Gimp is a free and open-source photo editing program that can be used for photo retouching, image composition and image creation. It provides tools for selecting, editing, and manipulating images and supports a variety of image formats. Gimp has tools and filters that allow users to edit and enhance images, and additional functionality can be gained through plugins. The program is available for multiple operating systems and provides advanced photo editing capabilities for both simple and complex image editing projects.

1. By Mike
Snoderly
A BRIEF
OVERVIEW

2. Gimp is a photo authoring, altering and retouching program.
It’s similar to Photoshop but has the added advantage of
working with a wide variety of operating systems.
Gimp supports a wide variety of image formats and can
quickly and easily convert one file type to another.
You can use Gimp for simple “paint” style projects or utilize
its extremely powerful photo manipulation system
Increased customization is possible through
user downloaded plug-in modules.
It is completely free to use.
WHAT IS GIMP?
For more information on advanced features, please visit:
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

3. F i l eF i l eF i l eF i l e – Allows you to cr e ate a ne w file , ope n an
e xisting one or conve r t a file to a ne w type .
E d i tE d i tE d i tE d i t –––– Give s you acce ss to basic commands like
undo, cut, paste and fill.
S e l e c tS e l e c tS e l e c tS e l e c t –––– This me nu le ts you se le ct your image in
a var ie ty of ways. You can se le ct a color , laye r
or path. It also give s you tools to modify the se
se le ctions.
V i e wV i e wV i e wV i e w –––– The vie w me nu le ts you change the way
you se e the image without alte r ing it. You can
zoom in and out and show tools like r ule r s and
gr idlin e s.
I m a g eI m a g eI m a g eI m a g e –––– Rotation, scaling and laye r contr ol.
L a y e rL a y e rL a y e rL a y e r –––– Fur the r laye r contr ols allow you to
me r ge , anchor and tr ansfor m laye r s.
C o l o r sC o l o r sC o l o r sC o l o r s –––– Dir e ct manipula t i on of color pale tte s
and se tting.
T o o l sT o o l sT o o l sT o o l s –––– Most of the tools fr om the toolbox
window ar e also locate d he r e .
F i l t e r sF i l t e r sF i l t e r sF i l t e r s –––– This is the fun one . It allows you to
add all sor ts of e ffe cts to your image .
W i n d o w sW i n d o w sW i n d o w sW i n d o w s –––– If you close a toolbar window, you
can r e ope n the m he r e .
H e l pH e l pH e l pH e l p –––– Ge t advance d he lp on spe cific topics.
THE HOME SCREEN
For additional information on the menu, check out the following link:
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/Lite_Quickies/

4. A BRIEF EXAMPLE
What can I do with Gimp 2.8?
This looks like a cool car. However, I think it would look better in my driveway. Let’s take this
car and do some gimp magic!
1. Find the pictures you like and save both to your computer.
2. Open Gimp, Select File Open and choose the car picture.
3. Use the View menu to make the car as big as possible on your screen (Make
sure you can still see the whole car). I normally zoom to 400%.
4. Choose the Paths tool from your toolbox window.
5. Start clicking points around the outline of the car.
6. When you have clicked enough points to return to your original position,
click your first point to close the loop.
7. Use the Select menu and click “Select from path”.
Tips
• If you need to move the window, click on the blue arrows at the bottom right of
your screen.
• If you mis-click, it’s ok. Just use your arrow keys to move the last point you
made.
• Be careful not to click the same point twice. This will complete your loop too
soon and you’ll have to start over.

5. EXAMPLE CONTINUED
The result should look like this:
IMPORTANT:
If you have
reached this
point, hit
CTRL+X
or select
Edit Copy.
This will
copy only
the image
inside the
points.

6. BRING IT TOGETHER
1. Open your second image.
2. Select Edit Paste As New Layer
You should now have a car floating in theYou should now have a car floating in theYou should now have a car floating in theYou should now have a car floating in the
picture as shown.picture as shown.picture as shown.picture as shown.
3. Use your toolbox window to select the move
tool. This will allow you to move the car around
the picture.
4. Use the scale tool to make the car larger and
smaller until it appears to fit the picture scale.
5. TIP: make sure to click the scale tool link to
keep your vertical and horizontal aspects
locked.
6. Keep adjusting scale and position until you like
the results.

7. FINAL RESULT
When you are happy with your picture you
are ready to finish it.
1. Select your layers toolbar and find the layer that
has the car.
2. Right click the layer and select merge down.
3. Your picture is now ready. Don’t forget to save it!
General Image Tips
• The more you work with your image, the more realistic you can make it.
• Filters, colors, lighting: All of these will help you match your two pictures together.
• Selecting two pictures with similar lighting and angles will save you a lot of work.
• In this example, if I had chosen a driveway with a lower camera angle, it would have better matched the
low angle of the car picture.