The Essential GIMP Tutorial thread is located here

Considering the estimated 130 million books in the world, it's been said that it's not important how many books one can read during their lifetime, it's which books one reads during their lifetime that really counts.

Extending that notion to GIMP, what would be the 10 or 20 (or more) best GIMP tutorials for a person to follow, keeping in mind that a new gimp user would follow the tutorials in sequence?

The tutorials would cover topics including basic creation and editing of an image, layers, channels, paths, masking, bump/displacement mapping and other essential techniques.

I think this would be a great list to compile.

Great idea

I'm not much for using tutorials, but fencepost's GIMP Scripting tuts should be included. They're the best primer I've come across.

That's a good suggestion, nzdawghaus. Actually, we already have a thread containing essential scripting resources stuck at the top of the scripting forum. Fencepost's tuts are in there but we could certainly use more.

I was thinking of a good set of GIMP tuts. Tutorials can be fun and educational. And, you end up with a finished image at the end of each step.

Bias aside, I created a post on here called Gimp Youtube Series and have since begun creating a series of videos for absolute beginners on GIMP. Go check that post out and throw your input in on what should be discussed! I'll keep making the tutorials, and will make changes per your guys's suggestions. Together I think we can make the best set of beginner tutorials out there.

I must admit that following tutorials was how I learned how to use Gimp. I started with the easier tuts and moved on up as I became familiar with how to use the tools and filters. I liked being shown what to do, step by step, and ending up with a finished product. I will say that I started with written tutorials but also like vids...especially those with audio explanation as you go along. Either way, I find tuts much easier and I learn more from them than just messing around with the program. I think it would benefit all new users if the tuts could be organized in some fashion.

I learned a lot from Jolie's GIMPtricks tutorials and send links all the time. There's no real order to them I guess, but they're great for learning the basics and for learning new things.

I was just planning a post that contained links to 10-15 or 25 "essential" tutorials, in order.

What would be the 1st tutorial you would recommend to a new GIMP user?

I'd recommend GIMPtricks' "GIMP Basics -Introduction + Beginner tutorial exercise (How to use GIMP)".

Description:
GIMP beginner tutorial and/or Gimp basics tutorial. Has an introduction to the GIMP interface and a beginners excercise to get started with GIMP. A great way for GIMP beginners and learning the GIMP basics, basically getting started with GIMP/beginning with GIMP.

Follow the steps and you will learn how layers work in GIMP, how to make a basic gradient in GIMP. How to use the text tool in GIMP, how to change the font color in GIMP, how to make a border around text in GIMP, how to make a drop shadow in GIMP, how to make a border around an image in GIMP, learn the basics about selections in GIMP and layers in GIMP.

All explained so a GIMP beginner will be able to follow it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LmW5ndnEqw

I think the best tutorial list would/should go something like this -
#1 - Installing Gimp on various machines, and system platforms.
#2 - Gimps interface and docking different dialogs, and working with tabs.
#3 - Gimps tools and extensive usage of each tool.
#4 and beyond - Gimps menus and how to use each filter that comes with Gimp.
The very last tutorial should be about adding new resources to Gimp the correct way.
Possibly also adding Python to Gimp.

The Essential GIMP Tutorial thread is located here

I think if you keep the list too short, you run the risk of not adequately covering what all GIMP can be used for. For instance, I'd recommend Griatch's tutorials for anyone interested in digital painting with GIMP - but that is a very specific focus. I'm sure there are at least nine other things you can use GIMP for - and now you only have one tutorial (or set) for each purpose.

I know there's a large amount of users that come to Gimp for texturing 3d models i.e. game modding. Unfortunately, each game requires its own specific tutorials. For the first few years I had the program, thats the only thing I really focused on. It seems like alot of folks on the various gimp boards prefer making sigs or editing photos, but there's plenty of us who would fall into the "other" category.

An invaluable resource for anyone using Gimp is a list of the hotkeys. Not a tutorial, but definitely essential...
http://www.gimpusers.com/gimp/hotkeys

For beginners it would be hard to beat Griatch's http://www.gimptalk.com/index.php?/topic/34102-beginning-with-gimp-starting-tutorial-for-new-users/
It is a great introduction to Gimp and walks the beginner through several procedures to familiarise himself with Gimp

And I'd recommend Meet The GIMP! Video tutorials for GIMP and other free graphics programs

http://www.meetthegimp.org/

Kevin

Great idea Tux. I know I struggled for a while learning gimp (still am in some areas) I like the premise in number three about "extensive use of tools". It's the extensive part that intrigues me. While a beginner can glean quite a bit from a tutorial, a user may require something more than just a simply "monkey see - monkey do" approach in following a tutorial. A beginner may know what to do with some things but doesn't fully understand the why and how behind each maneuver. I'll try and site a very simple example to clarify.

Let's say you have a background layer and a text layer and you want to make the text a little fatter. You go to Alpha to Selection, then Select>Grow Selection and then drag a color or bucket fill the selection. Wait a minute, what happened? It won't color the selection.........No matter what I try I can't get it to work. I get frustrated and give up cuz I didn't know (yet) that you have to go to Layer to Image Size first before the grow operation will work.

This would help someone immensely...to explain not only how a tool or operation works but what happens if you do this, this and this and oh, be sure not to do this, and if you do this you get this. That would be my interpretation or approach to the "extensive" part. I don't recall seeing anywhere or in any tutorial or set of instructions that does this. Your thoughts?

OK, so why don't we all work together to volunteer our "Gimp Niche?" Every one of us in GC are great at some things, but none of us are great at all. Maybe if we break it down from chapter to chapter, and create a good series of videos within that "niche" we can create the best set possible.

For example, I feel that I am very good at using layer modes, layers, and layer masks. It's pretty much all I use. I have a great deal of examples I could dish out within that "gimp niche."

Lyle knows about more plugins, scripts, and things than anyone else I've ever known. Frankly, I don't have a single plugin or script installed. I probably wouldn't be the go-to guy for that, although Lyle would be great for it.

Griatch is a fantastic artist, and teacher (as we already know.)

If we create lessons on each tool, and then create a few tutorials explaining how you can apply what that tool can do when you're using it, you'll create a good archive, and a AWESEOME way to quickly and effectively assist new users who come in and ask questions.

I learned more about what GIMP can do from these two tutorials than from hundreds of others combined:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=321&hilit=gear

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=763&hilit=Tux

But I wouldn't start out with either one. Hard to get a consensus on where to begin.

Thanks for an excellent list of suggestions. I'm now thinking that we would have the "Top 10 Essential Gimp Tutorials" (as the catchy headline) but also include some related links for "required reading" that is related to each of the 10 tutorials.

For example, let's say we chose Jolie's GIMP Intro Tutorial as our first tutorial, then have some links to Graitch's post and/or other supporting documents related to beginning GIMP. The next tutorial would be a little more advanced and the supporting links be on the same level. Each tutorial and section would be progressively more advanced.

Does that sound reasonable?

Now you're talkin'.

Check out this post of mine: http://gimpedblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/ ... photo.html

Look at the top. It says "you will need:"
and then it lists some of the things I suggest you have before attempting to do that tutorial. I think this is what you're suggesting, right Tux?

Another very important thing to note, doing things this way is important for online learning, because some people don't learn in a linear motion.

If I wanted to learn how to remove color from a photo, I wouldn't look for "how to use the desaturate tool." I would look for "How to convert color to black and white" and find the desaturate tool from there. We need to be sure we accommodate people who search for things like this.

That's not always the case. I did a thesis on the way different people learn in college. Some need the structure of a linear approach whereas others, like you said, learn in bits and pieces as they need them. Some get it better in a video, some in a written tutorial with pictures. If we subscribe to the linear approach, users can still "pick & choose" what they need at the moment while still providing structure for others. I don't know how we might offer both except maybe like you already suggested, to offer a link to videos and written tutorials so folks could have a choice. It would also serve as reinforcement to see the tool use or procedure from the different perspectives of vids vs tuts.