GIMP vs Krita – Which One’s Better for You? Full Comparison

You can teach an online art course easily if you have the right set of tools. 

In this post, we will walk you through GIMP and Krita, two of the best tools you can use for an online art course. 

We will discuss the features, benefits, and pros and cons of GIMP and Krita to give you a better insight into what these two programs have to offer.

Features	GIMP	Krita
Pricing	5 stars	5 stars
Compatibility	4 stars	3 and a half stars
File Format	4 and a half stars	4 and a half stars
Painting Features	4 stars	4 and a half stars
User Interface	4 stars	4 stars

This is just an overview of the features of GIMP and Krita. Now let’s look at them in detail.

GIMP Review – High-Quality Photo Manipulation

GIMP – also known as the GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a raster graphics, open-source software used to create digital art. 

The source code is open to all users to change, use, study and share for any purpose. 

Similar to Adobe Photoshop, GIMP is graphic design software that can be used for:

• Editing images
• Image composition
• Photo retouching
• Image authoring.

You can use GIMP to create images and edit photos to design interactive visuals for your online courses.  

Along with being a free program, GIMP also provides different customization tools to boost productivity. 

Features of GIMP

• Layers
• Animation tools
• Multi-language support (Perl, C, C++, Scheme, Python)
• RGB Color modes
• Selection Tools
• Vector shapes support
• Desktop Publishing Workflow 
• Customizable user interface
• Supports Hardware

Pros	Cons
• Free • Easy to use • Different file format support • High-quality resolution • Regularly maintains security and fixes bugs • Frequently updated • Flexible for many uses • Good scripts and community plugins	• Significant learning curve • Lack of integration with other programs hinders workflow • The program has started to feel old

Benefits of GIMP

GIMP is a close replacement for Photoshop. It is a basic image editing software that can help you as an online course creator to manipulate images to create interactive graphics. 

We highly recommend GIMP because it is a powerful image editing tool. The adjustment layers refine the final look of the photo to bring a professional touch. 

The retouching tools that GIMP offers, such as the Clone tool, allow you to copy from the image to cover any unwanted area in the photo. Moreover, GIMP allows you to adjust pixels with the Liquify tool.  

Along with photo editing, we recommend GIMP because of its high-quality digital illustration tools as well. The software comes with 50+ vector and raster brushes. 

You can also create custom brushes or get brush packs in GIMP from other creators such as Photoshop brushes.

GIMP has helpful painting tools such as:

• Gradient tool to transition between colors easily
• Paint bucket tool to fill color
• Fuzzy Selection tool to select an area in a photo
• Dodge/Burn tool to adjust lightness/darkness in different areas

GIMP also has compatibility to export Adobe Photoshop files which helps work between the two programs.

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy GIMP 

GIMP Free Open-Source 

The GIMP software is open-source. This means that GIMP is freely available to everyone to customize the program and share with others. 

Compatibility

GIMP is a cross-platform software available on many operating systems including:

• Windows
• OS Support
• GNU/Linux 

While GIMP is compatible across multiple platforms, tablet users report complaints regarding GIMP.

File Format Support  

GIMP has the basic file format of PNG, GIF, and JPG. However, it needs plugins to support RAW files and needs to convert or import working files to open them such as Photoshop PSD files. 

Painting Tools 

This digital illustration tool has various tools for painting. However, they are not configured efficiently.

User Interface 

Since GIMP is a Photoshop alternative it has a clean and mixed user interface. It has a similar Floating Palette to Photoshop and the tools are available on the left-hand panel.  

Layers, other panels, and more tools lie on the right-hand side. 

What Do the Customers Think?

GIMP caters to the novice and expert customer audience. It offers all the necessary tools provided by customers for free. GIMP has become exceptionally popular due to its high-quality features.

 Moreover, GIMP has a great support community which creates a highly satisfied customer base.

Some of the many positive comments for GIMP we found online are:

Best High-Quality Image Manipulation Software

GIMP is an exceptional image editing tool that provides high-quality features. It is known as the next best thing for Photoshop. You can create digital illustrations and fulfill your image editing needs with its exceptional features for free. 

Krita Review – Creative Freedom in Digital Painting 

Krita is an open-source software mainly used to create 2D animations and digital paintings. 

It offers features for painting such as:

• Vector support
• Canvas Graphics Acceleration
• Layer Management in groups
• Advanced brush engine 

Krita has a lot of popular features for painting such as various effects and filters used for image processing. It supports several file formats and provides a vast range of painting tools.

Krita is designed to imitate many professional digital painting software such as Corel Painter, Paint Tool Sai, and Adobe Illustrator. The fact that it is an open-source software is what sets it apart from others. 

Features of Krita

• 30+ dockers
• Light and dark themes
• Configurable Layout
• Vector tools
• 100+ preloaded professional brushes
• Stabilizers for brushes
• 9+ brush engines
• Audio Import support
• Layer Management
• OpenGL Canvas
• HDR paintings
• Python language support

Pros	Cons
• Free open-source • Intuitive interface • Supports various operating systems • The active community of artists who support and network • Easy-to-use	• Lacks customer support services • Only compatible with desktops

Benefits of Krita

Our team found that Krita is mainly suitable to draw comics and illustrations along with image manipulation. It has an excellent color wheel that is better than other programs, even Photoshop.

We find the adjustment layers in Krita extremely helpful to make tweaks to photos such as adjusting contrast, saturation, and levels. You can also preview filters to see the effect they will have on the image.

Krita has a Smart Patch tool which is a retouching tool used to remove any piece from an image and fill the space with smart fill. It also has a liquify tool to adjust pixels. 

If you want to convert to digital media after being a traditional media user then we recommend Krita. 

The smudging tools and different drawing features make it feel like basic art supplies which will help your students learn in a better way from your online art course.

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Krita

Free Open-Source Program

This software is available for free to all users. An open-source allows users to change and share the program according to their requirements. 

Compatibility

Krita is only available for Windows and Linux, whereas a beta version is available for macOS.

Moreover, Krita offers better support for tablet drawing.

File Format Support

Krita has very intuitive support for different file formats for working files. It also supports the basic file formats such as JPG, PNG, and GIF. 

Painting Features

The main difference between good image manipulation programs is how efficiently the features that are provided can be used. 

Krita provides tools such as pop-over and brush that allow you to create images with more convenience. 

User Interface 

Krita has a simple user interface that provides easy access to tools. The additional tools that Krita offers can be taken from the additional dialogs or the menu structure. 

What Do the Customers Think?

Krita has become a primary choice for customers to edit or create vector graphics. It is a powerful program when you consider it is free of cost. 

The user interface for Krita is simple and easy to understand which makes it user-friendly and easy to navigate. The application runs smoothly and customers do not have any complaints regarding the many features such as brushes and shapes.

Some of the comments we found online include:

Best Digital Painting and Image Editing Software

Krita is a popular photo editing software. It is considered to be one of the best graphic design programs out there. We highly recommend it for your online art course because Krita gives a better hand-drawn experience similar to one on paper.  

GIMP vs Krita – Buyers’ Guide

The search for a good affordable digital artwork program to teach an online art course can be difficult. 

You not only need to find the right features or tools to create art with but to consider the workflow and digital aspects of painting as well. 

In this section, we will discuss factors you should consider before you choose digital art software:

Pricing

Graphic design software can be quite expensive and can cost you a lot if you do not research properly. 

If you still intend to purchase graphic design programs with high costs then make sure the features and tools they offer are high-quality. 

Compatibility

Work across multiple platforms. Seek out a graphic design or digital art software which offers applications that are compatible across all operating systems. 

This ensures the quality of the software and the type of workflow you will experience. 

File Formats

Support for different file formats is a very important factor to consider when you choose a graphics designer. Software that supports file exchange and file formats between multiple platforms should be considered above other programs. 

 Some of the more popular file formats can include:

• TIFF
• PNG
• GIF
• JPEG
• PDF
• MP4
• MP3
• PSD
• AI (Adobe Illustrator file)

Painting Features

The most crucial factor to consider in digital painting tools is the painting features. You need to ensure the quality and consistency of each tool to ensure their longevity. 

Moreover, you should choose a program that offers a variety of tools such as:

• Brushes
• Color wheel
• Custom Brushes
• Pens
• Blenders
• Layers
• Themes
• Canvas Customization
• Liquifying tools
• Selection tools

You should also try to choose a program that offers additional tools for your convenience such as:

• Templates
• Video Creation
• Scheduler and Planners
• Video Tutorials 

User Interface

The main factor that determines a smooth workflow and your experience is an intuitive interface. 

If the interface is cluttered and slow, it will not only ruin your experience with the program but also hinder your work. It will give you a harder time with navigation and will slow down content creation.

Final Verdict

We have reached the end of our GIMP vs Krita review. Hopefully, this post has helped you gather all the information you required for both Krita and GIMP. 

GIMP and Krita are both open-source free programs. 

Both Krita and GIMP offer exceptional tools such as layers that allow non-destructive editing. Custom brushes and painting tools are abundant in GIMP and Krita. 

The better software in terms of the variety and efficiency in its painting tools is Krita. 

However, since both Krita and GIMP are free, we recommend you to get both the tools. 

GIMP works with a broad range of features and Krita can create a variety of digital media. 

Both Krita and GIMP work across multiple OS systems and allow you to download and use older versions as well.