# Anyone here use The GIMP? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981 "2004-09-25T01:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/1 "2004-09-25T01:33:02Z")
No, nothing naughty. . . I’m referring to the free image software that is very similar to photoshop. I’ve got a really embarrassing problem with it, but I need help. I downloaded the software because I enjoy digital photo manipulation etc. I’d like to touch up some photos using airbrushing etc. Anyway, for some reason I can only get the program to work in 2 colors, black and a sort of brownish maroon. I can not get any other colors to work no matter what I do. I’ve even tried using the dropper feature to match a color, and all I get is that weird brown. I’m not at all sure what I’m doing wrong. Can somebody please help me??? I’ve searched all over the web for advice and tutorials, but nothing is simple enough to tell me how to make a new color. :mad: When you’re done laughing at my incompetence, can someone please give me some advice. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/2 "2004-09-25T02:16:47Z")
There should be an option somewhere to edit your color palette, or to change the color mode? Make sure you’re working in RGB color mode or that your color pallette is expanded. I’ve used the Gimp before, but I don’t have a copy of it here to check exactly where it is. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the program already, but here’s a [short introduction](http://linux901.tripod.com/ch-gimp.html) to the Gimp. I’ll see what else I can dig up for you. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/3 "2004-09-25T02:20:25Z")
_Time to wake up the Gimp_😉 Now I’ve gotta watch the movie again. Thanks, Honey Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![zoltar7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b38774/32.png) [@zoltar7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoltar7)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/4 "2004-09-25T02:25:05Z")
I use it from time to time, but have never encountered the problem you’re experiencing. What OS? What version of the GIMP? ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/5 "2004-09-25T02:26:30Z")
Here, from [Sam’s teach yourself GIMP in 24 Hours: Working with color](http://library.n0i.net/linux-unix/applications/graphics/gimp/teach%20yourself%20gimp%20in%2024%20hours/ch07/07-01.html) > [@](#): > > go to the toolbox menu File, Dialogs, Palettes, and you will see a dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.4, with a drop-down menu from which you can select many default palettes. These palettes are available from the Use Custom Palette option in the Indexed Color Conversion dialog box. With the Color Palette dialog box, you can also create new palettes and edit existing palettes to your liking and apply them to your image. > Any GIMP palettes you make or find online should go in your ~/.gimp/palettes directory. They will then be accessible from the Color Palette dialog box drop-down menu. This talks about custom indexed palettes, but gives instructions on where to go to choose your palette. There should be a default with 256 colors that you can pick that should solve your problem. Alternately, you can download custom palettes and save them for later use. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/6 "2004-09-25T02:48:15Z")
Can’t say I’ve ever had those problems with the GIMP, either. Worked great for me on Linux and in Windows 2000. Haven’t used it in a long time. I’m also wondering what OS and version of GIMP you are using. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/7 "2004-09-25T05:05:18Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > Anyway, for some reason I can only get the program to work in 2 colors, black and a sort of brownish maroon. I can not get any other colors to work no matter what I do. I’ve even tried using the dropper feature to match a color, and all I get is that weird brown. I’m not at all sure what I’m doing wrong. Can somebody please help me??? My guess is that the image is a two-color indexed image. Change the image mode to RGB and you’ll have more success. It might help if you stated platform and version. There are still people using 1.0 out there (current released version is 2.0, current development version is 2.1.6). I’m one of the authors, although I haven’t worked on the project since sometime in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/8 "2004-09-25T05:40:25Z")
Basic instructions to changing colors with GIMP: To change the color of a brush, click on the brush tool and then click once on the foreground color (the top one of the two squares that are set on each other at the bottom left of your pallette). That should provide you with a range of colors. If you use the GIMP tab, you can move the crosshair around and select your color type. Also, to make sure you’re not in Grayscale, you can right-click on the image, select Image\>Mode\>RGB. Or you can just press Alt+R. If those don’t work, I’m not sure what the problem might be. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-use-the-gimp/265981/9 "2004-09-25T12:07:24Z")
YAY!!! It was the image being indexed rather than in RGB mode. Thank you so much. I was at a loss, and about to delete the program. I knew I was doing something stupid. :smack: By the way, I’m using Gimp 2.0 on Windows XP. Thanks for the help guys.