How To Draw In Gimp

GIMP is an amazing piece of software that can do nearly anything you want to an image, from photo retouching to creating photorealistic collages. GIMP's excellent brush-based editing tools can besides exist used for digital drawing, and ever since version 2.10, GIMP has been bundled with the impressive MyPaint library for more realistic paint effects.

Before we go started though, it's important to point out that GIMP isn't really designed for drawing. Y'all can definitely use information technology that way, only it even says in the official documentation that it'southward not intended for drawing.

At the end of the post, I'll include links to some other apps that are much meliorate choices for cartoon. In that location are even a couple of other free, open-source options!

I'm a photographer, not a painting, just I know the technical side of drawing in GIMP. If yous actually accept to (or just really want to) employ GIMP, hither are the all-time methods for drawing in GIMP.

Quick Navigation

Freehand Cartoon in GIMP
Drawing With Strokes
- Using Selections
- Using Paths
iii Alternative Drawing Apps
- i. MyPaint
- 2. Sketchbook
- three. Inkscape

Freehand Drawing in GIMP

This is certainly the simplest method for cartoon in GIMP, although information technology can be hard to do with a mouse. If you're serious most digital sketching, drawing, or painting, I strongly recommend that you buy yourself a graphics tablet.

A drawing tablet transforms the whole procedure of interacting with GIMP, and they commonly come up with a pressure-sensitive stylus and handy shortcut buttons.

You don't need to spend a huge corporeality of money on a fancy one since even a small cheap cartoon tablet will give you meliorate results than trying to do serious brushwork with a mouse.

Your tablet might not work instantly with GIMP, so I've prepared a different guide on how to use pressure sensitivity in GIMP.

One time that's out of the style, the only secret is to acquire to employ the various brushes. Yous can use the Paintbrush tool, the Pencil tool, and the Ink tool, simply the actually impressive visuals come from using the MyPaint castor, which is stacked in the same section as the other three.

The MyPaint brush uses the open up-source MyPaint library created past the app of the aforementioned proper name, but it's not just for painting. There are a huge number of brushes that recreate all kinds of drawing media, from pencils to charcoal to pastels, and even blending tools.

If yous want a more detailed explanation of the MyPaint system, check out my article on how to paint in GIMP.

Drawing With Strokes

If freehand drawing isn't your style (or inside your ability, like yours truly), you tin use a different method to draw in GIMP: strokes. The stroke system allows you to create a selection or a path and and so accept GIMP trace the outline with a solid color, a pattern, or fifty-fifty one of the many brush-based tools such as the MyPaint brush.

To get started, create your shape template using one of the selection tools or the Paths tool. Selections are quick and like shooting fish in a barrel, but using paths allows you to create more flowing, freeform shapes with relative ease.

Using Selections

Selections are best used for drawing the simple shapes that y'all can make using the Rectangle Select and Elliptical Select tools. Y'all could also use selections created by the Fuzzy Select tool or any of the other selection tools, but only if you're cartoon on an image that has something in the background for them to work on.

Once y'all've created your selection, open the Edit bill of fare and choose Stroke Option. If you'd prefer to create a solid shape instead of an outline, utilize Fill Pick instead, but the procedure is basically the aforementioned except y'all can't use paint tools to fill up.

GIMP allows you to gear up the options, choosing from a solid colour, a blueprint, or a paint tool – including the MyPaint arrangement, although information technology'south listed as Mybrush for some reason. GIMP volition apply the currently selected foreground colour, design, or castor tool settings as before long equally you click the Stroke push button.

Using Paths

If you've opted for the paths method, y'all'll take easy access to the Fill Path and Stroke Path commands in the Tool Options console (shown beneath).

*The Tool Options panel shows the Paths tool*

Once y'all're satisfied with the shape of your path, but click the Stroke Path push button and GIMP will allow you to cull from the same ready of options: to utilize a solid colour, a pattern, or a paint tool along with the shape of the path.

The Fill Path options don't let yous apply pigment tools, so it might be better to fill any shapes by paw if you desire to use MyPaint brushes for drawing.

Related:

How to Draw a Circle in GIMP
How to Describe Directly Lines in GIMP
How to Draw Square Box in GIMP

3 Culling Cartoon Apps

There are other drawing apps that can piece of work better than drawing in GIMP.

1. MyPaint

As you might have guessed, MyPaint is the source of the MyPaint brushes in GIMP that I mentioned earlier. While it's nice to have them bachelor to GIMP users, using them with the original app is a much more enjoyable feel.

Since it was designed for painting and drawing from the start, information technology offers a number of helpful features that aren't readily available in GIMP.

2. Sketchbook

Sketchbook is another great free cartoon/painting/illustration app, although it likewise has a paid service tier bachelor. Formerly Autodesk Sketchbook, this app originally started equally a gratuitous plan, which was then purchased by Autodesk, who somewhen turned it back into a separate company once again.

Despite this confusion, information technology's definitely worth a look thanks to its unique interface and responsive cartoon engine.

3. Inkscape

Inkscape well-nigh feels similar a companion app to GIMP, even though in that location's no official connection between the 2. They're arguably the two best open-source graphics apps bachelor, and they're both complimentary, only Inkscape focuses on vector graphics instead of raster graphics.

This makes it a great pick for graphic design illustrations, just not as well-suited to freeform cartoon. Combining it with sketches created using one of the other two recommendations in this listing will give y'all a groovy all-digital ideation workflow if you're into that sort of thing.

Happy drawing!

I've been working with digital images since the yr 2000 or so, when I got my first digital camera. I've tried many image editing programs. GIMP is a free and powerful software, but not exactly user-friendly until yous get comfortable with it, and I wanted to make the learning process easier for you hither.