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GIMP moves from XCF to zipped XML project format, adds spectral blending and non-destructive layer mask filters
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The GIMP team published a development update covering features heading into GIMP 3.3.2, the first development release for the future GIMP 3.4, including a new project file format, MyPaint spectral blending, expanded non-destructive editing, and PSD metadata export improvements.
The shift away from the binary XCF format that has served as GIMP's project format since 1997 removes a structural blocker for features like multi-page documents and animation, and makes incremental saves and auto-saving feasible. Non-destructive editing now reaches layer masks and the gradient tool, closing workflow gaps that previously forced destructive operations.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
A new zipped XML project file format will replace XCF for saves, enabling incremental saving and auto-saving while retaining the ability to load legacy XCF files.
MyPaint brushes now support spectral blending, which simulates physical pigment mixing so that blending yellow and blue produces green rather than darker yellow.
Non-destructive filters can now be applied to layer masks, the gradient tool has a non-destructive editable mode, and dialog-free filters like Invert work on non-raster layers.
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