So you have your basic, high-resolution, blank layout. Great. Now we'll bring the image you downloaded in Step 1 into your layout.
From the top menu in GIMP (or the program of your choice), click File > Open and browse to the high-resolution image you've already downloaded. Click Open on the bottom right. If you get a warning about the color profile, just click "Convert" (which is on the right because it's the default - always a safe bet).
When GIMP opens your main image, it will be in a new window. Copy the image (Control-C on a PC, Command-C on a Mac). Then close that window (ignore any warnings about saving it) - and then Paste (Control- or Command-V) the high-res image into your layout.
Here's where I am:
Now you could just jump right into resizing and repositioning the photo - but I want you to do two things that will save you headaches in the long run:
1) In the Layers panel on the upper right, double-click that default name that says "Floating Selection (Pasted Layer)" and name is something intuitive - I named mine "Woman at Fence"
and then
2) Right-click the layer (that's Control-Click on older Macs) and from the menu that pops up, click Duplicate Layer (that's a verb, not an adjective)
Why duplicate? Because if you shrink that image, and maybe rotate it, and change the color, give it an effect - and then you change your mind - those changes were already applied, so going back would be a mess. This way, you'll always have a safe layer to go back to - and if/when you do go back to that safe layer, make sure to duplicate it again before working.
One more thing after you've duplicated the layer - click the eyeball on your safe layer (usually I pick the bottom) to turn it off. If you don't do that, you'll see both layers and that will be quite confusing.
Let's stop here for now. Next, we'll work on Positioning and Resizing Images.
No comments:
Post a Comment