GIMP for Absolute Beginners

The book title says it all, unfortunately, I didn't take it at its word and bought a copy from Amazon. Since Gimp is such a dynamic program I thought I could really get something out of the text. I don't mind having a basic book because usually one can glean something in a new presentation.However, this book has really been written about digital photo editing with Gimp or creating art with Gimp. What photo editing it has is fine, but if that is the subject and someone really wants to learn that, he or she would be better off using the freeware program Irfanview than Gimp. He or she could easily learn what is explained by trial and error. Irfanview has everything covered for editing and while Gimp can do the same things, the main purpose of Gimp is probably photo manipulation, rather than simple digital photo editing.The complexity of what Gimp can do is far beyond what someone needs for straightforward photo editing. When working with digital photos, I do basic photo editing in Irfanview which takes only 15 or 30 seconds, then if something more is required, I go to Photoshop or Gimp or even Paint for a few things. However, beginning in Gimp or Photoshop to do simple photo editing is like using a cannon when you need a slingshot.Even with photo editing or manipulation, this text fails. It has only black and white images. Before you buy it, consider if you want a book which tells you how to do things in color, then gives you an illustration of results in gray scale.There is also a big section on how to create art in Gimp. Perhaps if this is your intent, this book on Gimp might have some application, however the title is then misleading.All in all, if you have any basic knowledge of Gimp, this book is not for you. If you are looking for simple photo editing, use the intuitive program Irfanview.It is too bad that the authors have utilized their expertise for something which I doubt has much value for people looking for basic instructions in Gimp (a niche which is still unfilled).

I knew very little about GIMP and it was difficult to teach myself. Surfing YouTube videos while simultaneously manipulating a picture (all on the same screen) got a bit tricky. This book takes you through the most basic steps, from downloading/opening GIMP onto your computer to how to use the toolbars to how to do some of the most common tasks. I'm no digital artist after reading this book, but I was able to upload images, manipulate and layer them, add graphics and special effects, and save it in a variety of formats so am happy with my investment.UPDATE: 1/4/15 - still happy I bought this book, but it really needs a BETTER INDEX!!! I hunted through it many times to find a tutorial I vaguely remembered seeing and was ready to rip out my hair before I found the 'how to' tutorial I was looking for buried in with a bunch of longer lessons. Have had this happen with other manipulations, so, yes, it needs a better index at the end please on your next edition.

I wish I had "The Artist Guide to Gimp" before I bought this one. This says it's for "absolute beginners" but you better know something about this type of software before you need the basics. Just didn't cut it for me. I wish books like this would have better tutorials where they start at the beginning and walk you through each step of the process with actual hands on lessons to let you see how things work. In fact I wish software manufactures would give COMPLETE instructions with their software so a customer didn't have to go out and buy book after book trying to figure out how to work it. Seems to me for a reasonable few dollars more software companies could do this. Oh and while I'm at it, Apple and Microsoft could do this with their OS's as well!

Speaking only for myself, the program is hard to learn, the book makes it easier to learn. I was able to accomplish some simple editing and titles, with the aid of the book. I think this book is better for me among the other GIMP books. **Update - the book's index sucks. One of the most basic tasks "outlining text in a .jpg picture" isn't in the index, not mentioned! Index kills this book. 12/14 Bought on Amazon

This book has a TONE of information and it is reasonably easy to read and understand. However there is so MUCH information for those who are impatient to get started (like me) it is a bit cumbersome. However, if you can make yourself be patient and work your way through, it will pretty much teach you what you need to know.

Better than previous how-to books, and routes the user around to necessary info for our various needs quite well. The problem we have, however, is that computers are filled with too much that gets in our way. Older ones were handier. Recently a public library in Santa Fe, NM added Gimp to its computers. May heaven help those librarians, not because they can't help the public learn it, but because they will have to. I haven't seen this book there.

Bought this mostly for my wife. No professionals here. She just likes to play with photo editing. We used to have an old copy Adobe Photoshop 7. But that was years ago. Gimp is a free download, and the book we bought makes it easy to learn.

My wife needed a book to use as a teaching tool for high school students. This book offers an easy to read, step by step guide for using GIMP. I've been using GIMP for years and am impressed by the book's clarity and ease of use. Highly recommended for beginners.

I've been using an ancient version of photoshop for years, and three times I've decided to try Gimp - each time I've downloaded and installed it but fallen at the first hurdle. On this, my fourth try, I decided to buy this book, and work methodically through it (although you don't have to use it in this way). I'm less than a third the way through, and already I know how to do things in Gimp that I hadn't understood in photoshop. The steps are clearly explained and well illustrated with screenshots, as simply as possible, which can't be easy when trying to explain such a powerful programme. I'm delighted.

As a beginner's guide there is no obvious instructions as to actually import photos from the computer or devicesThis is a basic function and should not be taken for granted that the user is familiar with the procedure.

This book is ok, but I don't really think it was very concise for beginners. In the areas I needed the most help I ended up going to u tube to get clearer advice.

This book is one of the best I've seen on teaching computer software. Gimp for me was almost impossible to use, but I knew it couldn't be that hard - it's was just a matter of finding someone to explain it step by step. This book does it. It's simple and takes you step by step. I've had no hangups on understanding what they say to do and when I go to do it, it works. So, highly recommended book for this program.

This book is great for learning gimp, its like having a patient teacher, everything is explained very clearly and simply!