Figure 1

Getting Started


GIMP is a free, open source and extensible graphics editor. In this article we'll be exploring the GIMP toolbox, various tools, the palette, layers and applying filters. After completing this article you'll be able to create some basic graphics, touch up photos and apply effects.

Why am I writing this?


A few weeks ago a friend of mine messaged me on AIM asking how she could create her own graphics. I've been a satisfied Photoshop user for years so I gave her a link. After a few minutes I realized the trial version only lasted 30 days and the program cost around $600 U.S. the last time I checked.

Who wants to spend $600 to occasionally create a few graphics? She didn't! The next program that came to mind was GIMP, so I gave her the link and she went on her way.

About an hour later I asked her how it was going and learned she was having quite a bit of trouble. Why not write an article on GIMP I thought? She only wanted to create the simplest of graphics so I figured it would be relatively trivial for me to tinker around a bit and write something.

Once I got around to starting on the article I quickly learned why she was having trouble -- GIMP was no Photoshop and the interfaces weren't very intuitive. As time went on I started to warm up and appreciate some of the features, but realized I wasn't embarking on a single article but rather a series of articles.

This article is intended for people like my friend, those who have little to no experience working with a graphics program. As time goes on and I become more proficient with GIMP I'll continue to write.

Download GIMP


The first thing you need to do is download the latest version of GIMP from one of the links below. As of this writing, the latest version is 2.6.4 so that's what I'll be working with.

Once you've installed GIMP fire it up and maximize the main window so it covers the entire screen. You should see a toolbox on the left, image canvas in the middle, palette on the right and a ruler surrounding the entire workspace.

XCF Working Files


An XCF file is to an image file (JPG, GIF, PNG etc) as a Microsoft Word document is to a printed report. When you create a report in Word the text formatting, color and so on is saved along with that file. A GIMP XCF Image is a working file (kind of like a .doc file for reports) that stores layer, selection, channel, transparency, path and guide information related to the graphics you create.

You'll often start with an XCF file, create the graphic and then save a JPG, GIF or PNG version for use. In the future if you want to change the image you can open the XCF file, make the changes and then save a new copy for use -- just like you would for a Word or Open Office document.

Opening and Creating Images


There are many kinds of files that you can open with GIMP. To import an existing XCF file, photo or other file go to File → Open, locate the file you wish to open, select it and then click Open.

Figure 2

If you'd like to start out with an empty canvas and create a graphic from scratch go to File → New, select a template size or manually enter in a width and height for the image canvas and click OK.

Figure 3

There are also a number of possibilities by going to File → Create, such as Logos → Alien Glow where you can enter some text, select a font style, size and color and enjoy the prefab effect.

Figure 4

Saving Images


When it comes to saving files GIMP has the following 4 options: Save; Save As; Save A Copy; and Save As Template.

Whether you're modifying a photo or creating a new graphic from scratch you should first save a working copy by going to Save As and selecting the GIMP XCF Image file type. Below is a screen shot where I saved a file as a JPG. In the beginning do the same thing but choose the XCF format. Once you have a working copy use the Save option periodically and when you're ready to save a version for use go back to Save As but choose a traditional image format such as JPG, GIF or PNG.

Save A Copy is just an easy to way to save a copy with a different file name for whatever reason but continue to use the current name for the opened file. Save As Template will save a GIMP template file with the same dimensions and color space as the current image. The new template will appear in the New Image dialog you saw above.

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The Toolbox


There are tools, options and settings spread throughout the GIMP program. A lot of the tools are found on the toolbox seen below. When you select a tool on the toolbox, tool specific options and settings appear on the bottom. Take a few moments to look over these tools -- the tools on left are the ones covered in this article.

Figure 6

The Palette


The GIMP palette is customizable (add and remove tabs etc). When you create graphics you'll often have to work with "layers". You can select, name and modify these layers from the palette. Take a few moments to explore the palette and then continue.

Figure 7

Layers Explained


Imagine you're making a ham & cheese sandwich. You start out with the bottom piece of bread, then you place a piece of ham on it followed by some cheese and finally finish with the top piece of bread. Each element of the sandwich is a layer of the sandwich. The bottom piece of bread is layer 1, the ham would be layer 2, layer 3 is the cheese and layer 4 is the top piece of bread.

Layers make it easy to organize the elements in your graphic, keep elements separated (grass, trees, mountains etc), stack elements above or below other elements (trees above grass etc) and apply unique styles and filtering to each layer among many other things.

Figure 8

Continue with Exploring the Toolbox ➜