GIMP Tutorial PDF

## Vocabulary - Dialog box: a temporary window that the application displays to get the user's input. - DMG file: an Apple Disk Image file that is often used to store compressed software installers. - Executable file: a file, having encoded instructions, that gets executed in a system when it is cl...

## Vocabulary - Dialog box: a temporary window that the application displays to get the user's input. - DMG file: an Apple Disk Image file that is often used to store compressed software installers. - Executable file: a file, having encoded instructions, that gets executed in a system when it is clicked. - Exposure: the amount of light captured, affecting the brightness and quality of an image. - Interface: the front-end view of the software through which the users interact with the software. - Open-source: software that is designed to be publicly accessible. - Pixels: smallest dots or squares that make up an image in a computer system. - Video transitions: a way to move from one scene to the next during the editing process. ## Getting Started with GIMP ### Engage and Practice GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a flexible image editor designed for tasks such as photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring. GIMP is a free and open-source software for editing images. It can be used on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. GIMP has a simple and user-friendly interface. It is often used as an alternative to paid image editing software. Graphic designers, photographers, artists, and anyone else who needs to edit and improve images can use it. - **Did you know?** The mascot of GIMP is known as Wilber. It was created by Tuomas Kuosmanen in 1997. ### The GIMP interface Install GIMP and launch the application. #### Components in the GIMP interface | Component | Description | |---|---| | Toolbox window | The toolbox window is where you will find a set of tools like selection tools, crop tool, text tool, bucket fill tool, pencil tool, and eraser tool to work on your images. | | Image window | The place where you work on images in GIMP is the image window. It shows the image you are currently working on. You can change the zoom level in the image window. | | Brushes, patterns, fonts, and palettes dialogs | The Brushes dialog box allows you to manage the brushes that you use for painting and drawing in your image. The Patterns dialog box allows you to manage the patterns that you use for filling areas of your image. The Palettes dialog box allows you to manage the color palettes used in your image. The Fonts dialog box allows you to choose from a list of font styles. | | Layers, channels, and paths dialogs | The Layers dialog box displays the layer structure of the currently active image. The Channels dialog box represents the individual colour components. You can organize and change different parts of your image by using them. Paths are image components similar to layers. The Paths dialog box displays a list of all the paths associated with the active image. | ### Open an image in GIMP To open an existing image in GIMP, navigate to **File -> Open.** The Open Image dialog box will pop up. Select the image you want to edit and click **Open.** The selected image will be displayed in the Image window of the GIMP interface. ### Editing images in GIMP #### Crop an image You can crop an image to remove any unwanted or irrelevant portion of the image. To crop an image, choose the **Crop Tool** from the toolbox window. After selecting the **Crop Tool,** the cursor changes and allows you to select a specific portion of the image. After the click and drag action, a rectangular area is created. Double click inside the rectangle or press **Enter** to complete cropping. #### Rotate an image To rotate an image in GIMP, right click on the **Flip tool**. Among other tools available here, you will find the **Rotate option**. Click on the image to get the **Rotate dialog box**. You can set the angles at which you want to rotate the image. Instead of specifying the angle, you can use the slider to rotate the image with visual feedback. After setting the angle for rotation, click on **Rotate**. #### Flip an image You can use the **Flip tool** to flip an image either horizontally or vertically. To flip an image, right click on the **Flip tool** in the toolbar. From the list of tools in that set, choose **Flip**. Choose the direction of flip in the **Flip dialog box**. Click on the image to flip it. You can also choose to flip the image either horizontally or vertically. #### Scale an image Sometimes an image needs to be scaled to a smaller or bigger size to use. The current pixel dimension of the image is displayed at the top of the interface. To scale the image to a new dimension, choose the **Scale tool** by right clicking on the **Flip tool** in the toolbar. Click on the image to get the **Scale dialog box**. Set the dimension to which the image is to be scaled in the **Scale dialog box**. Alternatively, use the squares on the sides to scale the image, by dragging it to the required size. Click on **Scale** to scale the image to the selected size. ### Save an image in GIMP As you work in GIMP, you need to save your images, time and again, so that your work is not lost. You can do that in the following three ways: 1. **File -> Save** 2. **File -> Save As** 3. **File -> Export As** If you have already saved your image, **File -> Save** will save it to the same file. ### Export GIMP images to other image formats All the images manipulated in GIMP are saved in .xcf format by default. You can export the .xcf images to other formats like .jpeg, .png, and .gif by choosing **File -> Export As.** The **Export Image dialog box** will open. Give a new name to your image or retain the existing file name. Notice that the file name will have an extension, .jpg, because the file opened in GIMP for manipulation was in .jpg format. GIMP, by default, exports the images in the native format, that is, in the same format in which the file was opened. To export images in other formats expand the button, **Select File Type,** near the bottom of the dialog box. A list of different file formats will appear. Choose the file format you need from the list. Click the **Export** button at the bottom of the dialog box. A new dialog box will open where you can set the quality of the image you are exporting. Adjust the quality of the export in the **Quality slider**. Check the option **Show preview** in the image window. This will update the image in the **Image Window** to preview the image quality. You will also get to know what the file size will be, after exporting, through the **File Size:** information. You can reduce or increase the file size by adjusting the quality of the image. When you are done, click **Export.** ### Keyboard Shortcuts | Tool/Action | Windows shortcut | macOS shortcut | |---|---|---| | Open | ctrl + O | cmd + O | | Save | ctrl + S | cmd + S | | Save as | shift + ctrl + O | ctrl + cmd + S | | Crop | shift + C | ctrl + C | | Scale | shift + S | ctrl + S | | Rotate | shift + R | ctrl + R | | Flip | shift + F | ctrl + F | | Export as | ctrl + shift + E | ctrl + cmd + E | ### Career Connect Motion Graphics Designers create animated visual designs for various platforms, such as video introductions, presentations, and advertising campaigns.