suggest as a way to learn GIMP? Any on line classes? I have a mac also...
tnx
m

I also never used photoshop. (that I can remember 😂 )
I strongly advocate free and open source software, but the tools are said to be similar. The basics are the basics, so to speak.

First, there are the tutorials at gimp.org. Start here:
https://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

Some videos (even I will resort to a video to help me now and then)

And a list of tutorials.
https://conceptartempire.com/free-gimp-tutorials/
As always, what works for one person might not work for another, so good luck.


Some hints:
• When you paste something, to transform it, look under the Layer menu. Learn layers, I never got them totally right.
• When you create a text object, it seems to remain selected, and mess up your selections, until you Layer -> Merge Down.
• When you use the "heal" tool, hold down the command key to set the top and bottom (or left and right) of the area to be healed. You'll get a 🚫 until you do. I erased some power lines in front of a very nice scenic this way. But it took a tutorial or two for me to grasp this.
• I currently prefer single-window mode, since the tools stay in one place and don't float all over the screen (and hide behind something else)
• The "font" menu is a fright to scroll through thousands of fonts. Oh well.
• Each tool icon shows related tools as icons when you hover over one. When you select one it becomes the default in that tool's position. Since there are shortcuts, you can accidentally select a default that you don't recognize, as in P selects paintbrush and A selects airbrush, so you might be looking for one and see the other instead.
• I am finally getting used to shortcuts.
• Of all the input devices, I have found a magic mouse to be the most accurate (have not tried tablet). I gave up and spent the money for one after others didn't give me the right feel. It also scrolls sideways (optionally) so that helps. I am not very comfortable with a trackpad, but use one when I "must"
• When exporting a file, if GIMP is slow, or you are looking at a giant directory, the options dialog can hide behind another window, making it look like GIMP is bricked. Use the "show all windows" key to find it. It has the options for jpeg and png, and must be clicked. (modal dialog)
• Various "color" tools vary brightness levels in different ways. Experiment! "Curves" is very powerful.
• The Filters menu is crazy powerful, but I stick with Enhance -> Sharpen or red eye tools.


Don't be put off by my goofs. That's as bad as it gets. You should be OK.

There are free books, as well as paid ones.
https://freecomputerbooks.com/The-Book-of-GIMP-A-Complete-Guide-to-Nearly-Everything.html (free)
https://download.e-bookshelf.de/download/0003/9492/38/L-G-0003949238-0013318756.pdf (will download a pdf)
Dated, like 2012
Wikibooks has a 2020 "book" (of the online kind) with links to chapters.
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/GIMP
It also points to a print version you can scroll through or "print to pdf"
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/GIMP/Print_version

HTH!



If you have never used an image editor, get a feel for things with Preview.app. I use it for most of my photos, to do a quick adjustment of light levels and sharpening.The "Adjust Color" (under "Tools" menu) is very powerful, and the levels slider is very much like the GIMP Colors -> Levels controls.

There are classes, but I don't know which are free or not.