Would GIMP work?

I have a small store that has some resale items, and some of my own creations. I'm gradually, little by little, trying to phase out the Resell part of things, and stock entirely my own creations. I've made some things I really like, and I find it fun and very stress-relieving to make clothes. I haven't tried my hand at anything beyond clothes yet, and I have a ton of ideas. However, so far I've been limited to buying textures, and even clothing templates, to make my own designs. I don't have any sort of photoshop or paintshop program on my computer, currently, which would enable me to really get into fulfilling some of my ideas.

I'm not really planning on making a profit as a clothes designer, there are too many other really great artists out there, but I would like to at least meet some of my SL expenses. As such, I just don't have the funds to invest in an expensive photoshop program. My RL husband has Corel, um, not sure if paintshop pro or photoshop pro...whichever, and I can sometimes ask him to make a shirt for me, etc. That is rather cumbersome, though, for both of us. I've read some on here about Gimp, and read some on their website, but haven't delved too deeply into it yet. My question is....would GIMP allow me to custom make some textures, or shirt/pant, etc, textures well enough to create some decent items?

Anyone who uses GIMP, can you let me know if it would suit my needs? If not, is there another inexpensive software I can use? Or should I just start saving my pennies to so that sometime next year I'm able to buy a program that will probably cost twice as much as the computer I'm planning on purchasing in a few weeks? And is it really worth it to spend that money on what I basically consider a hobby? (which is probably a question only I can answer....lol)

Yes, on a basic level. Some people swear by the GIMP, others swear at it.

For a more comprehensive answer though - I'd post your question to the Texture forum.

Yes, GIMP would allow you to make these. It doesn't have as many features as some of the bought professional packages, but it does enough for me.
I just mess with it really. do simple things. i think i have made 2 dresses so far lol. and they turned out ok. I used a basic tutorial on natalia zelmanov's blog.
i really don't have a full understanding of GIMP, but there are plug-in etc for it.
i think the people in the texture forum will have a better clue than me. I think there is even a list of tuts in one of the stickies - i am sure there are some gimp tuts.

Good luck

Thanks for the tips. I'll repost this in the textures forums. I was wondering as I hit the "submit" button if this would really be the right place. I'm not well-versed in texture-lese, but I'm sure they can help me there, too. So, please don't anyone flame me for cross-posting.

Awww Sunni ... why would people do that?

You might well get more technical answers in the other Forums but then again the same people might just be posting here anyway.

I use PSP 9 and GIMPshop alternatively, as one will have better features than the other, and together I think they work quite nicely. GIMPshop differs from Gimp in that it is supposed to be laid out more identically to Photoshop. Just save often when using Gimp, as it tends to crash on me occasionally.

As Chosen and few others have said in the texture forum its not about the program you use but your talents.
I personally love being creative, creating, drawing but I have found using Gimp and making clothes and skins very, very difficult.
If you have enough patience and persistence skills can be learned. Creativity though I think some are more then others. I am creative but there just a lot of things right now I can't do including trying to figure out certain features with gimp luckily I had access to other programs that was more intuitive for me to use.
Gimp certain features for me just aren't as intuitive.

Do a search for Paint.NET on google. free paint app for windows. Put as a replacement for the paint app that comes with windows. Has all the core features of any image editing s/w with a clear interface and light client. See if it works for you.

I reposted in the textures forums. Wow....feel so out of my element there!...lol I think I've become stuck in an RA rut. It might be time to get out and do some forum exploring once in a while. It's just that I don't really know much about any of the other forum categories. I browse now and then, but don't normally post in them.
I posted on the technical forum about a new computer I was looking at, and didn't totally understand all the answers (I get so lost in technical talk...to me, my computer is just thingamajigs and whatchamacallits), but they sure know what they're talking about over there! Of course, they might get annoyed when I post another computer question because now I'm looking at a totally different computer than the first one I posted about....lol.

Thanks, Stauss. That sounds like it might fit into my budget also! And thanks to everyone else who answered.

I dont mean to sound like I'm trying to pass the buck or that you should not post here, but you will find tons of help on the Texture forum. Alternatives both cheap and free plus what they can or can not do.

I use Gimp just fine for clothes. It took a while to get the hang of though.