Image Editing Tutorials

This thread is for people who want to post tutorials on image editing, such as applying effects, enhancing images, and creating avatars and signatures. I hope that this thread will become useful for those wanting to learn.

Please note that all my tutorials use The GIMP for making images. The best part is that The GIMP is free to use, so you can download and install the program here:
The GIMP for Windows
The GIMP for Mac OS X
The GIMP for Linux / Unix
The GIMP Source Code

There is also a Photoshop look-alike version of The GIMP titled GIMPshop. It will make the transition from Photoshop much easier. Note that my tutorials use The GIMP, so the methods explained in these tutorials may vary when using GIMPshop. Like The GIMP, it is free and available for download here:
GIMPshop for Mac OS X [Universal Binary]
GIMPshop for Windows
GIMPshop for Linux / Unix
GIMPshop for Solaris
GIMPshop Source Code

Making Signatures and Banners From Images [Beginner Level]

[Videocast now available!]

Tutorial 01: Making Signatures and Banners From Images [Beginner Level] - 5.25MB

In this tutorial, we will learn a few basics on how to create a very simple signature so that you can use them in message boards. There is also a tutorial on learning some advanced skills that will help you on making the perfect sig image once you learn the basics.

First of all, you need to get an image. It can be from a DVD, the Internet, a digital camera, a scanner, etc. Feel free to use any image that you like, although it is highly recommended that you get an image from a very good and clean source. There are a lot of images out there on the Internet that aren't very great in quality. For cleaner sources, try using DVD's, scanners, or digital cameras to get the best results.

Next, we will launch The GIMP:

[NOTE - To see the larger images, click on the small thumbnails]



When you first start GIMP, you may be asked a few questions. Answer the questions, and the program will start. Usually, the setup consists of three windows. The first window is the toolbox, where it contain the tools that you will need to modify the image. The second window is a dock that contains various tools, which will be explained in future tutorials, and the third window is the image itself. In the first image, the dock have been removed for now.

First of all, we want to crop the image down rather than using the entire image as our signature. Select the first item on the top left. This is the selection tool. Make a selection of the image, as shown in the example on the left. Then go to Image --> Crop Image to crop the image to the selection you made, such as the image on the right:



Besides cropping the image down, you may also want to spice up the image a little bit. I would recommend doing these settings before you resize the image for better results. If you like, you can adjust the contrast for a more defined look. However, be careful not to overdo it, as it can turn out to be bad later. On the Image window, go to Tools --> Color Tools --> Brightness-Contrast. You will then have a new window, as shown in the first image. You can adjust the brightness and the contrast here. You may modify both settings, or only the contrast settings. You may modify the image to what you think looks great. In this example, I set the brightness to 0, and the contrast to 50. You don't have to follow my settings; I am only using this setting to demonstrate what it would look like. Press OK to save the settings and you will see the result, as seen in the second image.



Depending on what setting you used for the image, the image is now darker. You may not like how it currently looks right now. The colors look pretty dull. In that case, you may have to modify the saturation to make the colors stand out. Once again, go to Tools --> Color Tools --> Hue-Saturation. You will have a new window, like the one in the first image. You can adjust the settings any way you like. For a demonstration, I have only changed the saturation to 30. The outcome is seen in the second image.



Due to the nature of this image, it's hard to see if there is any improvements at all, but as you see, the image looks more colorful this way. As with the contrast, you want to be careful and not apply too much saturation. Otherwise, it will look terrible.

Before going any further, check to see if you are happy with the current image you have. If not, undo the edits and try again by either pressing Ctrl-Z, or by going to Edit --> Undo.

We now need to resize the image to meet certain web requirements such as forums, blogs, etc. Go to Image --> Scale Image, and it will open up a new window (see image). By default, it is set to Linear, which is good for resizing images. If you like, you can modify that setting to either Cubic (highest quality possible) or to none (fastest processing, but lowest quality).



If you want to add text such as your username to the image, now is the time to do so. On the toolbox, click on the 'T' button and new options will appear (see first image). You can change the font and the color there. Click anywhere on the image, and type something in, and then click on the cross with the arrows, and move the text to a different location (see second image).



When you feel you have completed your image, on the image window, go to File --> Save As... to save the image. A new window will open (see image). Save the image under an image format that you like, such as BMP, JPG, or PNG. It's recommend that you save in either JPG or PNG.



And now we're done! Here is my example sig I created for this tutorial:



There are many other things we can do with this image, but for now, this is a good signature to start with until you're more familar with the program. I hope that this tutorial will help people on how to familarize themselves with GIMP, and also how to make a simple signature.

Very nice Trisa! I'm gonna go and sticky this because I feel it will help many members.

Heres a tid bit on how to get screen caps from videos.

Get BS Player (www.BSplayer.org) and download it, run it and open the video, when a frame comes up that you want to screen cap, pause the video.

Now heres a trick, resize the Player window to the size you want the image to come out as, then right click the video window , and in that menu look for the Screen Capture option, (I think its under Options or tools) and click the "What you see" option.

I will go ahead and get some screen caps later that would make this easier to understand.

If you are having trouble trying to find images for making avatars or sigs, DVDs are a great source for images. There are a number of programs that you can use to take screenshots and use them in your favorite image editing program. In this tutorial, you will learn how to extract DVD movie files, and also how to take an screenshot from there.

Windows Users:

Tools Needed -
DVD Decrypter
DGMPGDec

Part 1 - Use DVD Decrypter to Extract the Movie Files from DVDs

After installing the program and opening it, you will be greeted with this main window (see image).



We will want to extract only the main movie or episodes depending on the material contained in the DVD. By default, the program will select all the files. Go to Edit --> Select Main Movie Files to choose only the main part of the disc. If for some reason you want to obtain the special features as well as the main files, leave the files the way they are (see image).



Usually, episodes and parts of the movie are about a gigabyte of space, so it's easy to know which file you want to extract. After you have chosen only the main files, it is now time to extract the contents of the DVD. Make sure the destination is someplace that you will find later. Once you have done that, click on the picture of the DVD and the hard drive to start. The process may take a while, so be patient while the contents of the DVD are being extracted (see image).



Using this method will make it so that you won't have to insert the disc every time to get an image; you just open the file, and get the screenshots from there. There are other programs that do the same task, but I find this program to do the job easily.

Part 2 - Use DGMPGDec to Take Screenshots from VOB Files

DGMPGDec is a great program for reading VOB files and taking screenshots from them. Launch the program called DGIndex, and it will lead you to the main screen (see first image). We now want to open the DVD files, so go to File --> Open or Auto increment Open if the movie or episodes take up more than one file. The file is called a VOB file. Basically, it is the standard file format for DVD. You should now have the files you selected highlighted (see second image). Click OK, and the files will be loaded (see third image).



On the bottom of this screen, you will see a seek bar. You can use this to seek through the movie. The forward and back buttons can also be used as well. Look for a good place to have a screen shot, then go to File --> Save BMP. Choose your location on where you want to save the file. It will be a BMP file, which is a lossless image file. That's all it takes to take a screenshot from a DVD file.

Linux Users:

Tools Needed -
dvd::rip
Avidemux

Part 1 - Use dvd::rip to Extract the Movie Files from DVDs

dvd::rip is said to be the most advanced program for Linux when working with DVDs. It's a little tough to work with, but it's still an excellent program for ripping and encoding DVD content. When dvd::rip is launched, you will be greeted with an empty window. Click on File --> New Project to start a new project. You will see this window (see first image). Enter the name of your project (for example: AIRMOVIE). Click on "Create Project" when finished. You will then be asked to save the project file (see second image). Click OK, and you will be able to go further into the program.



When that's completed, click on the "RIP Title" tab on the top. Click on "Read DVD Table of Contents", and a list should be displayed (see first image). In this example, I used a movie when contains a widescreen version of the movie, and a widescreen letterboxed version as well. Click on the episode or movie that you want to extract. You can tell which file is the movie or episode by the time on the left. Select one or all the files, and Click on "RIP Selected Title(s) / Chapters". As you can see in the second image, it is currently extracting the VOB files. Wait for a while, and it should be done. Depending on how fast your DVD-ROM / DVD-RW-+ drive is, it may take about 30 minutes or less or even more.



Part 2 - Use Avidemux To Take Screenshots From VOB Files

The best way to take DVD screenshots in Linux is to use Avidemux. This program can also open other movie files, so you are not limited to only using VOB files. Open up the program, and then go to File --> Open to open the movie file. The program may need to scan the file before it can open it, so wait until that is done. Once that is over, you should have the file open (see first image).

The seekbar is located on the bottom just above the controls. Use that to seek through the movie file. Once you find a scene you want to take a screenshot of, go to File --> Save --> Save Images --> Save BMP Image. A new window will open for you to choose a directory of where you want to save the file (see second and third images). Enter the file name of the image, click OK, and you're done.



You should be able to extract DVD movie files and use them for image editing using either the Windows or Linux operating systems.

Here's a tutorial. It's easy to follow, too.

Required Software: Adobe Photoshop

Alright, start of by opening a new image. 5x5 pixels. Now, grab the pencil tool.



Next, zoom in on the image 'til it looks about 80x80 pixels or so. Take the pencil and make a cross.



All you have to do now is go to Edit>Define Pattern. Name it whatever you want and hit, "OK."

Take out the paint bucket tool now and change the Fill from Foreground to Pattern. You should see your pattern. Dump it on any picture and this is how it'll turn out:





See ya,
Exhale Saga

Sometimes, making simple high quality images is not good enough to show off your image editing skills. This is where filters come in, and help create some neat effects for your images, such as a cloud effect, etc. There are many filters that we can use to spice up the image. I will show you some of the filters in this tutorial.

Open The GIMP with an image that you want to use to put in filters, as I have done here:



Let's take a look at the Filters menu which is located on the image window (you can also right-click on the image and find Filters there as well). As you can see, there are many filters to choose from. My goal to explain and apply some of the filters, so that you can use them to create your own style of image making. There are many filters and effects to choose from, but I will only focus on four of them.

Under "Filters", let's take a look at the "Blur" menu. Here you have different types of blur effects to choose from. My favorite effect is the "Motion Blur". This effect will make the image look like it is moving. The two images below show the settings that you can modify, and the outcome of the image. I have used the default settings here.



Blur is a pretty good filter, but it's not the only thing we can do to spice up the image. The next item we are going to look at is the "Colorify" filter, located in the "Colors" menu. This filter will take the image and color it with a certain color you want. The first image shows how this can be done, and the second shows the results.



The "Edge" filter is pretty cool as well. My favorite type is the default "Edge" filter. Once again, the two images below display the settings window and the outcome of the image.




The edge filters are fun to work with, and can be used to produce some nice images. We'll take a break from the Filters menu and go to the Python-Fu menu instead. These filters are created from Python scripts. Python is a programming language for making applications, web scripts, etc.

This filter is called Whirl and Pitch (under Python-Fu --> Distorts). It will whirl the image around and pitch it as well. You can adjust the settings in the first image, and the outcome will be displayed on the image window.



If you wish, you can search around in the Internet for more scripts created with Python used for The GIMP. These filters are a good start to creating a very good image. There are many more filters for you to try out. I would go out and experiment with them to see what kind of image is produced.

You should be able to become more familiar with filters and how they work with images.

Heres an easy way to make a border, or at least this is how I use it: Go into MS paint the Gimp or what ever and just use a pencil tool to make four straight lines around the image there is probably a faster way to do that, but thats how I do it.

Image editing can be fun to do, but it's also very difficult to master. It's important that in order to produce high quality images, you must know how to use your favorite program very well. Go through the program and check out the features, as by doing that you can create your own style of image creations. I am also learning how to use my new favorite program as well, and it's been a great experience I've been having so far. In this tutorial, you will learn some advanced skills into making a better signature image for the forums. Here are two examples I made.



For the first signature, I've cropped the image, and then added 2 filters to it. I then resized the image, and applied one more filter into it. As for the second, the process was similar, but I chose a different filter instead. There are many ways to create some nice signatures, so I hope you go and experiment with your favorite program (The GIMP and Photoshop are two very good programs).

Start up The GIMP with an image that you want to work with, as shown here:



If you need to, you should first crop the image to a certain size, so that you can work with only the part that you want to work with. In order to have very nice effects on your images, you will have to use filters. There are a lot of filters to choose from, but don't let that disencourage you. Feel free to experiment with the filters to see what kind of image it produces.

Let's try to make that first sig I showed you earlier. Go to Filters --> Artistic --> Softglow. This will give the image a very bright glow. You adjust the settings to what suits you the most (see first image). Here is the result of the effect. I have use the default settings (see second image).



The next thing to do is to go to Script-Fu --> Decor --> Old Photo. This will give the image that old look. You can adjust the settings to your liking (see first image). Once you are ready, it will process a new image with the old photo effect (see second image).



It's usually best to apply these effects after you have resized the image (adjusting the contrast and saturation is an exception, though) for better results. However, it mostly depends on the image you are making. You can then add the text as I have done in my first example sig.

For the second sig I created, the process was similar, but instead I used the Colorify filter, and then applied the Cartoon filter. For the demostration, I will use a darker brown color this time.

Go to Filters --> Colors --> Colorify, and a new window will open up (see first image). You have a few colors to choose from. In my case, though, I wanted to have a brownish color, so I click on Custom Color, and a new window opens (see second image). I messed around with the settings until I got a brown color. I then pressed OK, and pressed OK again to apply the color.



The next thing I did was to apply the Cartoon filter to the image. Go to Filters --> Artistic --> Cartoon, and it will bring up another new window (see first image). I have used the default settings for this image. Press OK, and the image will have more a defined outline (see second image).



After that, I added the text to end my image creation. As I said in previous tutorials, there are many different ways to make images. As long as you have a really good idea, the only thing left to do is to experiment with your favorite image program, wherever it be Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, The GIMP, or whatever. Once you know how to use that program, the only limit is your imagination.

Here's something to consider when coming up with your own style and originality:

quote:

Originally posted by Asirt These days, you see tutorials all over the internet that explain how to make certain types of avatar, banners, etc., and want to be able to produce the same style of images as what the tutorials give you. However, this can be a problem, because some people might consider this as copying that person's style. This happens all over the Internet. Although tutorials are a big help when coming up with ideas on how to make banners and avatars, you should consider them as a guide, rather than using them as your own style. Even though it enhances the images you are making, you should try to add a twist to that style. Recently, there's been some talk about originality. It's very difficult to come up with something new, I know, but sometimes, just by experimenting with your preferred image editing programs can reveal a new style to you. Thus the reason why tutorials are there all over the place; to help users get use to the program, and be able to come up with some advanced images. When making images, you should take a look at what others have made. Perhaps you can learn from their style of image making. Just try not to copy the style completely. This becomes a problem for some people. Here's a example: Say you just came up with a new idea for an avatar. You show it to the forum users, and the people seem to like it a lot. They like it so much, that they want to know how you did that image, so you decide to post a tutorial on the image. Then, the next day, 5 other people have the same style as you do. This can be very frustrating for the person, because you worked hard into making the style. What's the point in spending time making your image look fancy if you know there's a bunch of people copying you? This can become a big problem. This happens all over the internet, and not just in a few places, but a lot of them. So the question is, how do you stop those from copying you? Well, one might suggest that you shouldn't put up any tutorials at all, and let the people figure the stuff out for themselves. But then, people wouldn't be able to make such cool images, and there wouldn't a lot of people making images. It can also be very difficult for those who are new in making sig and avatars. I'll just say this: for those looking for new ideas, check the tutorials, and treat them like a guide, rather than copying the style. Also, look at what other people have done and learn from them as well. The next thing you can do is to experiment with your program a bit. You just may find a really cool style that no one else has. With all of these skills, you will most likely come up with your own style. That's how many people have done this. So, to conclude this, I wish the best of luck to all of you in your quest for making the best images you can possibly make.

Making avatars is a bit easier than it looks. However, it takes a lot of time and good skills to make a nice avatar. This tutorial will show you how to create a simple, but nice avatar. Avatars are small images that can either express our personality, or show what character or object we like. They are usually used on message boards and online journals (also known as "Blogs").

Start GIMP with a image that you want to use to make an avatar. I will use this image as a demonstration:



Similar to the first tutorial on making signatures, we will have to make a selection of the image, and then resize it so that the image will have even sizes. Use the selection tool (first button on the top left) to select the main point that will become the avatar (see first image). Next, go to Image --> Crop Image to crop the image to the main point of the image (see second image). As you can tell, the size is a bit uneven (529x473 pixels), so we will also have to resize it so that the sides are even. Go to Image --> Canvas Size, and a new window will open (see third image). Make sure that the pixel size is even (473x473 pixels in this case). Click on the chain to unlock the size so that you can enter in the numbers without the program modifing it for you. Click on "Center" to center the image so that you can get as much of the image as possible. Click resize, and the image will be modified. Here is what my image currently looks like (see fourth image).



Now would be a good time to do any other modifications (such as contrast and saturation) before you start resizing the image. I would mess with them and see if you can make the image look better. You may also add text to the image if you wish. In my case, I will leave the image as it is.

Go to Image --> Scale Image to start resizing the image. You can choose the quality setting here (see first image). Linear is chosen by default, but you can change this setting. Depending on the rules of the forum, resize the image to the max size possible (usually, it's 100x100 pixels). In my case, I will resize it to 115x115 pixels. Click OK, and the image is resized (see second image).



This is pretty much all it takes to create a avatar. If you decide, however, to add a border, you may do so. Go to Image --> Scale Image to resize the image. This time, put the values two pixels less than the size you want it to be (in my case, 113x113 pixels). Now, go to Script-Fu --> Decor --> Add Border. This will open up a new window (see image). Set both border sizes to 1, and chose the color of your choice. Click OK, and the image will now have a border (you won't be able to see it in GIMP, but it's there.) Now you can save the image and use it in your favorite forums or blogs.



Here is an avatar with a border that I created:



This should get you started on making some nice avatars. I hope that this tutorial has taught you how to use GIMP and also how to make avatars.

Panoramic pictures are fun to do, especially when you get to see the completed picture. I like to make pans a lot from various series. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a pan of your very own. When you see a certain series, there are times where the scene would scroll either up or down, left or right, or diagonally.

Find a scene that would be great for making a pan. I have some images of one big picture for you to try out. Depending of the image you are trying to make, it may take more or less parts of the pan. In this case, this pan has two parts to it.



When working with DVD VOB files, you may have to resize the image to their original aspect ratio. In this case, the two images are from a widescreen master, so I resized the images to 853x480 and cropped the black bars later. For full screen masters, 640x480 is the default resolution. If you're not using DVD VOB files to take screenshots, this doesn't apply to you.

Open up The GIMP, and go to File --> New. Seeing as the image is scrolling horizontally, I would leave the height same size as the original pictures. However, the width would have to be modified to fit the completed picture. If the picture was scrolling vertically, it would the opposite. Don't worry if your guess is incorrect; you will crop the image after you have completed the pan.

In this case, the new image will be 1500x480 pixels:



Making a pan is a lot easier than it looks. However, it's very easy to make a mistake on them, so take your time, and make sure that it looks right for you. Open up the first image and press Ctrl-A (or Edit --> Select All). Next, press Ctrl-C (or Edit --> Copy) to copy the image into memory. Then, go to the new image you created, and press Ctrl-V (or Edit --> Paste). Click on the selection tool (first icon on the top left) to move the selection to the right place. If you need any help, go to View --> View Grid (see first image). This grid will help you place the image in the right place. If you need even more help, go to View --> Snap to Grid so that the selection will snap to the grid, perventing you from making a mistake. The selection should be on the right side (see second image).



Now, open up the second image, and repeat the same steps that you did last time. Continue this process until the pan picture is completed (see the image below to check if you are on the right track).



Some tips when creating pans:

• It's very easy to make a mistake when making a pan, so start slowly so that you don't make a mistake that you can't fix.
  
• Sometimes, Snap to Grid works against you, so disable if you are having trouble making pans.
  
• Don't worry if you make a mistake. Simply press Ctrl-Z (or Edit --> Undo) to undo the mistake, and start over.
  
• It helps to zoom in if you have trouble trying to make a pan work.
  
• Sometimes, you may have to start a pan from a different direction. For example, if going up gives you trouble, try starting the pan from the top.
  

Seeing as my height prediction was way off, I will now select only the image using the selection tool, and crop the image by going to Image --> Crop Image (see image). Another option would be to go to Image --> Autocrop Image to let The GIMP automatically crop the extra space out for you.



Now is a good time to do any modifications, such as changing the contrast, adding in text, etc. Here is what the final image should look like:



That's it for this tutorial. You now have the skills needed to create a pan of your very own.

OOh! I've got one! We're going to make a "grunge" background. (Sorry, I'll edit this so that there's pictures later, but this cpu doesn't have Photoshp so I'm doing this from memory.) Edit: ER....forgot to mention this. I use Photo Shop, but a really old version. Shouldn't make any difference though.

Okay first, choose a picture, mess with lighting, contrast, etc, until you have the desired look. Then go to "Layers" add a layer and make sure the type is "Overlay". After you have the Layer 1, choose two colors. (I have a pic of the effect at the end though, so I'll show that to you). In this case Red and Black. Go to "Filter" then look for the option "Render". After you've found that pic clouds from the options. This should give you a cloud effect over your picture. (I have to use a blank thing right now so...)



Now that you have the "cloud" effect, go back to filters and choose "Stylize" and pick "Extrude". A pop up will appear of choices. At the top, a "Preview" right next to it options with "Blocks" or "Pyramids". Click Pyramids and set the size to "10" and the depth to "255" (I always do 220 though, I think it looks nicer). Click okay and you should get this:



Just so you know, this is cool looking and you can leave it at that, but it's not the "Grunge" effect. To get the grunge effect, go to "Filters" one last time, down to "Artist" and choose "Fresco". Leave the Brush size at "2" or you can make it "3" if you'd like. The brush detail is "7" and leave the texture at "1". Click okay, and here you go!



Here's the effect on a signature:


It's an okay thing, I'm still playing around with mine (It's really old, like V. 5.5 or something. ) But that's what I have figured so far.

Later days:
JA

Okay, first make a new image (You don't want this ontop of a picture, it'd look funky.) it can be any size you want, but I'm going to use a "400x400" . Select the gradient tool and choose "reflective gradient" and make sure it graidents from black to transparent.



Now randomly click on the work space until you have something similar to this:



Duplicate the layer set the mode to "Lighten". Now do these filterings:
Filter, then stylize then pick "Find Edges". Now once that's done, go to "Filter" then to "Artistic" then choose the option "Plastic Wrap". YOu should get something like this:



Press ctrl+e to combine all the layers, and hit ctrl+u to change the color. Hit colorize and choose the color of your choice for the end result.



That's all I have for now.

Later days:
JA

WOW! This is so awsome!! Thsi helps me see alot better of what and how to try yo do things, I just sadly don't have nay of the programs. But thank you so very much for this! I can see it alot better so maybe one day when I do get the softwere I can try too! A most awsome job again! Thank you!! ^_^""

-Beth

When making very difficult images, it's best to have some layers so that you know which part of the image to edit. It wouldn't be good if you did all the editing in one layer, and then lose all your selections if you aren't careful. Layers can make your creations easier, and also be more effective than to do everything at once. In this tutorial, we will learn about the value of layers by designing a banner for a message board.

Here is a banner I created using three layers.



The first layer consists of the original image modified with the Colorify filter. There is also one for the "plasma clouds" effect and the text. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to put each part in a different layer, so that when I decide to go back and edit this image later, I would know what I did to create this image. You're probably wondering why I would waste time creating different layers for different things. Well, for one thing, it's easier to edit images this way. There are also different modes you can use to produce some different effects that are only found in layers, and the last reason is because it saves you the grief of messing something up in an image.

Open The GIMP with an image that you would like to work with. I have used this image for this demostration:



Now, press Ctrl-L (or Dialogs --> Layers) to bring up the Layers window (see first image). Here, there is already one layer created for you, called "Background". You can pretty much do anything in this layer, but depending on the image you are trying to create, it may take more layers, such as the banner I showed you earlier. In my case, I made a selection of the image I want to keep, and then cropped the image to that selection (Image --> Crop Image for those who forgot. See the second image to see what I did so far.).



Now, go to Layer --> New Layer to create a new layer for your image. A new window will open up and you will be able to edit the information here (see image). In the case of my banner, I have named it "Colorify" since I will applying the Colorify filter to this image. I have set the fill type to white, and now have a new layer in my layers window (see second image).



I have already applied the Colorify filter (Filters --> Colors --> Colorify for those who forgot) in the new layer. However, you'll notice that the original image is now all covered with the new color (see first image). There is nothing to worry about; the original image is still there. You see, when you created the new layer, it overlapped the other layer. To see the first layer again, click on the eye (in the Layers window) on the new filter, and you will be able to see it again (see second image).



Now comes the exciting part. In the layers window, click on "Normal" to bring a list of different modes that the layer can have. Here are some examples that I found as I was experimenting.

Hue Mode:



Divide Mode:



Darken Only Mode:



In the end, I decided to go with the darken only mode, as I like the effect that it produced. Now that the new layer is ready, we can go on to adding more layers when we add a new effect or text. Let's go back to the banner I created earlier:



I wanted to go with a misty look, and also make the text look like it actually appeared on the screen. In order to do this, I have to create three layers: one for the text, one for the clouds, and one for the original image. I experimented with the modes to see which ones worked out the best. I'm quite pleased with the results. There are many different creations that you can come up with. Overall, layers can help greatly in image editing. I hope you've learned the basics on adding layers in your creations.

is done on Photo Shop, so sorry I didn't mention it earlier.

Later days:
JA

When finding images on the Internet, you'll notice that there are some images that are very high in quality, and some that are in poor quality. There may be a really good image that you want to use for an avatar or a sig, but because the original picture is poor to begin with, the final image will not come out the way you want it to. This is the main reason why it's best to find the highest quality image possible when creating and editing new images. However, for some people, it's difficult to do that. There are ways to fix the images so that it can look cleaner than before.

When you find a poor quality image, there are artifacts (also known as grain) present everywhere. Some images have it worse than others. This tutorial will show you how to fix some of these problems using some tools that can be essential to a lot of image editing.

Open up The GIMP with an image that you feel is very poor in quality, such as the image that I have here:



Notice the character's coat. Here is where most of the grain is occuring (most likely taken from a fansub encoded source). It may be difficult to notice, but if you increase the brightness, it will show even more. After applying the effects, here is what it looks like.



The grain on the coat is even more noticeable than it was before. If you look hard enough, you can also see some grain on his face, mouth, and on the hair as well. It's important to know exactly where the grain is mostly occuring. Now it is time to start fixing the grain in this image.

On the first window containing the tools, there is an tool known as the Color Picker (it's on the second row, and it's the second icon. See the first image if you having trouble finding it). This tool will allow you to click anywhere on the image, and the tool will tell you what color you picked, along with other information (see second image).



Depending on the options you chose for the Color Picker, it may or may not store the image as the foreground. It should store it there by default, but you can change this setting in the main window (with the icons).

The next tool that you can use is called the Fuzzy Select. This will automatically make a selection based on the RGB values (see first image to find it). You may have to change the threshold to a good number. For this image, I changed the number to 8.2. Experiment to see which setting works for you. Now, click on the part where you clicked last time with the Color Picker, and it will select that section only (see second image). Depending on what setting you use, the selection may vary.



The final tool to use when working with artifacts is called the Bucket Fill (see first image). This will fill the selection with the color that you picked when you used the Color Picker. Click on the selection, and the selection will now have that color. The next two show the result. The first one is one without the Bucket Fill, and one with the Bucket Fill:



As you can see in these two images, there is a very noticable difference between using the Bucket Fill and not using it. Most of the grain is gone now, and it looks cleaner now. You may now do the following for the face, and other parts that may look like it has some grain. It won't look perfect, of course, but it will be better than it was before. Here is a modified image that I have done:



Anyway, that's it for this tutorial. I hope you have learned how to clean up some images, and have familarized yourself with these tools.

There are many different animated images all throughout the Internet. One would wonder how this is done. In this tutorial, you will learn how to start creating your very own animated image using a group of images you either ripped or found on the Internet. This process will require you to have learned the basics of using layers, so if you haven't already, check the previous tutorial on using layers.

Here is a simple animated image I made using a group of images I ripped from a movie file. It took about three frames to make the animated image, and also the speed of each frame is at 40ms. I first needed to have three layers for each image, and then resized it so that the file size wouldn't be so big. I saved the file, and set the speed to 40ms.



Open up The GIMP. Go to File --> New to create a new image. When making the animated image, make sure that the resolution is the same as that of the images you will use for the animation. Now, press Ctrl-L (or Dialogs --> Layers) to bring up the layers window. Open all the images that you want to use (see image). Alternately, you could use the first image to start working from there rather than making a new image.



(NOTE -- The images are 50% smaller to show all the images that I will be using to make the animated image file.)

Go to the first image. Press Ctrl-A (or Edit --> Select All) to select the image. Press Ctrl-C to copy to. Go to the newly created image. Press Ctrl-P (or Edit --> Paste) to paste the image onto the first layer (see image). On the layers window, you'll see a new layer that says "Pasted Selection" (see second image). Click on the anchor (or right click on the layer and click on Anchor Layer) to merge the new layer with the first one. From there, create a new layer, and repeat the same steps until every image is in the new image. An easier way to do this, is to go to File --> Open As Layer. This will speed up the process of creating animated images. This is another way to make animation images. You can choose whatever way you think is best.



My animated image has three layers (see image). I also did an extra step, which was to add my username on the image. In a future tutorial, I will explain how to do this.



Once you've resized the image to a small enough resolution, you will have to change the color mode to 256 colors. Go to the window with the image, and click on Image --> Mode --> Indexed. A new window will open (see first image). The default settings should be fine, but if you want, adjust them to make the image look better. Once you press OK, the program will change the number of colors the image is allowed to have. To check your current animation, go to Filters --> Animation --> Playback. Another window will open (see second image). You can press play to see what the animation will look like.



When you're done, go to File --> Save As. Make sure you save the image as a GIF file, which is what is used for animated images on the Internet. When you press OK, you will get another window (see first image). Set it to save the image as an animation. Once you've done that, a new window will have the settings needed to complete the task (see second image). You can change how fast the image should run, and if it should loop forever. Click OK, and the image will be saved. That's all it takes to create an animated image.



That's it for this tutorial. You should have the skills needed to create an animated image now.

I've updated the first tutorial with new images and new methods. I will start updating all the tutorials I've done and will start using The GIMP on these tutorials. Feel free to share other tutorials you have with others using your favorite program.

EDIT -- I have now updated the tutorial on making avatars.
EDIT 2 -- I have now updated the DVD tutorial.
EDIT 3 -- I have now updated the tutorial on making panoramic images.
EDIT 4 -- I have now added a tutorial on using filters.
EDIT 5 -- I have now removed the faqs in this thread.
EDIT 6 -- I have now updated the tutorial on working with artifacts.
EDIT 7 -- I have now added a tutorial on using layers.
EDIT 8 -- I have now added a tutorial on some advanced skills making sigs.
EDIT 9 -- I have updated the DVD tutorial again. I cleaned up a few things, and added a new method for Linux users.
EDIT 10 -- I have decided to remove one of the methods on ripping DVD's for Linux, seeing as it is pointless to use a Windows emulator and program just to take a screenshot.
EDIT 11 -- The DVD tutorial has gone through another update. Fixed link to DVD Decrypter, since the home page is no longer available, and some more cleaning up.
EDIT 12 -- After a break from this thread, I have finally finished the tutorial on creating animated images.

This seems neat but which file(s) do we need to download? Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Collateral This seems neat but which file(s) do we need to download? Thanks!

For Windows, you will need to go to this web site to get The GIMP. You will have to download The GIMP installer as well as the GTK+2 installer for Windows. I recommend downloading the stable version. There are two other installers to download if you want. One is a help manual and the other is an animation package.