First Made for Pinterest (MFP) image- with old school tools

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   drpennypincherposted 11 years ago

   
   I finally tried including a Made for Pinterest (MFP) image in my latest Hub!  WryLilt and others have provided great tips on how to do this to increase traffic.  I decided to give it a try.
   
   I attempted to add the text to the photo using GIMP 2 (a free graphics program), but this was not fully compatible with my old Windows Vista computer- the cursor would disappear and it was not obvious how to save the resulting image as a JPEG file after changing the canvas size.  So I went old school- I used PowerPoint to arrange the image and text on a slide, copied and pasted into Paint, and saved as a JPEG file.  I will eventually need to use a photo editing program to better integrate the text with the photo for MFP images, but PowerPoint worked well to add some text next to the photo.

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      Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Try this one:
      http://www.picmonkey.com/
      You use it online and then just save your finished work to your computer.

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         drpennypincherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Writer Fox, picmonkey looks easy and appears to be free.  I played with it for a bit and was not able to figure out how to change the canvas size- for example if you want to add text beside the original image...

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            Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Click on 'edit a photo' at the top and choose the photo from your computer file.  Then, click on 'P' from the left menu column. There you will choose the font. Then adjust where you want the words to appear.  You can change colors, size, etc.  But, all writing must be on the picture you want to use, not outside of it.  If your picture is dark, you can use white font.
            
            You can also try creating a collage and uploading one picture to use as a background for writing text.

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               drpennypincherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I think the collage method would solve my problem- thanks!

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                  Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Cool.  Let us know how that works out.

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   Astra Nomikposted 11 years ago

   Hubbers should try the free web-based Bitmap graphics editor on
   www.pixlr.com
   
   It is available on smart mobile devices, perfect for hubbing on the go, if you have that gadgetry. I use the free advanced web version, and it is very photoshop-like. I make my art all pin-friendly so my hubs and even poetry can be pinned.

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      drpennypincherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, I'll give that a try.  I might go back through some of my existing hubs and add pin-friendly images.  I like having the text on the image more than I thought I would.

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         agvulpesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         If you would still like to put the text next to the image simply create a white image the same size as the original , place your text on the white image and then make the collage as WF has suggested !

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            drpennypincherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks agvulpes, I think for some images- like the example above- having the text next to the image looks good.  For others I might try to have the text on top of part of the image.  It will be fun to learn to use the latest generation of photo editing tools.  My old favorites are SuperPaint and Photoshop...  I think SuperPaint is gone, and it sounds like I don't need to buy Photoshop since picmonkey and pixlr are free and seem to do what I need to do.  I'll give the collage on picmonkey a try next.

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   WryLiltposted 11 years ago

   Glad you're getting into MFPs....
   
   If you want to add new items to a main canvas, it's quite easy. I load up any crap old file, use the crop to make it the size I want, go into overlays (fifth down, with pics of hearts/speechbubbles). I use a white rectangle to cover over any image so I have a blank canvas.
   
   Then I click on Your Own (I believe this may be a paid feature, but for $4.99 and how I often I use it, it's a ridiculously good price.) Using this feature, you can insert any file you want on top of the canvas and resize, move it around or add more than one.
   
   As for Gimp, you need to go into Export, not Save, if you want to save a copy. I personally only use Gimp for doing transparencies (I usually use the free site Iaza for basic transparencies, but Gimp does ones that have more colours, better, without pixelated rough edges.)
   
   I hope some of that made sense and helps...

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      drpennypincherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      WryLilt- yes, this helps.  I completely missed the export menu in Gimp, I'll try exporting rather than saving.  Sounds like using overlays in picmonkey is a good way to control the canvas size.  We'll see if this old dog can learn new tricks... Thanks for your help!

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You're welcome With GIMP, there are lots of easy guides. I spent plenty of time Googling "How to save an image as a GIF" and "How to create a transparent background" etc.

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