do i really have to have imagemagick?

[Flaunt]

PHP running on your server does not support the GD image library, check with your webhost if ImageMagick is installed

[hyperion]

This error message could pop in a number of locations.

If it is at install, yes, you really do have to have Image Magick, or you must install GD.

If it happens after install, you should enable debug mode to get a more detailed error.