Drawing a circle.

malloc · **Joined:** Dec 07, 2012 **Posts:** 5

GIMP Version: 2.8.10
Operating System: Linux
OS Version: Gentoo stable
GIMP Experience: Beginner Level

I have used GIMP every now and then for maybe ten years. But very little each time, and quite rarely. So I'm a beginner, I have very little experience with GIMP. Forgive me for this, but I'd like to express first that I feel GIMP is about as user friendly as the VI editor or maybe writing LaTeX by hand, for a beginner. I'm sure experienced GIMP users love GIMP, just as I love the vim editor, but for a beginner I'd say GIMP is almost useless, depending on what you wish to accomplish. I often find myself having to look up the most trivial of operations on Google, as they are often not intuitive as they are in other software that I have used. What is worse, the layout of GIMP has changed, so often I come across an old tutorial or video, and I have to try adapt what I'm told to the new layout. Simple steps like "select [some option]" become highly frustrating. For this reason, I'm wondering if there is some more user friendly version of GIMP available, some variant that has maybe a subset of 10% of the features in GIMP, but make what features it does present much more intuitive. If this does not exist, is there some alternative to GIMP that I should use instead?

I'm trying to use GIMP to draw simple graphics for a hobbyist game developed from scratch. I'd like to draw a simple circle or ellipse, not a filled circle, just the outer perimeter for the circle, one pixel in width. I see there are nice tools to perform relative complement, union and intersection of sets with the ellipse tool. But it is not readily clear for a beginner how to do something as simple as what I want.

If I'm stuck with GIMP, what should I do next time I encounter a similar simple problem? I'd like to be able to figure out these things myself, when they are this simple.

Erisian · **Posted:** Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:29 pm **(#2)**

This should get you started http://www.farcrydesign.com/tutorials/G ... orial.html

K1TesseraEna · **Joined:** Sep 22, 2012 **Posts:** 2089 **Location:** US

malloc wrote:

I'm trying to use GIMP to draw simple graphics for a hobbyist game developed from scratch. I'd like to draw a simple circle or ellipse, not a filled circle, just the outer perimeter for the circle, one pixel in width. I see there are nice tools to perform relative complement, union and intersection of sets with the ellipse tool. But it is not readily clear for a beginner how to do something as simple as what I want.

To draw basic geometric shapes you can use gimp plugin that's been around for ages (Filters > Render > Gfig)
Make sure you have paint tool selected (P) and in the Gfig window browse to 1.Pixel brush, select the color and the shape you need.
Get yourself familiar with menu bar to move, edit, delete, etc. the shapes you've created.

malloc wrote:

I have used GIMP every now and then for maybe ten years. But very little each time, and quite rarely. So I'm a beginner, I have very little experience with GIMP. Forgive me for this, but I'd like to express first that I feel GIMP is about as user friendly as the VI editor or maybe writing LaTeX by hand, for a beginner. I'm sure experienced GIMP users love GIMP, just as I love the vim editor, but for a beginner I'd say GIMP is almost useless, depending on what you wish to accomplish. I often find myself having to look up the most trivial of operations on Google, as they are often not intuitive as they are in other software that I have used. What is worse, the layout of GIMP has changed, so often I come across an old tutorial or video, and I have to try adapt what I'm told to the new layout. Simple steps like "select [some option]" become highly frustrating. For this reason, I'm wondering if there is some more user friendly version of GIMP available, some variant that has maybe a subset of 10% of the features in GIMP, but make what features it does present much more intuitive. If this does not exist, is there some alternative to GIMP that I should use instead?

You're right, gimp interface isn't exactly the most user friendly and may be quite overwhelming for the beginners.
The developers did some gimp usability studies and do realize that it needs to be simplified and more intuitive but OTOH, changing it
more or less radically is going to make hundreds of good gimp tutorials out there obsolete, and that the legacy they have to deal with.

No, there is no simplified version of gimp, although, one thing you can do is to reduce the number of tools in the toolbox you think you'd
never use. It's all configurable in Preferences.

Given the tasks you've described, I'd suggest Inkscape as a free and more straightforward alternative to gimp.
It's a vector graphics editor, there is some learning curve but once your get you head wrapped around it, it has less features and is more simple
to use than gimp. Then again, a lot of folks around here may disagree with my last statement.

Matera · **Joined:** Oct 06, 2013 **Posts:** 143

Hmm. I usually use the circle select tool (with fixed aspect ratio for a perfect circle), fill the selection, then shrink the selection by n pixels, and delete the middle.

K1TesseraEna · **Joined:** Sep 22, 2012 **Posts:** 2089 **Location:** US

Thanks conbagui!

Matera wrote:

Hmm. I usually use the circle select tool (with fixed aspect ratio for a perfect circle), fill the selection, then shrink the selection by n pixels, and delete the middle.

I usually make the selection (circle, ellipse, polygon, etc), save it to path (to be reusable) and stroke the path.
But since malloc has difficulties with some selection tools I offered using Gfig.

GnuTux · **Posted:** Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:43 pm **(#6)**

Just thought I'd mention that hitting the shift key while making an ellipse selection will toggle to a fixed aspect ratio circle. Doing so during a rectangle selection will toggle to a square. You can then do as K1 suggests from the menu: Select/To Path, then Edit/Stroke Path.

Odinbc · **Posted:** Sun Dec 15, 2013 12:24 pm **(#7)**

It's a great script but can be tricky learning at first.
Esper's helper, Subject: Shape Paths Chart.
Mahvin's Tutorial: Working With The Shapes Paths Script.

2-ton · **Posted:** Sun Dec 15, 2013 8:55 pm **(#8)**

Beginners should try out some of the beginner tutorials to make learning about how to use the tools much easier. In fact, I pretty much learned most of what I know (albeit that isn't much) by following tutorials.

ek22 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 15, 2013 11:02 pm **(#9)**

I keep hearing this. How gimp is overly complex to beginners. And maybe it is. I just never experienced this level of frustration with it. Just because I don't know where something is, doesn't mean I can't go find out. Googling the answer has never been the bother to me it seems to be for a lot of people.

Inkscape is definitely the better choice if shapes is all you're after. Because gimp will do the shapes and dress them up too, then it will take them to prom in a limo or something. Just be prepared, Inkscape has a learning curve like any other program. Frankly, if I had to pick up a copy of Photoshop today, I wouldn't know what to do with it either. I'd have to poke the user manual (which is probably in pdf format because adobe hey) and I might have to look at a million and a half more tutorials. Oh well. I'm doing it now with blender to figure out how to square 3D so it's an ongoing thing for me. I'm always looking at stuff, reading, learning. And if I don't know how to, I will find the way somewhere, somehow.

So in short, listen to Kite, get Inkscape. (Sorry for the rant.)