I'm starting this off by saying that I'm looking for any type of reasonably advanced photo manipulation tool, that runs natively under Linux. It doesn't have to be FOSS.
I switched to Linux, from Windows, about three years ago. I don't regret the decision whatsoever. However, one thing that has not gotten me away from Windows entirely, is the severe lack of photo editing tools.
So what's available? Well, you have GIMP. And then there's Krita, but that's more of a drawing software. And then...
Well that's it. As far as I know.
1. GIMP
Now, as someone migrating from Photoshop, GIMP was incredibly frustrating, and I didn't understand anything even after a few weeks of trying to get into it. Development seemed really slow, too. It's far from intuitive, and things that really should take a few steps, seemingly takes twenty (like wrapping text on a path? Should that really be that difficult?).
I would assume if you're starting off with GIMP, having never touched Photoshop, then it'd be no issue. But as a user migrating, I really can't find myself spending months upon months to learn this program. It's not viable for me.
No hate against GIMP, I'm sure it works wonders for those who have managed to learn it. But I can't see myself using it, and I don't find myself comfortable within it, as someone migrating from Photoshop.
2. Krita
Krita, on the other hand, I like much more. But, it's more of a drawing program. Its development is more focused on drawing, and It's missing some features that I want - namely selection tools. Filters are good, but I find G'MIC really slow. It also really chugs when working with large files.
Both of these programs are FOSS. I like that. I like FOSS software. But, apart from that, are there really no good alternatives to Photoshop? Again, doesn't need to be FOSS. I understand more complex programs take more development power, and I have no problem using something even paid and proprietary, as long as it runs on Linux natively.
I've tried running Photoshop under WINE, and it works - barely. For quick edits, it might work fine. But not for the work I do.
So I raise the question again. Are there no good alternatives to Photoshop? And then I raise a follow-up question, that you may or may not want to answer: If not, why?
Thanks in advance!
if learning gimp is such a roadblock then i doubt anything will seem good to you. it really sounds like you're looking for a clone of photoshop, rather than an alternative to photoshop, and i don't think such a thing exists. any reasonably complicated software will have a learning curve to it, so you may need to pick between continuing to use windows and photoshop, or putting more time than you'd rather into learning something new.
as to why there aren't any clones of photoshop, i expect it is because it would be a lot of work, and they'd constantly be scrambling one step behind to implement whatever updates photoshop gets, so no matter how much effort was put into such a project, it'd still get viewed as a second rate copy of photoshop. if you want to make a graphics program, might as well focus on making it good and making it your own, rather than chasing adobe's coat-tails, y'know?
They're two different tools, yeah - I get that. But in the end, I want them to do the same thing. Think just, I've learned how to use a screwdriver over the years. I'm fast and efficient with the screwdriver, and I find it reliable. But now, I'm forced to learn to use a hammer. Both will, in the end, achieve similar results.
Okay, maybe I'm just going to have to learn how to use a hammer then? That would be no problem - if the hammer wasn't such an unintuitive mess of a tool that just doesn't work like how I would expect it to. It's just going to take a lot of time, that I really don't want to invest, just to "get comfortable" with the large drawbacks this hammer has.
I'm not opposed to learning a new tool. I'm opposed to learning a tool which just gets in the way, over and over.
Your comparison is out of whack.
You're comparing brands of screwdrivers with different shapes of handles, instead of screwdrivers and hammers.
There are no alternatives that are hidden gems, they would have risen to the top. GIMP is it.
I have switched to GIMP many years ago and by now Photoshop is what feels weird. That's simply a factor of the unknown. If you are not willing to learn a new flow, then I'm pretty sure you will disregard anything that isn't Photoshop itself.
Perhaps install a VM in VirtualBox and set it to seamless mode.