3)Curves are kind of advanced... I'm just getting the hang of them. They can be used to define a custom curves, which can then be "stroked," or turned into a coloured, curving line. You probably don't need them for now.

I think that's actually the Paths tool that you're talking about there.
The Curves tool is used to alter the image coloring. It's very helpful, and I personally love using it. The best way to figure out how to use it is just to play around with it and see what it does. (I'm a self taught Gimp user, and pretty much everything I know was learned through playing around with a tool until I knew what it did.) Basically, if you move the line up it makes your image brighter, and if you move the line down it makes the image darker.
If you still are unable to figure out what a tool does, Ricasso's suggestion about googling the tool is a good one. You can find pretty much anything on google.
I also recommend checking out the Tutorial thread. It is extremely helpful, and there are some Photoshop tutorials in there as well.

Do I need to download images to my computer?

Yes, you do.

Let us know if you have any more questions.

--- flambeau

Thank you both for the explanations. I think I'm beginning to sort of get the barest idea of things.

Photoshop! It's definitely a good program (the best, but I'm bias), and I've been using it since I started making graphics. If there is any specific questions you want to ask about tools and such you can shoot me a pm or ask in here and I'll try to help answer them.

flambeau and Ricasso have already explained what you asked well

~Lover

What size are Signature pictures supposed to be? Like, what size in pixels?
And if there isn't a set size, could someone give me a basic size? How big is too big?

Heya, Eustace+Jill!
First of all, I know you've been around a little while now. But I wanted to say welcome!

Secondly, Narniaweb rules state, that signatures have to be 300x100 in size. (and avatars are to be 100x100) Hope that helps!

Oh, and you can post things that are larger, we just can't use them on the forum. There are other rules too, which you can find in the Fan Art Rules section.

Let me know if you need anything else!

*pops in*

Hey, is there anyone here who has experience doing digital paintings? I've run into some trouble, and I'm searching for advice.

I've been working on a digital painting of EustaceDragon for a while, which I'd like to put up once I'm finished with it. Except, there's an annoying white line surrounding him, and I don't know the best way to get it to go away.

The line in question is here:

I'm using Photoshop Elements 7. I began by scanning in a pencil drawing I did. I have the bottommost color layer in multiply, so you can still see the pencil marks. Before adding color, I selected a portion of the drawing first so that I could dump a base color easily. I might have made a mistake here - maybe there was some unintentional feathering on my selection? I'm not sure. But I can't paint over it since the layer above the pencil drawing is on multiply, and it distorts the color because of the background.

Whew! If anyone here knows what I'm talking about, should I try merging the two layers and erasing the line by hand? Or is there a better way to remove my unwanted line without making the edge too sharp?

Hello Silver the Wanderer you could try blurring the lines so that the white lines are less obvious. The blur tool should look like a teardrop.

Um... if I understand your problem of being unable to paint over the the lines, you could try merging all the layers. Then using the colour drop tool to pick out the right hue of green and paint over the white lines.

I'm not sure if this will solve your problem. Its very likely I've totally misunderstood your problem! In which case, I apologise!

I tried blurring the lines, and it does seem to make it better - thanks so much for the advice, Aurora!

Hi, I'm kind of new to GIMP, so I have a bunch of questions.

1. A lot of tutorials say that after duplicating a base layer, to set the first layer to a certain setting, and the second layer to a different setting. But after I duplicate a layer, it will only let me work with the second layer, and I can do nothing to the first layer. (It does the same whether the Alpha Channel button is clicked or not) What do I do?

2. The tutorial I'm following says to set the first image to "screen 40". But I don't know what "screen 40" is. . . ???

3. How do I know when to flatten an image?

4. How do I know when to duplicate a layer?

5. What is anchoring? How do I do it, and when should it be done?

6. The instructions i'm following say, "Use the blur/sharpen tool with a circle (05) brush (Opacity: 100% Rate: 75) to carefully smooth her face." But when I do that, the picture just either goes white, or turns into little squares, depending on whether the Alpha channel is on or not. How do I stop it from doing that?

7. I've often seen it said in tutorials to "fill" a layer with a certain color. What does it mean to "fill" a layer, and how is it done?

8. What is "overlay"?

9. How do I add textures? In tutorials I always see people say, "Add this texture:" and there will be a little square with a weird pattern on it. What are they, how do i find them, and how do I "add" them?

That's all the questions I have for now. Thanks so much to anyone who answers them!

~Riella

Wow! Quite a few questions. But I understand where you are coming from. I don't know the answers to all of them (being relatively new myself! ) But I'll see what I can do... (I hope my explanations will all make sense!)

On Question 5, "Anchoring" is when you make the layer you are currently working with collapse into the next layer down and become one piece with it.
You do this when you are completely done working on a layer. You can find the anchor button on the "Layers" tab at the top of the page, or at the bottom of the "Layers" dialog box.

On Questions 2+8, "Screen" and "Overlay" are two of the most popular layer settings. These are accessed from the Layer dialog box (there may be another way, but if there is I don't know it!) They affect the way a layer looks. The number after the setting's name (40, 60, whatever) is the percentage of opacity (in other words, how see-through the layer is).

On Question 9, textures are images that you add as a layer, then you mess with the settings of that layer until you like how it affects your original image, and finally you anchor, or "Merge", it to the main image. Believe me, it sounds a whole lot more complicated then it is! Textures are a lot of fun. You can find a lot of them in the Resources thread, and the Tutorials thread has a lot too.

You are going to need more information then that, obviously. Some of the more experienced members will probably post with better/more explanations, and you may find a few more answers if you read back through this thread. Also, here is the GIMP user's guide; It's been a big help to me! The chapter list may seem intimidating, but the actual information is all in plain English!

I tried blurring the lines, and it does seem to make it better - thanks so much for the advice, Aurora!

No problem! Glad my advice was of some use!

Hi, I'm kind of new to GIMP, so I have a bunch of questions.
1. A lot of tutorials say that after duplicating a base layer, to set the first layer to a certain setting, and the second layer to a different setting. But after I duplicate a layer, it will only let me work with the second layer, and I can do nothing to the first layer. (It does the same whether the Alpha Channel button is clicked or not) What do I do?

Er... I think sometimes GIMP goes a little crazy. So I have a feeling you will have to add a new layer and then once GIMP has sorted itself out you should be able to click on any layer and change it's settings.

2. The tutorial I'm following says to set the first image to "screen 40". But I don't know what "screen 40" is. . . ???

It just means changing it's opacity. So you just have you move the arrow/button where it says 'Opacity' to 40. You move the arrow/button or you can just enter in 40 in the box on the right hand side of this.

3. How do I know when to flatten an image?

You usually flatten an image when you're saving it, i.e. when you've finished. You can also flatten it halfway through working on an image, where you are happy with the effects you put on it already and don't want to change it.

4. How do I know when to duplicate a layer?

Duplicating a layer can make the image slightly darker or lighter depending on it's opacity.

6. The instructions i'm following say, "Use the blur/sharpen tool with a circle (05) brush (Opacity: 100% Rate: 75) to carefully smooth her face." But when I do that, the picture just either goes white, or turns into little squares, depending on whether the Alpha channel is on or not. How do I stop it from doing that?

I'm not entirely sure why the picture is just going white. Does this always happen?

7. I've often seen it said in tutorials to "fill" a layer with a certain color. What does it mean to "fill" a layer, and how is it done?

Filling a layer means colouring a layer in a specific colour. You use the bucket tool. Select the colour you'd like either by choosing the colour or entering in the colour code. To enter the code just click on the colour box.

8. What is "overlay"?

Overlay is an 'effect' that can be used to change icons. It generally makes icons darker, depending on whether the icon is duplicated or if a colour layer is used.

9. How do I add textures? In tutorials I always see people say, "Add this texture:" and there will be a little square with a weird pattern on it. What are they, how do i find them, and how do I "add" them?

They are things that can be added to the image to make it look nicer. You can add them by saving the 'little square with a weird pattern' to your computer and then in GIMP got to , then choose the file you've just saved and them play around with it.

Hope this has been of some help!

Hi, Eustace+Jill! I don't believe we've met before, but you can call me Maddy. I'm a self-taught GIMP user and really love the program. It's confusing to start with, but if you stick with it and really want to figure it out, it's a lot of fun!

Hi, I'm kind of new to GIMP, so I have a bunch of questions.

1. A lot of tutorials say that after duplicating a base layer, to set the first layer to a certain setting, and the second layer to a different setting. But after I duplicate a layer, it will only let me work with the second layer, and I can do nothing to the first layer. (It does the same whether the Alpha Channel button is clicked or not) What do I do?

Are you sure that what you're trying to work on is actually a duplication of the layer? I know that sometimes it will have a floating layer (For example, it's happened to me when I use the rotate/flip tool rather than going into the layer>transform>etc. menu.) and it won't let you work with that until it's been anchored. To anchor something, which I believe you asked about below, is to make a floating layer non-floating, for lack of a better term. I usually do that be adding a new layer (just clicking the add new layer button, going into the menu on the large window, or hitting Control Shift N on the keyboard will create a new layer. Or you can right click on the floating layer and a menu will pop up. A bunch of the options will be grayed out, and unusable. Towards the top of the menu is "Anchor Layer" (or if you like you can hit Control H. Sometimes just anchoring a layer will merge it down on top of something you may not want it merged onto (or you may want it there, in the case of pasting a layer), so I tend to add a new layer just in case. However, when you need to anchor a layer into a layer mask, always right click on the floating layer and select "Anchor Layer."

2. The tutorial I'm following says to set the first image to "screen 40". But I don't know what "screen 40" is. . . ???

3. How do I know when to flatten an image?

4. How do I know when to duplicate a layer?

I think these have been answered satisfactorily. For #3-4, the answer is really just whenever you want to. If you're following a tutorial, it'll tell you.

5. What is anchoring? How do I do it, and when should it be done?

I think I answered this one above, let me know if I wasn't clear and I'll try to do it better!

6. The instructions i'm following say, "Use the blur/sharpen tool with a circle (05) brush (Opacity: 100% Rate: 75) to carefully smooth her face." But when I do that, the picture just either goes white, or turns into little squares, depending on whether the Alpha channel is on or not. How do I stop it from doing that?

Are you sure you're using the blur tool? What you've described sounds an awful lot like what I would try to do when I started out, but I was using the eraser tool. The blurring/sharpening tool looks like a teardrop and should be towards the end of the tool icons.

7. I've often seen it said in tutorials to "fill" a layer with a certain color. What does it mean to "fill" a layer, and how is it done?

To fill a layer means to use the paint bucket tool to make a transparent layer colored all over with a specific color. Fill is just the best verb available, since it really does "fill" it with color.

8. What is "overlay"?

I think this one is answered. If you want screencaps to get a visual of what we're talking about let me know, and I can certainly do it for you (let me know sooner rather than later, I'm starting college in a week and will be pretty busy after that).

9. How do I add textures? In tutorials I always see people say, "Add this texture:" and there will be a little square with a weird pattern on it. What are they, how do i find them, and how do I "add" them?

These squares of pattern and color add certain looks to each avatar you make, depending the layer modes settings (Screen, overlay, and the rest) you set to, and other ways you manipulate it. In tutorials, right click on the image they provide and save it to your computer. Like Aurora said, once you've got it on your computer, then you can open up as a layer (follow her instructions) and treat just like you would any other part of your image. To find other textures you'd like to use, livejournal.com can be an excellent resource. My resource post (here) or Wunderkind_Lucy's (here) give links to the ones we use most.

I hope that was at least a little helpful! If I was unclear about anything, let me know and I'll explain it better! Happy GIMPing!!

I have a question!!! I would love to use some of the signitures you guys creat but I do not know how to add them as my signiture Could someone please help me!!!!!!!

joy93: Welcome to NW! In answer to your question, if you look in this thread posted by Gymfan, you should be able to upload your sig.

Hope that helps!

~Wunder

Hiya my fellow Narnian art peeps!

I need some help here. I'm trying to make some cute sets of Susan and the geeky boy from PC. I tried to find some of the medium shots with both Anna and Ash at the stand and some of Susan glancing over at him with a smile but on Anna's main website I can't get to the gallery and on Spareoom.net they didn't have their screenshots (Which by the way I found to be very ridiculous) If anyone knows what screencaps I'm talking about and you know of some please let me know or I wouldn't mind if some of you would like to make some. Thanks!

edit: Also thank you so much for the nice comments everyone, especially yours Pepper Darcy! That really makes my day!