designers can use this app to draw vector images.
The bad news is that PhotoLine doesn’t have such necessary tools as pen tool, path tool and slice tool. And take into account that you’ll be provided only with a 30-day free trial to get acquainted with this application and decide whether you want to use it in the future.
Gimp Alternatives - Photo Editing
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11. Aurora HDR (7-day free trial)
Are you looking for an app that can help you to create real masterpieces? If your answer is “yes”, you definitely have to download Aurora HDR. It has already satisfied thousands of professional photographers. Thanks to advanced AI, you’ll get just perfect HDR images. Aurora will take care of chromatic aberration, halos or noise.
The app offers more than twenty tools that are necessary for any professional photographer. Use them for colour toning, polarizing or LUT mapping. All these features will help you to get flawless HDR image. Besides, the app will provide you with access to more than 80 unique filters and effects.
And finally, the support of layers, blending modes and masking will help you create the image of the desired quality and style. Also, take into consideration that Aurora can work as a standalone app or as a plug-in for popular photo editors. There are no doubts, that if you want to get professional software for picture editing, Aurora is worth a look.
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12. Photolemur (Free Version with Watermark)
Once in a while, it happens so that you want to edit your images, but you don’t have enough time. Luckily there is Photolemur, amazing app that can automatically improve your pictures. The app will use advanced AI to create beautiful images of the highest quality.
For example, Face Finish technology can automatically make the skin smooth and remove all pimples or wrinkles. With this awesome application, you’ll become a master of portrait photography. Also, the app offers such useful features as sky enhancement, RAW processing, colour recovery and exposure compensation. The AI will analyze each detail and transform your picture into real wonder. Without a doubt, you’ll be satisfied with the result.
And if you still have some doubts whether this app is worth its money, take into account that more than 190 thousand photographers are satisfied with Photolemur. According to the statistics it has helped to save millions of hours. So, why not to jump on the bandwagon and check this great GIMP alternative?
13. AirMagic (Free Version with Watermark)
This app will be extremely useful for people who take drone pictures. AirMagic is provided with tons of useful features and technologies. It can automatically remove haze, boost colours and reveal important details. All these features will make your aerial photos brighter and clearer. Besides, the pleasant fact is that thanks to amazing AI and advanced algorithms, the app can analyze your image and improve it without your involvement.
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Moreover, it’s possible to use AirMagic to work with several photos at once. Besides, with this app, you can forget about expensive filters for drone cameras. Thanks to its Creative Touch technology you can experiment with different styles to create a breathtaking photo.
Furthermore, AirMagic can work not only as standalone software but also as a plug-in. And the pleasant fact is that you’ll get absolutely free performance updates after purchasing this app.
As you can see, there are a lot of GIMP alternatives that can satisfy not only beginner photographers but also professionals. Some of them offer even more useful features than GIMP itself. However, such software may be expensive enough. That’s why you certainly should choose the app according to your needs, skills and, of course, financial possibilities. Also, don’t forget to check if your computer meets system requirements of the application you want to try out.