The best graphic editors. Comparison

Almost every PC user was ever played by virtual brushes, finishing the horns in the photos of friends. Someone has achieved such skill, which allows you to edit the picture, change the contrast, brightness, sharpness, white balance. And units can use a computer the way an artist paints - to create masterpieces from scratch. In any of these cases, image editors are used , which will be discussed.

Graphic Paint Editor

It comes with Windows and is an integral part of it. This program was one of the first to allow editing and creating images. This product can easily cope with the simple tasks that periodically arise from any PC user. It:

• Reduction in the resolution (size) of the image;
• Framing (highlighting a certain rectangular area with the removal of unnecessary parts);
• Moving parts of the drawing;
• Adding inscriptions;
• Saving the result in several compressed formats.

The graphical Paint editor gives the user and drawing capabilities, but to date they are so primitive in comparison with other "players" that are used by someone extremely rarely. Here are the main ones:

• Drawing primitives (rectangles, circles, ovals, arrows), straight lines, curves and arbitrary stripes with a brush or pencil;
• Choice of brush width and color;
• Filling a limited area;
• Airbrush;
• Full erasure of image areas.

Graphical editor of GIMP

The GIMP program is distributed under an open source license, but professional programmers participate in the development - this is the main advantage of the editor. It can be downloaded for free and installed on any number of computers.

GIMP is suitable for those who are professionally engaged in the processing of photographs, and for beginners in this matter. It is ideal not only for editing, but also for creating high-quality graphics.

The graphical editor of GIMP is not equipped with the most familiar and user-friendly interface, but it can be fully customized. The tools of the program often coincide with Photoshop, although not always at the same quality level.

The software solution allows processing several images simultaneously. Developers have worked hard to allocate memory consumption, so that GIMP does not unnecessarily overload the computer. But this approach negatively affects the speed of work here.

GIMP Functionality

Like other best graphic editors, GIMP uses layers (colorless plates that can be superimposed on each other) when working with images. This technology is used by all modern designers, making up the whole of the parts. Erroneous actions taken in the GIMP can almost always be canceled.

One of the main advantages of the product are extensions. The features provided by the editor will override the needs of most users, but the most demanding users will be able to install additional plug-ins. Such extensions add new functionality to GIMP or simplify work with existing ones.

It should be noted, GIMP has a huge number of official localizations. Here is a graphic editor. In Russian it can be downloaded from the official site.

Comparison of "heavyweights"

Photoshop is a "monster" of graphic editors, however the price of $ 700 makes it available only for corporations and professionals of the highest level. Can free software in the person of GIMP replace a commercial product?

Basically, the functions of editors are similar: almost all the tools in Photoshop can be replaced with GIMP functions, but they are sometimes realized differently or with their own features. There is a lack in GIMP of the tools required in the preparation of sketches for copies of printed products. GIMP provides weak tools for processing text layers. The typed text can not be deformed without preliminary rasterization.

By the speed of image processing, these best graphics editors significantly diverge. If you fill the canvas with a gradient or solid color, free software loses to commercial product only twice, then the Gaussian blur is performed in Photoshop faster already six times.

Expandability

Presented the best graphic editors use in their work additions. If their functions can be similar, then the implementation differs in absolutely everything. In favor of Photoshop plug-ins, there are well-known companies such as Kodak, Phase One. But I must say, the possibilities for developing add-ons for GIMP are wider.

It provides a command console, scripting languages Perl and Scheme, there is the possibility of creating additional programs in C. And all these opportunities are used by independent developers, because the database of ready-made add-ons is huge.

Special mechanisms for interaction modules allow you to use all the resources of the add-on together with the existing functions right after installation. So, to create an interesting module, sometimes you need to write no more than ten lines of code.

Logical total

Comparing the best graphic editors, we understand - GIMP plays Adobe almost in all respects. But the second is for professional use and is the top product, the standard of such programs. However, if the work involves an amateur or even a semi-professional approach, absolutely free of charge the user will be able to obtain a high-quality product - GIMP.

The creation of an image editor with open source could not but affect its functionality. On the one hand, catching up on a more distinguished competitor is not achieved in all aspects, on the other - powerful development tools that are not protected by licenses attract many enthusiasts.