Using GIMP presented by Jessica Corbet
Tuesday, April 26 at University of Dayton Campus, Dayton, Ohio No charge.    Please bring a friend.    Guests welcome. Please join us Tuesday night, April 26, 2005 for this free presentation at the University of Dayton. Go to O'Leary Auditorium in Miriam Hall. We'll begin at 7:30 p.m. Bring a friend. Using GIMP by Bob Kwater

For years Adobe Photoshop has "ruled" the world of image handling. With the advent of Linux and the ever broadening influence of "open source", another choice has appeared.

Our guest this month will be Jessica Corbet. No stranger to presenting before an audience, Jessica has discussed image handling at various Computerfest® seminars over the past 4 years. She will present Gimp, revealing tips and tricks along with general information about this very powerful program.

What is Gimp? GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

GIMP, sometimes referred to as "The Gimp", is a freely available open source application for creating and manipulating graphic images that runs on Linux and other UNIX-based operating systems. GIMP is distributed under licensing terms defined by the GNU project. You are likely to find GIMP as one of the optional applications that come in any large Linux package such as those distributed by Debian and Red Hat . You can also download it directly. Gimp is also available for Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP and Mac OS X or later.

The GIMP user interface is well designed, having many convenient time-saving features -- keyboard shortcuts, tear-off menus, and drag-and-drop colors just to name a few. However, the effective use of the GIMP doesn't depend on the qualities of the user-interface. To gain access to the real power of the GIMP, some image manipulation concepts must be understood, and some familiarity with basic image editing methodologies must be learned.

Although the web is loaded with many sites to learn more about Gimp there are several that I have found to be most useful. The official web site of the GIMP contains information about downloading, installing, using, and enhancing it. This site also serves as a distribution point for the latest releases.

There is a great site on the web for more information. It is the Gimp User Group. By far, largest collection of Gimp arts and tutorials anywhere on the Internet is located there along with contests and links to other Gimp friendly sites.

Another site for tutorials is "GIMP Tutorials!".

The final site any Gimp user should know about is Gimp-Savvy.com. Gimp-Savvy.com offers two major resources to the community of GIMP users.

The first resource provided by this site is an intermediate/advanced guide entitled Grokking the GIMP. Written by Carey Bunks and published by New Riders, it is available in its entirety on this web site under an open publication license. To facilitate its use, this on-line version comes complete with an interactive searchable database.

Grokking the GIMP covers the use of the GIMP's core tools, explaining methods for performing operations with layers, selections, and masks. The basic concepts of colorspaces and their uses in image editing are developed in detail, and in-depth instruction is given on the best ways to perform high-level tasks such as color correction, photo touchup, image enhancement, collage, and photo montage.

In addition to its conceptual approach to image manipulation, Grokking the GIMP also presents nine major projects. These are invaluable aids in illustrating how the GIMP's tools are used to accomplish more sophisticated image editing tasks and give a clearer picture of how tools interact and are used together.

The other resource found here is the large Photo Archive. To express an idea or a design concept, most image projects need to find appropriate raw photographic materials. This can often be one of the most significant challenges of the project. There are many on-line stock-photo companies which provide materials for a fee. However, to promote and accelerate the use of the GIMP, it would be useful to have a readily available, copyright-free, photo archive.

Thus, as a practical resource, Gimp-Savvy.com provides an archive of over 15,000 copyright-free photos and images in an easy to browse format.

The original sources of the image materials found on this site are United States governmental agencies such as the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). These images are made available as a public service for both private and commercial use without copyright assertion.

Please join us Tuesday night, April 26, 2005 for this free presentation at the University of Dayton. Go to O'Leary Auditorium in Miriam Hall. We'll begin at 7:30 p.m. Bring a friend.

Jim Rowe, Editor
The DataBus
editor@dma.org

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