Thursday 14 January 2010

Creating Banners For Redbubble

I recieved an enquiry about making banners for use on Redbubble a couple of days ago, and so I thought I’d see what I could do about writing a short guide to making them, for those that are new to the idea.

So, he goes :)


Part 1 – Setting your image size
  • Initially, it doesn’t matter too much what size your image is, we’re going to alter it later on to make the image a suitable size for posting as a comment on RB. So you really have two options.
  • Option 1 If you are going to use one of your images that you already have, then simply open it in GIMP. Option 2 If you are starting from scratch, then create a new image with a width size of 1024 pixels. The height really depends on what you want it too look like. But in this case we’re going to go for a landscape layout, so I’m going to say a height of 768 pixels. (Note: This is in no way cast in stone, it’s just a set of guide dimensions)
  • Now we should have our base image open in GIMP

Part 2 – Creating your banner
  • This part is really all about getting your creative juices flowing and adding the text/other aspects that you want to include. So it’s over to you here. :))
  • Something that might be useful is this tutorial that shows you how to create layered text.
  • Also Dafont.com is a good resource for loads of cool fonts that can be used in GIMP.
  • Okey, so I’m going to leave you to it for the time being while you work your magic and I’ll be back in a while with the next bit…. Have fun :))

Ross whistles a jaunty tune, makes some coffee and has a smoke while he waits for you to finish playing

Okey, got your text onto your image then? Good stuff..


Part 3 – Adding the finishing touches
  • Okey, so you have your image with it’s text on I’d strongly suggest saving it at this point, before we add these last parts.. Save the image as an xcf file for the moment in case you want to edit anything later.
  • The next part that you might want to do is add a border/frame to your banner. So, go to Filters->Decor->Add Border
  • Now you should have a dialogue window open with the border size and colour options in it. I normally set the border size to between 15 & 20 on both the x & y axis and I normally leave the delta value to 25. Again, though, it’s really down to personal preference. :)) Don’t forget to choose your colour either!!
  • Okey, so if you’re happy that you have your banner finished, you’ll probably find that it has multiple layers of text and the border (It might be worth saving it here as well, but it isn’t 100% neccessary) and we’re going to need to flatten it now.
  • To do this, go to Image->Flatten Image
  • Lastly, we need to size out image to work as a comment on RB. To fit nicely on RB, the width of your image should be no more than 350 pixels. To change the size, go to Image->Scale Image and simply set the width to 350 pixels.. The height should automatically adjust to match the width, as long as you have the small chain icon connected (it normally is by default).

That’s it.. You banner is now ready to upload to Redbubble! Well done! :)))

 

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