Gimp tutorials are everywhere!

Well, let's say you've finally loaded Linux onto your computer. You boot the system, log in, and are greeted with the KDE (or Gnome) desktop. You start to explore the menus to test drive some of the applications. One of the main applications you'll undoubtedly want to try is The Gimp, the free, open source image editing program that comes pre-installed in Linux.

Now, I absolutely love using The Gimp. But I will admit, the interface is a bit different and takes some getting used to. Trust me, it's an easy adjustment to make.

Even though The Gimp is as powerful and feature rich as PhotoShop, PhotoImpact, Paintshop Pro and others, you'll find that you may need just a bit of help in navigating the toolbar menus and keyboard commands.

Luckily, the web is chock full of Gimp tutorials. My Linux buddy Matt passed along these links to Gimp tutorials, help manuals, and forums. (Thank you, Matt!)

http://gimp-tutorials.net/

http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

http://www.gimp-tutorials.com/

http://tutorialblog.org/gimp-tutorials/

http://www.gimptalk.com/

http://www.gimpguru.org/Tutorials/

http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/Gimp/All/

In addition, there is an extensive help manual for Gimp located in your Linux distribution's repository (usually called gimp-help-en. "en" for English, "fr" for French, etc.)

But, if you're more inclined to use a book, Amazon.com is loaded with Gimp manuals. Simply enter, The Gimp in the search bar. The most widely known Gimp manual (which will come up in the search results) is called, "Grokking The Gimp."

If you don't want to wait for the book to be delivered, Grokking the Gimp is available for free as a web site.

So, once again, you can see how open and generous the Linux community is with information about the Operating System and its applications.

When was the last time Microsoft gave you any help without first reaching into your wallet?

Got a question about cartooning with Linux, or Linux in general? Email me at: georgetoon@gmail.com. If I use your question on my blog, I'll send you an original, signed George comic strip!

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