GIMP is a great program for anyone who wants to add their own professional touch to their images. It’s easy to use and can accommodate the needs of web designers, graphic artists, and amateur photographers. ..

If you’re just starting out with GIMP, it can seem like a daunting task to get started. For example, if you want to crop or resize an image, it might not seem like that big of a deal. However, if you’re new to the software and don’t know where to look for specific things, it can take some time to figure out how everything works. By taking the time to learn the basics and where to look for specific things, GIMP will make your experience much easier.

Once you have downloaded and installed the GIMP program, we will help you navigate its interface and walk you through how to create a basic thumbnail. We will also provide some resources that you can use to find advanced help for future GIMP projects.

Download and Install GIMP

Navigate to the developer’s website and select your download. The file will begin downloading. Allow a few seconds to pass until attempting to install. Run the recently downloaded file. Once the installer opens, click the Install button to have gimp installed to the default folder. To change installation settings and add-ons, click Customize instead. Follow all installation instructions as they’re presented. It may take several minutes for GIMP to be fully installed. After installation is complete, you can begin using GIMP. ..

Using GIMP: Learning The Basics

  1. Launch GIMP and open the image you want to work with.
  2. Choose the “New” tab and click on the “Image” button.
  3. In the “File” field, select the file you just downloaded from our website.
  4. Click on the “Create” button and give your image a name (for example, “GIMPSample”).
  5. Click on the " OK" button to create your new image and close GIMP.

Image Scaling/Resizing

Once the image is imported, you can resize and crop it as needed. To save the image to your computer, click the “File” tab and select “Save As…” (CTRL + S) To share the image on social media, click the “Share” button (CTRL + SHARE) ..

After the image loads in, click the “Image” tab and select Scale Image from the drop-down menu.

A dialog box will appear to enable editing of a text file.

To resize an image:

  1. Click the image to select it.
  2. Use the options on the toolbar to adjust the width and height of the image. You can also use X, Y resolution to change how many pixels each side of the image is scaled by.
  3. Once you’ve adjusted the size, click Scale to apply the changes. ..

File Size Reduction

Export your document as a PDF.

  1. Choose a name for the file:
  2. Choose a location to save the file:
  3. Name the file:
  4. Save the file in a safe place: ..

Save as a JPEG

Click the Export button to have a new window of options pop-up that allows you to export your data in a variety of formats.

To save images, choose the compression level and image size you want to save. Then click Export.

Image Cropping

This will crop the image to a specific size.

The Crop Tool lets you crop the image to a specific size.

Next, hold down the left-mouse button, drag your cursor across the area you want to make as your final image.Once settled, all parts of the image outside of the part you selected, will darken while the part set as your final image will remain intact.

To resize an image, first click on the image to select it. Then use the mouse to drag one of the corners of the box around the image. The size of the image will change as you drag. When you’re finished, either left-click on the image to keep it at its new size, or press Enter to save your changes and close out of the Resize Image dialog box. ..

Image Rotation

We’re going to import a new image into our project.

This will open the Open As Layers dialog box. Select All (CTRL + A) to select all of the layers in the document. Then, click on the “Merge” button (it looks like a three-headed arrow). This will merge all of the layers into one document. ..

To add an arrow layer to the image, click on the arrow in the layer window and then click on OK.

With the new layer highlighted, head back into Transform Tools and choose Rotate. You can also find the Rotate Tool icon in the Tool Doc.

This will apply a reticle-like texture to your image, which will pull up a new pop-up window.

If you want to rotate an image yourself, you can do so by clicking the “Angle” box and entering the desired angle in degrees. Once you’ve entered the angle, use the slide bar just below to adjust it as needed. ..

Designing a Thumbnail

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create a thumbnail for an article using the GIMP software.

This is a story about a man who was born with a defect that made him unable to see. But even though he can’t see, he’s still able to experience life in ways that others can’t.

We can start by downloading and saving the file to our computer.

To create a new image:

  1. Open the “File” tab and select New… (CTRL + N)
  2. This will pull up a “Create a New Image” window where you can select from a pre-created Template or decide on the size of the image manually.
  3. To create an image that is smaller than your current screen resolution, enter a lower number in the “Width” field and leave the “Height” field at its default value of 800 pixels.
  4. To create an image that is larger than your current screen resolution, enter a higher number in the “Width” field and leave the “Height” field at its default value of 1200 pixels. ..

Our thumbnails are never any larger than 680px width, so we’ll set our image size as such. As for the height, we’ll keep it at 400px.Once the dimensions are set, click OK.We should now be looking at a blank (white) canvas. You can choose to color the background however you like using the Bucket Fill Tool in the Tool Doc, but for now, we’ll keep it white.The best thing to do is add your additional layer now, that way once we begin adding the text, we’ll be able to adjust it so that it doesn’t block out the image. So, open the “File” tab and this time select Open As Layers… just as we did for the arrow during Image Rotation. Select the GIMP logo you downloaded earlier and click Open.The layer image is a 1200 x 1200 which is much too large for our primary image at 680 x 400. We’ll need to scale it down. If you follow the instructions illustrated above, adjust the image width and height to 200px.We can then drag the image off to the side so that it’s out of the way for our text until we need to reposition it.: Our thumbnails are never any larger than 680px width, so we’ll set our image size as such.: As for the height, we’ll keep it at 400px.: Once the dimensions are set, click OK.: We should now be looking at a blank (white) canvas.: You can choose to colorthe background however you like usingthe Bucket Fill Tool in theorincluded., but for now,. The best thing to do is add your additional layer now,. So,, just as we did for thee arrow during Image Rotation.): The layer image is a 1200 x 1200 which is much too large for our primary image at 680 x 400., but if you follow these

Next, we’ll use the shortcut command and hit the ‘T’ key on our keyboard to have the Text Tool selected. Left-click in the nice white area of the image and begin typing your title.

Once it’s all typed out, highlight the text (CTRL + A) and select the font you’d like to use. We used the Bauhaus 93 font, which isn’t a standard font. GIMP will take all fonts located in the Windows Font folder and add them to its library of choices. You can add additional fonts by downloading them from sites like DaFont and Google Fonts and moving them over to the Windows Font folder.Next, adjust the size of the lettering so that it fits well within the image but doesn’t take up too much room. We settled on 100px. Once the text adjustments have been made, you can move the text box around to fit where you need it by swapping to the Move Tool. You can do this easily by clicking on an area of the image that isn’t the text and clicking ‘M’.

To add an animated border to text in an image, first select the text layer in the window to the right. Next, right-click the text layer and select Alpha to Selection from the list. This will add an animated border to the text in the image. ..

Next, we’re going to need to add an additional layer. To do this, in the same right side window, locate and click the Create a New Layer button. This will open up the window to create a new layer. Don’t worry about most of what is on here, that’s for a more advanced tutorial. For now, just ensure that the “Fill with:” section has Transparency in the drop-down and click OK.

A new layer is created that mirrors the text you had applied Alpha to Selection. It should be the selected layer by default. We’re now going to add a border around the text.Click the “Select” tab and choose Grow. In the selection box that pops up, set the value to ‘2’ and click OK.

At this point, you can click the Eye icon next to the original text layer in the layers window to hide it and bucket fill in the border.

To fill a Bucket Fill Tool color square, use the Shift + B key combination. You can select from a few default options or create your own. We settled on a shade of blue with the HTML notation of 1b56ff.

If you’re familiar with CSS, you can use the color codes in that box. Drag your cursor over the invisible text area marked by the animated border, and left-click to fill it with color.

The original text is below the colored layer. To reveal the original text, click the area where the Eye icon used to be. Then, drag the original text above the colored layer in the layer window. Right-click the top most layer and select Merge Down. ..

We’ll add a drop shadow to the text. Click the “Filters” tab, select Light and Shadow > Drop Shadow (Legacy)…In the pop-up window, select the x,y access of the shadow, the radius, and the opacity.

To create a thumbnail that features a shadow, follow these steps:

  1. Select the “Select” tab and choose “None” from the drop-down menu. This will deselect the text layer.
  2. Click on the “GIMP logo” layer to select it.
  3. Move the layer into the position you want in your thumbnail, and then click on the “Merge Down” button at the bottom of the Layers panel.
  4. Click on the “Background” layer to select it, and then use the Bucket Fill Tool to add a bit of color if desired. The finished product should look like this: ..

Now that you have the necessary tools, it’s time to export your document as a PDF.

Using GIMP: Additional Help

GIMP is a powerful image editor that can be used for a variety of tasks, from simple photo editing to more complex style editing. There are numerous tutorials available to help you learn the basics of GIMP, and once you have a good understanding of how it works, you can explore more complicated tasks. ..

YouTube is a great resource for finding tutorials on how to use the GIMP.

GIMP is a versatile image editor that has a large user community. It includes unofficial discussion platforms like GIMP Forums and GIMP Chat, tagged questions in the Graphic Design section of StackExchange, and social media channels like the Google Plus GIMP users group.