MANIPULATING IMAGES WITH GIMP

GIMP stands for the “GNU1 Image Manipulation Program”. It is a free digital-photograph and
digital-image editing program for the Linux, Mac, Unix, and Windows platforms.

1. INSTALLING THE GIMP

Installing the Gimp requires two different files that are compressed to be downloaded. You can
also download the help files and the animation package if desired.

 Go to http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
 Choose your version. In this case, we will set it up for Windows. Download GIMP 2.6.11.
 Due to its size, the user manual is not included with the GIMP installers and has been split
into language-specific packages. Installer packages are also provided.

This tutorial will introduce you to the GIMP interface and some of the basics you'll need to know
when using the GIMP.

2. OPENING A FILE

 Open the GIMP, if it isn't already (Double click on the GIMP icon on your desktop).
 Click on File > New

1
The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project, announced on September 27, 1983, by Richard Stallman at MIT (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology). It initiated GNU operating system development in January, 1984. The founding goal of the project was, in the words of its
initial announcement, to develop "a sufficient body of free software [...] to get along without any software that is not free”. To make this happen, the
GNU Project began working on an operating system called GNU ("GNU" is a recursive acronym that stands for "GNU's Not Unix").
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 In the properties box, pick the size of the canvas you want to work with.

 For our example, we'll use 320 x 320. Change the next blue down arrow to pixels as shown.
Then click on + Advanced Options and change the resolution to 72 x 72. The 300 x 300 is
used more for print media than for web media. 72 x 72 is the standard for web graphics and
results in similar quality and much smaller file size.
 Click OK.
 This brings up a new canvas window.

3. THE TOOLS MENU

The Toolbox is the point of easy access to all the main tools within GIMP. The Toolbox must
always be open as closing the Toolbox will force the whole application to quit. The tools break
down into three primary groups of tools, namely: a) selection, b) paint and c) transform tools,
with a few miscellaneous tools falling outside these groups. A tool is selected by left clicking on
its icon.

By default, below the Toolbox is docked the Tool Options dialogue, but if you prefer you can
remove the dialogue from that position and dock it into another raft of dockable dialogues or
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have it float free on its own. The Tool Options dialogue displays various options for adjusting the
way that each tool operates. The information displayed varies depending on which tool is
currently selected.

3.1. Selection Tools

The selection tools offer a range of ways to select areas of images to allow you to work on some
pixels without affecting those surrounding them.

 Rectangle Select Tool: this allows rectangular areas to be selected and offers further
options to allow precise positioning and rounded corners.

 Ellipse Select Tool: this allows circles and squashed circles to be selected and shares
all of its options with the Rectangle Select Tool, though obviously without the Rounded
corners option.

 Free Select Tool: this is a simple tool that can be used to draw a line freely or by
clicking on individual points that are then connected by straight lines.

 Fuzzy Select Tool: it selects contiguous regions (it is also known as the magic wand).
This tool allows you to select all the similar colours that are connecting, or contiguous.

 Select By Color Tool: it allows to select just a colour or all the similar colours on an
image. It operates in a very similar way to the Fuzzy Select Tool but may produce multiple
unconnected selections. It is used to easily change a colour, by filling or painting. First you
select the tool and then you select, by left clicking your mouse, on the canvas for the
colours you want to alter.

 Scissors Select Tool: this automatically attempts to draw a selection by looking for the
edge of elements within an image based upon marker points that the user places. It allows
you to cut out a shape from an image. Left click the mouse to create the first dot in the
external side of that shape. Try to follow its outline by creating consecutive dots. In order to
connect all the dots together, once you have encircled the shape, try to match up the first
and the last dots. Close off the selection by clicking on the first dot. Next click on the middle.
This will cut out the shape of the image you are interested in.

All of these tools share the same main tool options: the operating Mode2, and Feather edges3
and Antialiasing4.

3.2. Paint Tools

They offer a range of ways to change the appearance of individual pixels or groups of pixels.
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With this you can add, or subtract or intersect the selection.
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Feathering means to make the edges softer.
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Anti-aliasing is a technique of blending bitmap-based images and text to reduce the stair-stepping or jagged
appearance. In areas of transition, the edge pixels are blended to give a smoother appearance
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 Bucket Fill Tool: this will fill a selection with the foreground colour or, if there is no
selection, the complete active layer will be filled.

 Blend Tool: can be used for a range of effects, including editing layer masks, with the
option to produce custom gradients.

 Pencil Tool: offers a selection of hard edged drawing tools with options to edit and
create new types.

 Paintbrush Tool: largely the same as the Pencil Tool but with softer anti-aliased edges.

 Eraser Tool: offers same options as the Pencil Tool and Paintbrush Tool, but removes
colour rather than adding.

 Airbrush Tool: the same options, plus Rate and Pressure controls which affect the
opacity.

 Ink Tool: offers a range of options to help emulate different styles of fountain pen nib.

 Clone Tool: allows users to copy pixels from one part of an image to another part

 Blur/Sharpen Tool: effective tool for applying targeted blur and can also reduce effects
of anti-aliasing.

 Smudge Tool: neighbouring pixels can be blended together in an organic manner.

 Dodge/Burn Tool: digital interpretations of the photographic techniques for lightening

and darkening targeted parts of an image.

3.3. Transform Tools

The transform tools can generally operate on layers, selections and paths. They allow to scale,
rotate, skew and provide a different perspective of your selection or image.

 Rotate Tool: individual layers, locked layers and paths and selections can be rotated.
Simply click inside an area you already have selected (with the ants) and then you'll get a
box with 4 handles. Grab any of these handles and drag either clockwise or
counterclockwise. This will rotate your selection. When you have finished rotating, just hit
the rotate button

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 The little black dot inside the rotate box is the center point. You can move this point and it will
rotate around wherever the new point is.

 Scale Tool: simply resizes with options to maintain proportions. This tool allows you to
make the selection bigger or smaller. It works the same as the rotate tool with the handles.
If you want to keep the selection in perspective as you scale, remember to hold down the
ctrl key while you are dragging out the new scaled selection.

 Shear Tool: gives the ability to make the selected part apparently lean. With this tool
you can 'shear' the selection. Move the handles horizontally to see the effect.

 Perspective Tool: You can change the perspective of the selection with this tool. Grab
any corner and drag it out to and watch how it affects the selection. When you are done, hit
the 'perspective' button to change your selection.

 Flip Tool: The last transform tool is the horizontal or vertical flip tool. Make sure you
have the appropriate one selected from the properties box. Then click on the image to flip it.
Great for mirroring images and also comes in handy when doing animations.
 options to flip vertically and horizontally

3.4. Miscellaneous Tools

This last group of tools cover several important but standalone features.

 Paths Tool: often referred to as the pen tool, it allows the production of bezier curves5

5
A Bézier curve is a curved line or path defined by mathematical equations. It was named after Pierre Bézier, a French
mathematician and engineer who developed this method of computer drawing in the late 1960s while working for the car
manufacturer Renault
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 Colour Picker Tool: selects colour from a single pixel or the average of a group of
pixels

 Zoom Tool: offers options to zoom in and out of the working image.

 Measure Tool: can be used to find a selection of measurements including angles.

 Move Tool: has the option to move the active layer or select a layer by clicking on the
image The Move tool will allow you to move selections or whole layers. Just click and drag,
once you have this tool selected.

 Text Tool: allows you to apply text through the text editor and apply text to a path.

ACTIVITY 1: Cut out the girl’s shape from image number 1 and paste it on image number 2

IMAGE 1 IMAGE 2

 Use the “Scissors Select Tool”

 Use the “Move Tool”

 Use the “Scale Tool”

ACTIVITY 2: Design a lesson planning with images manipulated with GIMP.

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(GNU Image Manipulation Program)
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Herramientas de GIMP

En el siguiente cuadro se muestran las herramientas y la manera en que aparecen en Ventana

imagen:

Cursor en la
Herramienta Botón Función
Ventana Imagen
Selector cuadrado-rectangular. Selecciones rectangulares

Selector circular-óvalo. Selecciones circulares

Selector mano alzada. Selección libre

Selección por regiones

Selector varita mágica.
circundantes
Seleccionar regiones por
Selección por color similar
colores.
Selección por imagen
Selector Bézier.
vectorial

Selector tijeras inteligentes. Selección por contornos

Herramienta mover. Mover partes de la imagen

Herramienta zoom (acercar y Para acercar o alejar la

alejar). imagen
Recortar o cambiar de tamaño Recortar el tamaño de la
la imagen. imagen

Rotación de selección o capa. Rotar partes de la imagen

Escalar capa o selección. Escalar partes de la imagen

Inclinar la imagen o selección. Inclinar partes de la imagen

Crear perspectivas en partes

Cambiar la perspectiva.
de la imagen
Crear simetría horizontal o
Figura simétrica de la imagen o
vertical de partes de la
de la selección.
imagen
Introducción de texto en la
Herramienta texto.
imagen

Recoger colores de la imagen. Conocer el color de un píxel

Rellenar con un color o patrón

Rellenar con un color o patrón.
una zona de la imagen
Rellenar con degradado de
Rellenar con degradado.
color una parte de la imagen.
Dibujar con lápiz de distintos
Dibujos con lápiz.
grosores
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 Dibujar con pincel de distintos
Dibujos con pincel.
grosores
Borrar al color de fondo o
Borrar partes de la imagen
transparente.

Aerógrafo. Pintar con aerógrafo

Herramienta de clonación de
Clonar partes de la imagen
imagen.
Desenfoque o enfoque de Desenfocar pequeñas zonas
partes de la imagen. de una imagen

Dibujar con tinta. Dibujar con pluma

Blanquear o ennegrecer Blanquear o ennegrecer

(sobreexponer o subexponer). pequeñas zonas de la imagen
Difuminar con colores de
Tiznar partes de la imagen
alrededor pequeñas zonas de
(borronear).
la imagen

Medir distancias y ángulos. Mediciones en la imagen

Para seleccionar los colores

Selector de colores de fondo y
de frente (pintura) y fondo
primer plano.
(goma de borrar)
Para seleccionar el tipo de
Selector de brocha, relleno de brocha con la que pintar; el
patrón o gradiente. patrón de relleno o el tipo de
gradiente.