Chapter 16. Graphics and Art (Just Call Me Leonardo)

Oddly enough, applications allowing users to work with graphics are among some of the most highly developed in the world. To see the truth in this rather bold statement, turn your eyes to Hollywood. Blockbusters such as Titanic, Star Trek: Nemesis, Shrek, and others use Linux and Linux clusters to create the complex special effects.

In terms of graphical design and photo editing, your Linux system comes with one of the most powerful, flexible, and easy-to-use packages there is, regardless of what OS you are running. It's called the GIMP, and I'll be introducing you to its features a little later in this chapter.

Then we have digital cameras. In the world of your old OS, you needed special software to work with your particular camera. In the Linux world, you can do it all with a single interface. In fact, if you've come this far in this book, you probably already know almost everything you need to work with your camera.

Finally, I'll cover another of piece of graphical magic making when I show you how to use a scanner with your Linux system, from capturing your old photos to capturing and interpreting text.

Ready? Then smile!