Who needs shape tool when we have text tool

  • @[email protected]
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    622 days ago

    This thread has made it clear to me that I should wait another year before checking on gimp again.

  • @[email protected]
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    922 days ago

    There are so many weird things about GIMP, and it feels like they add more over time. I’ve moved a layer and then tried to draw on it and had nothing happen. Why? Because the layer was created as an array of pixels the size of the image, and when I move it there’s now a dead zone where there’s no pixels in the visible image. It turns out there’s a special command to expand moved layers to fill the image: https://docs.gimp.org/3.0/en/gimp-layer-resize-to-image.html

    There are times using it that it feels like a maze to navigate to just get my changes reflected in the document.

    • @[email protected]
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      3323 days ago

      It does! And it’s so easy to use.

      • Draw a circle with the ellipse selection tool
      • From the edit menu choose “stroke selection” and follow the dialogs
      • Remove your selection

      It’s so obvious I can’t imagine why anyone would be confused.

      • cally [he/they]
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        1423 days ago

        Draw a circle with the ellipse selection tool

        So it does have what is effectively a circle shape tool. I don’t know why people are saying it doesn’t.

        • @[email protected]
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          1023 days ago

          That’s not actual shape tool.

          Shape created by shape tools should be always editable. Using ellipse selection tool means the circle is rasterized.

          • @[email protected]
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            21 days ago

            Paths in Gimp are persistent, non-rasterized, and editable. Just make a circle with the ellipse tool and then convert it to a path.

            • @[email protected]
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              21 days ago

              That’s still not as intuitive as actual shape tools on any other software.

              If average casual user get confused to it, then it’s a bad UX.

              • @[email protected]
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                121 days ago

                Trying to cater to some mythical “average casual user” and avoiding some vague concept of “bad UX” at all cost is how you get unusable garbage like Gnome and Teams.

                • @[email protected]
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                  421 days ago

                  I’m not saying it has to be GNOME or Teams. Gnome is too limiting (I also don’t like it), while Teams is… whatever.

                  It’s just have to be great for advance user, while easy to user for first-time user.

                  Let me give you some example of bad UX, that fixed in other software:

                  • Gradient effect is not editable once you deselect it, you have to recreate it from scratch (you can edit it on Photoshop or Affinity Photo)
                  • There’s should be option to adjust font size with resizing text box instead of trying to input every single number (it’s possible on every major software)
                  • Drawing outside the layer does not retain its information (CSP retains the information)
                  • NDE effects cannot be drag and drop between layer for faster editing
                  • Rotating text cannot be edited (just saw the dev talk about it on Discord)

                  Almost all of the UX problems here are recognized by the dev, even actively discussed on how to fix them!

                  You can make advance application while still catering towards newbies! For example: Clip Studio Paint. They have multiple layout and UI for different use case and audience.

                • @[email protected]
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                  220 days ago

                  mythical “average casual user”

                  Mythical? You realize people like this exist, right? This is why programs like this exist. Take Audacity for example, it was made with non-professional audio people in mind. Just people who have odds and ends to do with audio. It’s simple enough that someone with no prior knowledge can start poking around and figuring things out, and it’s advanced enough that it can get the job done for most people who need to work with audio files.

                  I’m not saying that GIMP needs to prioritize the first time user experience. If making the UI/UX more approachable for new users would necessarily make it worse for established users, then it may be a decent tradeoff. Denying the existence of people who just need to edit an image here and there is absurd though.

        • @[email protected]
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          2023 days ago

          I was being sarcastic because really it doesn’t have a tool with explicit features, just a workaround using a couple features together.

          For a new user it’s very difficult to do a pretty basic task.

    • AugustWest
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      823 days ago

      Why would it? It’s a photo editing tool, not a drawing tool.

      • @[email protected]M
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        1923 days ago
        1. Because it’s a photo editing tool, not a painter. Different priorities.
        2. Because a shape tool requires non-destructive vector layers.
        3. …and implementing that would require a fundamental overhaul of the current vector backend from 2006.

        The development of 3.0 was focused on GEGL and non-destructive editing. Working on the shape tool in parallel would’ve taken away resources and pushed back the release date even further.

        • cally [he/they]
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          1223 days ago

          Because a shape tool requires non-destructive vector layers.

          No it doesn’t, why not a bitmap shape tool?

        • @[email protected]
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          1923 days ago

          Why can a shape tool not be pixel based? There’s no intrinsic requirement for vectors.

      • @[email protected]
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        422 days ago

        Ellipse selection -> fill with black -> new layer -> shrink selection by 1 pixel -> fill with white? It’s been a while since I’ve really used gimp.

        • @[email protected]
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          21 days ago

          There’s a “border” command that selects the border around the current selection. Slightly more convenient

        • @[email protected]
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          22 days ago

          yeah, pretty much this, just don’t forget to hold shift while using the ellipse selection to force it to create a circle

          edit: the steps in order are: Ellipse selection (hold shift for circle) -> fill with black -> shrink selection by X pixels -> new layer -> fill with white

  • @[email protected]
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    423 days ago

    Set a large pencil brush size and click a large black dot. Then make the brush smaller and white, then click once in the middle.

    • @[email protected]
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      223 days ago

      If you need it precise and adjustable use 2 layers and concentrate them with the alignment tool.

  • @[email protected]
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    23 days ago

    Honestly it’s not that hard to make a circle, you just use the selection tool and paint can, add a border if you want a hollow circle.

    That being said it’s absolutely absurd that the shape tool isn’t a thing and triangles are a bitch

    • pelya
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      5323 days ago
      1. Type letter ‘c’ using the text tool, as you’ve already done
      2. Create a new layer from text
      3. Duplicate layer
      4. Transform - flip horizontally
      5. Merge two layers

      It’s a basic GIMP knowledge, really. Don’t forget to add an alpha channel to your layer after step 2, otherwise it won’t work.

      • ivanafterall ☑️
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        4223 days ago

        Why would you do this when the functionality is built right in?

        1. Open Photoshop
        2. Select the Ellipse Tool
        3. Draw a Circle of Your Choosing
        4. Press Print Screen on Your Keyboard
        5. Voila! A Fresh Circle to Paste/Insert Into Your GIMP Project!
  • bizarroland
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    423 days ago

    You can also use the brush tool and just draw a circle that’s completely filled in at whatever size you want and then remove the inner portion that you don’t want by switching to the erase tool and then shrinking the size of the circle brush to what you don’t need and clicking directly in the center of the circle.

      • bizarroland
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        222 days ago

        You know?

        You made me think about this for a minute and I think I figured it out.

        Use the circle pin to draw the circle.

        Then use the select tool to select the circle that you drew.

        Then use the grow/shrink tool to shrink the selection by however many pixels thick you want the circle to be.

        Then use the erase tool to erase all the parts of the circle that you don’t want.

        Easy peasy.

        • @[email protected]OP
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          222 days ago

          To be honest, i didn’t know about any of theese tools. Just a casual user. I’m learning a lot of tools

  • Eager Eagle
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    23 days ago

    outstanding move

    some more unicode basic shapes for everyone

    ○ △ □ ▭ ◇ ☆

      • @[email protected]
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        23 days ago

        I know you’re probably joking but Gimp has neither shape tools nor Vector Layers.

        The secret ingredients are setting up a grid and resizing to work at a high resolution, turning on snap to grid, using the brush tool by clicking then holding shift then clicking again to create a line, fill tools, and using a very large brush followed by the same brush at the same point but smaller, and lastly the copy/paste, mirror, and rotate tools to create symmetrical or circular patterns.

        Tbh its pretty time consuming but very simple to do.