Marlott - N Gauge Billy Bookcase Layout

Thanks for that, very useful! That black and white set goes directly on my christmas wishlist 

 

Ah, the Gimp. I would so prefer to use it as a matter of principle -  but must admit I struggle with it. The interface doesn't seem very intuitive to me. Perhaps it's just because I have become used to other programmes.

On 02/12/2020 at 08:02, Mikkel said:

Thanks for that, very useful! That black and white set goes directly on my christmas wishlist 

 

Ah, the Gimp. I would so prefer to use it as a matter of principle -  but must admit I struggle with it. The interface doesn't seem very intuitive to me. Perhaps it's just because I have become used to other programmes.

 

I found The Gimp to have quite a learning curve. I still sometimes have to refer back to references and get online help when I come back to it after a break. I use it because it gives me pretty much the power of a full copy of Photoshop which I believe is currently £238 per year. It even includes features like nested layers which I use a lot in designing buildings for printing. The redeeming factors of The Gimp for me are:

1. It is very powerful
2. It is free
3. You can become very fast with it if you use the keyboard shortcuts for which there is a Quick Reference
4. The fact that it is free means there is lots of support. In particular it is easy to find short how-to videos on YouTube for almost anything you might want to do with it

I also occasionally use Paint.Net and just fall back to Paint for simple cropping and resizing. I rarely use my old copy of Photoshop Elements now as I find it as difficult to use as the Gimp and less powerful. 

 

What do you use?

 

I hope Santa is good to you with the pastels! 

Edited December 3, 2020 by goldngreen

In principle I use Paintshop Pro, which I began using ages ago when it wasn't owned by Corel. It works OK for me as I am used to it, but some would probably call it a bit clunky.

 

I increasingly wonder how much we actually need though. I use Google Photos for storing images, and the web version has some simple editing features. Most of the time that's enough. The only "advanced" features I find I need is to blank out a cluttered background, and occasionally Zerene Stacker for image stacking. 

Another vote for GIMP

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

In principle I use Paintshop Pro, which I began using ages ago when it wasn't owned by Corel. It works OK for me as I am used to it, but some would probably call it a bit clunky.

 

I increasingly wonder how much we actually need though. I use Google Photos for storing images, and the web version has some simple editing features. Most of the time that's enough. The only "advanced" features I find I need is to blank out a cluttered background, and occasionally Zerene Stacker for image stacking. 

 

 

I must admit I had forgotten about Paintshop Pro.  I used to use it. I will have to check to see where it has got to. I was not aware of Zerene Stacker. I will take a look at that.

 

I prefer largely card buildings in N gauge since I do not believe that I am capable of getting as a good a brick effect, at the small scale, as I can using a good printed sheet.  The signal box is an exception! Since my approach to making model buildings is to design them like a kit on the computer first and then print them off, I find I need quite a lot of the features in something like the Gimp. For example I would have layers called Walls, Windows, Roof etc. Each one of those layers would have sub-layers for individual facets of the Walls, Windows etc. I also like the advanced auto-selection features and the ability to soften the edge of selections. The colour, contrast and brightness transformations are useful. I also use photographs of real walls/roofs for some brick and tile effects for which I use the Gimp for squaring up.

I've only just caught up with this blog - some very nice modelling techniques, although N-gauge would test my eyesight too much!  Like you, I find those pastel sticks excellent for gentle weathering.

 

I have used lots of different photo editors but seemed to have gravitated towards Photoshop Elements, although I do not keep up with latest versions.  The underlying algorithms don't seem to have changed much in years - on the whole successive 'upgrades' have simply added more 'automation' tools, which I usually avoid.  I always prefer a direct hands-on approach!  My advice is to get thoroughly familiar with one type of software, so that using it becomes 'second nature' and only change if it won't do something you really need.

Thanks for the feedback and for reminding me that my old copy of Photoshop is Elements, not Express.