GIMP

(GNU Image Manipulation Program) An open source paint and image editing program for Unix, X Window and Mac OS X that originated as an undergraduate project by Peter Mattis and Spencer Kimball at the University of California, Berkeley. Numerous programmers have contributed to the project, turning GIMP into a serious image manipulation tool that supports layers, alpha channels, third-party plug-ins and three scripting languages. Using Python, Perl or Script-Fu scripts, GIMP can be used for batch processing and the automation of tasks such as the interpolation of frames for animation sequences.

The GIMP source code is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). For more information, visit www.gimp.org and www.gimp-savvy.com, the latter providing the entire content of the book, "Grokking the GIMP" by Carey Bunks.

GIMP In Action

GIMP provides sophisticated paint and editing functions as is evident in these various dialogs and palettes. (Image courtesy of Carey Bunks, www.gimp-savvy.com)