Last week I got my bearings and was able to create my first digital image from elements I’d scanned and uploaded. This was very much a ‘wobbly first steps’ achievement.
From there I need to strengthen these beginner skills while adding a few more tools to my kit along the way. I have several drawings that I’ve scanned and uploaded and now began practicing!
I had created several new slides through repeating these steps:
- Opening an image as a new layer (images I’d scanned).
- Rotating the layer by going into Layer>Transform.
- Separating and removing the white background from the image by going into Layer>Transparency>Colour to Alpha
But I needed to expand on this toolkit for a few of my images.
I found this great Tutorial SERIES on YouTube from TJFREE.
What I liked about this tutorial series is that the videos are between 8-12 minutes long. Very digestible! and each one touches on specific features. It made it much easier to find the skill support I was searching for. PLUS – he does a great job clearly articulating and walking you through how to use the application.
From these tutorials, I began using the Lasso and Clone tool, adding text, and adjusting the opacity of layers.
This allowed me to create these new images:
WHAT I’VE LEARNED:
I can find bits and pieces of what I want to do through different video tutorials. However, this was taking a lot of time. So…
I’ve started to increase the playback speed of tutorials so I can cruise through the video until I hit the skill I want to learn.
After investing time in GIMP, I’m less inclined to go try and learn another application for animation now. I’m realizing how long it takes to just become literate in ONE.
So my next step is to look into whether Gimp will allow me to do some of the very simple animations I want to be able to accomplish…..
Hey Shuanna!
I really like the targeted skill you selected to acquire for this learning project. GIMP is a really great software application. I do watch a few YouTube content creators who utilize GIMP in order to produce their own thumbnails and design different type of photos. Another thing that is great while using GIMP, is the fact that it is a free software application that is easy to navigate around for beginners. I also like that GIMP removes its watermark even for free users. As most free software applications do not tend to do this for video editing.
I really love the bottom two designs with the house and moon. They really caught my eye. Thanks kindly Shaunna!
Thanks @Muhammad.
Yes, the fact that it’s open source and I can use the application without cost or watermark is REALLY want landed me on GIMP in the end. I’d looked at other options and at first thought I’d go with Adobe because its so commonly used…but being able to access something that is free ALSO makes it a great option for using with students!
Thanks for reading my blog.