The free/Open Source project The GIMP has been mentioned here several times before. It’s fast, it’s powerful, and it’s at least as friendly as the commercial competition. But there’s a lot to it, and tutorials and help files will only take you so far.

That’s where the GIMP book, Grokking the GIMP by Carey Bunks, comes in. In keeping with the Open Source spirit, the book is available for free online! The book covers everything from layers and masks to rendering and web animation in a clean, concise manner complete with color illustrations. Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking to edit those family photos or lay down some graphic design for a website.