GIMP Edited Photos : Using The GNU Manipulation Program

December 9, 2012

GIMP Edited Photos : Using The GNU Manipulation Program

web design gimp logo

 

 

A FREE download of  GIMP is available by clicking here:

 

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

is a photo editing, free-form-painting, logo and website creator, as well as a graphics software program; and it’s FREE & ‘open-source’.

 

Some of the photo editing features of GIMP include:

  • Resizing & cropping
  • Digital retouching
  • Photo Enhancement
  • Allows remote loading of Transparent Virtual File Systems, from remote locations using FTP / HTTP
  • Coverts images to various formats ‘jpeg, gif, png, tiff, eps’
  • Saves images with archive extensions ‘zip, BZ2, GZ’ (automatic file compression w/ transparency for saving disk space)
  • Creates animated images using ‘gif’ format
  • Online batch processing system
  • Easy to use, with extensive tutorial support

 

Gimp Edited Photos

are easily edited with an organized drop-down categorized menu system. With it’s extensive features GIMP gives you the versatility to enhance your images using a variety of methods such as adding borders, scaling images, image manipulation, creating layers, adding text, as well as rendering professional website graphics for individuals as well as web designers. Artists & graphic designers will find a multitude of options related to altering & enhancing color elements & image effects.

GIMP is continually under development in order to make it compatable with the latest computer technology & newest devices such as digital tablets, and GIMP offers support for the use & implementation of features and device actions; such as MIDI controller sliders & rotating USB wheels, size, angle, or brush opacity can be changed while you work, which can aid in decreasing work-times. You can also bind scripts to buttons, using the advanced GIMP scripting interface; which allows scripting of the simplest to the more complex image manipulations.

 

GIMP Edited Photos : Color   

Color is one of the key elements in web design, from colorizing, saturating or desaturating colors, altering color hue, blending, adding default or custom gradients & 3-D effects, to creating & changing backgrounds or text elements.

GIMP offers many tools to aid web web designers & developers in maximizing a website’s graphic elements. Features such as an ‘eye-dropper’tool which converts a selected color in an image to a web-safe hexidecimal color codes to insure color accuracy & consistency in a design on different web browsers, many of these features allow you to create custom gradients for backgrounds or other visual elements.

 

GIMP Edited Photos:  Color Selection Tools

  • Palettes
  • Eye Dropper Tool (which allows you to select a color from an open project you are working on)
  • Watercolor Selector
  • Color-Wheel Selector
  • Color choosers such as:
  • Hexadecimal Color Codes (HTML friendly),  (Examples:  #000000 = black; #ffffff  = white; #3366FF = blue. Codes are always “#” + six number &/or letter combinations).
  • RGB/HSV Color Models:

    (RGB – red, green, and blue light added together to reproduce a broad array of colors)

      (HSV – based on the three properties that a color possesses: Hue, Saturation and Value)

  • Color Blending Tool: fills selected areas wof your design with a gradient, which is a blend consisting of the foreground/background colors.
  • Color Gradients (customizable to allow you to create custom gradients)
  • Image Creation Tools Include:
  • Paintbrush (allows you to choose the type & size of ‘brush’)
  • Pencil / Ink
  • Eraser
  • Airbrush
  • Bucket Fill (allows you to fill large areas with a selected color)
  • Transparency (allows you to place an image on a different background)
  • Smudge Tool (allows you to drag exisiting colors into one another)
  • Other tools are included to allow you to: Saturate / Desaturate the colors of an image, colorize an entire image.

 

 

GIMP Edited Photos   Shape Creation & Manipulation

is achieved with the use of other Selection Tools, such as:

  • Shape Selection Tools: Come in a variety of shapes, such as: rectangular, circular, free-select: for irregular-shaped objects, & fuzzy select)
  • Transform Tools allow you to: Move, rotate, scale (resize entire images), change the perspective, flip (horizontally/vertically), sharpen (sharpen or blur areas of an image) & cropping (which allows you to choose the part of the image you want to save).
  • Filter Tools: Various effects called ‘filters’ can be applied to your image to: enhance elements such as: “Artistic” (elements like watercolor, impressionistic, artist ‘canvas’, etc. ‘Decor’ styles such as: ‘old photo’, You can also make the edges of the border around an image fuzzy or add a ‘drop-shadow’ to give it a finished look. or you can even add a coffee stain to your image for a whimsical look.
  • Layering Tools: Allow you to work on different elements of your design & add them to your design in the order you want.
  • Clone Tool: By using the current brush to copy from an image or pattern you can repair undesirable or damaged areas in a digital photo, by painting over it with colors & tones from other part. Other uses of cloning are to draw patterned lines or curves. Perspective can been addressed, using a special ‘perspective clone tool’.
  • Healing Tool: Is similar to the clone tool, however it also corrects color & tone if needed.
  • Dodge & Burn Tool: Makes specifically targeted areas lighter or darker.