CheckMag | GIMP 3: 5 game-changing new features coming to the free Photoshop alternative

One of GIMP's biggest issues previously is that it wasn't particularly welcoming to beginner users — it wasn't always clear where to find tools nested in tool groups, and customising the user interface required digging deep into the settings and potentially even configuration files to fix some of the UX and UI shortcomings. GIMP 3.0 partially corrects this by giving users basic customisation options right from the welcome window, which pops up by default every time users open the application. From this screen, you can adjust the colour scheme, icon and font scaling, and group or ungroup tools, allowing users to make the program fit their setup — large, high-resolution displays can make things complicated — and generally increasing readability and making GIMP easier to use. 

On the topic of customisation, GIMP 3.0 will also streamline the program's theming options, eliminating conflicting theming information and making things more consistent throughout the UI. 

The “Create” tab in the welcome window also makes it easier to access previously used files and create new files. The “Recent images” dialogue is also handy for opening multiple images on different canvases. 

One of the biggest complaints — right behind destructive editing — you'll come across from those who have tried to migrate from Photoshop to GIMP is that GIMP lacks a proper “stroke selection” tool. GIMP 3.0 comes a long way towards rectifying this by expanding the options available in the stroke selection tool. It's still not quite as comprehensive as the stroke objects tool in the likes of Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator — it lacks options for placing the stroke on the inside or outside of the selection, for instance — but it's a step in the right direction.

The refined user interface in the stroke selection window is also a nice touch that makes the tool easier to use.

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GIMP 3.0 almost entirely rethinks the way GIMP handles layers and filters, thanks to non-destructive layer effects and auto-expanding layers. The former allows activating, deactivating, and editing image adjustments, effects, and filters on a per-layer basis. 

This means that any adjustments made to an image or layer can be quickly toggled on or off without having to undo the operations that came after it. This may not seem like a huge deal, but the lack of non-destructive editing has been a major roadblock for many photographers looking to use GIMP for professional editing purposes. 

Not only is non-destructive editing a revolutionary feature for GIMP, it landing in GIMP 3.0 is also a welcome surprise, since it was only planned for the later GIMP 3.2. Any third-party plugins that use GEGL (Generic Graphics Library) and have a UI pop-up will also be able to tap into this non-destructive workflow. 

The way GIMP 3.0 handles layer sizing makes it significantly more convenient for digital artists in two key ways. For starters, GIMP 3.0 introduces auto-resizing layers, which should make things at least a little more convenient in cases where you need just a little more room to plan a sketch. In addition to auto-resizing layers, the GIMP 3.0 release also adds equidistance and bounding box snapping options, making it easier to space out multiple objects without having to calculate transform operations manually. 

Both of these features should make digital art and comics easier to manage in GIMP 3.0, even though there are likely better apps for those purposes, like Krita.