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Quick Guide to Gimp Shop The main screen

Changing Settings

• If the main screen in the background (the gray area) does not show up when you start

Gimp Shop, right-click on the program in the task bar and select Maximize

Displaying Menus

• If the menus on the right in the above image do not display automatically when Gimp

Shop is opened

1) Go into the file menu of the left-hand tool box, select Window > Create New Path

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2) Select Layers, Channels & Paths to get the top part of the toolbar as it is displayed

in the image above, and select Brushes, Patterns & Gradients to display the

bottom part of the tool box

Adding Tabs

In the right-hand tool box different tabs can be added and these allow quick access to different

editing tools and options. The default tabs in the Layers, Channels, & Paths toolbox are Layers

, Channels , Paths , and Undo History . The

tabs in the Brushes, Patterns, & Gradients toolbox are Brushes

, Patterns , Gradients , Swatches , and Fonts

. To add a different tab (or to restore one if you

accidentally get rid of it):

1) Click on the little arrow to the right of the tab

title and go to Add Tab

2) Select the tab you would like to add

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Creating a new document

1) In the left-hand tool box, go to File > New

2) Choose the size of the blank document you would like to create (image size can be set in

several different units, including pixels and inches)

3) The higher quality you would like the

image to be, the higher the resolution

necessary

o Default resolution in 72

pixels/in, suitable for most

images

o For a large poster to print,

something like 200 would be

appropriate

o The higher the resolution, the

larger the file size will be

4) Choose the color for the background

5) Click OK

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Opening images

1) In the left-hand tool box, go to File > Open

2) Locate the image you would like to edit and click Open

o To open multiple images hold down Ctrl while clicking to highlight all the images

you would like to open and then click Open

3) To make a folder where you have pictures easier to locate, find it so that it shows up in

the middle column of the Open menu and click on it, then click the +Add button, and the

folder you selected should show up in the left-hand column of the menu from now on

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Zooming

To see an image closer up, you need to zoom in (or vice versa). There are two ways of changing

the zoom:

1) Select a value from the drop down menu at the bottom of the image window

2) To choose a percentage that is not on the drop down menu, go to the View menu at the

top of the image window, choose Zoom, and then Other and type in the percentage value

you want

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Layers

Layers menu

These allow editing without altering every part of the image.

The layers menu is in the right-hand tool box and can be

selected by clicking the icon that looks like a stack of white

papers .

1) When you open an image, it will show up as the

�Background� layer in the layers menu

2) To create a new layer, click the icon that looks like a

sheet of paper at the bottom left of the layers menu

3) A box will pop up that says �Create a New Layer,� the width and height automatically

match those of the background, and generally you want to select �Transparency� as the

Layer Fill Type � Click OK

4) The new layer will show up labeled as

such above the Background layer in the

menu. The checker box pattern of the

thumbnail means it is transparent.

5) You can now paint on the transparent

layer and erase what you do there without

altering the original background image.

6) To merge two layers, make sure they

appear next to each other in the list of

layers. Right-click on the upper of the

two layers, and select Merge Down

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Adding text

1) Click the �T� icon in the left-hand tool box to select the type tool

2) Choose the font and size of the type you would like to add

3) Click the place on the map where you would like to add the text

4) Type your text in the box that pops up, change the font, size, or color as desired, and close it

when you are finished.

5) The text has automatically been put in a new layer, the name of which should be the same as

what it says

6) To add effects to the text, such as a shadow, go to the Filter menu at the top of the image,

choose shadows > drop shadow. All the effects are different, and you just have to try them to

see what you like or want. The effect will also be created in a new layer.

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Cropping

1) To crop an image, select the tool that looks like a knife

from the left-hand tool box

2) If you would like to retain the ratio of picture size of the

original image, check the �Keep Aspect Ration� box,

otherwise you can crop with whatever dimensions you

would like.

3) Select the area of the image you would like to retain, and

hit Enter

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Painting

1) Create a new transparent layer over the background image

2) Select the paint brush tool from the left-hand tool box

3) To change the color you are painting, click on the Foreground Color in the left-hand tool

box

4) Select brush type from the menu at the bottom of the right-hand tool box

5) Select brush size from the menu at the bottom of the left-hand tool box

6) As the opacity is lowered below 100%, what you paint becomes increasingly transparent,

so leave it at 100% if you want solid lines

7) Use the eraser tool to erase parts of the painting (make sure the layer you are painting

on is selected in the layers menu, and not the background layer)

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Selecting Part of an Image

1) Roughly select around the edges of the part of the picture you would like to isolate by

using the lasso tool . Click and drag the cursor around the area you are selecting and

release when you have completely encircled it.

2) The area you just selected will appear with a flashing dotted line around it.

3) To edit the selection and make the edges more precise, it is easiest to use Quick Mask

Mode. Go to the Select menu in the image�s window, and click Toggle Quick Mask

Mode.

4) The area outside your selection appears covered by an

opaque red layer, while the selected area appears as

normal.

5) To select less, using the brush tool,

select black as the foreground color and

paint in the areas you would like to be outside the selection (it will appear that you are

painting in more of the red opaque layer). To add more to the selection, change the

foreground color to white and paint (this will erase the red).

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6) Exit Quick Mask Mode once you have the edges of your selection clean and where you

want them

7) The flashing dotted line should now go precisely along the edge of the area you want to

select

8) Create a new transparent layer

9) Copy the selection onto the new layer

10) In the layers menu on the right it will appear as a �floating� layer when you first paste it,

so right click on the pasted layer and select Anchor Layer � that will paste your selection

onto your new transparent layer

11) Now effects can be added to the layer without having any effect on the background image

(this allows you to emphasize and manipulate the part of the image you selected and put

into the new layer while leaving the rest of the image unchanged, or changing it in a

different way)

12) Use the filters menu at the top of the image window to add different effects to a layer.

Experiment with these to get the results you want. Below are a couple possible results

for the image used as an example:

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Undoing changes

1) In the right-hand tool box, select the Undo History

menu instead of the layers menu

2) The lowest items on the list are the most recent, click

on items higher up to revert to the stage of the image

when you completed that action

3) Clicking undo at the bottom of the menu accomplishes

the same thing, but you go one step at a time, so if you

would like to undo the last three of your actions (for

example) you would click on the item fourth from the

bottom in the list, rather than hitting undo three times.

^ In this image, for example, if I wanted to undo both the text and painting I�d done, I would

click on �Add Layer,� and that would take me back to that step in my editing and remove the

steps below it

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Map Creation Tips

1) Never alter the background layer (the blank map)

2) Create a new layer for each feature added (a layer for border, a layer for rivers, etc.)

3) Keep layers in an order that makes sense

a. The layers at the top of the list are on the top of the image, so if you want the line

for a railroad to go over rivers, make sure the railroad layer is over the rivers layer

b. Merge layers that you are sure you are done editing. For example, if you have

drawn and labeled all the rivers (once text layers are merged, text cannot be

edited), merge the text layers that contain the labels so you just have one layer

with the drawn rivers and one with their corresponding text, rather than having at

least a dozen separate text layers

4) Save in the Gimp Shop format (.xcf) so that layers are preserved. Saving in jpeg format

or any other simple image format automatically combines all layers.

5) If you would like to fill in an area with color quickly by using the paint bucket tool rather

than the brush, you must first paint the boundaries of the area you want to fill. The map

boundaries in the background image will not be recognized by the program, but you can

create a new transparent layer and then draw over the boundaries.