Gimp (ver. 2.2) - a Gimp Mini Howto for linux. (I am using ubuntu 7.04 and kde)  :-)      Back to Main Page

This is a very short version, and if you want to know more, go to Gimps user manual, the Internet etc.

This howto is without any guarantee, and you may use it on your own responsibility only.

There may be errors, but I do not want to use too much time to  write this howto.

To check specific words you may try: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page  (search).    



Index Of Page:

Arranging Gimp windows

Set number of undo levels

Start using Gimp

Open a picture

Image Menu

Making a selection

Moving a selection without contents

Copy the selection

Create new file

Floating selection

Anchor the Floating selection

To make this image smaller

To open a picture (2)

the layers dialog

how layers work

New layer

move the whole active layer

Opacity slider

merge the two layers

save the image

lighter -and darker

smaller (or bigger)

"Quick Mask" to make one or more selections

the brush dialog

change the foreground color

fill those 3 selections

To remove the selections

undo your action, by pressing ctrl+z

Links


Quick Howto:

cut a part of an image, and make a smaller image

make an image lighter/darker

add some text to an image

add a Filter to an image



What is Gimp: An image manipulation program for linux, and is installed on most linux distributions, as default.

It has all the properties, one may need, and is very comprehensive, both for newbies and professional.

To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

Arranging Gimp windows:   

After opening gimp for the first time, I arrange the Gimp windows in the following way:



You remove a single window by clicking the right top X

You can move a window, by dragging the blue top line with the mouse cursor (hold left mouse button down).

You can resize a window, by pulling the edge -or corner with the mouse cursor (hold left mouse button down).

The mouse cursor then change form, and will look something like this:


or this




Then go to the top menu  and choose: File - Preferences - Window Management, and then

click on "Save Window Positions Now".

Then Gimp will always look like this when you start it.




Set number of undo levels:                     To (Top ) Index Of  Page                     

Then go to File - Preferences - Environment, and make i look like this (that's the figures I use), but you may choose different:



Start using Gimp:                                        To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

We  will now start using gimp, with some examples of what I do most (I have made some image examples).

Open a  picture:

To open a  picture (also called an image) choose:

File -  open (or ctrl+o) - if the window is in a wrong scale , click "1" on the keyboard (or View - zoom - 100 pct).

Then you will get something like this:



I have marked the most important part of this "Open Image" window (1, 2, 3 and 4).

In area nr. 1 you choose directory, just single click, and as chown I have chosen directory "gimp_howto".

In area nr. 2 you can also choose a directory, but here use double click, and you can also remember the directory you are using,

by clicking the "Add" button below "2" (you can remove it again by clicking the "Remove" button.

In area nr. 3 you choose an image file, by clicking the file's name, and then the "Open" button.

You will notice, that there comes some small windows up when working in Gimp, and on those you shall just click "Ok"

or on the right top x (most of the time).

In ares nr. 4 you will se a small image of the file you have just chosen.

When you have clicked "Open" you will se the car image opened in a Gimp image window:



Image Menu:                                       To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

You will notice, that there is another menu (below the  blue line), which is not the same as the menu you get, when you

just have started Gimp.

The first meny item is File, -and the last menu item is Script-Fu, on this menu.

You can also get this same menu by right clicking the mouse inside the window (a short cut).

IMPORTANT:

When working in Gimp you can only work one place at a time, and that  place is the active window (marked by blue).

Another IMPORTANT thing is, that there is a Layers Dialog window, one for each opened image, which appear automatically:

We will now take a piece from this car image, and make a new image containing this piece (called a selection).

Making a selection:                             To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

In order to take a bit of this car, we will choose the selection tool "Select retangulars regions":



Please notice, that there is 29 various tools ready to be used in Gimp.

Each of these tools have a set up box in the lower part of the "toolbox" window.

As you  can see, we have  selected the top left, square selection tool, and its belonging set up box, "Rect Select" is shown below.

To make a selection, you place the mouse cursor where you want the selection to start, and then pull with the left mouse button

presses, and thus make the selection.

When the selection is ready, release the left mouse button.

Moving a selection without contents:                                                        To (Top ) Index Of  Page 
If you need to move the selection, without contents, choose the move tool and then press the shift+alt buttons at the same

time, and then move the selection with the left mouse button pressed (place the mouse cursor, looking as two  double arrows).




Then copy the selection (you can see that the selection is active, when the dotted line around the selection is moving).

Choose Edit - copy (or ctrl+c), to copy the selection to clipboard (the secret place where copied data is kept here and now).

Then choose File - New (or ctrl+n), and a new empty image, without contents, is created, and of the same size as the selection.

When you see a pop up window, just left click on "Ok" with the mouse button.

If you here instead just had pressed "enter", you will get a choice of ready made sizes.         To (Top ) Index Of  Page 



Then paste the copied selection to this new empty image by choosing File - Paste (or ctrl+v).

Make sure the empty image is active, by clicking in it, or see that the top line (title line) is blue.



Watch the layers dialog window:



This shows, that the new image's pasted selection is a "Floating Selection" (nothing further can be done in Gimp,

until this Float is anchored).                                                            To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

To anchor the Floating selection, right click on the Floating Selection layer, and choose "Anchor Layer".

That will make the two layers to one layer.

Now save the image, and give it its new name:

Right click in the new image, and choose File - Save as:



Remember to add .jpg to the name (or choose another image format e.g. .png og .xcf or ..), in order for Gimp to

be able to save the image i the format of your choice.

Then press "Save", og acknowledge the pop up windows which shows up pressing "enter".

If you want to make this image smaller, (to make an image bigger will give a more bad quality), right click on the image and

choose Image - Scale Image:                                                          To (Top ) Index Of  Page 



Please note, the chain bit next to Width/Height, which when unbroken means, that width and height will keep its

relative size, when just changing on of the values.

Now you can change width to e.g. 100, then press tab (or enter) once, and then press "scale",

and the image will be rescaled to its new size.

To open a  picture (also called an image) choose:                                     To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

File -  open

Then you will get something like this:



I have marked the most important part of this "Open Image" window (1, 2, 3 and 4).

In area nr. 1 you choose directory, just single click, and as chown I have chosen directory "gimp_howto".

In area nr. 2 you can also choose a directory, but here use double click, and you can also remember the directory you are using,

by clicking the "Add" button below "2" (you can remove it again by clicking the "Remove" button.

In area nr. 3 you choose an image file, by clicking the file's name, and then the "Open" button.

You will notice, that there comes some small windows up when working in Gimp, and on those you shall just click "Ok"

or on the right top x (most of the time).

In ares nr. 4 you will se a small image of the file you have just chosen.

When you have clicked "Open" you will se the car image opened in a Gimp image window:



You will notice, that there is another menu (below the  blue line), which is not the same as the menu you get, when you

just have started Gimp.

The first meny item is File, -and the last menu item is Script-Fu, on this menu.

You can also get this same menu by right clicking the mouse inside the window (a short cut).

IMPORTANT:

When working in Gimp you can only work one place at a time, and that  place is the active window (marked by blue).

Another IMPORTANT thing is, that there is a Layers Dialog window, one for each opened image, which appear automatically:



You use the layers dialog (Layers, Channels, Paths) to navigate in your image.          To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

You do not work direct in the layers dialog, but make things active, by  clicking on them, so they become blue (active), and you

can only have one thing active at at time, VERY IMPORTANT to understand, to use Gimp.

You can have several images open at one time, but only one can be active at a time, and that's where you can work.

To make an image active, just click in it, and its top line (Title area) becomes blue, which means it is ACTIVE.

As you can see above, the car image is, and then there automatic is created a layer in the Layers dialog, called "Background",

and as this layer is active, you can se, as it is blue.

There will always be created an active layer automatically, for each opened image (it is part of the way Gimp works),

and it will always be in the Layers dialog window.

We will now add a small bit of another image to the car image, to show how Layers work.

It is also very important to understand how layers work.

We will now open another image of a flower in Gimp , and then take a bit of this flower, and put it on the car image:



In order to take a bit of this flower, we will choose the selection tool "Select retangulars regions":



Please notice, that there is 29 various tools ready to be used.

Each of these tools have a set up box in the lower part of the "toolbox" window.

As you  can see, we have  selected the top left, square selection tool, and its belonging set up box, "Rect Select" is shown below.

We will now select a part of the flower, and put in on its own layer, above the Background layer of the car.

Make the flower image active, by clicking on it, and you will see its top line become blue.

Then draw a square somewhere on the flower image with the selection  tool, place the mouse cursor in the image, and draw with

the left mouse button presses, pulling to the right and down, and then let go the mouse button.

You will now see the selected part of the flower image, as a square with a dotted line moving around (called marching ants):



Make the car image active, blue top line, by clicking in it with the left mouse button, and you will notice, that the

Background layer in the Layers dialog window is blue (means active).                To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

Then, in the car image choose Layer - New layer, just click ok on the small pup up window that shows up:



Please notice, that the "New Layer" is blue (active).

The layer is empty (think of layers as glass plates on top of each others, each layer one glass plate).

Make the flower image active, by clicking on it.

The square selection is still there, so click Edit - Copy (or ctrl+c), to copy it to the clipboard.

Then make the car image active, by clicking in it (the New Layer is blue).

Paste the flower bit to the new layer by selecting Edit - Paste (or ctrl+v):



This creates someting called a "Floating Selection", and as long as this exists, nothing can be done in Gimp, so it has to be "anchored".

To anchor it, select "Layer - Anchor Layer" in the car image's menu (or right click on the Floating Selection and select "Anchor Layer".

This will merge the "Floating Selection", containing the flower bit, to the layer below it:



Now the car image, containing 2 layers will look like this:



Now we will move the flower bit a little down and to the right.

To do this we must choose the tool called Move tool (Move Layers & Selections):



We will give the layer with the flowerbit another name, so double click on the "New Layer" title  (on the topmost layer),
and change the name to "flowerbit".


From:


To:


See to, that both  the car image and the flowerbit layer are active (blue), and go to the active car image.

The mouse cursor has now changed to a double arrow, which means, that the move tool is ready.    To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

Now move the whole active layer, by pulling it with the left mouse button pressed, to its new position (consider it

as if you are moving a whole glass plate, with a flower bit painted on it), but place the cursor on the very flowerbit.



Something about opacity (opacity is the opposite to transparent).

To make the flowerbit a little transparent, so one can se the car through it, make the car image -and the flowerbit layer active (blue).

Then move the "Opacity slider" in the layers dialog window a little to the left, and watch the active car image at the same time:



And here is the result from making the flowerbit layer a little transparent (by using the opacity slider),

you can see the car tire through the flowerbit.











                                                                                                               To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

We will now merge the two layers to one layer (consider it pressing 2 glassplates together to one).

See to that the car image and one of the two corresponding layers (the flowerbit layer) are active (blue).

Rightclick on the active layer, and choose Merge down (or Merge Visible Layers).

A layer can be made invisible, by clicking on the "eye icon", furthermost to the left on the layer line (in the Layers dialog window),

and visible again, by reclicking on the position of the "eye icon".



At last we will save the image, of the car, we have edited.

Go to the car image, and choose File - Save as:



First you will have to choose the directory where to save the image.

Single click on the directory you want, to the left of "nr. 4" (or choose "Browse for other folders"), or double click in area nr. 2.

Then write the name of the edited image in the white area to the right of "nr. 1", and also remember to write an extension

to the name (for example .jpg or .png), and this is IMPORTANT in order for Gimp to know which format to save in:



When you have pressed the "Save" button here, you will meet some pop up windows, which you have to acknowledge

by pressing "Ok" (or "enter"), in order for Gimp to save the image.                     To (Top ) Index Of  Page 


To make an image (or selection) lighter -and darker, open an image, File - Open (or ctrl+o):



Then from the Menu choose Tools - Color Tools - Brightness Contrast (or rightclick for the same menu):



See to that "Preview" is selected (click in the small square).

Then move the sliders, and change the brightness and contrast to your liking, when finished click "OK".


To make a  picture (or selection) smaller (or bigger) choose Image - Scale Image, and change the width or height, and then

press tab or enter, and then click "OK" (remember best only to make a picture smaller).           To (Top ) Index Of  Page 



If you click on the small chain icon, to make the chain look split, you can change Width and/or Height individually, otherwise

Width/Height keep relative size relationship.


Please note, that a lot of what you can do to an image, you can also do to an active selection (marching ants).


To use  "Quick Mask" to make one or more selections, open an image, File -  Open (or ctrl+o):



 Click on the small square icon above "1", and the work area becomes pink.



Now to make selections, choose a white forground color, use the "Black and white change color tool":



Here click on the bent arrow, so the big black square becomes white (and the background  color black).

The foreground color is the color you use, when you paint in a picture.               To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

So, it will look like this:



Then choose a paint brush tool (Paint fuzzy brush strokes) (or press "p"):



Now to change the size of the paint brush, click on the black cirkel in the brush dialog:



This opens the brush dialog, where one can set the size or form of brush, and we will change size to a smaller size:



You just click on the size you want, and a small square will mark the chosen size.

You now paint the areas you want selected (one or more areas can be painted), we will make 3 "selections":



Then click on the small red square icon in lower left corner of image, and you have 3 selections:



These 3 selections are "belonging together", so we will now fill those with green color:

First you will have to change the foreground color to green, by using the color dialog, so you have to double click on the

Foreground/background selection tool, on the bigger foreground square (top/left):



Then the "Change Color Dialog" appears:                                                            To (Top ) Index Of  Page 



First you select a green color in the long vertical square (to the left of the S, V, R, G and B letters).

Then you choose your green shade (nuance) with the mouse in the big square to the left, and you can see your chosen

color in the ablong horizontal square called "Current:"

Now just click on "OK", and your new foreground color has been chosen.

(Same procedure can be used to change the background color).

Now to fill those 3 selections with the green color, choose the Fill tool:



Now click with  this tool in one of the 3 selections:



To remove the selections (marching ants dotted lines), choose a selection tool, and click outside the selections, in the image

(or press "shift+ctrl+a" at the same time)                                                            To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

And then please save the new edited image by choosing File - Save as.




If you make an error during use, you can undo your action, by pressing ctrl+z

You can also redo an action by pressing ctrl+y


I will nor repeat again, as it is IMPORTANT to understand, that one can only work one place at a time in Gimp

and that is a selected image, blue top line, (or in an active selection).

Also, than when several layers (to compare with glass plates) are made, only one layer can be active, at a time (blue color).

In order to save an image in the *.jpg format, you will have  to merge all layers to one layer

(Gimp will do this automatically for you, when you have chosen File - Save as).

You can keep all layers, when saving an image in *.xcf format, but then the image file can be huge in size.


Quick Howto:

To cut a part of an image, and make a smaller image of the part:

1. Open an image "ctrl+o"

2. Choose the square selection tool  "R", and make a selection

3. Copy the selection to clipboard "ctrl+c"

4. Make a new empty image "ctrl+n" (then click OK with the left mouse button)

5. Paste the selection from clipboard "ctrl+v"

6. Make the new image smaller "Image - Scale Image"

7. Save the new image "Shift+Ctrl - s" (or File - Save as)


To make an image lighter/darker:

1a. Open image "ctrl+o"

2a. Open the Brightness-Contrast window "Tools - Color Tools - Brightness Contrast

3a. Move the sliders of your choice until image has proper color/contrast, then press "OK"

4a. Save the image "File - Save as"


To add some text to an image:                                                 To (Top ) Index Of  Page                                         

1b. Open image "ctrl+o" (or File - open)

2b. Choose Text tool (Add text to the image) "T"

3b. Possibly change the text size in the Text setup window below the Tools window

4b. Possibly change the foreground color in the  black color box, below and to the left of the Tools window

5b. Place the mouse cursor where you want the text in the image and left click

6b. Write the text in the small pop up text editor

7b. When ready click the "Close" button

8b. Choose the Move tool "M" and place the double arrows cursor on the very text (be sure to see the double arrows)

and move the text until in proper position

9b. Then right click the mouse on the "Floating layer" (blue stripe) in the layers dialog, and choose "Merge visible layers",

and then click "OK" in the pop up window

10b. Finally save the image "Shift+ctrl - s"


To add a Filter to an image (an exercise):

1c. Open image "ctrl+o"

2c. Choose "Filters - Artistic - Oilify" and then click "OK"

3c. If not satisfied click "ctrl-z", try with another setting and click "OK"

4c. If happy, save the imags "File - save as" (or shift+ctrl - s)



Links in accidentally order:                                              To (Top ) Index Of  Page 

http://autotrace.sourceforge.net/

http://www.gimp.org/links/

http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

http://www.gimp.org/

http://registry.gimp.org/

http://wiki.gimp.org/gimp/

http://www.techimo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27306

http://gug.sunsite.dk/scripts.php?PHPSESSID=6e4fc6575affc98a08c5063596e3eaad

http://gug.sunsite.dk/?page=tutorials

http://gug.sunsite.dk/

http://wiki.gimp.org/gimp/UserFaq

http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-scripting.html#gimp-plugins-install

http://docs.gimp.org/en/index.html


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July 2007                                                                                                       Back to Main Page