Hello all! I myself am kind of a beginner artist, but I kind of got the hang of using GIMP already. GIMP is a free art program, kind of like Photoshop, but a little easier. I have heard many people complain that they cannot find a good siggy tutorial for a beginner online, so I will post one. It is very simple if you get these basics. I recommend that you google "free GIMP brushes" , and downloadand add them to your GIMP program, as they would be helpful for you. So, lets get started.
First, open up GIMP. Click on File> New. Now, it will ask you how big you want your picture to be. I usually do 350x150 pixels, so you can type in that if you want to. Don't make it too big though.
Now, its time to use brushes. Click on the paintbrush icon on your toolbox, and go to the "Brushes" section to pick out your brush. You can also change the color of the brush in the Toolbox, so do that( if you do not want to have a black colored brush). You paint by simply clicking on your image. I suggest that you use a couple of different brushes, and colors. This will be the background. If you mess up, you can go to your toolbox, and click on the "Undo" It should look something like this:
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd386/Zsof_Taco/Siggy%20tutorial/Tutorial.png
Now, you add your picture. Go to File> Open and select your picture. Now that you have it, select the "Free Select Tool" ( the one that looks like a lasso). Here is a good tutorial on how to get your picture cut out: http://www.ehow.com/how_4593155_render-image-gimp.html If you don't want white spaces to be left behind, then you probably should spend some time cutting your picture out.
After you have your picture cut out, go to Select> All , then Edit> Copy visible. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE "FREE SELECT TOOL" SELECTED BEFORE PASTING. Now you go on your background, and go to Edit> Paste. Because you have the lasso like tool, you can move the picture anywhere you want. If you found a perfect spot, then click on the gray space to anchor it down. It will look something like this:
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd386/Zsof_Taco/Siggy tutorial/Tutorial-1.png
Finally, you add some text. Click on the Text Tool (the one that looks like the letter "A"). Go to your Toolbox > Tool Options. It should be the first one. You can edit for font, size, and color. Then click on the space where you want your text to be. A box will pop up and you can type in what you want. If it doesn't look good, then you can move it with the mouse. When you are done, right click on your text and go to Layers> Merge Down. Now, you will have everything on your siggy in one layer. To save, go to File> Save As , and select where you want to save it. You also switch the file type by going to "Select File Type". I recommend PNG, so do that. My result:
I hope you found this helpful, wanna be artists!
First, open up GIMP. Click on File> New. Now, it will ask you how big you want your picture to be. I usually do 350x150 pixels, so you can type in that if you want to. Don't make it too big though.
Now, its time to use brushes. Click on the paintbrush icon on your toolbox, and go to the "Brushes" section to pick out your brush. You can also change the color of the brush in the Toolbox, so do that( if you do not want to have a black colored brush). You paint by simply clicking on your image. I suggest that you use a couple of different brushes, and colors. This will be the background. If you mess up, you can go to your toolbox, and click on the "Undo" It should look something like this:
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd386/Zsof_Taco/Siggy%20tutorial/Tutorial.png
Now, you add your picture. Go to File> Open and select your picture. Now that you have it, select the "Free Select Tool" ( the one that looks like a lasso). Here is a good tutorial on how to get your picture cut out: http://www.ehow.com/how_4593155_render-image-gimp.html If you don't want white spaces to be left behind, then you probably should spend some time cutting your picture out.
After you have your picture cut out, go to Select> All , then Edit> Copy visible. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE "FREE SELECT TOOL" SELECTED BEFORE PASTING. Now you go on your background, and go to Edit> Paste. Because you have the lasso like tool, you can move the picture anywhere you want. If you found a perfect spot, then click on the gray space to anchor it down. It will look something like this:
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd386/Zsof_Taco/Siggy tutorial/Tutorial-1.png
Finally, you add some text. Click on the Text Tool (the one that looks like the letter "A"). Go to your Toolbox > Tool Options. It should be the first one. You can edit for font, size, and color. Then click on the space where you want your text to be. A box will pop up and you can type in what you want. If it doesn't look good, then you can move it with the mouse. When you are done, right click on your text and go to Layers> Merge Down. Now, you will have everything on your siggy in one layer. To save, go to File> Save As , and select where you want to save it. You also switch the file type by going to "Select File Type". I recommend PNG, so do that. My result:
