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6 days ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
GIMP is a software you'll come across most often when looking for free or open-source alternatives to Photoshop. It does serve as a viable alternative for many creators. However, many forget that GIMP was never developed or intended to be a Photoshop clone. Instead of the usual "GIMP vs. Photoshop" contest narrative, I think we should recognize GIMP on its own terms because judging it as a replacement for Photoshop sometimes misses the point.
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1 week ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
When looking for Photoshop alternatives, Photopea and GIMP are probably the two options you'll come across most of the time. Both are powerful and capable, but they're not built the same. So if you find yourself stuck between GIMP and Photopea, it's worth comparing their strengths and weaknesses to figure out which one is best for your project's needs. Here, I'm going to focus on the ways Photopea steps up where GIMP tends to stumble.
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1 week ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
If you've been looking for easy or free design tools, you've probably come across Adobe Express. It's a highly rated, easy-to-use graphic design program with a comprehensive set of features, even in the free version. But it's not the only contender worth considering. If you're like me and not interested in getting locked into the Adobe ecosystem, and if Canva doesn't quite do it for you, let me introduce you to Picsart.
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1 week ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
Photoshop can feel like a maze of menus and sliders, especially with new features constantly popping up. Features can be fun to explore, but not all of them actually help you work faster. Over time, I've picked up a handful of tools, settings, and shortcuts that make things faster and simpler. So if you're looking for ways to get things moving, try these...
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1 week ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
Photoshop can be a blessing and a curse. I love it because you can create nearly anything with it, but I also get frustrated because it tries to do too much. For every clever feature that streamlines a task, there seems to be one that's clunky or laggy. These are the Photoshop features and quirks that, instead of making my life easier, just end up testing my patience.
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2 weeks ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
When you think of user-friendly tools for non-designers, Canva is probably the first to come to mind. But Canva isn't the be-all-end-all for accessible design — there's a whole range of alternative design tools that offer just as much, if not more, and some of them also don't lock their best features behind a paywall. So if you need an easy way to bring your ideas to life, whether creating flyers or simple web graphics, you don't have to settle for the mainstream picks.
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2 weeks ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
Every time I get excited about a shiny new creative tool, it usually ends the same way — paywalled by subscriptions and owned by a big-name conglomerate. This is why I find myself coming back to open-source software. It gives you freedom, not just from subscriptions but also from hidden costs and ecosystem traps.
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2 weeks ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
Even as the industry standard, Adobe Acrobat is bulky and expensive. If you've ever felt like Acrobat is holding your workflow hostage with its constant upselling and bloated interface, you're probably not alone. Thankfully, there are many free PDF editors that can handle what you need to get done, such as text editing, annotations, and even OCR. Whether you need a lightweight tool for quick PDF edits or a more full-featured editor without the price tag, I've got you covered.
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3 weeks ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
Open-source creative software is perfect on paper — it's free, community-driven, highly customizable, and you're not locked into a subscription model that drains your wallet every month. But using open-source software for your creative projects isn't always smooth sailing. If you've ever tried to replace Photoshop with GIMP or Illustrator with Inkscape, you probably know what I'm talking about. As awesome as open-source software is, here are the downsides to consider beforehand...
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3 weeks ago | 
xda-developers.com | Nolen Jonker
Adobe has been the industry standard for years because few other free programs can measure up. One of those solid competitors is Photopea, which offers many similar tools with the same capabilities for free. But its true strength lies in its hidden capabilities; a handful of advanced tools that put the program on par with Photoshop. I think these tools deserve to be spotlighted.
