GIMP has a lot of tools and resources to let you put your own professional touch to any image. GIMP is an excellent application for web designers, graphic artists, and amateur photographers who need to enhance their images. The same can be stated for individuals who are just getting started in the realm of picture alteration. Your journey into using GIMP can appear difficult for novices, especially when it comes to dealing with new interfaces. When you only need to make minor changes to an image, such as cropping or resizing it, you shouldn’t have to jump through hoops. It won’t take long to see why GIMP is such a good investment if you take the time to master the basics and where to look for specific topics. After we’ve downloaded and installed the GIMP program, we’ll go over some fundamental editing techniques, as well as how to navigate the interface and produce a thumbnail like the one used in this article. We’ll also share a few resources to aid you with sophisticated GIMP projects in the future.
GIMP can be downloaded and installed
Begin by opening GIMP and dragging a blank canvas window to the top of the screen. Throughout each section, we’ll utilise the same image.
Image resizing and scaling
Reducing the file size
Next, drag your cursor across the region you wish to utilize as your final image while holding down the left mouse button. All areas of the image outside of the part you choose will darken once it has been settled, while the part specified as your final image will stay intact. You can modify the area by dragging your mouse button across the box’s corners to shrink or extend them. Once you’ve got the image where you want it, either left-click it and press Enter, or press Shift + C at the same time to crop it to your liking.
Rotate the image
This will open a new pop-up window with a reticle-like texture applied to your image. You can enter the values into the given fields if you know the angle of rotation you wish to apply. If not, you can use the slide bar directly below the box labelled ‘Angle,’ or rotate the image manually by left-clicking and dragging with your mouse. Using accurate values yields more precise and faster outcomes. When you’re happy with the results, click Rotate.
Creating a Thumbnail Image
In this part, we’ll show you how we used GIMP to produce the thumbnail for this post. Some of the tools utilised in Learning the Basics will be used in this tutorial. The best thing to do now is to create an additional layer so that we can alter it as we start adding the text so that it doesn’t block off the image. So, go back to the “File” tab and select Open As Layers… exactly like we did with the arrow during Image Rotation. Click Open to open the GIMP logo you downloaded earlier. The layer image is 1200 by 1200 pixels, which is far too big for our primary image, which is 680 x 400 pixels. We’ll have to reduce the size. Adjust the image width and height to 200px if you follow the instructions above. The image can then be dragged to the side, out of the way of our text until we need to move it. The text comes next. We’ll use the shortcut command and choose the Text Tool by pressing the ‘T’ key on your keyboard. Now, left-click in the image’s lovely white area and start typing your title. Once you’ve typed everything down, select the font you want to use by selecting the text (CTRL + A). The Bauhaus 93 font, which isn’t a standard font, was utilized. All of the fonts in the Windows Font folder will be added to GIMP’s library of options. Additional fonts can be added to the Windows Font folder by downloading them from sites like DaFont and Google Fonts. Adjust the lettering’s size so that it fits well within the image while not taking up too much space. We decided on a resolution of 100 pixels per inch. By switching to the Move Tool once you’ve made the text edits, you can move the text box around to fit where you need it. You may simply achieve this by selecting a section of the image that isn’t the text and using the ‘M’ key. Select the text layer in the right-hand window, right-click it, and choose Alpha to Selection from the drop-down menu. This will give the image’s text a dynamic border. Following that, we’ll need to add another layer. To do so, locate and click the Create a New Layer button in the same right-hand window. This will bring up a window where you can create a new layer. Most of what’s on here is for a more advanced tutorial, so don’t worry about it. For now, just make sure Transparency is selected in the “Fill with:” area and click OK. A new layer is formed that mirrors the text that you applied Alpha to Selection. By default, it should be the selected layer. We’ll now surround the text with a border.
Additional Guidance for Using GIMP
It won’t be long after you start using GIMP until you feel like you’ve mastered the fundamentals and are ready to go on to more advanced and professional editing. There are a plethora of lessons available to assist you improve your working understanding of the GIMP software. You can start with the official GIMP instructions, but I prefer to use YouTube to get exactly what I’m searching for. GIMP also has a huge online user community, which includes a subreddit, unofficial discussion forums like GIMP Forums and GIMP Chat, labelled questions in the StackExchange Graphic Design section, and social media outlets like the Google Plus GIMP users group.
