Best cheap or free alternative to Photoshop?

[Jeikobu]

I used to have Photoshop CS when I used OSX 10.4 and 10.5. But now that I am using 10.9, it appears that software is too outdated to use anymore.

I've tried "GIMP", and I don't think it's very user-friendly. Things that were so easy to do with Photoshop are very clumsy in GIMP and require more steps, and I'm also simply not used to the different way of doing things the app has. I still have it, but I'm wanting something better, something more directly similar to Photoshop.

I've even considered Photoshop Elements. Amazon has it for just $60. But for special reasons I am really trying to pinch my pennies right now.

I don't need something incredibly fancy. What I most like to do is draw on stuff; I used to use the brush tool in Photoshop to draw, and I could do it in a separate layer in the picture and use effects, my favorite of which was probably one (I forget the name) that let me essentially automatically put dark lines around what I drew, so it saved me the trouble of drawing the outline myself.

I tried figuring out how to do this stuff with GIMP, but it was difficult and frustrating. I've also noticed the brushes typically either have a very rough texture, or very fuzzy; I can't seem to get that smooth, in-between brush texture I want, usually. Well, I guess that's the difference between a free app and one you have to pay a decent chunk for.

I realize I may have to stick with GIMP until I can afford Photoshop. But I thought it couldn't hurt to ask anyway: is there another free or cheap alternative to Photoshop that is still a lot like Photoshop in features and function?

Thanks.

[smrpix]

To be clear, you do understand that photoshop is now $10/mo, correct?

[Jeikobu]

And after six months, I may as well have bought Elements all at once.

[smrpix]

GIMP is very highly regarded. At this point the price/functionality/ease-of-use matrix comes down to personal preference.

[nic2k4]

Maybe GIMPshop will make you feel more at ease.

[Herve]

I used to have Photoshop CS when I used OSX 10.4 and 10.5. But now that I am using 10.9, it appears that software is too outdated to use anymore.

Photoshop CS does not work on 10.7 (and more). CS was a set of apps based onto processors "PPC"…
So, when upgrading my system, I couldn't continue to use my CS apps too

Buy an upgrade to CS3 (and more): CS3 is the first version of apps to intel processors.
You could use the apps again.
Adobe does not sell upgrades anymore, but you can buy upgrades from third parties into the web (ebay & ice). The fee will be less than an adobe subscription (but you will use "old" versions of each apps!)

bye

[racer-x]

You Mac guys are too funny..........Upgrade OS and you're forced to upgrade all your apps?

I'm still using Photoshop 7 (around 10+ years old now) and no problems whatsoever. But seriously, you can do anything with Gimp that you can do with Photoshop, though it may take longer to complete some tasks. It all comes down to user skill.

[Ai Haibara]

You Mac guys are too funny..........Upgrade OS and you're forced to upgrade all your apps?

In Jeikobu's case, yes. He's been using an earlier (PowerPC) version of the OS and apps, before Apple switched to using Intel systems only. Now that he's upgraded (OS and hardware), he basically can't use nearly any of the apps he used to use.

[Cornucopia]

I would say the choice to upgrade the OS was PREMATURE then...

Maybe he can roll-back.

Scott

[Ai Haibara]

Actually, the only way he could go from 10.4/10.5 to 10.9 would be to switch hardware (system architecture change from PowerPC to Intel), so there really isn't a way he can roll back.

Technically, he can theoretically emulate a PowerPC Mac with an earlier version of OS X, but that'd likely be a less functional and desirable alternative.

[Cornucopia]

Couldn't he "roll back" to the desk that has his older PPC, then?
(lots of unanswered questions here...)

Scott

[Ai Haibara]

Jeikobu has been wanting to upgrade from his old PPC Mac to a newer Mac for a while, now, primarily because his older system wasn't performing as well as he'd like, and has had a number of questions about it.

See for example:
Looking for a new computer...
...and an earlier topic in which you also posted ():
Newest system means new software, right?

That said, I don't know if the fact that he's now running a 10.9 system means his older system's no longer working, so that's a detail I'll leave to Jeikobu to answer.

[MaverickTse]

I once bought Adobe CS3, but the activation procedure is so troublesome that now whenever I need to re-install, I have to phone Adobe....
This is ridiculous... (In contrast, my copy of MS Office 2007 is still working fine)
So I decided I will not pay adobe a dime ever since, and now mainly use Paint.Net (for Windows) for most of the static-image editing.
Gimp... I also feel that its UI is somewhat un-intuitive, but not unworkable... still better than Blender...

[Herve]

(just my 2 cents)
if somebody bought Photoshop, then he needs photoshop features
I tried (for the fun) Gimp or others software: there is no control about cmyk conversions, nor useable profiles, nor dot gain control, etc
if you just want to play with photos, so Pixelmator and cie are perfect.
if you want to use it for job, there is no alternative

(PS: personnaly, I bought an "old upgrade", so I continue to use it everyday and my main system is Mountain Lion )

bye

[cornemuse]

I have tried photoshop & gimp (& a few others), they were waaay too complicated for what I want/need.

I use graphics workshop pro plus paint-dot-net, for all the file manipulation I do, they are plenty enough for me. They both copy/paste from 'clipboard' & can both be used with each other.

(Graphics workshop is not free, p-d-n is)

I'm prolly out of my league here, -c-

[Cornucopia]

Those are also Windows-only apps and the OP is on a Mac (the reason for the difficulty in the first place). And the OP wants Pshop or a close Pshop equivalent. Those are good (I particularly like Paint.net), but not near what Pshop can do.

Scott

[Endoro]

Acorn, pixelmator

[racer-x]

(just my 2 cents)
if somebody bought Photoshop, then he needs photoshop features
I tried (for the fun) Gimp or others software: there is no control about cmyk conversions, nor useable profiles, nor dot gain control, etc
if you just want to play with photos, so Pixelmator and cie are perfect.
if you want to use it for job, there is no alternative

(PS: personnaly, I bought an "old upgrade", so I continue to use it everyday and my main system is Mountain Lion )

bye

That's it? That's all you've got?

Look, I'm a died in the wool PhotoShop user. I've been using PhotoShop for so long, I can't remember. I would never give it up for any reason. But when someone says that Gimp can't do what PhotoShop can, that's just simple ignorance that needs to be corrected.........

[MaverickTse]

When I was a school kid, me and every person around went so far to pirate PS just to play with it.... even after getting into university, there are still a significant portion of people who does not aware of free alternative. That doesn't mean the users really need PS features. Most of them are simply not well informed.

Yet it is really hard find find a good contender on Mac...

[Cornucopia]

@racer-x, but GIMP still can't do 16bit color, let alone 32bit, deepcolor & HDR (yes, GIMP can do exposure blending+tonemapping: that is NOT the same thing as a true HDR image - the output is still LDR). Nor can it do adjustment layers, vector graphics (even rudimentary), cmyk color mode (not just profile), lab, bitmap, duotone etc modes, 3d layers, history brush, integrated raw support and PIE,...

It's getting better, and promises to get better still (including 16+bit at some point in the near future), but it still has a long way to go. It's still an ALTERNATIVE to Photoshop, not a SUBSTITUTE for it. And it IS a steeper learning curve, let's face it.

@MaverickTse, yes those suggestions for Acorn & Pixelmator aren't bad but they sure aren't in the same league as PS. It all depends on what your expectations are. At this point, I agree with Herve - I'd never give up PS.

Scott

[Herve]

But when someone says that Gimp can't do what PhotoShop can, that's just simple ignorance that needs to be corrected.

…Was just my personal advice, and you only partially answer to some of my remarks:
- I work with a printer, he has a special black'n'white dot press, how can I handle it in Gimp? (your screenshot only shows RGB & CYMK management profiles)
- Last week I received a image badly converted to CYMK for Japanese standard (the client find it "so better onto screen with this setting!"). So I had to correct the previous profile conversion (and not only to specify what is my own profile for workflow).

I'm not an Adobe addict, but please Gimp is a very good software, certainly ideal for most of users, but it's not a production soft.

[racer-x]

I forgot about 16-bit color depth. I stand corrected, Photoshop can do things that gimp can't....

I will leave this thread, I have no business here anyway since I don't use a Mac.

[crjackson]

I don't like the Adobe Cloud Subscription Service either. I've been using PhotoShop CS6 across many versions of OS X. I would scout around for a used physical copy for sale. Perhaps eBay would be a starting place. I've got GIMP, Pixlemator and others too, but nothing really competes with PS if you are doing professional quality work. JMHO... No Flames please...

[Ai Haibara]

As for Photoshop, Adobe has since released Photoshop CS2 as freeware (though you'll still need the registration/serial key, of course. And yes, I know that's not an Adobe page...). I haven't tried it... I already have PS Elements and The GIMP installed, and just haven't gotten around to it.