Thread: Gimp

The interface
Once you have finished the installation, it's time to start the application. GIMP starts with a 'Splash Screen'; the initial loading can be a bit long depending on the system you use and the number of fonts and plug-ins installed. But this load time becomes much snappier from next time onwards.
The default interface of the GIMP consists of three features:
1)Toolbox: This consists of tools and the tools option to perform several operations.
2)Image Window: This is the section where you can do editing and drawing. It loads images and provides you with a platform to showcase your creativity.
3)Layer Option: The toolbar lists all the major functions like setting layers, paths and several other functions. The GIMP's interface is very flexible. You can easily customise it to suit your work needs.

Once you get the interface altered, you can start learning about the tools and options that the GIMP ships with. Another important aspect of note is the new interface. Since we will be using version 2.6 for our tutorial, please bear in mind that this version has a new kind of windows list -i.e., the toolbox, layerbox and current window has been merged into one windows list, making it easier for users to work with. But this new interface doesn't work well with KDE's Kwin and Compiz window managers; so if you are using any of these, you might face some problems while using the new interface.

The toolbox and layerbox don't stay on top of the image windows. In order to work with the GIMP in these two listed window managers you have to restore the default behaviour of version 2.4. To do this, simply navigate to Edit-Preferences-Window Management and select 'Normal Window' in both the drop down menus, save and restart the GIMP. You will now be able to use it without problem.

The toolbox
The toolbox that appears to the left side of the GIMP consists of useful tools. It's a one-stop-shop for all the tools you need. The main aim of the toolbox is to improve the user experience and enable faster use. You can always add or remove tools from it according to your needs. To add additional tools navigate to Windows-Dockable Dialogs-Tools and add the desired tools.

The main toolbox has been divided into four categories. The upper portion with an faint image of Wilber [the GIMP's logo] is a drop area, into which you can directly drop your image and start editing or manipulating it.

The second portion consists of tools and the colour selector. You will notice there are two swatches for colour selection-the one above is for the foreground and the lower one is for background colour selection. Just click it and select the colour. There's no need to worry about what these two are meant for-we will learn about them later.

The third and extremely useful section has the tool options. As the name suggests, these offer features and settings for the tools you select from the second section, i.e., by clicking on the tools icon. The options are variable and depend on the tools you select. The last section comprises save, restore, delete, and reset. These options are used to set a default value for any of the tools. For example, if you generally use big brushes for painting, then from this option, all you need to do is set the desired value and saye it. From the next time onwards, whenever you choose the brush, you can use it with the saved settings.