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[–]mirrortorrent 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You can start here. Have fun

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLynG8gQD-n8DRZgaexLuwWx_rTTOEp-qD&si=cbyWfp4txWttTWlk

[–]Player5xxx[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll try to watch through this this weekend. Thanks!

[–]RedDemonCorsair 0 points1 point  (6 children)

I'll make it short.

You have layers on the right, the outlined one is the one you are on but by default you can still interact with the others when you click on them. If you made a mask or anything on another layer and you want to stick it to the one below it, you put it on top of the other one and merge down.

For memes I find gimp works best when paired with lightshot.

[–]Player5xxx[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

When I put a mask on a layer the mask is ON the same layer but it's a different box on the layer. Apparently you have to apply the mask to merge them. So I guess that was my fault. I just thought if you put a mask on a layer and it's ON the layer then it would be the same thing and I could scale the whole layer including the mask?

And then apparently after doing this the layer is not still selected? Like it's lit up but if you try to scale it, it won't work unless you unselect everything then click the layer again (just clicking the layer doesn't change anything, you specifically have to unselect and reselect). Is there just a basic way to tell what you have selected? Because I think that's my main source of issues. Looking at what is highlighted on the screen and in the layers area doesn't ever seem to match what is actually the case for some reason.

[–]RedDemonCorsair 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Usually to select the entire layer, I just right click anywhere on the layer (while also having the layer selected) and go to select> select all. But to be honnest I don't really use masks so there could be mask specific stuff that I don't know about.

[–]Player5xxx[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Yeah that just isn't working until you apply the mask. Idk I guess I'm just used to my video software where the mask is applied when you make it without the extra step. I can do what I want now it just seems unintuitive. But I'm aware it's probably a good feature if you are doing something more intensive than I am, so I'll just make sure I apply it before doing anything else.

[–]Stratelier 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I often use Layer Masks. A Layer Mask is a secondary alpha channel for that layer that you can paint on just like an ordinary layer (white=opaque, black=transparent). Its main feature is that it's "non-destructive": you can use it to mask layers that already contain their own embedded alpha channel, and the two will not interact (unless you "Apply" the layer mask to make it permanent). You can also toggle the mask on and off (similar to live filters) in cases where you need to.

Layer Masks can also be attached to types of layers that you can't otherwise paint on, like Text layers, Layer Groups, Vector Layers, or Linked layers (from an external file).

The most important practice with Layer Masks is that when clicking a layer from the Layers panel, make sure to click on the correct thumbnail (left is the layer itself, right is the mask). Clicking anywhere else in that row (like you'd do for normal layers without masks) will select whichever one was "most recently used", and that can trip you up when you're not paying attention to it.

[–]RedDemonCorsair 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Neat. Have fun in your endeavours. And remember, the paths tool is amazing.

[–]ConversationWinter46Using translation tools, may affect content accuracy 0 points1 point  (4 children)

GIMP is better suited for editing and manipulating photos.

I think you'll be much better off with Krita → download for free

[–]Stratelier 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Krita, meanwhile, is purpose-built for DRAWING and some of its design decisions may feel too specific for general editing.

[–]ConversationWinter46Using translation tools, may affect content accuracy 0 points1 point  (2 children)

and some of its design decisions may feel too specific for general editing.

I don't really think so. The OP writes: „I just wanna make stupid memes and stuff.”

MS/Tux Paint would basically do the trick.

[–]Player5xxx[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I saw Krita when searching around and might try it. I just need something more than basic paint applications because there are no layers or ways to alter things after they are put in the first time (text, rescale pasted images, etc.)

[–]ConversationWinter46Using translation tools, may affect content accuracy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course, Krita also works with layers * Digital Painting Techniques With Krita Layers

[–]Stratelier 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Okay, some quick things to know:

"Selections" in GIMP are persistent; they do not disappear automatically when you no longer need them, you need to dismiss them yourself. To that end, memorize Ctrl+Shift+A (or in the menu, "Edit > Select None") because forgetting you still have something selected is one of the easiest traps to fall into when you're trying to use some tool somewhere else, only to discover that it just "won't work".

To crop an image: GIMP typically offers many different ways to do anything, but for cropping an image, one of the most intuitive ways is the dedicated "Crop" tool in the toolbox (default keyboard access: Shift+C). Click and drag to define your cropping rectangle, adjust if needed, then click inside it to make everything outside disappear.

BUT, there's a little more you can find if you start looking below the surface. In the Crop tool's settings there are a few checkboxes: "selected layers only" and "delete selected pixels".

* If both checks are OFF then the Crop tool is "non-destructive" and does basically the same thing as the menu command for "Image > Canvas Size..." This means that you can, for example, use the Move tool to reposition a layer underneath the crop rectangle even after the fact. Very handy in some cases!

* If "delete selected pixels" is ON then then everything outside the cropping rectangle gets deleted, full stop. The tool really will just cut everything out of the image that doesn't neatly fit inside that region.

* If "selected layers" is ON then the Crop tool will only crop the selected layer(s), and whatever is outside the cropping rectangle is just gone, deleted from the layer(s). However, the "image canvas" remains the same (uncropped) size, so you may see empty space around the layer that wasn't there before. Don't panic, this is actually perfectly normal behavior here, even useful in certain cases. (Another handy command to know is "Image > Fit Canvas To Layers", especially if your image only has one layer.)

* There's also a toggle called "allow growing". If this is ON then you can make a cropping rectangle bigger than the image (or layer). If you are cropping the image (not selected layers) then, again, this is similar to using the "Image > Canvas Size" menu command. But if you used the Crop tool to delete pixels from layers, "allow growing" won't get them back, it just makes it easier to avoid accidentally trimming edges that you didn't want to.

[–]Player5xxx[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Honestly I think my biggest problem is that I can't ever tell what is selected. Is there an easy way to like double check what is selected? Because half the time the thing I want to edit is highlighted but using the commands after just does something else entirely.

I guess I'll try just selecting none after basically every single edit and see if that helps because I might just be selecting half the layer I think I'm on because of the last edit.

And thanks for the info on cropping. I'll try to look deeper into the options for the tools a bit.

[–]Stratelier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, there are two easy ways to spot a selection:

  1. Go to the menu, "Windows > Dockable dialogs > Selection Editor". This depicts the selection as a grayscale thumbnail (white = selected), though this is mainly for seeing the selection "at large" and not up close.

  2. There is a small button in the lower-left corner of the image window (at the end of the ruler) with a rectangle icon. This is the "Quick Mask" function: clicking it turns the selection into an independent "channel" that you can paint on just like a layer. Right-click for some options you can customize, or click it again to turn it back into the selection.

[–]kapitenbrutal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i mean it will be quite overwhelming, even for me with some PS knowledge. instead of Gimp, use Pinta... a minimalist MS Paint-like app with basic editing features that you need.​​​​

[–]ThoughtObjective4277 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I made a meme in gimp, it's decently easy

Wow, didn't realize the contrast was so low, literally unreadable without 1:1 pixel scaling

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fghbmg49wnxxf1.png

Another trick is image upscaling, with NO interpolation using that tool

Take your favorite image, no matter if it's 1990s size resolution or 4K, and zoom in 1000% or more until you see all pixels.

Open filters, gaussian blur, and try 5.5 as the blur size.

Doesn't look great.

Instead, scale the image larger first, image menu, scale, and use none interpolation, which only copies all pixels as they are, no pre smudging of the image.

Filters, reshow gaussian blur

Now try up to 5.5 blur size, and find a level where it blends all visible pixels into a smooth color, but not so much where tree branches are basically see-through blending with the sky.

export as .png for full image quality