San Francisco, CA, May 10, 2012—As a full-featured, free alternative to Adobe Photoshop, GIMP is likely the world's most popular open source software. Last week's release of GIMP 2.8 is the culmination of three years of work by contributors and introduces many new features, like the long-anticipated single-window mode. Hot on the heels of the program's release, The Artist's Guide to GIMP, 2nd Edition (No Starch Press, June 2012, 320 pp., $39.95, ISBN 9781593274146) is the first full-color guide to GIMP 2.8's extensive capabilities.

The Artist's Guide to GIMP shows artists and designers how to create professional-looking advertisements, impressive photographic effects, eye-catching logos and text styles, and much more. Author Michael J. Hammel, an early GIMP contributor and author of several GIMP texts, skips the long lists of menus and options to focus on building practical skills. The book's unique landscape layout showcases the extensively illustrated tutorials, which are perfect for hands-on learning.

"GIMP is a remarkably powerful program that easily rivals Photoshop, but it can be tricky to use," said No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. "The Artist's Guide to GIMP gets readers up to speed with GIMP quickly. It's beautiful, to the point, and practical so readers can get things done quickly."

Following a crash course on GIMP 2.8's core tools like brushes, patterns, selections, layers, modes, and masks, readers learn:

• Photographic techniques to clean up blemishes and dust, create sepia-toned antique images, swap colors, produce motion blurs, alter depth of field, simulate a tilt-shift, and fix rips in an old photo
• Web design techniques to create navigation tabs, icons, fancy buttons, backgrounds, and borders
• Type effects to create depth, perspective shadows, metallic and distressed text, and neon and graffiti lettering
• Advertising effects to produce movie posters and package designs; simulate clouds, cracks, cloth, and underwater effects; and create specialized lighting

The book's original artwork, creative photo manipulations, and abundance of real-world tips will prove useful to GIMP users at any level. Whether Photoshop refugees or design neophytes, The Artist's Guide to GIMP is sure to teach all readers some new tricks.