Post pobrano z: 64 Awesome Halloween Invitations and Flyers for Your Spooky Celebrations

It’s almost Halloween! That special time of the year when stores pack their shelves with candy and we all dress up as our favorite ghouls.

And what better way to celebrate our favorite monsters and urban legends then with a  spooktacular collection of Halloween invites and flyers you can only find on Envato Market? Here we have curated a selection of 50 to satisfy all your party needs.

Looking for more to choose from? Browse the wide selection of templates available to you on Envato Market.

Or enlist the help of a design professional by contacting the good folks at Envato Studio.

Halloween Invitations

You can’t have a party without sending out a few invites. These Halloween invitations will make you want to throw your very own costume party and celebrate in style.

Happy Halloween Banner Invitation Card

Great for kids parties, this Halloween invitation is super cute and bright. Enjoy the playful design complete with a tombstone, pumpkin, and witch hat.

Halloween Party Invitation Template

Kick off your ghoulish celebrations with this invitation template. This simple design features dripping font and a creepy graveyard design at the bottom.

Vintage Midnight Party Halloween Invitation

Inspired by the classics, this Halloween invite features several stills from horror classics with some fantastic fonts you can download for free. Pick from three versions and several color combinations.

Halloween Monster Mash Party Invite

Monster mash anyone? Summon your friends to eat, drink, and be scary with this fun and simple Halloween party invite. With two themes available and text ready-to-edit, choose from portrait or landscape orientation for your invites.

Spooktacular Halloween Party Invitation

Keep it simple with this stylish invitation. This invite contains spooky ghosts against a starry sky. Enjoy the delightful design for a sweet take on Halloween invitations.

Grungy Halloween Invitations in Retro Style

Add some retro charm to your holiday invites! This awesome collection includes four different designs to choose from. They go great with spooky Halloween themes and are sure to impress your party goers.

Simple Halloween Bash Invitation Bundle

This creative set of invitations provides a variation of three fun designs to choose from. Pick from designs like Frankenstein, a werewolf, and a creepy pumpkin to bring a simple quirky flair to your invites.

Skull Head Trick or Treat Halloween Invite

Are you a rebellious trick or treater wreaking havoc in the night? Then kick off your Halloween celebrations with this simple invite design. Editable in both Photoshop and Illustrator, you can customize this design no matter your Adobe product preferences.

Typography Halloween Invite Flyer

Choose from different party themes to set your invite apart from others. This pack features spooky, minimalist designs with witch, ghost, and skull elements. Customize it easily by changing the fully editable text.

Halloween Invitation II

Looking for a simple design that is haunting yet straight to the point? Check out this Halloween invitation that features an elegant cemetery silhouette that is subtle enough to fill you with fear. With a fully layered PSD file you can choose to customize the colors and text to fill your needs.

Halloween Invitation & Flyer Pack

This 2-for-1 deal packs a punch with a simple design you can use for either an invitation or party flyer. Change the background color to switch up the design or edit the text to fill your needs with Adobe Illustrator.

Chalkboard Halloween Invitation Card

Love the simplicity of black and white? This chalkboard design features a simple composition that allows the typography and details of your party shine. It’s fully customizable and even comes with free fonts!

Costume Halloween Party

Get your friends and family together for a fun costume party with this flyer invitation. This design features a cartoon theme perfect for all ages. Get access to three different color schemes to fit the style of your party.

Pumpkin Carving Halloween Invitation

What fun designs will you carve on your pumpkins this Halloween? Invite your friends over for a messy good time, and reward the winners with candy. Use this simple design for your invitations featuring a pumpkin, black cat, and simple yellow ribbons.

Glowing Halloween Party Invitation

This beautiful and simple design showcases several fun fonts to highlight all your party details. Available in the format for Adobe Illustrator, customize this invite with your own text and location.

Purple Halloween Party Invitation

Need something short and sweet? This simple design features a beautiful purple night sky with creepy elements from a church cemetery. Create your invites quick and easy by just switching out the bottom text with your own location and contact details.

Zombies Attack Invitation Flyer

Watch out for the zombie attack with this wicked invitation flyer. This flyer features an apocalpytic theme with fire, destruction, and zombies, of course. Entertain your friends with the invite of the year!

Halloween Party Invitations – Set of 3

Do you like pumpkins, bats, or haunted houses? Choose from three simple designs with this set of Halloween party invitations. These designs use the vector EPS format, and you can easily customize the text for your celebration.

Cute Halloween Party Invitation

You don’t always have to creep everyone out to have a good time. This simple party invitation features a cute trio of characters that you can interchange with several different colors. Editable in several formats, use this design for your kid’s party and school celebrations.

Halloween Frame Party Invitation

This beautiful yet simple design features a frame of skulls and other fall goodies to frame your choice of text. Add a hint of grunge to your party with this vintage-themed invitation.

Horror Witch Halloween Invitation

If you love bold colors and witches then this is the invite for you! Choose this invite made from 100% vector elements with easily resizable vectors. Shock your friends with these bold neon colors and choose something a little out of the box for this Halloween.

Halloween Business Card Party Invitation

Business card or spooky party invite? This unique design features a layout and composition specially-made for business card printing. It utilizes a standard 3.5 x 2 inch design with high resolution for a fantastic high-quality result.

Striped Halloween Party Invitation

Check out this colorful party invite featuring interchangeable skull and pumpkin designs. Edit your text with free fonts and set your celebrations into effect with this easy to use layout.

Halloween Ticket Party Invitation

Add a unique twist to your Halloween invites with a ticket-based design. Choose from several layout sizes and customize the colors to fit your theme.

Halloween Costume Party Invitation Card

Having a costume party for all your friends? Pick this fun card that features a flyer full of fun cartoon characters taking their own spin on your favorite Halloween costumes.

Admission Ticket & Halloween Invite – Ghost Edition

This unique Halloween invitation gives you the option of giving admission tickets to your friends. Simply bring the entire invite, and include an admission number for your exclusive party.

Admission Ticket & Halloween Invitation – Pumpkin Edition

Here is another great admission ticket design utilizing a traditional Halloween pumpkin instead. Choose between a pumpkin along a simple background or an intricate back drop to celebrate your Halloween bash.

Simple Pumpkin Witch Halloween Invitation

Cast a spell on all your friends with this clean Halloween invitation. This design features beautiful calligraphy along with an easy to use design you can customize in Adobe Illustrator.

Zombie Party Halloween Invitation Card

Who knew zombies could be so beautiful? This vector design features two deadly zombie hands reaching out of their grave to celebrate your upcoming party. With fun details like bats, gravestones, and an owl, impress your friends with this beautiful yet simple design.

Pumpkin Brew Halloween Party Invitation

Boil, boil, toil, and trouble! Impress your friends with this Halloween invite featuring a scary pumpkin and fierce green fire. Choose to keep the fonts as is or incorporate your own for added customization.

Halloween Flyers

Whether you’re staying home with friends or dancing the night away, these Halloween flyers will make you want to get up off your feet. Let’s just hope that they’re still attached when you do!

Horror Party Flyer

Kick off the holiday with the party of the year! This flyer features an awesome club theme with 3D text and more. Download several print ready files available in two convenient sizes.

Halloween Flyer

Create a big impact with this bold and beautiful Halloween flyer. This template features a colorful design with neon text elements you can easily adjust. Enjoy one fully layered Photoshop file with links to the fonts used.

Halloween Night Party Flyer

Get ready to dance all night with this show stopping party flyer. This flyer contains impressive abstract elements combined with a Halloween theme. Download this print ready file and get ready to use it right away!

Sexy Thriller Halloween Flyer

If you’re holding a party for the adults, try out this Halloween flyer for your nightclub or party events. With links to fonts used and several design variations, insert your own beautiful vixens to bring in your sinfully good times.

Chills and Thrills Halloween Party Flyer

Create chills up the spines of your party goers with this party flyer. This template features a haunted forest vibes with chunky, grunge text. Update it easily with the help of Adobe Photoshop. It’s a flyer that’s perfect for beginners.

Scary Scarecrow Halloween Flyer

Care to dance with a flaming scarecrow? Creep out your friends with this haunting design which includes six awesome scarecrows, two pre designed versions, and more custom elements to choose from.

Halloween Party Flyer

Creep out your party goers with this scary flyer. This flyer features a horror movie design reminiscent of iconic movie scenes. It’s great for any flyer or invitation and super easy to customize.

Grunge Halloween Party Flyer

If you’re looking for a grunge look for your flyer, then look no further. This illustrative poster design features a fun grunge look that is matched with unique fonts and elements. Interchange your details with this easy-to-use template.

Halloween Party Flyer

Don’t get caught in the spooky cobwebs! This cool flyer design features a black and white color theme for a nice, minimalist vibe. Simply switch out the party details to add your own in a matter of minutes!

Graphic Zombie Hand Halloween Party Flyer

Having a zombie-themed party at your place? Try out this Halloween flyer to creep out your friends and let them know of the shenanigans ahead. Available in three colors styles and organized layers, this flyer is sure to wake the undead.

Halloween Rock Festival Flyer Template

Rock out at this year’s festival with this epic flyer template. This template features a rock and roll skull design with minimalist vector details. Choose from three different colors to enjoy this flyer in gold, white, and blue designs.

Slime Halloween Party Flyer

Feeling a little slimey? Chances are you’ve gotten yourself into a sticky situation with this Halloween flyer. This design features an organized PSD file for easy editing and free fonts you can download in seconds. So get slimey in no time with this fun party flyer!

Gorey Zombie Hand Halloween Flyer

Celebrate the night the dead walk the earth with this quirky zombie flyer. Choose from three different versions, and even a different hand position to promote your zombie event.

Kids Halloween Party Flyer

If you’re looking for a kid-friendly design, then this is the flyer for you. With adorable vector elements and different monster cartoons to choose from, your child will have a blast knowing they have the coolest flyer on the block.

Haunted House Halloween Flyer

Enter at your own risk. This flyer features a dark haunted house along with a spooky design. With its elements so easy to customize, all you’ll need to is add your own text below and get ready to party!

Halloween Flyer

Add some shiny elements to your flyer for a hot design. This template features gold 3D elements like skulls and pumpkins for a sophisticated alternative. Swap out the title and additional text elements to get started with this flyer today!

Spooky Halloween Flyer Template

Want to keep your friends up at night? Scare them with this super spooky Halloween template before they even show up to your party. Edit the text easily in Adobe Photoshop, and switch out the main photo with a choice of your own possessed model from Photodune.

Zombie Brain Halloween Flyer

Bbbbraaainnns! This Halloween flyer features a bright design and colorful zombie that will be sure to charm the limbs off your friends. With two color options available, check out this flyer in its easily editable PSD format.

Club Z Horror Party Template

Did anyone invite zombies to this party? This bloody flyer design features dripping text and 
customizable elements you can edit in Adobe Photoshop. Change out the images with your own zombies or download some stocks from Photodune.

Frankenstein Halloween Flyer

It’s alive! If you’ve been hiding out in a secret laboratory, then this flyer may be for you. Surprise your friends with your deadly creation with this fun Halloween design. Edit in Adobe Photoshop and choose from several different colors to finalize your monster creation.

Black and White Halloween Party Flyer

Looking for a simple design that is easy to print? Check out this grunge Halloween party flyer with graphic elements. Customize the text to fit your party details and celebrate your festivities in style.

Zombie Party Halloween Flyer

Zombies like parties too! Bring in Halloween this year with a fun zombie party using this flyer design. It features colorful Halloween elements and splashes of grunge to keep things a little dirty.

Graveyard Halloween Party Flyer

Need a flyer that is a balance of cool and spooky? Check out this wicked Halloween flyer with graveyard details and customizable text.

Grunge Vintage Halloween Party Flyer

Feeling a little vintage? Celebrate your feelings of nostalgia with this spooky flyer design. With its fully editable file and easy-to-use PSD format, change the colors to reflect your theme with this print ready poster.

Skull Halloween Party Template

Yes, this awesome skull is included! With an explosive pink design, everyone will be read to dance the night away at your Halloween event. Included with this template are links to the fonts used for this easy-to-edit PSD file.

Simple Halloween Party Flyer

This flyer has all your favorite Halloween elements in one. With a fun ghoulish text atop a skull backdrop, you can let your event shine with this simple design and bold color. Fully editable in Adobe Photoshop, change out the colors or keep this beautiful yellow to go with your Halloween theme. 

Retro Halloween Party Flyer

If simple elements are more your style, check out this retro design. Featuring adorable Halloween elements like bats, pumpkins, and even your very own Dracula, invite your friends to your next horror party with this quick and easy flyer.

Halloween Monster Party Flyer

Don’t get too close or you just might end up for dinner! This Halloween flyer features a large vector design that is easily resizable in Photoshop. Choose from several vibrant colors and scare your friends with this monstrous design.

Trick or Treat Halloween Flyer

Trick or Treat? This Halloween design features a cool night time color palette with glowing pumpkins. Kick off your party or event with this ready-to-print flyer with guides for your understanding.

Voodoo Doll Halloween Flyer

Allude to your love of voodoo with this fun Halloween design. With a giant spider web, voodoo doll, and additional spooky elements, easily customize this illustrative poster with different colors and unique fonts.

Halloween Trunk or Treat Flyer

Invite the neighbors over for a fun game of trunk or treat. Packed with three design variations, this template features ghost, pumpkin, and fire themes. Get access to six files and free fonts in one convenient download!

Spooky Hand Halloween Flyer

Need a hand? This Halloween flyer features a mysterious spooky hand that slashes through the poster design. And with the image included, all you’ll need to do is switch out the text with your own party information!

Skull and Flower Halloween Flyer

If the other designs aren’t quite your speed, then try out this gorgeous Halloween flyer. Featuring a large skull with an elegant flower head piece, show off your love of fashion and style with this unique event poster. Customize the colors to your liking and take relief in knowing that all the images are included!

Pumpkin Trio Halloween Party Template

Need a quick flyer design with realistic elements? Check out this
impressive Halloween flyer packed with all the resources that you see.
Easily modify text, switch the colors around, and add or remove objects
to the layered PSD file.

Halloween Haunted House Flyer

Celebrate your favorite holiday in the comfort of your home with this haunted house theme. This template features a clean, modern design with bold text against a candlelit background. Just add your address and official event date to get your party started.

Conclusion

This list is jam-packed with Halloween resources for the avid designer familiar with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. But with thousands of flyers available at your fingertips, chances are we’ve missed a few to add to your personal collection. Be sure to browse Envato Market for more resources and let us know your favorites in the comments below!

Post pobrano z: 64 Awesome Halloween Invitations and Flyers for Your Spooky Celebrations

It’s almost Halloween! That special time of the year when stores pack their shelves with candy and we all dress up as our favorite ghouls.

And what better way to celebrate our favorite monsters and urban legends then with a  spooktacular collection of Halloween invites and flyers you can only find on Envato Market? Here we have curated a selection of 50 to satisfy all your party needs.

Looking for more to choose from? Browse the wide selection of templates available to you on Envato Market.

Or enlist the help of a design professional by contacting the good folks at Envato Studio.

Halloween Invitations

You can’t have a party without sending out a few invites. These Halloween invitations will make you want to throw your very own costume party and celebrate in style.

Happy Halloween Banner Invitation Card

Great for kids parties, this Halloween invitation is super cute and bright. Enjoy the playful design complete with a tombstone, pumpkin, and witch hat.

Halloween Party Invitation Template

Kick off your ghoulish celebrations with this invitation template. This simple design features dripping font and a creepy graveyard design at the bottom.

Vintage Midnight Party Halloween Invitation

Inspired by the classics, this Halloween invite features several stills from horror classics with some fantastic fonts you can download for free. Pick from three versions and several color combinations.

Halloween Monster Mash Party Invite

Monster mash anyone? Summon your friends to eat, drink, and be scary with this fun and simple Halloween party invite. With two themes available and text ready-to-edit, choose from portrait or landscape orientation for your invites.

Spooktacular Halloween Party Invitation

Keep it simple with this stylish invitation. This invite contains spooky ghosts against a starry sky. Enjoy the delightful design for a sweet take on Halloween invitations.

Grungy Halloween Invitations in Retro Style

Add some retro charm to your holiday invites! This awesome collection includes four different designs to choose from. They go great with spooky Halloween themes and are sure to impress your party goers.

Simple Halloween Bash Invitation Bundle

This creative set of invitations provides a variation of three fun designs to choose from. Pick from designs like Frankenstein, a werewolf, and a creepy pumpkin to bring a simple quirky flair to your invites.

Skull Head Trick or Treat Halloween Invite

Are you a rebellious trick or treater wreaking havoc in the night? Then kick off your Halloween celebrations with this simple invite design. Editable in both Photoshop and Illustrator, you can customize this design no matter your Adobe product preferences.

Typography Halloween Invite Flyer

Choose from different party themes to set your invite apart from others. This pack features spooky, minimalist designs with witch, ghost, and skull elements. Customize it easily by changing the fully editable text.

Halloween Invitation II

Looking for a simple design that is haunting yet straight to the point? Check out this Halloween invitation that features an elegant cemetery silhouette that is subtle enough to fill you with fear. With a fully layered PSD file you can choose to customize the colors and text to fill your needs.

Halloween Invitation & Flyer Pack

This 2-for-1 deal packs a punch with a simple design you can use for either an invitation or party flyer. Change the background color to switch up the design or edit the text to fill your needs with Adobe Illustrator.

Chalkboard Halloween Invitation Card

Love the simplicity of black and white? This chalkboard design features a simple composition that allows the typography and details of your party shine. It’s fully customizable and even comes with free fonts!

Costume Halloween Party

Get your friends and family together for a fun costume party with this flyer invitation. This design features a cartoon theme perfect for all ages. Get access to three different color schemes to fit the style of your party.

Pumpkin Carving Halloween Invitation

What fun designs will you carve on your pumpkins this Halloween? Invite your friends over for a messy good time, and reward the winners with candy. Use this simple design for your invitations featuring a pumpkin, black cat, and simple yellow ribbons.

Glowing Halloween Party Invitation

This beautiful and simple design showcases several fun fonts to highlight all your party details. Available in the format for Adobe Illustrator, customize this invite with your own text and location.

Purple Halloween Party Invitation

Need something short and sweet? This simple design features a beautiful purple night sky with creepy elements from a church cemetery. Create your invites quick and easy by just switching out the bottom text with your own location and contact details.

Zombies Attack Invitation Flyer

Watch out for the zombie attack with this wicked invitation flyer. This flyer features an apocalpytic theme with fire, destruction, and zombies, of course. Entertain your friends with the invite of the year!

Halloween Party Invitations – Set of 3

Do you like pumpkins, bats, or haunted houses? Choose from three simple designs with this set of Halloween party invitations. These designs use the vector EPS format, and you can easily customize the text for your celebration.

Cute Halloween Party Invitation

You don’t always have to creep everyone out to have a good time. This simple party invitation features a cute trio of characters that you can interchange with several different colors. Editable in several formats, use this design for your kid’s party and school celebrations.

Halloween Frame Party Invitation

This beautiful yet simple design features a frame of skulls and other fall goodies to frame your choice of text. Add a hint of grunge to your party with this vintage-themed invitation.

Horror Witch Halloween Invitation

If you love bold colors and witches then this is the invite for you! Choose this invite made from 100% vector elements with easily resizable vectors. Shock your friends with these bold neon colors and choose something a little out of the box for this Halloween.

Halloween Business Card Party Invitation

Business card or spooky party invite? This unique design features a layout and composition specially-made for business card printing. It utilizes a standard 3.5 x 2 inch design with high resolution for a fantastic high-quality result.

Striped Halloween Party Invitation

Check out this colorful party invite featuring interchangeable skull and pumpkin designs. Edit your text with free fonts and set your celebrations into effect with this easy to use layout.

Halloween Ticket Party Invitation

Add a unique twist to your Halloween invites with a ticket-based design. Choose from several layout sizes and customize the colors to fit your theme.

Halloween Costume Party Invitation Card

Having a costume party for all your friends? Pick this fun card that features a flyer full of fun cartoon characters taking their own spin on your favorite Halloween costumes.

Admission Ticket & Halloween Invite – Ghost Edition

This unique Halloween invitation gives you the option of giving admission tickets to your friends. Simply bring the entire invite, and include an admission number for your exclusive party.

Admission Ticket & Halloween Invitation – Pumpkin Edition

Here is another great admission ticket design utilizing a traditional Halloween pumpkin instead. Choose between a pumpkin along a simple background or an intricate back drop to celebrate your Halloween bash.

Simple Pumpkin Witch Halloween Invitation

Cast a spell on all your friends with this clean Halloween invitation. This design features beautiful calligraphy along with an easy to use design you can customize in Adobe Illustrator.

Zombie Party Halloween Invitation Card

Who knew zombies could be so beautiful? This vector design features two deadly zombie hands reaching out of their grave to celebrate your upcoming party. With fun details like bats, gravestones, and an owl, impress your friends with this beautiful yet simple design.

Pumpkin Brew Halloween Party Invitation

Boil, boil, toil, and trouble! Impress your friends with this Halloween invite featuring a scary pumpkin and fierce green fire. Choose to keep the fonts as is or incorporate your own for added customization.

Halloween Flyers

Whether you’re staying home with friends or dancing the night away, these Halloween flyers will make you want to get up off your feet. Let’s just hope that they’re still attached when you do!

Horror Party Flyer

Kick off the holiday with the party of the year! This flyer features an awesome club theme with 3D text and more. Download several print ready files available in two convenient sizes.

Halloween Flyer

Create a big impact with this bold and beautiful Halloween flyer. This template features a colorful design with neon text elements you can easily adjust. Enjoy one fully layered Photoshop file with links to the fonts used.

Halloween Night Party Flyer

Get ready to dance all night with this show stopping party flyer. This flyer contains impressive abstract elements combined with a Halloween theme. Download this print ready file and get ready to use it right away!

Sexy Thriller Halloween Flyer

If you’re holding a party for the adults, try out this Halloween flyer for your nightclub or party events. With links to fonts used and several design variations, insert your own beautiful vixens to bring in your sinfully good times.

Chills and Thrills Halloween Party Flyer

Create chills up the spines of your party goers with this party flyer. This template features a haunted forest vibes with chunky, grunge text. Update it easily with the help of Adobe Photoshop. It’s a flyer that’s perfect for beginners.

Scary Scarecrow Halloween Flyer

Care to dance with a flaming scarecrow? Creep out your friends with this haunting design which includes six awesome scarecrows, two pre designed versions, and more custom elements to choose from.

Halloween Party Flyer

Creep out your party goers with this scary flyer. This flyer features a horror movie design reminiscent of iconic movie scenes. It’s great for any flyer or invitation and super easy to customize.

Grunge Halloween Party Flyer

If you’re looking for a grunge look for your flyer, then look no further. This illustrative poster design features a fun grunge look that is matched with unique fonts and elements. Interchange your details with this easy-to-use template.

Halloween Party Flyer

Don’t get caught in the spooky cobwebs! This cool flyer design features a black and white color theme for a nice, minimalist vibe. Simply switch out the party details to add your own in a matter of minutes!

Graphic Zombie Hand Halloween Party Flyer

Having a zombie-themed party at your place? Try out this Halloween flyer to creep out your friends and let them know of the shenanigans ahead. Available in three colors styles and organized layers, this flyer is sure to wake the undead.

Halloween Rock Festival Flyer Template

Rock out at this year’s festival with this epic flyer template. This template features a rock and roll skull design with minimalist vector details. Choose from three different colors to enjoy this flyer in gold, white, and blue designs.

Slime Halloween Party Flyer

Feeling a little slimey? Chances are you’ve gotten yourself into a sticky situation with this Halloween flyer. This design features an organized PSD file for easy editing and free fonts you can download in seconds. So get slimey in no time with this fun party flyer!

Gorey Zombie Hand Halloween Flyer

Celebrate the night the dead walk the earth with this quirky zombie flyer. Choose from three different versions, and even a different hand position to promote your zombie event.

Kids Halloween Party Flyer

If you’re looking for a kid-friendly design, then this is the flyer for you. With adorable vector elements and different monster cartoons to choose from, your child will have a blast knowing they have the coolest flyer on the block.

Haunted House Halloween Flyer

Enter at your own risk. This flyer features a dark haunted house along with a spooky design. With its elements so easy to customize, all you’ll need to is add your own text below and get ready to party!

Halloween Flyer

Add some shiny elements to your flyer for a hot design. This template features gold 3D elements like skulls and pumpkins for a sophisticated alternative. Swap out the title and additional text elements to get started with this flyer today!

Spooky Halloween Flyer Template

Want to keep your friends up at night? Scare them with this super spooky Halloween template before they even show up to your party. Edit the text easily in Adobe Photoshop, and switch out the main photo with a choice of your own possessed model from Photodune.

Zombie Brain Halloween Flyer

Bbbbraaainnns! This Halloween flyer features a bright design and colorful zombie that will be sure to charm the limbs off your friends. With two color options available, check out this flyer in its easily editable PSD format.

Club Z Horror Party Template

Did anyone invite zombies to this party? This bloody flyer design features dripping text and 
customizable elements you can edit in Adobe Photoshop. Change out the images with your own zombies or download some stocks from Photodune.

Frankenstein Halloween Flyer

It’s alive! If you’ve been hiding out in a secret laboratory, then this flyer may be for you. Surprise your friends with your deadly creation with this fun Halloween design. Edit in Adobe Photoshop and choose from several different colors to finalize your monster creation.

Black and White Halloween Party Flyer

Looking for a simple design that is easy to print? Check out this grunge Halloween party flyer with graphic elements. Customize the text to fit your party details and celebrate your festivities in style.

Zombie Party Halloween Flyer

Zombies like parties too! Bring in Halloween this year with a fun zombie party using this flyer design. It features colorful Halloween elements and splashes of grunge to keep things a little dirty.

Graveyard Halloween Party Flyer

Need a flyer that is a balance of cool and spooky? Check out this wicked Halloween flyer with graveyard details and customizable text.

Grunge Vintage Halloween Party Flyer

Feeling a little vintage? Celebrate your feelings of nostalgia with this spooky flyer design. With its fully editable file and easy-to-use PSD format, change the colors to reflect your theme with this print ready poster.

Skull Halloween Party Template

Yes, this awesome skull is included! With an explosive pink design, everyone will be read to dance the night away at your Halloween event. Included with this template are links to the fonts used for this easy-to-edit PSD file.

Simple Halloween Party Flyer

This flyer has all your favorite Halloween elements in one. With a fun ghoulish text atop a skull backdrop, you can let your event shine with this simple design and bold color. Fully editable in Adobe Photoshop, change out the colors or keep this beautiful yellow to go with your Halloween theme. 

Retro Halloween Party Flyer

If simple elements are more your style, check out this retro design. Featuring adorable Halloween elements like bats, pumpkins, and even your very own Dracula, invite your friends to your next horror party with this quick and easy flyer.

Halloween Monster Party Flyer

Don’t get too close or you just might end up for dinner! This Halloween flyer features a large vector design that is easily resizable in Photoshop. Choose from several vibrant colors and scare your friends with this monstrous design.

Trick or Treat Halloween Flyer

Trick or Treat? This Halloween design features a cool night time color palette with glowing pumpkins. Kick off your party or event with this ready-to-print flyer with guides for your understanding.

Voodoo Doll Halloween Flyer

Allude to your love of voodoo with this fun Halloween design. With a giant spider web, voodoo doll, and additional spooky elements, easily customize this illustrative poster with different colors and unique fonts.

Halloween Trunk or Treat Flyer

Invite the neighbors over for a fun game of trunk or treat. Packed with three design variations, this template features ghost, pumpkin, and fire themes. Get access to six files and free fonts in one convenient download!

Spooky Hand Halloween Flyer

Need a hand? This Halloween flyer features a mysterious spooky hand that slashes through the poster design. And with the image included, all you’ll need to do is switch out the text with your own party information!

Skull and Flower Halloween Flyer

If the other designs aren’t quite your speed, then try out this gorgeous Halloween flyer. Featuring a large skull with an elegant flower head piece, show off your love of fashion and style with this unique event poster. Customize the colors to your liking and take relief in knowing that all the images are included!

Pumpkin Trio Halloween Party Template

Need a quick flyer design with realistic elements? Check out this
impressive Halloween flyer packed with all the resources that you see.
Easily modify text, switch the colors around, and add or remove objects
to the layered PSD file.

Halloween Haunted House Flyer

Celebrate your favorite holiday in the comfort of your home with this haunted house theme. This template features a clean, modern design with bold text against a candlelit background. Just add your address and official event date to get your party started.

Conclusion

This list is jam-packed with Halloween resources for the avid designer familiar with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. But with thousands of flyers available at your fingertips, chances are we’ve missed a few to add to your personal collection. Be sure to browse Envato Market for more resources and let us know your favorites in the comments below!

Post pobrano z: What Makes Photoshop Better Than Free Alternatives?

Adobe Photoshop has long been an industry standard, and even though it’s famous for being costly, it’s the first choice for most people when it comes to photo editing.

But there are many other programs, available for free, marketed as „Photoshop alternatives”. Why not use one of them instead? Everyone will say, duh, Photoshop is for professionals, free alternatives are for amateurs! But what does that mean, really? What’s so professional about Photoshop, except its price?

If you search for the answer on the Internet, it’s hard to get anything specific. You’ll learn that „free programs are only good for basic editing” and „you need Photoshop for anything serious”, but nobody will tell you exactly what functions Photoshop has that free photo editors lack.

I decided to test it myself. I’ve picked three programs: GIMP, Krita, and Photopea. I’m going to edit a photo in Photoshop, and then try to do the same in each of these three. This should give us a better idea of the real capabilities of these programs in comparison to Photoshop.

Photoshop Creative Cloud

Let’s edit a photo in Photoshop first. I’ll include basic retouching and elements of photo manipulation, as well as styling the text. It’s not possible to show all the functions of Photoshop during one edit, but I hope this mix will give you a good overview.

RAW Editor

My photo is saved in NEF format, which is a type of RAW file. When I opened it in Photoshop, I got a chance to edit the RAW properties directly in the default plugin, called Camera RAW. I could fix the exposure, contrast, highlights, and more, change the saturation or luminosity of individual colors, and even sharpen the image or remove the noise. I could access everything that the camera has saved, and manipulate it manually.

Frequency Separation & Actions

Using filters like Smart Blur and High Pass, I used the technique of frequency separation to clean up the skin. To make things faster, I could reduce the frequency separation to an action. Actions record what I do, and I can replay it all with a single click whenever I need. For cleaning the skin, I could use various healing tools.

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  What Are Photoshop Actions and How to Install Photoshop Actions
  Kirk Nelson

Selection With Paths

I used the Pen Tool to select the edges of the body. Photoshop has many selection tools, but the Pen Tool is the most precise of them all. It allows me to „draw” a selection outline step by step, and modify every curve of this outline.

Refine Edge

My selection has hard edges, so I smoothed it out with the Refine Edge feature. It intelligently added strands of hair to my selection, so that the hairstyle didn’t look like a hat.

Layer Mask

To remove the selected area without actually removing anything from the original photo, I placed the previous layers in a group and applied a Layer Mask to it. The Layer Mask hides the selected area, and the original photo stays intact.

• 
  Layer Masks
  How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
  Laura Keung

Smart Filters

I cropped the image and placed a background photo behind the model. I applied a Gaussian Blur to it. Because it’s a Smart Object, the actual image doesn’t get blurry—it just appears so, and I can remove the blur or adjust it anytime I need.

Photo Filter

I added a Photo Filter to the model to give her a greenish tint, fitting the background. The filter affects the contents of the group only, and because it’s an adjustment layer, it can be removed or adjusted anytime without any loss.

Selective Color

Using Selective Color, I could modify colors in the image separately and very precisely. I made the model even greener with it, changing the contrast at the same time.

Color Range Selection

I selected the red dress using the Color Range feature, and applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selection. This allowed me to change the red to a more faded color. Because the adjustment layer has a mask, I used it to exclude the lips from this effect.

Content Aware Fill

I noticed that a part of the finger was missing. I could recreate it automatically with the Content Aware Fill. It’s not perfect, but in this area it will not be noticeable.

Smart Objects

I turned the whole group into a Smart Object—its contents are still accessible, but I can now add filters to it as if it was a single layer. I added a Gaussian Blur and then used a Layer Mask to remove the effect from the parts that I wanted to keep sharp.

Gradient Map

I added a Gradient Map to the whole image. It let me assign different colors to different levels of brightness in the picture, leading to unique color effects.

Color Balance

Finally, I changed the Color Balance of the picture to create an even more interesting effect.

Text Editing

In Photoshop I can add text to the image, with lots of ways to modify it. I can change the distance between letters, their length and width, and even set the kerning. I can also add a Layer Style to the text—add a Drop Shadow, cover it with a gradient or pattern, add a Stroke, and much more. Such a Layer Style can be saved to use on any other layer with a single click.

GIMP 2.10.10

Let’s start with GIMP, since it’s the most popular alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is an open-source editor created by its community, getting more and more advanced every year. It used to be infamous for its unintuitive interface with freely floating windows, but it’s been fixed and today it’s much more user friendly. So let’s see how GIMP looks when compared to Photoshop!

First of all, GIMP doesn’t open RAW files. You need a plugin for that. This, as we’ll see, is a common problem when working with this program. Frequency separation works as it should, and there’s a single healing brush available, enough for this simple task. It’s impossible to save anything as an action or macro—you can write your own script or download a plugin.

The Pen Tool in GIMP works like a dream, and I would say it’s even more intuitive to use than its Photoshop counterpart. But although there are many options to modify the selection, there’s nothing similar to Refine Edge. I decided to clean up the hair with a Layer Mask, so I proceeded to group the layers… and here I was unpleasantly surprised. It’s impossible to select multiple layers! I had to drag and drop them into the group separately. To make things worse, I stumbled upon a weird bug that makes it impossible to move layers when Camtasia Recorder is running.

Fortunately, the Layer Mask worked as expected, so I was able to remove the background non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the group. I cropped the image without problems, and added the background. Oddly enough, even though the image had been pasted below the model, during resizing it stayed on top. To see how the background looked behind the model, I had to lower the opacity of the resized layer.

I added blur to the background, but since there are no Smart Objects here, the image has been permanently modified by this. No going back, no way to adjust it. Similarly, I couldn’t add color adjustments to the model without merging the group. I couldn’t find anything similar to Photo Filter or Selective Color, so I used Hue/Saturation instead.

It’s possible to select by color in GIMP, but it’s imprecise and hard to adjust. Instead, I duplicated the layer, changed its colors to the intended color of the dress, and then used a Layer Mask to remove everything that wasn’t the dress. 

There’s no Content Aware Fill, but there’s a plugin called Resynthesizer that is used instead for this job. In fact, GIMP had this function long before Adobe developed it! For some reason, though, the plugin still isn’t included by default. And although it’s very powerful when it comes to removing things, I wasn’t able to use it to reconstruct the finger.

To blend the edges of the model, I had to merge the layers again. I duplicated the layer and blurred it, then used a Layer Mask to reveal the sharpened part. Again, this is done permanently.

The Gradient Map feature exists in GIMP, but it’s terribly unintuitive to use. First you need to create a gradient, which is a difficult task in itself for some reason (I had to create a pattern and convert it to a gradient, because I couldn’t figure out the gradient editor), and then it simply gets applied to the image. There’s no way to change its intensity. I lowered its opacity, but it made the shadows duller.

I changed the Color Balance, but I didn’t manage to achieve the same results as in Photoshop. I wanted a subtle change, but the sliders reacted very strongly to my experiments.

It’s possible to add text in GIMP, but the options are very limited. Also, there are no Layer Styles, only certain filters that simulate them. Because of this, after I added Drop Shadow, the text got as good as rasterized. It would lose its shadow if I decided to modify it.

Krita 4.2.2

Krita is another free, open-source graphic editor. Interestingly, it was created for digital painting and illustration, but volunteer developers have slowly added enough photo editing functions for it to be considered an alternative to Photoshop. As you’ll soon see, in many ways it surpasses GIMP!

Krita opened my RAW file without any problems, but offered just a very basic editor to adjust it, without showing live results. Not enough to perform the preliminary editing. 

I couldn’t use the frequency separation technique, because there’s no High Pass filter or anything similar. I removed the blemishes with the Smart Patch Tool, which is a very basic healing brush. It’s not possible to record actions or macros, but it’s possible to write your own Python scripts if you have the skills.

I used a type of Pen Tool to create a path, but it turned out to be very simple—I couldn’t adjust or move the handles after clicking, and there was no way to Undo a step. In fact, when the path got closed by accident when I was half done, Undo removed the whole path and I had to start anew.

There’s no Refine Edge or anything similar, so I decided to smooth the hair with a Layer Mask. There was no problem with creating a group and adding a Layer Mask to it.

Cropping works perfectly, but when I pasted the background and started resizing it, a familiar problem occurred—the background image covered the model in the foreground. The photo visibly lagged when I moved it across the screen.

I added blur to the background, and I was finally pleasantly surprised: Krita has non-destructive filters! It means that the blur didn’t affect the image—it only appeared to—and I could adjust or remove it anytime. 

There’s no Photo Filter, but I used a Fill Layer in Color Mode, which is basically the same, just with a little more work. When I wanted to select the red tones in the photo, it turned out I could only pick colors from the list. So instead I added a colorizing adjustment layer and masked the outside of the dress manually.

There’s no Content-Aware Fill or anything similar to fill a missing area. Just like in Photoshop, I couldn’t add a filter to a group, so I saved this group as a File Layer—Krita’s version of Smart Objects. Then I added blur to it—non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the layer.

Gradient Map exists and is non-destructive, but works very, very slowly, which makes it impossible to experiment with colors. It doesn’t show a preview of its results, either. Even lowering the Opacity of this interactive layer took over five minutes! I thought it was a problem with the File Layer, but after merging the problem stayed the same. Adding a non-destructive Color Balance adjustment took a while as well.

I can add text in Krita, but the options are very limited. The text is edited in a separate window, which makes it hard to adjust the size of the font to the composition. But, unlike GIMP, Krita has Layer Style options, just as non-destructive as in Photoshop.

Photopea

Photopea is a web-browser app developed by a single person and available completely for free. And although something web-based may not sound like a Photoshop alternative, in my opinion Photopea comes closer to it than GIMP and Krita. Because it was designed to open PSD files without merging anything, it offers support for Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Photopea opens RAWs, but offers just a very basic editor. Still, it was enough to make some preliminary changes.

It’s possible to perform frequency separation just like in Photoshop, and there are three types of healing tools. Photopea supports actions as well, so it’s possible to create frequency separation layers with a single click.

The Pen Tool exists, but only for drawing shapes. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool instead to select the outline of the model. It’s impossible to create a precise selection this way, because the points can’t be modified and Undo deletes it all. However, because there’s the Refine Edge tool, it was possible for me to fix the selection afterwards. The only problem was that the function worked very slowly.

I grouped my layers and added a Layer Mask to the group—no problems here. Cropping works as it’s supposed to, and I was able to paste the background image… as a Smart Object! I could also resize it with the model staying in the front. This is something that neither GIMP nor Krita could manage.

I added a Gaussian Blur to the background, without affecting it—it has been added as a Smart Filter that can be adjusted and removed. I was also able to add a Photo Filter and Selective Color as non-destructive adjustment layers, clipped to the model only.

It’s possible to select by Color Range, but I couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, so instead I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the whole model and painted the selection on the mask instead. Painting turned out quite laggy in this high-resolution file.

I was able to reconstruct the missing part of the finger with the Content Aware tool. Then I converted the whole group to a Smart Object to add a filter to it—it worked perfectly. I added a Gaussian Blur and painted on the mask to reveal the sharper parts.

It’s possible to add text in Photopea, and there are a couple of useful options not present in GIMP or Krita. Layer Styles exist in a form very similar to Photoshop, so I could add a Drop Shadow non-destructively.

Summary

Let’s sum it up. I’ve created a table of the functions used in the test, as well as a couple more. I assigned a point value to each:

• + means the program has this function in a form similar to Photoshop. 1 point.
• ~ means the program „sort of” has this function. It may not be as good, or only available with a plugin. 0.5 point.
• – means the program doesn’t have this function. 0 points.

Photoshop’s function	GIMP	Krita	Photopea
RAW files support	~	+	+
RAW editor	~	~	~
Precise selection with paths	+	~	–
Refine Edge	–	–	+
Frequency separation support	+	–	+
Actions (macros)	~	~	+
Selecting multiple layers	–	+	+
Grouping layers	+	+	+
Adding Layer Mask to group	+	+	+
Cropping	+	+	+
Placing new image as Smart Object	–	–	+
Resizing layer in the background	–	–	+
Non-destructive filters (Smart Filters)	–	+	+
Photo Filter	~	~	+
Selective Color	–	–	+
Content Aware Fill	~	~	+
Select by color	~	~	~
Turning group of files into Smart Object	–	+	+
Gradient Map	+	+	+
Color Balance	+	+	+
Advanced text editing	–	–	~
Non-destructive Layer Styles	–	+	+
Channels	+	+	–
Liquify filter	+	+	+
No ads	+	+	–
CMYK mode	–	+	–
Non-destructive adjustments	–	+	+
Canvas Rotation	+	+	–
Quick Mask	+	+	–
Batch editing	~	–	–
3D features	–	–	–
Cloud storage	–	–	–
Frame animation	+	+	–
Integration with other programs	–	–	–
Skin tones selection	–	–	–
Vanishing point editing	–	–	–
Perspective grid	–	+	–
Perspective crop	–	–	–
Field Blur	–	–	–
Integration with stock photos library	–	–	–
Total: 40	17	22	21.5

Conclusion

According to the numbers, each of the free alternatives is only about half as good as Photoshop. Of course, it’s not really a conclusive result—after all, it all depends on what functions you really need on a daily basis.

But that’s the thing. GIMP has some of the functions of Photoshop, but not all. Krita has some of these other functions, but lacks some of the ones that GIMP has. And Photopea has a lot of crucial functions, but is frustratingly slow with bigger images. Speaking of speed, none of the tested programs worked as smoothly as Photoshop. They either forced me to stop working when saving, or took precious seconds to update the preview of an effect, or didn’t offer any preview at all.

In the end, that’s what Photoshop really is—a time saver for photographers and designers. A program designed to make work as efficient as possible, with everything in one place and every tool optimized for convenience of use. No matter whether you work with raster, vectors, text, 3D, or video, Photoshop has something for you. And if it doesn’t, your work can be easily integrated with other apps from Creative Cloud.

This, I think, is why Photoshop is called a program for professionals. Not because you can do something in Photoshop that you can’t, with enough time and effort, in GIMP or Krita. It’s because it saves time—and for a professional, time is money. Free programs, as absurd as it may sound, are simply not worth it.

And what do you think? Maybe you are a professional using one of the free alternatives? And if you work in Photoshop, what made you choose it over the free options?

Post pobrano z: What Makes Photoshop Better Than Free Alternatives?

Adobe Photoshop has long been an industry standard, and even though it’s famous for being costly, it’s the first choice for most people when it comes to photo editing.

But there are many other programs, available for free, marketed as „Photoshop alternatives”. Why not use one of them instead? Everyone will say, duh, Photoshop is for professionals, free alternatives are for amateurs! But what does that mean, really? What’s so professional about Photoshop, except its price?

If you search for the answer on the Internet, it’s hard to get anything specific. You’ll learn that „free programs are only good for basic editing” and „you need Photoshop for anything serious”, but nobody will tell you exactly what functions Photoshop has that free photo editors lack.

I decided to test it myself. I’ve picked three programs: GIMP, Krita, and Photopea. I’m going to edit a photo in Photoshop, and then try to do the same in each of these three. This should give us a better idea of the real capabilities of these programs in comparison to Photoshop.

Photoshop Creative Cloud

Let’s edit a photo in Photoshop first. I’ll include basic retouching and elements of photo manipulation, as well as styling the text. It’s not possible to show all the functions of Photoshop during one edit, but I hope this mix will give you a good overview.

RAW Editor

My photo is saved in NEF format, which is a type of RAW file. When I opened it in Photoshop, I got a chance to edit the RAW properties directly in the default plugin, called Camera RAW. I could fix the exposure, contrast, highlights, and more, change the saturation or luminosity of individual colors, and even sharpen the image or remove the noise. I could access everything that the camera has saved, and manipulate it manually.

Frequency Separation & Actions

Using filters like Smart Blur and High Pass, I used the technique of frequency separation to clean up the skin. To make things faster, I could reduce the frequency separation to an action. Actions record what I do, and I can replay it all with a single click whenever I need. For cleaning the skin, I could use various healing tools.

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  What Are Photoshop Actions and How to Install Photoshop Actions
  Kirk Nelson

Selection With Paths

I used the Pen Tool to select the edges of the body. Photoshop has many selection tools, but the Pen Tool is the most precise of them all. It allows me to „draw” a selection outline step by step, and modify every curve of this outline.

Refine Edge

My selection has hard edges, so I smoothed it out with the Refine Edge feature. It intelligently added strands of hair to my selection, so that the hairstyle didn’t look like a hat.

Layer Mask

To remove the selected area without actually removing anything from the original photo, I placed the previous layers in a group and applied a Layer Mask to it. The Layer Mask hides the selected area, and the original photo stays intact.

• 
  Layer Masks
  How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
  Laura Keung

Smart Filters

I cropped the image and placed a background photo behind the model. I applied a Gaussian Blur to it. Because it’s a Smart Object, the actual image doesn’t get blurry—it just appears so, and I can remove the blur or adjust it anytime I need.

Photo Filter

I added a Photo Filter to the model to give her a greenish tint, fitting the background. The filter affects the contents of the group only, and because it’s an adjustment layer, it can be removed or adjusted anytime without any loss.

Selective Color

Using Selective Color, I could modify colors in the image separately and very precisely. I made the model even greener with it, changing the contrast at the same time.

Color Range Selection

I selected the red dress using the Color Range feature, and applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selection. This allowed me to change the red to a more faded color. Because the adjustment layer has a mask, I used it to exclude the lips from this effect.

Content Aware Fill

I noticed that a part of the finger was missing. I could recreate it automatically with the Content Aware Fill. It’s not perfect, but in this area it will not be noticeable.

Smart Objects

I turned the whole group into a Smart Object—its contents are still accessible, but I can now add filters to it as if it was a single layer. I added a Gaussian Blur and then used a Layer Mask to remove the effect from the parts that I wanted to keep sharp.

Gradient Map

I added a Gradient Map to the whole image. It let me assign different colors to different levels of brightness in the picture, leading to unique color effects.

Color Balance

Finally, I changed the Color Balance of the picture to create an even more interesting effect.

Text Editing

In Photoshop I can add text to the image, with lots of ways to modify it. I can change the distance between letters, their length and width, and even set the kerning. I can also add a Layer Style to the text—add a Drop Shadow, cover it with a gradient or pattern, add a Stroke, and much more. Such a Layer Style can be saved to use on any other layer with a single click.

GIMP 2.10.10

Let’s start with GIMP, since it’s the most popular alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is an open-source editor created by its community, getting more and more advanced every year. It used to be infamous for its unintuitive interface with freely floating windows, but it’s been fixed and today it’s much more user friendly. So let’s see how GIMP looks when compared to Photoshop!

First of all, GIMP doesn’t open RAW files. You need a plugin for that. This, as we’ll see, is a common problem when working with this program. Frequency separation works as it should, and there’s a single healing brush available, enough for this simple task. It’s impossible to save anything as an action or macro—you can write your own script or download a plugin.

The Pen Tool in GIMP works like a dream, and I would say it’s even more intuitive to use than its Photoshop counterpart. But although there are many options to modify the selection, there’s nothing similar to Refine Edge. I decided to clean up the hair with a Layer Mask, so I proceeded to group the layers… and here I was unpleasantly surprised. It’s impossible to select multiple layers! I had to drag and drop them into the group separately. To make things worse, I stumbled upon a weird bug that makes it impossible to move layers when Camtasia Recorder is running.

Fortunately, the Layer Mask worked as expected, so I was able to remove the background non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the group. I cropped the image without problems, and added the background. Oddly enough, even though the image had been pasted below the model, during resizing it stayed on top. To see how the background looked behind the model, I had to lower the opacity of the resized layer.

I added blur to the background, but since there are no Smart Objects here, the image has been permanently modified by this. No going back, no way to adjust it. Similarly, I couldn’t add color adjustments to the model without merging the group. I couldn’t find anything similar to Photo Filter or Selective Color, so I used Hue/Saturation instead.

It’s possible to select by color in GIMP, but it’s imprecise and hard to adjust. Instead, I duplicated the layer, changed its colors to the intended color of the dress, and then used a Layer Mask to remove everything that wasn’t the dress. 

There’s no Content Aware Fill, but there’s a plugin called Resynthesizer that is used instead for this job. In fact, GIMP had this function long before Adobe developed it! For some reason, though, the plugin still isn’t included by default. And although it’s very powerful when it comes to removing things, I wasn’t able to use it to reconstruct the finger.

To blend the edges of the model, I had to merge the layers again. I duplicated the layer and blurred it, then used a Layer Mask to reveal the sharpened part. Again, this is done permanently.

The Gradient Map feature exists in GIMP, but it’s terribly unintuitive to use. First you need to create a gradient, which is a difficult task in itself for some reason (I had to create a pattern and convert it to a gradient, because I couldn’t figure out the gradient editor), and then it simply gets applied to the image. There’s no way to change its intensity. I lowered its opacity, but it made the shadows duller.

I changed the Color Balance, but I didn’t manage to achieve the same results as in Photoshop. I wanted a subtle change, but the sliders reacted very strongly to my experiments.

It’s possible to add text in GIMP, but the options are very limited. Also, there are no Layer Styles, only certain filters that simulate them. Because of this, after I added Drop Shadow, the text got as good as rasterized. It would lose its shadow if I decided to modify it.

Krita 4.2.2

Krita is another free, open-source graphic editor. Interestingly, it was created for digital painting and illustration, but volunteer developers have slowly added enough photo editing functions for it to be considered an alternative to Photoshop. As you’ll soon see, in many ways it surpasses GIMP!

Krita opened my RAW file without any problems, but offered just a very basic editor to adjust it, without showing live results. Not enough to perform the preliminary editing. 

I couldn’t use the frequency separation technique, because there’s no High Pass filter or anything similar. I removed the blemishes with the Smart Patch Tool, which is a very basic healing brush. It’s not possible to record actions or macros, but it’s possible to write your own Python scripts if you have the skills.

I used a type of Pen Tool to create a path, but it turned out to be very simple—I couldn’t adjust or move the handles after clicking, and there was no way to Undo a step. In fact, when the path got closed by accident when I was half done, Undo removed the whole path and I had to start anew.

There’s no Refine Edge or anything similar, so I decided to smooth the hair with a Layer Mask. There was no problem with creating a group and adding a Layer Mask to it.

Cropping works perfectly, but when I pasted the background and started resizing it, a familiar problem occurred—the background image covered the model in the foreground. The photo visibly lagged when I moved it across the screen.

I added blur to the background, and I was finally pleasantly surprised: Krita has non-destructive filters! It means that the blur didn’t affect the image—it only appeared to—and I could adjust or remove it anytime. 

There’s no Photo Filter, but I used a Fill Layer in Color Mode, which is basically the same, just with a little more work. When I wanted to select the red tones in the photo, it turned out I could only pick colors from the list. So instead I added a colorizing adjustment layer and masked the outside of the dress manually.

There’s no Content-Aware Fill or anything similar to fill a missing area. Just like in Photoshop, I couldn’t add a filter to a group, so I saved this group as a File Layer—Krita’s version of Smart Objects. Then I added blur to it—non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the layer.

Gradient Map exists and is non-destructive, but works very, very slowly, which makes it impossible to experiment with colors. It doesn’t show a preview of its results, either. Even lowering the Opacity of this interactive layer took over five minutes! I thought it was a problem with the File Layer, but after merging the problem stayed the same. Adding a non-destructive Color Balance adjustment took a while as well.

I can add text in Krita, but the options are very limited. The text is edited in a separate window, which makes it hard to adjust the size of the font to the composition. But, unlike GIMP, Krita has Layer Style options, just as non-destructive as in Photoshop.

Photopea

Photopea is a web-browser app developed by a single person and available completely for free. And although something web-based may not sound like a Photoshop alternative, in my opinion Photopea comes closer to it than GIMP and Krita. Because it was designed to open PSD files without merging anything, it offers support for Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Photopea opens RAWs, but offers just a very basic editor. Still, it was enough to make some preliminary changes.

It’s possible to perform frequency separation just like in Photoshop, and there are three types of healing tools. Photopea supports actions as well, so it’s possible to create frequency separation layers with a single click.

The Pen Tool exists, but only for drawing shapes. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool instead to select the outline of the model. It’s impossible to create a precise selection this way, because the points can’t be modified and Undo deletes it all. However, because there’s the Refine Edge tool, it was possible for me to fix the selection afterwards. The only problem was that the function worked very slowly.

I grouped my layers and added a Layer Mask to the group—no problems here. Cropping works as it’s supposed to, and I was able to paste the background image… as a Smart Object! I could also resize it with the model staying in the front. This is something that neither GIMP nor Krita could manage.

I added a Gaussian Blur to the background, without affecting it—it has been added as a Smart Filter that can be adjusted and removed. I was also able to add a Photo Filter and Selective Color as non-destructive adjustment layers, clipped to the model only.

It’s possible to select by Color Range, but I couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, so instead I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the whole model and painted the selection on the mask instead. Painting turned out quite laggy in this high-resolution file.

I was able to reconstruct the missing part of the finger with the Content Aware tool. Then I converted the whole group to a Smart Object to add a filter to it—it worked perfectly. I added a Gaussian Blur and painted on the mask to reveal the sharper parts.

It’s possible to add text in Photopea, and there are a couple of useful options not present in GIMP or Krita. Layer Styles exist in a form very similar to Photoshop, so I could add a Drop Shadow non-destructively.

Summary

Let’s sum it up. I’ve created a table of the functions used in the test, as well as a couple more. I assigned a point value to each:

• + means the program has this function in a form similar to Photoshop. 1 point.
• ~ means the program „sort of” has this function. It may not be as good, or only available with a plugin. 0.5 point.
• – means the program doesn’t have this function. 0 points.

Photoshop’s function	GIMP	Krita	Photopea
RAW files support	~	+	+
RAW editor	~	~	~
Precise selection with paths	+	~	–
Refine Edge	–	–	+
Frequency separation support	+	–	+
Actions (macros)	~	~	+
Selecting multiple layers	–	+	+
Grouping layers	+	+	+
Adding Layer Mask to group	+	+	+
Cropping	+	+	+
Placing new image as Smart Object	–	–	+
Resizing layer in the background	–	–	+
Non-destructive filters (Smart Filters)	–	+	+
Photo Filter	~	~	+
Selective Color	–	–	+
Content Aware Fill	~	~	+
Select by color	~	~	~
Turning group of files into Smart Object	–	+	+
Gradient Map	+	+	+
Color Balance	+	+	+
Advanced text editing	–	–	~
Non-destructive Layer Styles	–	+	+
Channels	+	+	–
Liquify filter	+	+	+
No ads	+	+	–
CMYK mode	–	+	–
Non-destructive adjustments	–	+	+
Canvas Rotation	+	+	–
Quick Mask	+	+	–
Batch editing	~	–	–
3D features	–	–	–
Cloud storage	–	–	–
Frame animation	+	+	–
Integration with other programs	–	–	–
Skin tones selection	–	–	–
Vanishing point editing	–	–	–
Perspective grid	–	+	–
Perspective crop	–	–	–
Field Blur	–	–	–
Integration with stock photos library	–	–	–
Total: 40	17	22	21.5

Conclusion

According to the numbers, each of the free alternatives is only about half as good as Photoshop. Of course, it’s not really a conclusive result—after all, it all depends on what functions you really need on a daily basis.

But that’s the thing. GIMP has some of the functions of Photoshop, but not all. Krita has some of these other functions, but lacks some of the ones that GIMP has. And Photopea has a lot of crucial functions, but is frustratingly slow with bigger images. Speaking of speed, none of the tested programs worked as smoothly as Photoshop. They either forced me to stop working when saving, or took precious seconds to update the preview of an effect, or didn’t offer any preview at all.

In the end, that’s what Photoshop really is—a time saver for photographers and designers. A program designed to make work as efficient as possible, with everything in one place and every tool optimized for convenience of use. No matter whether you work with raster, vectors, text, 3D, or video, Photoshop has something for you. And if it doesn’t, your work can be easily integrated with other apps from Creative Cloud.

This, I think, is why Photoshop is called a program for professionals. Not because you can do something in Photoshop that you can’t, with enough time and effort, in GIMP or Krita. It’s because it saves time—and for a professional, time is money. Free programs, as absurd as it may sound, are simply not worth it.

And what do you think? Maybe you are a professional using one of the free alternatives? And if you work in Photoshop, what made you choose it over the free options?

Post pobrano z: What Makes Photoshop Better Than Free Alternatives?

Adobe Photoshop has long been an industry standard, and even though it’s famous for being costly, it’s the first choice for most people when it comes to photo editing.

But there are many other programs, available for free, marketed as „Photoshop alternatives”. Why not use one of them instead? Everyone will say, duh, Photoshop is for professionals, free alternatives are for amateurs! But what does that mean, really? What’s so professional about Photoshop, except its price?

If you search for the answer on the Internet, it’s hard to get anything specific. You’ll learn that „free programs are only good for basic editing” and „you need Photoshop for anything serious”, but nobody will tell you exactly what functions Photoshop has that free photo editors lack.

I decided to test it myself. I’ve picked three programs: GIMP, Krita, and Photopea. I’m going to edit a photo in Photoshop, and then try to do the same in each of these three. This should give us a better idea of the real capabilities of these programs in comparison to Photoshop.

Photoshop Creative Cloud

Let’s edit a photo in Photoshop first. I’ll include basic retouching and elements of photo manipulation, as well as styling the text. It’s not possible to show all the functions of Photoshop during one edit, but I hope this mix will give you a good overview.

RAW Editor

My photo is saved in NEF format, which is a type of RAW file. When I opened it in Photoshop, I got a chance to edit the RAW properties directly in the default plugin, called Camera RAW. I could fix the exposure, contrast, highlights, and more, change the saturation or luminosity of individual colors, and even sharpen the image or remove the noise. I could access everything that the camera has saved, and manipulate it manually.

Frequency Separation & Actions

Using filters like Smart Blur and High Pass, I used the technique of frequency separation to clean up the skin. To make things faster, I could reduce the frequency separation to an action. Actions record what I do, and I can replay it all with a single click whenever I need. For cleaning the skin, I could use various healing tools.

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  What Are Photoshop Actions and How to Install Photoshop Actions
  Kirk Nelson

Selection With Paths

I used the Pen Tool to select the edges of the body. Photoshop has many selection tools, but the Pen Tool is the most precise of them all. It allows me to „draw” a selection outline step by step, and modify every curve of this outline.

Refine Edge

My selection has hard edges, so I smoothed it out with the Refine Edge feature. It intelligently added strands of hair to my selection, so that the hairstyle didn’t look like a hat.

Layer Mask

To remove the selected area without actually removing anything from the original photo, I placed the previous layers in a group and applied a Layer Mask to it. The Layer Mask hides the selected area, and the original photo stays intact.

• 
  Layer Masks
  How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
  Laura Keung

Smart Filters

I cropped the image and placed a background photo behind the model. I applied a Gaussian Blur to it. Because it’s a Smart Object, the actual image doesn’t get blurry—it just appears so, and I can remove the blur or adjust it anytime I need.

Photo Filter

I added a Photo Filter to the model to give her a greenish tint, fitting the background. The filter affects the contents of the group only, and because it’s an adjustment layer, it can be removed or adjusted anytime without any loss.

Selective Color

Using Selective Color, I could modify colors in the image separately and very precisely. I made the model even greener with it, changing the contrast at the same time.

Color Range Selection

I selected the red dress using the Color Range feature, and applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selection. This allowed me to change the red to a more faded color. Because the adjustment layer has a mask, I used it to exclude the lips from this effect.

Content Aware Fill

I noticed that a part of the finger was missing. I could recreate it automatically with the Content Aware Fill. It’s not perfect, but in this area it will not be noticeable.

Smart Objects

I turned the whole group into a Smart Object—its contents are still accessible, but I can now add filters to it as if it was a single layer. I added a Gaussian Blur and then used a Layer Mask to remove the effect from the parts that I wanted to keep sharp.

Gradient Map

I added a Gradient Map to the whole image. It let me assign different colors to different levels of brightness in the picture, leading to unique color effects.

Color Balance

Finally, I changed the Color Balance of the picture to create an even more interesting effect.

Text Editing

In Photoshop I can add text to the image, with lots of ways to modify it. I can change the distance between letters, their length and width, and even set the kerning. I can also add a Layer Style to the text—add a Drop Shadow, cover it with a gradient or pattern, add a Stroke, and much more. Such a Layer Style can be saved to use on any other layer with a single click.

GIMP 2.10.10

Let’s start with GIMP, since it’s the most popular alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is an open-source editor created by its community, getting more and more advanced every year. It used to be infamous for its unintuitive interface with freely floating windows, but it’s been fixed and today it’s much more user friendly. So let’s see how GIMP looks when compared to Photoshop!

First of all, GIMP doesn’t open RAW files. You need a plugin for that. This, as we’ll see, is a common problem when working with this program. Frequency separation works as it should, and there’s a single healing brush available, enough for this simple task. It’s impossible to save anything as an action or macro—you can write your own script or download a plugin.

The Pen Tool in GIMP works like a dream, and I would say it’s even more intuitive to use than its Photoshop counterpart. But although there are many options to modify the selection, there’s nothing similar to Refine Edge. I decided to clean up the hair with a Layer Mask, so I proceeded to group the layers… and here I was unpleasantly surprised. It’s impossible to select multiple layers! I had to drag and drop them into the group separately. To make things worse, I stumbled upon a weird bug that makes it impossible to move layers when Camtasia Recorder is running.

Fortunately, the Layer Mask worked as expected, so I was able to remove the background non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the group. I cropped the image without problems, and added the background. Oddly enough, even though the image had been pasted below the model, during resizing it stayed on top. To see how the background looked behind the model, I had to lower the opacity of the resized layer.

I added blur to the background, but since there are no Smart Objects here, the image has been permanently modified by this. No going back, no way to adjust it. Similarly, I couldn’t add color adjustments to the model without merging the group. I couldn’t find anything similar to Photo Filter or Selective Color, so I used Hue/Saturation instead.

It’s possible to select by color in GIMP, but it’s imprecise and hard to adjust. Instead, I duplicated the layer, changed its colors to the intended color of the dress, and then used a Layer Mask to remove everything that wasn’t the dress. 

There’s no Content Aware Fill, but there’s a plugin called Resynthesizer that is used instead for this job. In fact, GIMP had this function long before Adobe developed it! For some reason, though, the plugin still isn’t included by default. And although it’s very powerful when it comes to removing things, I wasn’t able to use it to reconstruct the finger.

To blend the edges of the model, I had to merge the layers again. I duplicated the layer and blurred it, then used a Layer Mask to reveal the sharpened part. Again, this is done permanently.

The Gradient Map feature exists in GIMP, but it’s terribly unintuitive to use. First you need to create a gradient, which is a difficult task in itself for some reason (I had to create a pattern and convert it to a gradient, because I couldn’t figure out the gradient editor), and then it simply gets applied to the image. There’s no way to change its intensity. I lowered its opacity, but it made the shadows duller.

I changed the Color Balance, but I didn’t manage to achieve the same results as in Photoshop. I wanted a subtle change, but the sliders reacted very strongly to my experiments.

It’s possible to add text in GIMP, but the options are very limited. Also, there are no Layer Styles, only certain filters that simulate them. Because of this, after I added Drop Shadow, the text got as good as rasterized. It would lose its shadow if I decided to modify it.

Krita 4.2.2

Krita is another free, open-source graphic editor. Interestingly, it was created for digital painting and illustration, but volunteer developers have slowly added enough photo editing functions for it to be considered an alternative to Photoshop. As you’ll soon see, in many ways it surpasses GIMP!

Krita opened my RAW file without any problems, but offered just a very basic editor to adjust it, without showing live results. Not enough to perform the preliminary editing. 

I couldn’t use the frequency separation technique, because there’s no High Pass filter or anything similar. I removed the blemishes with the Smart Patch Tool, which is a very basic healing brush. It’s not possible to record actions or macros, but it’s possible to write your own Python scripts if you have the skills.

I used a type of Pen Tool to create a path, but it turned out to be very simple—I couldn’t adjust or move the handles after clicking, and there was no way to Undo a step. In fact, when the path got closed by accident when I was half done, Undo removed the whole path and I had to start anew.

There’s no Refine Edge or anything similar, so I decided to smooth the hair with a Layer Mask. There was no problem with creating a group and adding a Layer Mask to it.

Cropping works perfectly, but when I pasted the background and started resizing it, a familiar problem occurred—the background image covered the model in the foreground. The photo visibly lagged when I moved it across the screen.

I added blur to the background, and I was finally pleasantly surprised: Krita has non-destructive filters! It means that the blur didn’t affect the image—it only appeared to—and I could adjust or remove it anytime. 

There’s no Photo Filter, but I used a Fill Layer in Color Mode, which is basically the same, just with a little more work. When I wanted to select the red tones in the photo, it turned out I could only pick colors from the list. So instead I added a colorizing adjustment layer and masked the outside of the dress manually.

There’s no Content-Aware Fill or anything similar to fill a missing area. Just like in Photoshop, I couldn’t add a filter to a group, so I saved this group as a File Layer—Krita’s version of Smart Objects. Then I added blur to it—non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the layer.

Gradient Map exists and is non-destructive, but works very, very slowly, which makes it impossible to experiment with colors. It doesn’t show a preview of its results, either. Even lowering the Opacity of this interactive layer took over five minutes! I thought it was a problem with the File Layer, but after merging the problem stayed the same. Adding a non-destructive Color Balance adjustment took a while as well.

I can add text in Krita, but the options are very limited. The text is edited in a separate window, which makes it hard to adjust the size of the font to the composition. But, unlike GIMP, Krita has Layer Style options, just as non-destructive as in Photoshop.

Photopea

Photopea is a web-browser app developed by a single person and available completely for free. And although something web-based may not sound like a Photoshop alternative, in my opinion Photopea comes closer to it than GIMP and Krita. Because it was designed to open PSD files without merging anything, it offers support for Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Photopea opens RAWs, but offers just a very basic editor. Still, it was enough to make some preliminary changes.

It’s possible to perform frequency separation just like in Photoshop, and there are three types of healing tools. Photopea supports actions as well, so it’s possible to create frequency separation layers with a single click.

The Pen Tool exists, but only for drawing shapes. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool instead to select the outline of the model. It’s impossible to create a precise selection this way, because the points can’t be modified and Undo deletes it all. However, because there’s the Refine Edge tool, it was possible for me to fix the selection afterwards. The only problem was that the function worked very slowly.

I grouped my layers and added a Layer Mask to the group—no problems here. Cropping works as it’s supposed to, and I was able to paste the background image… as a Smart Object! I could also resize it with the model staying in the front. This is something that neither GIMP nor Krita could manage.

I added a Gaussian Blur to the background, without affecting it—it has been added as a Smart Filter that can be adjusted and removed. I was also able to add a Photo Filter and Selective Color as non-destructive adjustment layers, clipped to the model only.

It’s possible to select by Color Range, but I couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, so instead I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the whole model and painted the selection on the mask instead. Painting turned out quite laggy in this high-resolution file.

I was able to reconstruct the missing part of the finger with the Content Aware tool. Then I converted the whole group to a Smart Object to add a filter to it—it worked perfectly. I added a Gaussian Blur and painted on the mask to reveal the sharper parts.

It’s possible to add text in Photopea, and there are a couple of useful options not present in GIMP or Krita. Layer Styles exist in a form very similar to Photoshop, so I could add a Drop Shadow non-destructively.

Summary

Let’s sum it up. I’ve created a table of the functions used in the test, as well as a couple more. I assigned a point value to each:

• + means the program has this function in a form similar to Photoshop. 1 point.
• ~ means the program „sort of” has this function. It may not be as good, or only available with a plugin. 0.5 point.
• – means the program doesn’t have this function. 0 points.

Photoshop’s function	GIMP	Krita	Photopea
RAW files support	~	+	+
RAW editor	~	~	~
Precise selection with paths	+	~	–
Refine Edge	–	–	+
Frequency separation support	+	–	+
Actions (macros)	~	~	+
Selecting multiple layers	–	+	+
Grouping layers	+	+	+
Adding Layer Mask to group	+	+	+
Cropping	+	+	+
Placing new image as Smart Object	–	–	+
Resizing layer in the background	–	–	+
Non-destructive filters (Smart Filters)	–	+	+
Photo Filter	~	~	+
Selective Color	–	–	+
Content Aware Fill	~	~	+
Select by color	~	~	~
Turning group of files into Smart Object	–	+	+
Gradient Map	+	+	+
Color Balance	+	+	+
Advanced text editing	–	–	~
Non-destructive Layer Styles	–	+	+
Channels	+	+	–
Liquify filter	+	+	+
No ads	+	+	–
CMYK mode	–	+	–
Non-destructive adjustments	–	+	+
Canvas Rotation	+	+	–
Quick Mask	+	+	–
Batch editing	~	–	–
3D features	–	–	–
Cloud storage	–	–	–
Frame animation	+	+	–
Integration with other programs	–	–	–
Skin tones selection	–	–	–
Vanishing point editing	–	–	–
Perspective grid	–	+	–
Perspective crop	–	–	–
Field Blur	–	–	–
Integration with stock photos library	–	–	–
Total: 40	17	22	21.5

Conclusion

According to the numbers, each of the free alternatives is only about half as good as Photoshop. Of course, it’s not really a conclusive result—after all, it all depends on what functions you really need on a daily basis.

But that’s the thing. GIMP has some of the functions of Photoshop, but not all. Krita has some of these other functions, but lacks some of the ones that GIMP has. And Photopea has a lot of crucial functions, but is frustratingly slow with bigger images. Speaking of speed, none of the tested programs worked as smoothly as Photoshop. They either forced me to stop working when saving, or took precious seconds to update the preview of an effect, or didn’t offer any preview at all.

In the end, that’s what Photoshop really is—a time saver for photographers and designers. A program designed to make work as efficient as possible, with everything in one place and every tool optimized for convenience of use. No matter whether you work with raster, vectors, text, 3D, or video, Photoshop has something for you. And if it doesn’t, your work can be easily integrated with other apps from Creative Cloud.

This, I think, is why Photoshop is called a program for professionals. Not because you can do something in Photoshop that you can’t, with enough time and effort, in GIMP or Krita. It’s because it saves time—and for a professional, time is money. Free programs, as absurd as it may sound, are simply not worth it.

And what do you think? Maybe you are a professional using one of the free alternatives? And if you work in Photoshop, what made you choose it over the free options?

Post pobrano z: What Makes Photoshop Better Than Free Alternatives?

Adobe Photoshop has long been an industry standard, and even though it’s famous for being costly, it’s the first choice for most people when it comes to photo editing.

But there are many other programs, available for free, marketed as „Photoshop alternatives”. Why not use one of them instead? Everyone will say, duh, Photoshop is for professionals, free alternatives are for amateurs! But what does that mean, really? What’s so professional about Photoshop, except its price?

If you search for the answer on the Internet, it’s hard to get anything specific. You’ll learn that „free programs are only good for basic editing” and „you need Photoshop for anything serious”, but nobody will tell you exactly what functions Photoshop has that free photo editors lack.

I decided to test it myself. I’ve picked three programs: GIMP, Krita, and Photopea. I’m going to edit a photo in Photoshop, and then try to do the same in each of these three. This should give us a better idea of the real capabilities of these programs in comparison to Photoshop.

Photoshop Creative Cloud

Let’s edit a photo in Photoshop first. I’ll include basic retouching and elements of photo manipulation, as well as styling the text. It’s not possible to show all the functions of Photoshop during one edit, but I hope this mix will give you a good overview.

RAW Editor

My photo is saved in NEF format, which is a type of RAW file. When I opened it in Photoshop, I got a chance to edit the RAW properties directly in the default plugin, called Camera RAW. I could fix the exposure, contrast, highlights, and more, change the saturation or luminosity of individual colors, and even sharpen the image or remove the noise. I could access everything that the camera has saved, and manipulate it manually.

Frequency Separation & Actions

Using filters like Smart Blur and High Pass, I used the technique of frequency separation to clean up the skin. To make things faster, I could reduce the frequency separation to an action. Actions record what I do, and I can replay it all with a single click whenever I need. For cleaning the skin, I could use various healing tools.

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  What Are Photoshop Actions and How to Install Photoshop Actions
  Kirk Nelson

Selection With Paths

I used the Pen Tool to select the edges of the body. Photoshop has many selection tools, but the Pen Tool is the most precise of them all. It allows me to „draw” a selection outline step by step, and modify every curve of this outline.

Refine Edge

My selection has hard edges, so I smoothed it out with the Refine Edge feature. It intelligently added strands of hair to my selection, so that the hairstyle didn’t look like a hat.

Layer Mask

To remove the selected area without actually removing anything from the original photo, I placed the previous layers in a group and applied a Layer Mask to it. The Layer Mask hides the selected area, and the original photo stays intact.

• 
  Layer Masks
  How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
  Laura Keung

Smart Filters

I cropped the image and placed a background photo behind the model. I applied a Gaussian Blur to it. Because it’s a Smart Object, the actual image doesn’t get blurry—it just appears so, and I can remove the blur or adjust it anytime I need.

Photo Filter

I added a Photo Filter to the model to give her a greenish tint, fitting the background. The filter affects the contents of the group only, and because it’s an adjustment layer, it can be removed or adjusted anytime without any loss.

Selective Color

Using Selective Color, I could modify colors in the image separately and very precisely. I made the model even greener with it, changing the contrast at the same time.

Color Range Selection

I selected the red dress using the Color Range feature, and applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selection. This allowed me to change the red to a more faded color. Because the adjustment layer has a mask, I used it to exclude the lips from this effect.

Content Aware Fill

I noticed that a part of the finger was missing. I could recreate it automatically with the Content Aware Fill. It’s not perfect, but in this area it will not be noticeable.

Smart Objects

I turned the whole group into a Smart Object—its contents are still accessible, but I can now add filters to it as if it was a single layer. I added a Gaussian Blur and then used a Layer Mask to remove the effect from the parts that I wanted to keep sharp.

Gradient Map

I added a Gradient Map to the whole image. It let me assign different colors to different levels of brightness in the picture, leading to unique color effects.

Color Balance

Finally, I changed the Color Balance of the picture to create an even more interesting effect.

Text Editing

In Photoshop I can add text to the image, with lots of ways to modify it. I can change the distance between letters, their length and width, and even set the kerning. I can also add a Layer Style to the text—add a Drop Shadow, cover it with a gradient or pattern, add a Stroke, and much more. Such a Layer Style can be saved to use on any other layer with a single click.

GIMP 2.10.10

Let’s start with GIMP, since it’s the most popular alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is an open-source editor created by its community, getting more and more advanced every year. It used to be infamous for its unintuitive interface with freely floating windows, but it’s been fixed and today it’s much more user friendly. So let’s see how GIMP looks when compared to Photoshop!

First of all, GIMP doesn’t open RAW files. You need a plugin for that. This, as we’ll see, is a common problem when working with this program. Frequency separation works as it should, and there’s a single healing brush available, enough for this simple task. It’s impossible to save anything as an action or macro—you can write your own script or download a plugin.

The Pen Tool in GIMP works like a dream, and I would say it’s even more intuitive to use than its Photoshop counterpart. But although there are many options to modify the selection, there’s nothing similar to Refine Edge. I decided to clean up the hair with a Layer Mask, so I proceeded to group the layers… and here I was unpleasantly surprised. It’s impossible to select multiple layers! I had to drag and drop them into the group separately. To make things worse, I stumbled upon a weird bug that makes it impossible to move layers when Camtasia Recorder is running.

Fortunately, the Layer Mask worked as expected, so I was able to remove the background non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the group. I cropped the image without problems, and added the background. Oddly enough, even though the image had been pasted below the model, during resizing it stayed on top. To see how the background looked behind the model, I had to lower the opacity of the resized layer.

I added blur to the background, but since there are no Smart Objects here, the image has been permanently modified by this. No going back, no way to adjust it. Similarly, I couldn’t add color adjustments to the model without merging the group. I couldn’t find anything similar to Photo Filter or Selective Color, so I used Hue/Saturation instead.

It’s possible to select by color in GIMP, but it’s imprecise and hard to adjust. Instead, I duplicated the layer, changed its colors to the intended color of the dress, and then used a Layer Mask to remove everything that wasn’t the dress. 

There’s no Content Aware Fill, but there’s a plugin called Resynthesizer that is used instead for this job. In fact, GIMP had this function long before Adobe developed it! For some reason, though, the plugin still isn’t included by default. And although it’s very powerful when it comes to removing things, I wasn’t able to use it to reconstruct the finger.

To blend the edges of the model, I had to merge the layers again. I duplicated the layer and blurred it, then used a Layer Mask to reveal the sharpened part. Again, this is done permanently.

The Gradient Map feature exists in GIMP, but it’s terribly unintuitive to use. First you need to create a gradient, which is a difficult task in itself for some reason (I had to create a pattern and convert it to a gradient, because I couldn’t figure out the gradient editor), and then it simply gets applied to the image. There’s no way to change its intensity. I lowered its opacity, but it made the shadows duller.

I changed the Color Balance, but I didn’t manage to achieve the same results as in Photoshop. I wanted a subtle change, but the sliders reacted very strongly to my experiments.

It’s possible to add text in GIMP, but the options are very limited. Also, there are no Layer Styles, only certain filters that simulate them. Because of this, after I added Drop Shadow, the text got as good as rasterized. It would lose its shadow if I decided to modify it.

Krita 4.2.2

Krita is another free, open-source graphic editor. Interestingly, it was created for digital painting and illustration, but volunteer developers have slowly added enough photo editing functions for it to be considered an alternative to Photoshop. As you’ll soon see, in many ways it surpasses GIMP!

Krita opened my RAW file without any problems, but offered just a very basic editor to adjust it, without showing live results. Not enough to perform the preliminary editing. 

I couldn’t use the frequency separation technique, because there’s no High Pass filter or anything similar. I removed the blemishes with the Smart Patch Tool, which is a very basic healing brush. It’s not possible to record actions or macros, but it’s possible to write your own Python scripts if you have the skills.

I used a type of Pen Tool to create a path, but it turned out to be very simple—I couldn’t adjust or move the handles after clicking, and there was no way to Undo a step. In fact, when the path got closed by accident when I was half done, Undo removed the whole path and I had to start anew.

There’s no Refine Edge or anything similar, so I decided to smooth the hair with a Layer Mask. There was no problem with creating a group and adding a Layer Mask to it.

Cropping works perfectly, but when I pasted the background and started resizing it, a familiar problem occurred—the background image covered the model in the foreground. The photo visibly lagged when I moved it across the screen.

I added blur to the background, and I was finally pleasantly surprised: Krita has non-destructive filters! It means that the blur didn’t affect the image—it only appeared to—and I could adjust or remove it anytime. 

There’s no Photo Filter, but I used a Fill Layer in Color Mode, which is basically the same, just with a little more work. When I wanted to select the red tones in the photo, it turned out I could only pick colors from the list. So instead I added a colorizing adjustment layer and masked the outside of the dress manually.

There’s no Content-Aware Fill or anything similar to fill a missing area. Just like in Photoshop, I couldn’t add a filter to a group, so I saved this group as a File Layer—Krita’s version of Smart Objects. Then I added blur to it—non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the layer.

Gradient Map exists and is non-destructive, but works very, very slowly, which makes it impossible to experiment with colors. It doesn’t show a preview of its results, either. Even lowering the Opacity of this interactive layer took over five minutes! I thought it was a problem with the File Layer, but after merging the problem stayed the same. Adding a non-destructive Color Balance adjustment took a while as well.

I can add text in Krita, but the options are very limited. The text is edited in a separate window, which makes it hard to adjust the size of the font to the composition. But, unlike GIMP, Krita has Layer Style options, just as non-destructive as in Photoshop.

Photopea

Photopea is a web-browser app developed by a single person and available completely for free. And although something web-based may not sound like a Photoshop alternative, in my opinion Photopea comes closer to it than GIMP and Krita. Because it was designed to open PSD files without merging anything, it offers support for Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Photopea opens RAWs, but offers just a very basic editor. Still, it was enough to make some preliminary changes.

It’s possible to perform frequency separation just like in Photoshop, and there are three types of healing tools. Photopea supports actions as well, so it’s possible to create frequency separation layers with a single click.

The Pen Tool exists, but only for drawing shapes. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool instead to select the outline of the model. It’s impossible to create a precise selection this way, because the points can’t be modified and Undo deletes it all. However, because there’s the Refine Edge tool, it was possible for me to fix the selection afterwards. The only problem was that the function worked very slowly.

I grouped my layers and added a Layer Mask to the group—no problems here. Cropping works as it’s supposed to, and I was able to paste the background image… as a Smart Object! I could also resize it with the model staying in the front. This is something that neither GIMP nor Krita could manage.

I added a Gaussian Blur to the background, without affecting it—it has been added as a Smart Filter that can be adjusted and removed. I was also able to add a Photo Filter and Selective Color as non-destructive adjustment layers, clipped to the model only.

It’s possible to select by Color Range, but I couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, so instead I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the whole model and painted the selection on the mask instead. Painting turned out quite laggy in this high-resolution file.

I was able to reconstruct the missing part of the finger with the Content Aware tool. Then I converted the whole group to a Smart Object to add a filter to it—it worked perfectly. I added a Gaussian Blur and painted on the mask to reveal the sharper parts.

It’s possible to add text in Photopea, and there are a couple of useful options not present in GIMP or Krita. Layer Styles exist in a form very similar to Photoshop, so I could add a Drop Shadow non-destructively.

Summary

Let’s sum it up. I’ve created a table of the functions used in the test, as well as a couple more. I assigned a point value to each:

• + means the program has this function in a form similar to Photoshop. 1 point.
• ~ means the program „sort of” has this function. It may not be as good, or only available with a plugin. 0.5 point.
• – means the program doesn’t have this function. 0 points.

Photoshop’s function	GIMP	Krita	Photopea
RAW files support	~	+	+
RAW editor	~	~	~
Precise selection with paths	+	~	–
Refine Edge	–	–	+
Frequency separation support	+	–	+
Actions (macros)	~	~	+
Selecting multiple layers	–	+	+
Grouping layers	+	+	+
Adding Layer Mask to group	+	+	+
Cropping	+	+	+
Placing new image as Smart Object	–	–	+
Resizing layer in the background	–	–	+
Non-destructive filters (Smart Filters)	–	+	+
Photo Filter	~	~	+
Selective Color	–	–	+
Content Aware Fill	~	~	+
Select by color	~	~	~
Turning group of files into Smart Object	–	+	+
Gradient Map	+	+	+
Color Balance	+	+	+
Advanced text editing	–	–	~
Non-destructive Layer Styles	–	+	+
Channels	+	+	–
Liquify filter	+	+	+
No ads	+	+	–
CMYK mode	–	+	–
Non-destructive adjustments	–	+	+
Canvas Rotation	+	+	–
Quick Mask	+	+	–
Batch editing	~	–	–
3D features	–	–	–
Cloud storage	–	–	–
Frame animation	+	+	–
Integration with other programs	–	–	–
Skin tones selection	–	–	–
Vanishing point editing	–	–	–
Perspective grid	–	+	–
Perspective crop	–	–	–
Field Blur	–	–	–
Integration with stock photos library	–	–	–
Total: 40	17	22	21.5

Conclusion

According to the numbers, each of the free alternatives is only about half as good as Photoshop. Of course, it’s not really a conclusive result—after all, it all depends on what functions you really need on a daily basis.

But that’s the thing. GIMP has some of the functions of Photoshop, but not all. Krita has some of these other functions, but lacks some of the ones that GIMP has. And Photopea has a lot of crucial functions, but is frustratingly slow with bigger images. Speaking of speed, none of the tested programs worked as smoothly as Photoshop. They either forced me to stop working when saving, or took precious seconds to update the preview of an effect, or didn’t offer any preview at all.

In the end, that’s what Photoshop really is—a time saver for photographers and designers. A program designed to make work as efficient as possible, with everything in one place and every tool optimized for convenience of use. No matter whether you work with raster, vectors, text, 3D, or video, Photoshop has something for you. And if it doesn’t, your work can be easily integrated with other apps from Creative Cloud.

This, I think, is why Photoshop is called a program for professionals. Not because you can do something in Photoshop that you can’t, with enough time and effort, in GIMP or Krita. It’s because it saves time—and for a professional, time is money. Free programs, as absurd as it may sound, are simply not worth it.

And what do you think? Maybe you are a professional using one of the free alternatives? And if you work in Photoshop, what made you choose it over the free options?

Post pobrano z: What Makes Photoshop Better Than Free Alternatives?

Adobe Photoshop has long been an industry standard, and even though it’s famous for being costly, it’s the first choice for most people when it comes to photo editing.

But there are many other programs, available for free, marketed as „Photoshop alternatives”. Why not use one of them instead? Everyone will say, duh, Photoshop is for professionals, free alternatives are for amateurs! But what does that mean, really? What’s so professional about Photoshop, except its price?

If you search for the answer on the Internet, it’s hard to get anything specific. You’ll learn that „free programs are only good for basic editing” and „you need Photoshop for anything serious”, but nobody will tell you exactly what functions Photoshop has that free photo editors lack.

I decided to test it myself. I’ve picked three programs: GIMP, Krita, and Photopea. I’m going to edit a photo in Photoshop, and then try to do the same in each of these three. This should give us a better idea of the real capabilities of these programs in comparison to Photoshop.

Photoshop Creative Cloud

Let’s edit a photo in Photoshop first. I’ll include basic retouching and elements of photo manipulation, as well as styling the text. It’s not possible to show all the functions of Photoshop during one edit, but I hope this mix will give you a good overview.

RAW Editor

My photo is saved in NEF format, which is a type of RAW file. When I opened it in Photoshop, I got a chance to edit the RAW properties directly in the default plugin, called Camera RAW. I could fix the exposure, contrast, highlights, and more, change the saturation or luminosity of individual colors, and even sharpen the image or remove the noise. I could access everything that the camera has saved, and manipulate it manually.

Frequency Separation & Actions

Using filters like Smart Blur and High Pass, I used the technique of frequency separation to clean up the skin. To make things faster, I could reduce the frequency separation to an action. Actions record what I do, and I can replay it all with a single click whenever I need. For cleaning the skin, I could use various healing tools.

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  What Are Photoshop Actions and How to Install Photoshop Actions
  Kirk Nelson

Selection With Paths

I used the Pen Tool to select the edges of the body. Photoshop has many selection tools, but the Pen Tool is the most precise of them all. It allows me to „draw” a selection outline step by step, and modify every curve of this outline.

Refine Edge

My selection has hard edges, so I smoothed it out with the Refine Edge feature. It intelligently added strands of hair to my selection, so that the hairstyle didn’t look like a hat.

Layer Mask

To remove the selected area without actually removing anything from the original photo, I placed the previous layers in a group and applied a Layer Mask to it. The Layer Mask hides the selected area, and the original photo stays intact.

• 
  Layer Masks
  How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
  Laura Keung

Smart Filters

I cropped the image and placed a background photo behind the model. I applied a Gaussian Blur to it. Because it’s a Smart Object, the actual image doesn’t get blurry—it just appears so, and I can remove the blur or adjust it anytime I need.

Photo Filter

I added a Photo Filter to the model to give her a greenish tint, fitting the background. The filter affects the contents of the group only, and because it’s an adjustment layer, it can be removed or adjusted anytime without any loss.

Selective Color

Using Selective Color, I could modify colors in the image separately and very precisely. I made the model even greener with it, changing the contrast at the same time.

Color Range Selection

I selected the red dress using the Color Range feature, and applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selection. This allowed me to change the red to a more faded color. Because the adjustment layer has a mask, I used it to exclude the lips from this effect.

Content Aware Fill

I noticed that a part of the finger was missing. I could recreate it automatically with the Content Aware Fill. It’s not perfect, but in this area it will not be noticeable.

Smart Objects

I turned the whole group into a Smart Object—its contents are still accessible, but I can now add filters to it as if it was a single layer. I added a Gaussian Blur and then used a Layer Mask to remove the effect from the parts that I wanted to keep sharp.

Gradient Map

I added a Gradient Map to the whole image. It let me assign different colors to different levels of brightness in the picture, leading to unique color effects.

Color Balance

Finally, I changed the Color Balance of the picture to create an even more interesting effect.

Text Editing

In Photoshop I can add text to the image, with lots of ways to modify it. I can change the distance between letters, their length and width, and even set the kerning. I can also add a Layer Style to the text—add a Drop Shadow, cover it with a gradient or pattern, add a Stroke, and much more. Such a Layer Style can be saved to use on any other layer with a single click.

GIMP 2.10.10

Let’s start with GIMP, since it’s the most popular alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is an open-source editor created by its community, getting more and more advanced every year. It used to be infamous for its unintuitive interface with freely floating windows, but it’s been fixed and today it’s much more user friendly. So let’s see how GIMP looks when compared to Photoshop!

First of all, GIMP doesn’t open RAW files. You need a plugin for that. This, as we’ll see, is a common problem when working with this program. Frequency separation works as it should, and there’s a single healing brush available, enough for this simple task. It’s impossible to save anything as an action or macro—you can write your own script or download a plugin.

The Pen Tool in GIMP works like a dream, and I would say it’s even more intuitive to use than its Photoshop counterpart. But although there are many options to modify the selection, there’s nothing similar to Refine Edge. I decided to clean up the hair with a Layer Mask, so I proceeded to group the layers… and here I was unpleasantly surprised. It’s impossible to select multiple layers! I had to drag and drop them into the group separately. To make things worse, I stumbled upon a weird bug that makes it impossible to move layers when Camtasia Recorder is running.

Fortunately, the Layer Mask worked as expected, so I was able to remove the background non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the group. I cropped the image without problems, and added the background. Oddly enough, even though the image had been pasted below the model, during resizing it stayed on top. To see how the background looked behind the model, I had to lower the opacity of the resized layer.

I added blur to the background, but since there are no Smart Objects here, the image has been permanently modified by this. No going back, no way to adjust it. Similarly, I couldn’t add color adjustments to the model without merging the group. I couldn’t find anything similar to Photo Filter or Selective Color, so I used Hue/Saturation instead.

It’s possible to select by color in GIMP, but it’s imprecise and hard to adjust. Instead, I duplicated the layer, changed its colors to the intended color of the dress, and then used a Layer Mask to remove everything that wasn’t the dress. 

There’s no Content Aware Fill, but there’s a plugin called Resynthesizer that is used instead for this job. In fact, GIMP had this function long before Adobe developed it! For some reason, though, the plugin still isn’t included by default. And although it’s very powerful when it comes to removing things, I wasn’t able to use it to reconstruct the finger.

To blend the edges of the model, I had to merge the layers again. I duplicated the layer and blurred it, then used a Layer Mask to reveal the sharpened part. Again, this is done permanently.

The Gradient Map feature exists in GIMP, but it’s terribly unintuitive to use. First you need to create a gradient, which is a difficult task in itself for some reason (I had to create a pattern and convert it to a gradient, because I couldn’t figure out the gradient editor), and then it simply gets applied to the image. There’s no way to change its intensity. I lowered its opacity, but it made the shadows duller.

I changed the Color Balance, but I didn’t manage to achieve the same results as in Photoshop. I wanted a subtle change, but the sliders reacted very strongly to my experiments.

It’s possible to add text in GIMP, but the options are very limited. Also, there are no Layer Styles, only certain filters that simulate them. Because of this, after I added Drop Shadow, the text got as good as rasterized. It would lose its shadow if I decided to modify it.

Krita 4.2.2

Krita is another free, open-source graphic editor. Interestingly, it was created for digital painting and illustration, but volunteer developers have slowly added enough photo editing functions for it to be considered an alternative to Photoshop. As you’ll soon see, in many ways it surpasses GIMP!

Krita opened my RAW file without any problems, but offered just a very basic editor to adjust it, without showing live results. Not enough to perform the preliminary editing. 

I couldn’t use the frequency separation technique, because there’s no High Pass filter or anything similar. I removed the blemishes with the Smart Patch Tool, which is a very basic healing brush. It’s not possible to record actions or macros, but it’s possible to write your own Python scripts if you have the skills.

I used a type of Pen Tool to create a path, but it turned out to be very simple—I couldn’t adjust or move the handles after clicking, and there was no way to Undo a step. In fact, when the path got closed by accident when I was half done, Undo removed the whole path and I had to start anew.

There’s no Refine Edge or anything similar, so I decided to smooth the hair with a Layer Mask. There was no problem with creating a group and adding a Layer Mask to it.

Cropping works perfectly, but when I pasted the background and started resizing it, a familiar problem occurred—the background image covered the model in the foreground. The photo visibly lagged when I moved it across the screen.

I added blur to the background, and I was finally pleasantly surprised: Krita has non-destructive filters! It means that the blur didn’t affect the image—it only appeared to—and I could adjust or remove it anytime. 

There’s no Photo Filter, but I used a Fill Layer in Color Mode, which is basically the same, just with a little more work. When I wanted to select the red tones in the photo, it turned out I could only pick colors from the list. So instead I added a colorizing adjustment layer and masked the outside of the dress manually.

There’s no Content-Aware Fill or anything similar to fill a missing area. Just like in Photoshop, I couldn’t add a filter to a group, so I saved this group as a File Layer—Krita’s version of Smart Objects. Then I added blur to it—non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the layer.

Gradient Map exists and is non-destructive, but works very, very slowly, which makes it impossible to experiment with colors. It doesn’t show a preview of its results, either. Even lowering the Opacity of this interactive layer took over five minutes! I thought it was a problem with the File Layer, but after merging the problem stayed the same. Adding a non-destructive Color Balance adjustment took a while as well.

I can add text in Krita, but the options are very limited. The text is edited in a separate window, which makes it hard to adjust the size of the font to the composition. But, unlike GIMP, Krita has Layer Style options, just as non-destructive as in Photoshop.

Photopea

Photopea is a web-browser app developed by a single person and available completely for free. And although something web-based may not sound like a Photoshop alternative, in my opinion Photopea comes closer to it than GIMP and Krita. Because it was designed to open PSD files without merging anything, it offers support for Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Photopea opens RAWs, but offers just a very basic editor. Still, it was enough to make some preliminary changes.

It’s possible to perform frequency separation just like in Photoshop, and there are three types of healing tools. Photopea supports actions as well, so it’s possible to create frequency separation layers with a single click.

The Pen Tool exists, but only for drawing shapes. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool instead to select the outline of the model. It’s impossible to create a precise selection this way, because the points can’t be modified and Undo deletes it all. However, because there’s the Refine Edge tool, it was possible for me to fix the selection afterwards. The only problem was that the function worked very slowly.

I grouped my layers and added a Layer Mask to the group—no problems here. Cropping works as it’s supposed to, and I was able to paste the background image… as a Smart Object! I could also resize it with the model staying in the front. This is something that neither GIMP nor Krita could manage.

I added a Gaussian Blur to the background, without affecting it—it has been added as a Smart Filter that can be adjusted and removed. I was also able to add a Photo Filter and Selective Color as non-destructive adjustment layers, clipped to the model only.

It’s possible to select by Color Range, but I couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, so instead I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the whole model and painted the selection on the mask instead. Painting turned out quite laggy in this high-resolution file.

I was able to reconstruct the missing part of the finger with the Content Aware tool. Then I converted the whole group to a Smart Object to add a filter to it—it worked perfectly. I added a Gaussian Blur and painted on the mask to reveal the sharper parts.

It’s possible to add text in Photopea, and there are a couple of useful options not present in GIMP or Krita. Layer Styles exist in a form very similar to Photoshop, so I could add a Drop Shadow non-destructively.

Summary

Let’s sum it up. I’ve created a table of the functions used in the test, as well as a couple more. I assigned a point value to each:

• + means the program has this function in a form similar to Photoshop. 1 point.
• ~ means the program „sort of” has this function. It may not be as good, or only available with a plugin. 0.5 point.
• – means the program doesn’t have this function. 0 points.

Photoshop’s function	GIMP	Krita	Photopea
RAW files support	~	+	+
RAW editor	~	~	~
Precise selection with paths	+	~	–
Refine Edge	–	–	+
Frequency separation support	+	–	+
Actions (macros)	~	~	+
Selecting multiple layers	–	+	+
Grouping layers	+	+	+
Adding Layer Mask to group	+	+	+
Cropping	+	+	+
Placing new image as Smart Object	–	–	+
Resizing layer in the background	–	–	+
Non-destructive filters (Smart Filters)	–	+	+
Photo Filter	~	~	+
Selective Color	–	–	+
Content Aware Fill	~	~	+
Select by color	~	~	~
Turning group of files into Smart Object	–	+	+
Gradient Map	+	+	+
Color Balance	+	+	+
Advanced text editing	–	–	~
Non-destructive Layer Styles	–	+	+
Channels	+	+	–
Liquify filter	+	+	+
No ads	+	+	–
CMYK mode	–	+	–
Non-destructive adjustments	–	+	+
Canvas Rotation	+	+	–
Quick Mask	+	+	–
Batch editing	~	–	–
3D features	–	–	–
Cloud storage	–	–	–
Frame animation	+	+	–
Integration with other programs	–	–	–
Skin tones selection	–	–	–
Vanishing point editing	–	–	–
Perspective grid	–	+	–
Perspective crop	–	–	–
Field Blur	–	–	–
Integration with stock photos library	–	–	–
Total: 40	17	22	21.5

Conclusion

According to the numbers, each of the free alternatives is only about half as good as Photoshop. Of course, it’s not really a conclusive result—after all, it all depends on what functions you really need on a daily basis.

But that’s the thing. GIMP has some of the functions of Photoshop, but not all. Krita has some of these other functions, but lacks some of the ones that GIMP has. And Photopea has a lot of crucial functions, but is frustratingly slow with bigger images. Speaking of speed, none of the tested programs worked as smoothly as Photoshop. They either forced me to stop working when saving, or took precious seconds to update the preview of an effect, or didn’t offer any preview at all.

In the end, that’s what Photoshop really is—a time saver for photographers and designers. A program designed to make work as efficient as possible, with everything in one place and every tool optimized for convenience of use. No matter whether you work with raster, vectors, text, 3D, or video, Photoshop has something for you. And if it doesn’t, your work can be easily integrated with other apps from Creative Cloud.

This, I think, is why Photoshop is called a program for professionals. Not because you can do something in Photoshop that you can’t, with enough time and effort, in GIMP or Krita. It’s because it saves time—and for a professional, time is money. Free programs, as absurd as it may sound, are simply not worth it.

And what do you think? Maybe you are a professional using one of the free alternatives? And if you work in Photoshop, what made you choose it over the free options?

Post pobrano z: What Makes Photoshop Better Than Free Alternatives?

Adobe Photoshop has long been an industry standard, and even though it’s famous for being costly, it’s the first choice for most people when it comes to photo editing.

But there are many other programs, available for free, marketed as „Photoshop alternatives”. Why not use one of them instead? Everyone will say, duh, Photoshop is for professionals, free alternatives are for amateurs! But what does that mean, really? What’s so professional about Photoshop, except its price?

If you search for the answer on the Internet, it’s hard to get anything specific. You’ll learn that „free programs are only good for basic editing” and „you need Photoshop for anything serious”, but nobody will tell you exactly what functions Photoshop has that free photo editors lack.

I decided to test it myself. I’ve picked three programs: GIMP, Krita, and Photopea. I’m going to edit a photo in Photoshop, and then try to do the same in each of these three. This should give us a better idea of the real capabilities of these programs in comparison to Photoshop.

Photoshop Creative Cloud

Let’s edit a photo in Photoshop first. I’ll include basic retouching and elements of photo manipulation, as well as styling the text. It’s not possible to show all the functions of Photoshop during one edit, but I hope this mix will give you a good overview.

RAW Editor

My photo is saved in NEF format, which is a type of RAW file. When I opened it in Photoshop, I got a chance to edit the RAW properties directly in the default plugin, called Camera RAW. I could fix the exposure, contrast, highlights, and more, change the saturation or luminosity of individual colors, and even sharpen the image or remove the noise. I could access everything that the camera has saved, and manipulate it manually.

Frequency Separation & Actions

Using filters like Smart Blur and High Pass, I used the technique of frequency separation to clean up the skin. To make things faster, I could reduce the frequency separation to an action. Actions record what I do, and I can replay it all with a single click whenever I need. For cleaning the skin, I could use various healing tools.

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Photoshop Actions
  What Are Photoshop Actions and How to Install Photoshop Actions
  Kirk Nelson

Selection With Paths

I used the Pen Tool to select the edges of the body. Photoshop has many selection tools, but the Pen Tool is the most precise of them all. It allows me to „draw” a selection outline step by step, and modify every curve of this outline.

Refine Edge

My selection has hard edges, so I smoothed it out with the Refine Edge feature. It intelligently added strands of hair to my selection, so that the hairstyle didn’t look like a hat.

Layer Mask

To remove the selected area without actually removing anything from the original photo, I placed the previous layers in a group and applied a Layer Mask to it. The Layer Mask hides the selected area, and the original photo stays intact.

• 
  Layer Masks
  How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop
  Laura Keung

Smart Filters

I cropped the image and placed a background photo behind the model. I applied a Gaussian Blur to it. Because it’s a Smart Object, the actual image doesn’t get blurry—it just appears so, and I can remove the blur or adjust it anytime I need.

Photo Filter

I added a Photo Filter to the model to give her a greenish tint, fitting the background. The filter affects the contents of the group only, and because it’s an adjustment layer, it can be removed or adjusted anytime without any loss.

Selective Color

Using Selective Color, I could modify colors in the image separately and very precisely. I made the model even greener with it, changing the contrast at the same time.

Color Range Selection

I selected the red dress using the Color Range feature, and applied a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selection. This allowed me to change the red to a more faded color. Because the adjustment layer has a mask, I used it to exclude the lips from this effect.

Content Aware Fill

I noticed that a part of the finger was missing. I could recreate it automatically with the Content Aware Fill. It’s not perfect, but in this area it will not be noticeable.

Smart Objects

I turned the whole group into a Smart Object—its contents are still accessible, but I can now add filters to it as if it was a single layer. I added a Gaussian Blur and then used a Layer Mask to remove the effect from the parts that I wanted to keep sharp.

Gradient Map

I added a Gradient Map to the whole image. It let me assign different colors to different levels of brightness in the picture, leading to unique color effects.

Color Balance

Finally, I changed the Color Balance of the picture to create an even more interesting effect.

Text Editing

In Photoshop I can add text to the image, with lots of ways to modify it. I can change the distance between letters, their length and width, and even set the kerning. I can also add a Layer Style to the text—add a Drop Shadow, cover it with a gradient or pattern, add a Stroke, and much more. Such a Layer Style can be saved to use on any other layer with a single click.

GIMP 2.10.10

Let’s start with GIMP, since it’s the most popular alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is an open-source editor created by its community, getting more and more advanced every year. It used to be infamous for its unintuitive interface with freely floating windows, but it’s been fixed and today it’s much more user friendly. So let’s see how GIMP looks when compared to Photoshop!

First of all, GIMP doesn’t open RAW files. You need a plugin for that. This, as we’ll see, is a common problem when working with this program. Frequency separation works as it should, and there’s a single healing brush available, enough for this simple task. It’s impossible to save anything as an action or macro—you can write your own script or download a plugin.

The Pen Tool in GIMP works like a dream, and I would say it’s even more intuitive to use than its Photoshop counterpart. But although there are many options to modify the selection, there’s nothing similar to Refine Edge. I decided to clean up the hair with a Layer Mask, so I proceeded to group the layers… and here I was unpleasantly surprised. It’s impossible to select multiple layers! I had to drag and drop them into the group separately. To make things worse, I stumbled upon a weird bug that makes it impossible to move layers when Camtasia Recorder is running.

Fortunately, the Layer Mask worked as expected, so I was able to remove the background non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the group. I cropped the image without problems, and added the background. Oddly enough, even though the image had been pasted below the model, during resizing it stayed on top. To see how the background looked behind the model, I had to lower the opacity of the resized layer.

I added blur to the background, but since there are no Smart Objects here, the image has been permanently modified by this. No going back, no way to adjust it. Similarly, I couldn’t add color adjustments to the model without merging the group. I couldn’t find anything similar to Photo Filter or Selective Color, so I used Hue/Saturation instead.

It’s possible to select by color in GIMP, but it’s imprecise and hard to adjust. Instead, I duplicated the layer, changed its colors to the intended color of the dress, and then used a Layer Mask to remove everything that wasn’t the dress. 

There’s no Content Aware Fill, but there’s a plugin called Resynthesizer that is used instead for this job. In fact, GIMP had this function long before Adobe developed it! For some reason, though, the plugin still isn’t included by default. And although it’s very powerful when it comes to removing things, I wasn’t able to use it to reconstruct the finger.

To blend the edges of the model, I had to merge the layers again. I duplicated the layer and blurred it, then used a Layer Mask to reveal the sharpened part. Again, this is done permanently.

The Gradient Map feature exists in GIMP, but it’s terribly unintuitive to use. First you need to create a gradient, which is a difficult task in itself for some reason (I had to create a pattern and convert it to a gradient, because I couldn’t figure out the gradient editor), and then it simply gets applied to the image. There’s no way to change its intensity. I lowered its opacity, but it made the shadows duller.

I changed the Color Balance, but I didn’t manage to achieve the same results as in Photoshop. I wanted a subtle change, but the sliders reacted very strongly to my experiments.

It’s possible to add text in GIMP, but the options are very limited. Also, there are no Layer Styles, only certain filters that simulate them. Because of this, after I added Drop Shadow, the text got as good as rasterized. It would lose its shadow if I decided to modify it.

Krita 4.2.2

Krita is another free, open-source graphic editor. Interestingly, it was created for digital painting and illustration, but volunteer developers have slowly added enough photo editing functions for it to be considered an alternative to Photoshop. As you’ll soon see, in many ways it surpasses GIMP!

Krita opened my RAW file without any problems, but offered just a very basic editor to adjust it, without showing live results. Not enough to perform the preliminary editing. 

I couldn’t use the frequency separation technique, because there’s no High Pass filter or anything similar. I removed the blemishes with the Smart Patch Tool, which is a very basic healing brush. It’s not possible to record actions or macros, but it’s possible to write your own Python scripts if you have the skills.

I used a type of Pen Tool to create a path, but it turned out to be very simple—I couldn’t adjust or move the handles after clicking, and there was no way to Undo a step. In fact, when the path got closed by accident when I was half done, Undo removed the whole path and I had to start anew.

There’s no Refine Edge or anything similar, so I decided to smooth the hair with a Layer Mask. There was no problem with creating a group and adding a Layer Mask to it.

Cropping works perfectly, but when I pasted the background and started resizing it, a familiar problem occurred—the background image covered the model in the foreground. The photo visibly lagged when I moved it across the screen.

I added blur to the background, and I was finally pleasantly surprised: Krita has non-destructive filters! It means that the blur didn’t affect the image—it only appeared to—and I could adjust or remove it anytime. 

There’s no Photo Filter, but I used a Fill Layer in Color Mode, which is basically the same, just with a little more work. When I wanted to select the red tones in the photo, it turned out I could only pick colors from the list. So instead I added a colorizing adjustment layer and masked the outside of the dress manually.

There’s no Content-Aware Fill or anything similar to fill a missing area. Just like in Photoshop, I couldn’t add a filter to a group, so I saved this group as a File Layer—Krita’s version of Smart Objects. Then I added blur to it—non-destructively, without affecting the contents of the layer.

Gradient Map exists and is non-destructive, but works very, very slowly, which makes it impossible to experiment with colors. It doesn’t show a preview of its results, either. Even lowering the Opacity of this interactive layer took over five minutes! I thought it was a problem with the File Layer, but after merging the problem stayed the same. Adding a non-destructive Color Balance adjustment took a while as well.

I can add text in Krita, but the options are very limited. The text is edited in a separate window, which makes it hard to adjust the size of the font to the composition. But, unlike GIMP, Krita has Layer Style options, just as non-destructive as in Photoshop.

Photopea

Photopea is a web-browser app developed by a single person and available completely for free. And although something web-based may not sound like a Photoshop alternative, in my opinion Photopea comes closer to it than GIMP and Krita. Because it was designed to open PSD files without merging anything, it offers support for Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Photopea opens RAWs, but offers just a very basic editor. Still, it was enough to make some preliminary changes.

It’s possible to perform frequency separation just like in Photoshop, and there are three types of healing tools. Photopea supports actions as well, so it’s possible to create frequency separation layers with a single click.

The Pen Tool exists, but only for drawing shapes. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool instead to select the outline of the model. It’s impossible to create a precise selection this way, because the points can’t be modified and Undo deletes it all. However, because there’s the Refine Edge tool, it was possible for me to fix the selection afterwards. The only problem was that the function worked very slowly.

I grouped my layers and added a Layer Mask to the group—no problems here. Cropping works as it’s supposed to, and I was able to paste the background image… as a Smart Object! I could also resize it with the model staying in the front. This is something that neither GIMP nor Krita could manage.

I added a Gaussian Blur to the background, without affecting it—it has been added as a Smart Filter that can be adjusted and removed. I was also able to add a Photo Filter and Selective Color as non-destructive adjustment layers, clipped to the model only.

It’s possible to select by Color Range, but I couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, so instead I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment to the whole model and painted the selection on the mask instead. Painting turned out quite laggy in this high-resolution file.

I was able to reconstruct the missing part of the finger with the Content Aware tool. Then I converted the whole group to a Smart Object to add a filter to it—it worked perfectly. I added a Gaussian Blur and painted on the mask to reveal the sharper parts.

It’s possible to add text in Photopea, and there are a couple of useful options not present in GIMP or Krita. Layer Styles exist in a form very similar to Photoshop, so I could add a Drop Shadow non-destructively.

Summary

Let’s sum it up. I’ve created a table of the functions used in the test, as well as a couple more. I assigned a point value to each:

• + means the program has this function in a form similar to Photoshop. 1 point.
• ~ means the program „sort of” has this function. It may not be as good, or only available with a plugin. 0.5 point.
• – means the program doesn’t have this function. 0 points.

Photoshop’s function	GIMP	Krita	Photopea
RAW files support	~	+	+
RAW editor	~	~	~
Precise selection with paths	+	~	–
Refine Edge	–	–	+
Frequency separation support	+	–	+
Actions (macros)	~	~	+
Selecting multiple layers	–	+	+
Grouping layers	+	+	+
Adding Layer Mask to group	+	+	+
Cropping	+	+	+
Placing new image as Smart Object	–	–	+
Resizing layer in the background	–	–	+
Non-destructive filters (Smart Filters)	–	+	+
Photo Filter	~	~	+
Selective Color	–	–	+
Content Aware Fill	~	~	+
Select by color	~	~	~
Turning group of files into Smart Object	–	+	+
Gradient Map	+	+	+
Color Balance	+	+	+
Advanced text editing	–	–	~
Non-destructive Layer Styles	–	+	+
Channels	+	+	–
Liquify filter	+	+	+
No ads	+	+	–
CMYK mode	–	+	–
Non-destructive adjustments	–	+	+
Canvas Rotation	+	+	–
Quick Mask	+	+	–
Batch editing	~	–	–
3D features	–	–	–
Cloud storage	–	–	–
Frame animation	+	+	–
Integration with other programs	–	–	–
Skin tones selection	–	–	–
Vanishing point editing	–	–	–
Perspective grid	–	+	–
Perspective crop	–	–	–
Field Blur	–	–	–
Integration with stock photos library	–	–	–
Total: 40	17	22	21.5

Conclusion

According to the numbers, each of the free alternatives is only about half as good as Photoshop. Of course, it’s not really a conclusive result—after all, it all depends on what functions you really need on a daily basis.

But that’s the thing. GIMP has some of the functions of Photoshop, but not all. Krita has some of these other functions, but lacks some of the ones that GIMP has. And Photopea has a lot of crucial functions, but is frustratingly slow with bigger images. Speaking of speed, none of the tested programs worked as smoothly as Photoshop. They either forced me to stop working when saving, or took precious seconds to update the preview of an effect, or didn’t offer any preview at all.

In the end, that’s what Photoshop really is—a time saver for photographers and designers. A program designed to make work as efficient as possible, with everything in one place and every tool optimized for convenience of use. No matter whether you work with raster, vectors, text, 3D, or video, Photoshop has something for you. And if it doesn’t, your work can be easily integrated with other apps from Creative Cloud.

This, I think, is why Photoshop is called a program for professionals. Not because you can do something in Photoshop that you can’t, with enough time and effort, in GIMP or Krita. It’s because it saves time—and for a professional, time is money. Free programs, as absurd as it may sound, are simply not worth it.

And what do you think? Maybe you are a professional using one of the free alternatives? And if you work in Photoshop, what made you choose it over the free options?