Itsuki
Jul 29, 2008, 11:19 AM
The biggest thing I want is for people to just try things that they don't normally do. Even if you've never really done anything, I'd like to see you try something, as long as you have a decent idea. So assuming you never have any real editting experience, I'm going to throw around a few Tutorials on how to not make your work look horrible. :D
The tutorials are going to be using The Gimp and Inkscape. Since both programs are free, work on all operating systems, and don't have all that huge of learning curves.
Lesson 1: The Programs, and cutting a picture out from the background
[spoiler-box]Ok! So, you want to start editting, but you don't want to go out and buy some artsy program? Well then, lets start with an introduction to The Gimp. Now, The Gimp is both restricting and versatile at the same time. Since its free and open source, anybody can write scripts for the plugins that you need. But sometimes it may be a hassle to find those plugins. The second program I will be using is called Inkscape. This is a vector artwork program. Its also rather powerful, but can be cumbersome at times. Everyone has their own preference on things, but I personally think using programs like these are far better than bootlegging some big expensive complicated program.
The Gimp can be found here:
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Some Gimp Plug-Ins can be found here:
http://photocomix-resources.deviantart.com/gallery/
And InkScape can be found here:
http://www.inkscape.org/download/?lang=en
Now, on to the interface. The gimp is separated into 2 separate windows plus your image windows.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-01.jpg[/spoiler-box]
The first window in the application and tools window. This one has all of your basic tools from Selections to blends to paintbrushes. And all the options for these tools.
The second window is your Layers and Channels window. This window is for more complex work, you will need it, but we'll get to most of its options later. For now, its primary use will be for color selection. I prefer the Color Triangle look (Icon looks like a circle with a triangle in it). To use the color triangle, you select along the outside circle which color you want, and then the inner triangle will change to that gradient, and you can select the shade of that color from that gradient. You can select between the foreground and background color. The top left being your "foreground color" and the bottom right being your "background" color. If you select the eyedropper you can duplicate a color. The numbers/letters on the bottom right of the window are the hex for this color. You don't really need to understand what the hex means, but basically the hex represents 3 numbers between 0 and 255 that tell you how much red, green, and blue are in the color. So, if you copy it down, you can keep that color for later use.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-02.jpg[/spoiler-box]
On the top of each image you have opened, you have all the tools that would do large effects on the selection or layer you are currently using. So lets have some basic terminology. Layers stack on top of each other to create an image. A selection is a portion of a layer. There are a few different kinds of layers. First, there are raster layers. These are basically images that can have transparencies so you can see layers below them. Think of it as a sheet of paper you can draw on, and you can cut sections out of. You can stack multiple on top of each other to make a picture. The Gimp only deals with these raster layers and no other kind of layers.
Now, for the first tutorial: Cutting your character out and putting it on a different background:
Step 1) Select a screenshot. If you plan on cutting out a picture, its best to make that screenshot have a high contrast. Wearing green clothes in a forest and then trying to make you selection will be very difficult. The picture I'm using isn't that high of contrast, but it works well enough. The checkerboard that appears on your image by default represents the alpha channel, or "How transparent" the picture is. You can leave it on, or you can make the currently layer completely opaque by selecting Layer -> Transparency -> Semi-flatten.
Step 2) Get used to moving around the picture. You can zoom from the view menu and use the scroll bars, or you can use these helpful commands:
Using your mouse wheel will scroll up and down..
Holding Shift + Using your mouse wheel will scroll left and right.
Holding Ctrl + Using your mouse wheel will zoom in and out.
Step 3) Lets select the Fuzzy Select tool. Photoshop and PSP users call this the "Magic Wand Tool". And the icon for it looks like a magic wand. This too selects an area based on how like the pixel you selected it is. Now, look at the options for fuzzy select that appear in the bottom portion of the tools window. There are a few different commands you need to know when using a selection tool:
Pressing the left mouse button selects an area
Important -> Holding Shift + Pressing the left mouse button adds to the currently selected area
Important -> Holding Ctrl + Pressing the left mouse button removes from the currently selected area
Holding Ctrl + Shift + Pressing the left mouse button creates an intersection or xOr selection. Basically where the two selections meet is selected. You probably won't need this.
Pressing Ctrl + A selects everything
Important -> Pressing Ctrl + Shift + A selects nothing
Ctrl + Z is always undo
There are also a few options to consider.
Antialiasing will soften the edges so that you don't get as many "jaggies".
Feather Edges will create a gradient or "blur" on the edges. For magic wands this is relatively useless, but, for other selections this is very useful.
Sample Merged will have your selection effect all visible layers, rather than just your currently selected layer.
Threshold is how powerful you want the magic wand to be. The more powerful, the larger the area is, but also the more likely unwanted parts will be selected.
Step 4) Now, depending on your image, it may be easier to select your character or to select the background. The Fuzzy Select / Magic Wand will give you a basic outline, but it won't be perfect. For this instance, I am going to use the character themselves. I'm going to use a threshold of about 30 (likely you will need to mess around with this until you get one that fits your needs), and focus mainly on Rin's skin, since her outfit is too close to the background.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-03.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 5) Now, If I change the "Select By" portion to "Hue", it will select based on how different the colors are ONLY. This will allow me to select the hair without selecting the background. I would consider messing around with the different "Select By" methods to get optimal performance out of the Fuzzy Select / Magic Wand. Hue and Composite in most situations are the most useful.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-04.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 6) Now, select the freehand tool (you can also use the scissors tool, but thats a bit more complicated). You are going to be doing too things with this. First, cleaning up the inside. And second, cleaning up the outside. You don't need to be perfect, but just cut off anything unwanted and select anything. Use Shift and Ctrl a lot here to get the selection that you want.
*Tip*: If you don't have a steady hand, zoom in close and work in small sections. As I said, you don't need to be perfect, so don't stress too much if you have a few pixels of background mixed in, or you have a few pixels of your character cut out.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-05.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 7) You have two options to isolating this selection.
Option 7.1) Go to the Selections menu and select invert (Ctrl + I). And then press delete to delete the background.
Option 7.2) Go to the Selections menu and select float (Ctrl + Shift + L). Then right click on the floated selection in the layers window, and select "New Layer".
Either way, you now have a isolated image you can paste on any background. I suggest saving here.
*Tip*: Save often, and with different file names, so you can go back and edit from certain points, or combine images together. Your final idea may be different from what you initially expected, and having to go back and redo everything is something you want to avoid.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-06.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 8) Add whatever background you want to it as a seperate layer that is below the current layer. Viola, you're done.[/spoiler-box]
Lesson 2: Going from a selection to a path to a selection again
[spoiler-box]
The Gimp doesn't use true vectors. This is both bad and good. But in this instance, it won't really be a problem. So lets see a few of the things you can do with paths.
Step 1) Open the file we used from lesson 1. Depending on what method you used, you may have this yellow box around your picture, or your saved file may be the same size as your cutout. So, to prep for this tutorial you may need to do some additional steps.
- If there is a yellow box, then on the layers window, right click on the layer the selection is in, and select "Layer to Image Size".
- If the selection is the same size as the image, then go to the image menu, and select canvas size. Under width and Height there will be the current width and height. Expand it to a larger size, and then use the image under offset, to drag the image to where you want it to be.
*Tip* You can use the canvas size setting to crop images and cut off unwanted portions after you are completed with an image.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-01.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 2) Select the Fuzzy Select tool and make the threshold max, then select your cutout to turn it into a selection. It will not effect the transparent areas, so it will only select your cut out.
Step 3) Under the Select menu, go down to "To Path". This will turn the selection into a path. You can then deselect the cut out (Ctrl + Shift + A).
Step 4) Go to the Paths tab, and make your selection visible. If you select the paths tool, and select the "Edit" option, then you can view the vector points on this path. But for now, we won't need that. I'm going to leave the path visible, so you can view what we are working with.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-02.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 5) Right click on the path, and select "Stroke Path". Depending on the size of the picture, you may use a different size. But this will take your foreground color, and apply a line or a tool around the path. For this case, we're just going to use a line. I'm going to use a stroke width of 3 pixels. This can give you a nice solid outline on a background.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-03.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Now lets try something different....
Step 6) Go to your layers and add a second layer below the layer you are currently working on. I've already done this and filled it in green. But, you can leave it transparent or fill it with your own color. Since its below the layer that has your cut out, it won't effect that layer.
*Tip* Whatever layer you have selected when you stroke a path is the layer that will have that on it. So if you want the outline to be a separate layer, then you need to add a new layer just for outlines and select it before you stroke the path.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-04.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 7) Select the path tool, and select move, and move our path offset from our cutout.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-05.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 8) Right click on the path and go to "Path to Selection". I would suggest making the path invisible again so that it doesn't impede your view.
Step 9) Select the Bucket Fill tool. And fill the new selection with a solid color. I'm going to use a dark grey, which in this case will give you a shadow look. If you resize the vector or put it in a different place, you can get a lot of different effects out of it. This is good for shadows, silhouettes, etc. You can use the deformation tools (Rotate, Scale, Shear, and Perspective) and choose Paths from their options to change the way this paths looks.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-06.jpghttp://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-07.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Now, lets try creating a path from scratch.
Step 10) Select the Path tool. Then choose the Design option. If you have the path's tab open, you will notice that this starts a new path. Now, if you point and click on points. Then it will make straight lines from each.
If you have Polygonal checked:
- Clicking and dragging will move the current point you are editting.
- Holding Ctrl does nothing.
If you have Polygonal unchecked:
- Clicking and dragging will create a curve. The further you drag out, the more the curve.
- Holding Ctrl while clicking on a vector will allow you edit how curved a section is.
*Tip* In most programs, you can close off the Path when you are done. The gimp doesn't allow you to do this. So its recommended that you put your final point near or on top of your initial point so you know exactly how your selection will look.
Step 11) After you create your path, you can turn your path into a selection, and fill as before. You can even fill with an image or texture.
*Tip* You can export the path to a file, and then load it up in another picture to copy and paste a portion of that picture out.
*Tip* With the gimp, paths and selections can be almost synonymous since you can so easy go from one to the other and back. So anything you can do with one, you can in theory do with the other.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-09.jpg[/spoiler-box]
In most programs vectors are handled a bit differently. You do not need to move them over to selections to fill them. They auto fill and auto stroke. The Gimp's way of handling them is in some ways more versatile. But in other instances, its just more time consuming. You have to do a few extra steps to get it to look the way you want a lot of the time. I'll show you how to do that in the next tutorial.[/spoiler-box]
Next 2 are going to be with Inkscape. I already have the pictures taken, just need to type them up.
The tutorials are going to be using The Gimp and Inkscape. Since both programs are free, work on all operating systems, and don't have all that huge of learning curves.
Lesson 1: The Programs, and cutting a picture out from the background
[spoiler-box]Ok! So, you want to start editting, but you don't want to go out and buy some artsy program? Well then, lets start with an introduction to The Gimp. Now, The Gimp is both restricting and versatile at the same time. Since its free and open source, anybody can write scripts for the plugins that you need. But sometimes it may be a hassle to find those plugins. The second program I will be using is called Inkscape. This is a vector artwork program. Its also rather powerful, but can be cumbersome at times. Everyone has their own preference on things, but I personally think using programs like these are far better than bootlegging some big expensive complicated program.
The Gimp can be found here:
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Some Gimp Plug-Ins can be found here:
http://photocomix-resources.deviantart.com/gallery/
And InkScape can be found here:
http://www.inkscape.org/download/?lang=en
Now, on to the interface. The gimp is separated into 2 separate windows plus your image windows.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-01.jpg[/spoiler-box]
The first window in the application and tools window. This one has all of your basic tools from Selections to blends to paintbrushes. And all the options for these tools.
The second window is your Layers and Channels window. This window is for more complex work, you will need it, but we'll get to most of its options later. For now, its primary use will be for color selection. I prefer the Color Triangle look (Icon looks like a circle with a triangle in it). To use the color triangle, you select along the outside circle which color you want, and then the inner triangle will change to that gradient, and you can select the shade of that color from that gradient. You can select between the foreground and background color. The top left being your "foreground color" and the bottom right being your "background" color. If you select the eyedropper you can duplicate a color. The numbers/letters on the bottom right of the window are the hex for this color. You don't really need to understand what the hex means, but basically the hex represents 3 numbers between 0 and 255 that tell you how much red, green, and blue are in the color. So, if you copy it down, you can keep that color for later use.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-02.jpg[/spoiler-box]
On the top of each image you have opened, you have all the tools that would do large effects on the selection or layer you are currently using. So lets have some basic terminology. Layers stack on top of each other to create an image. A selection is a portion of a layer. There are a few different kinds of layers. First, there are raster layers. These are basically images that can have transparencies so you can see layers below them. Think of it as a sheet of paper you can draw on, and you can cut sections out of. You can stack multiple on top of each other to make a picture. The Gimp only deals with these raster layers and no other kind of layers.
Now, for the first tutorial: Cutting your character out and putting it on a different background:
Step 1) Select a screenshot. If you plan on cutting out a picture, its best to make that screenshot have a high contrast. Wearing green clothes in a forest and then trying to make you selection will be very difficult. The picture I'm using isn't that high of contrast, but it works well enough. The checkerboard that appears on your image by default represents the alpha channel, or "How transparent" the picture is. You can leave it on, or you can make the currently layer completely opaque by selecting Layer -> Transparency -> Semi-flatten.
Step 2) Get used to moving around the picture. You can zoom from the view menu and use the scroll bars, or you can use these helpful commands:
Using your mouse wheel will scroll up and down..
Holding Shift + Using your mouse wheel will scroll left and right.
Holding Ctrl + Using your mouse wheel will zoom in and out.
Step 3) Lets select the Fuzzy Select tool. Photoshop and PSP users call this the "Magic Wand Tool". And the icon for it looks like a magic wand. This too selects an area based on how like the pixel you selected it is. Now, look at the options for fuzzy select that appear in the bottom portion of the tools window. There are a few different commands you need to know when using a selection tool:
Pressing the left mouse button selects an area
Important -> Holding Shift + Pressing the left mouse button adds to the currently selected area
Important -> Holding Ctrl + Pressing the left mouse button removes from the currently selected area
Holding Ctrl + Shift + Pressing the left mouse button creates an intersection or xOr selection. Basically where the two selections meet is selected. You probably won't need this.
Pressing Ctrl + A selects everything
Important -> Pressing Ctrl + Shift + A selects nothing
Ctrl + Z is always undo
There are also a few options to consider.
Antialiasing will soften the edges so that you don't get as many "jaggies".
Feather Edges will create a gradient or "blur" on the edges. For magic wands this is relatively useless, but, for other selections this is very useful.
Sample Merged will have your selection effect all visible layers, rather than just your currently selected layer.
Threshold is how powerful you want the magic wand to be. The more powerful, the larger the area is, but also the more likely unwanted parts will be selected.
Step 4) Now, depending on your image, it may be easier to select your character or to select the background. The Fuzzy Select / Magic Wand will give you a basic outline, but it won't be perfect. For this instance, I am going to use the character themselves. I'm going to use a threshold of about 30 (likely you will need to mess around with this until you get one that fits your needs), and focus mainly on Rin's skin, since her outfit is too close to the background.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-03.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 5) Now, If I change the "Select By" portion to "Hue", it will select based on how different the colors are ONLY. This will allow me to select the hair without selecting the background. I would consider messing around with the different "Select By" methods to get optimal performance out of the Fuzzy Select / Magic Wand. Hue and Composite in most situations are the most useful.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-04.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 6) Now, select the freehand tool (you can also use the scissors tool, but thats a bit more complicated). You are going to be doing too things with this. First, cleaning up the inside. And second, cleaning up the outside. You don't need to be perfect, but just cut off anything unwanted and select anything. Use Shift and Ctrl a lot here to get the selection that you want.
*Tip*: If you don't have a steady hand, zoom in close and work in small sections. As I said, you don't need to be perfect, so don't stress too much if you have a few pixels of background mixed in, or you have a few pixels of your character cut out.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-05.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 7) You have two options to isolating this selection.
Option 7.1) Go to the Selections menu and select invert (Ctrl + I). And then press delete to delete the background.
Option 7.2) Go to the Selections menu and select float (Ctrl + Shift + L). Then right click on the floated selection in the layers window, and select "New Layer".
Either way, you now have a isolated image you can paste on any background. I suggest saving here.
*Tip*: Save often, and with different file names, so you can go back and edit from certain points, or combine images together. Your final idea may be different from what you initially expected, and having to go back and redo everything is something you want to avoid.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson1-06.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 8) Add whatever background you want to it as a seperate layer that is below the current layer. Viola, you're done.[/spoiler-box]
Lesson 2: Going from a selection to a path to a selection again
[spoiler-box]
The Gimp doesn't use true vectors. This is both bad and good. But in this instance, it won't really be a problem. So lets see a few of the things you can do with paths.
Step 1) Open the file we used from lesson 1. Depending on what method you used, you may have this yellow box around your picture, or your saved file may be the same size as your cutout. So, to prep for this tutorial you may need to do some additional steps.
- If there is a yellow box, then on the layers window, right click on the layer the selection is in, and select "Layer to Image Size".
- If the selection is the same size as the image, then go to the image menu, and select canvas size. Under width and Height there will be the current width and height. Expand it to a larger size, and then use the image under offset, to drag the image to where you want it to be.
*Tip* You can use the canvas size setting to crop images and cut off unwanted portions after you are completed with an image.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-01.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 2) Select the Fuzzy Select tool and make the threshold max, then select your cutout to turn it into a selection. It will not effect the transparent areas, so it will only select your cut out.
Step 3) Under the Select menu, go down to "To Path". This will turn the selection into a path. You can then deselect the cut out (Ctrl + Shift + A).
Step 4) Go to the Paths tab, and make your selection visible. If you select the paths tool, and select the "Edit" option, then you can view the vector points on this path. But for now, we won't need that. I'm going to leave the path visible, so you can view what we are working with.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-02.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 5) Right click on the path, and select "Stroke Path". Depending on the size of the picture, you may use a different size. But this will take your foreground color, and apply a line or a tool around the path. For this case, we're just going to use a line. I'm going to use a stroke width of 3 pixels. This can give you a nice solid outline on a background.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-03.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Now lets try something different....
Step 6) Go to your layers and add a second layer below the layer you are currently working on. I've already done this and filled it in green. But, you can leave it transparent or fill it with your own color. Since its below the layer that has your cut out, it won't effect that layer.
*Tip* Whatever layer you have selected when you stroke a path is the layer that will have that on it. So if you want the outline to be a separate layer, then you need to add a new layer just for outlines and select it before you stroke the path.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-04.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 7) Select the path tool, and select move, and move our path offset from our cutout.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-05.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Step 8) Right click on the path and go to "Path to Selection". I would suggest making the path invisible again so that it doesn't impede your view.
Step 9) Select the Bucket Fill tool. And fill the new selection with a solid color. I'm going to use a dark grey, which in this case will give you a shadow look. If you resize the vector or put it in a different place, you can get a lot of different effects out of it. This is good for shadows, silhouettes, etc. You can use the deformation tools (Rotate, Scale, Shear, and Perspective) and choose Paths from their options to change the way this paths looks.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-06.jpghttp://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-07.jpg[/spoiler-box]
Now, lets try creating a path from scratch.
Step 10) Select the Path tool. Then choose the Design option. If you have the path's tab open, you will notice that this starts a new path. Now, if you point and click on points. Then it will make straight lines from each.
If you have Polygonal checked:
- Clicking and dragging will move the current point you are editting.
- Holding Ctrl does nothing.
If you have Polygonal unchecked:
- Clicking and dragging will create a curve. The further you drag out, the more the curve.
- Holding Ctrl while clicking on a vector will allow you edit how curved a section is.
*Tip* In most programs, you can close off the Path when you are done. The gimp doesn't allow you to do this. So its recommended that you put your final point near or on top of your initial point so you know exactly how your selection will look.
Step 11) After you create your path, you can turn your path into a selection, and fill as before. You can even fill with an image or texture.
*Tip* You can export the path to a file, and then load it up in another picture to copy and paste a portion of that picture out.
*Tip* With the gimp, paths and selections can be almost synonymous since you can so easy go from one to the other and back. So anything you can do with one, you can in theory do with the other.
[spoiler-box]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Akukame/Lessons/Lesson2-09.jpg[/spoiler-box]
In most programs vectors are handled a bit differently. You do not need to move them over to selections to fill them. They auto fill and auto stroke. The Gimp's way of handling them is in some ways more versatile. But in other instances, its just more time consuming. You have to do a few extra steps to get it to look the way you want a lot of the time. I'll show you how to do that in the next tutorial.[/spoiler-box]
Next 2 are going to be with Inkscape. I already have the pictures taken, just need to type them up.