I've been using gimp for as long as I can remember using Linux since 2000. The interface has changed so much lately that I can barely use it. I can't find half the controls anymore.
The biggest revelation for me when I switched to Photoshop for work about 4 years ago is that non-destructive editing is sooooo much nicer.
I always had dozens of "backup" layers in my years with Gimp just in case I messed something up. I was always cautious about the order in which you had to do things. I was amazed with photoshop at the fact that you could edit text after warping, gradient coloring and outlining it. Saved so much hassle.
I read non-destructive is in the pipelines for Gimp, and that would finally make it start become a viable alternative again.
Yes exactly. I used Gimp extensively (i think 2.8?) back in the day, and especially text was a pain to work with. If you rotated or resized text, you couldn't change what the text said anymore.
Another example is making a layer grayscale. In gimp it would make the whole layer grayscale without any way to revert it. In Photoshop it sort of is like an extra "layer" on top of your colored layer that you can turn on and off, making it "non-destructive"
Nowadays I mainly use Illustrator for work, so I could indeed probably give Inscape a good try. But sometimes you just need to work with pixels and gimps destructive workflow is just a dealbreaker for me. Still, it's impressive that the team got it so far, and I hope one day it will do a Blender and become the powehouse it deserves to be.
Yeah I've been using Inkscape instead for all my drawing needs for quite a while now. I find working with vector graphics to be much easier. Each thing you add is an object that can be altered continuously.
Plus I like that you can export to other formats at any size or any scale without loss.
Well, I don't know if it'll be maintained long term considering the disclaimer at the top of the README, but the PhotoGIMP plugin has always kept the interface consistent for me, and I've had it installed working well for 3.5 years now.
It does change the keyboard shortcuts to mimic Photoshop's and it also changes the UI including icons. I don't know, I like it better than the GIMP defaults.