Many years ago I spent quite some time getting used to Gimp and did some designing on it, etc. I also wrote a tutorial for it to create some torn paper effect.
I say all this to give some context to the following: GIMP is just not great software. It is super unintuitive and when you don't use it for a while, you totally forget how to use it to select things, put them on layers, etc.
I use Pixelmator on Mac. I bought it years ago and haven't regretted it. It is getting better and better of the years, the UI is great. When I use linux I miss Pixelmator more than I do Photoshop. So if someone were to create a Pixelmator-inspired editor for linux, that would be great.
The unfortunate part is gimp is intensely useful software with many amazing features...buried under such an awkward interface.
I used it today for doing a color range selection to get an estimate for parameters to use in image magick. It had the easiest dynamic visualization of the matte for the selected range as I was selecting. It did exactly what I needed, very well.
I also tested out krita and nuke. Was easier in gimp.
But gimp is still the tool of last resort as it is just so painful to use. I wish there was a more positive engagement between the graphics community and the gimp devs. It feels very combative and negative compared with tools like krita and blender.
I say all this to give some context to the following: GIMP is just not great software. It is super unintuitive and when you don't use it for a while, you totally forget how to use it to select things, put them on layers, etc.
I use Pixelmator on Mac. I bought it years ago and haven't regretted it. It is getting better and better of the years, the UI is great. When I use linux I miss Pixelmator more than I do Photoshop. So if someone were to create a Pixelmator-inspired editor for linux, that would be great.