-Bellisserians Show Off Your Home and Garden-

[Leora Greenwood]

On 4/22/2021 at 9:50 PM, Rabid Cheetah said:

I've used Paintshop Pro, back when it was shareware on BBS's.  Currently I use good old Windows Paint lol

I was such a PSP-head back in the late 1990's, user group member, tutorials, message boards, it was a whole society then.  I still tell my kids about downloading the annual updates at 5 minutes per meg over our dialup, basically start the download last thing at night, go to bed and pray for no internet interruptions overnight, LOL. 

[Leora Greenwood]

On 4/22/2021 at 6:55 PM, Nika Talaj said:

GIMP is actually useful in RL.  I've done greeting cards, simple flyers, and even reno mockups in it many times.

It took me less than 10 minutes to make the seagull texture once I found the source photo.  I meant to take a little more time and thicken up one of the gulls, in addition to giving a 3D effect with a little bevel and drop shadow, but didn't get to it.

Gimp's online manual and official tutorials have progressed to the point of often being useful!  Tho I have to admit that I generally still just fish around on youtube when I don't know how to do something specific.  You have to be careful with random youtube tutorials because they are often for older versions of GIMP, which sometimes evolves rather quickly. 

I have to say that, unlike many more proficient GIMP users, I am really loving the latest version of it (2.10.xx). It seems more intuitive to me, I think it will be easier for new users.

To me, 2.10 seems less likely to seduce you into doing stupid things.  My least favorite stupid thing used to be accidentally un-docking and losing the dialog boxes on either side of the main window, because I use those layers and tool options dialogs constantly.  They are easy to get back, but it was irritating to lose them.

I spend at least part of every day in GIMP, sometimes for SL stuff but mainly for newsletters, catalogs and a couple of websites I manage.  I find the tutorials from Davies Media Design very helpful and he has a Udemy basics course that can be gotten for $19.99 US almost all the time.

[Rabid Cheetah]

I got GIMP and promptly got confused.  It seems to have a steep learning curve.

[Frigga Freidman]

On 4/22/2021 at 4:39 PM, Frigga Freidman said:

I've yet to master corners or window cutouts  

Yee haw! Done in Photoshop (CS4).

1. Created a white canvas 1024 x 512 px

2. Show > Grid, then took a screengrab of it; saved and opened the resulting .jpg in Photoshop (had to add 2 more pixels to the canvas on the right to make it up to 1024px)

3. Uploaded the grid image to SL and added it as the texture for my 8mx4m wall to get measurements

4. Opened the image I wanted to use as a texture in Photoshop, placed the grid image in a layer above it

5. Created a new layer and drew the bright blue box (fill and outline) to correspond with the doorway (adding a bit extra as the doorframe would cover edges)

6. I needed to flatten the image, but the bottom layer couldn't be unlocked (not sure what I did wrong), so I duplicated the bottom layer, made the locked layer invisible and then flattened the image.

7. Used the Magic Wand tool (with a tolerance of 30) to select the entire blue area

8. Used the Magic Eraser tool to remove the blue area, leaving a transparent area in its place

9. Saved the image as a .png and uploaded it to SL, and adjusted transparency. (Don't forget to make the object Phantom and then Lock it!)

Once again, there are many ways to accomplish the same task in any image editor.

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Frigga Freidman

[Matthieu Quander]

5 hours ago, Rabid Cheetah said:

I got GIMP and promptly got confused.  It seems to have a steep learning curve.

Like any software, there is a learning curve.  You don't need to learn how to do everything at once.  Start with something small.  Google whatever it is you are trying to do, and you should find any number of tutorials showing the exact steps.  Get through a few of those and will learn how to use the basic tools for the most common tasks.
 

Let's say, for example, you wanted to turn this:

Into this (ignore the rough edges, this was quick "what if"):

 

Do a google search for "GIMP remove background," and you will find a number of guides to show you how to do it.  I recommend picking one with a recent date so the tools are likely to look and behave the same as what you have recently installed.  Here is a good one.  

Then maybe you want to get fancy and add a shadow:

Google "GIMP add drop shadow," pick another recent tutorial.

You can always just start with "GIMP getting started" and pick one for your version.

 

[Matthieu Quander]

48 minutes ago, Frigga Freidman said:

Yee haw! Done in Photoshop (CS4).

1. Created a white canvas 1024 x 512 px

2. Show > Grid, then took a screengrab of it; saved and opened the resulting .jpg in Photoshop (had to add 2 more pixels to the canvas on the right to make it up to 1024px)

3. Uploaded the grid image to SL and added it as the texture for my 8mx4m wall to get measurements

4. Opened the image I wanted to use as a texture in Photoshop, placed the grid image in a layer above it

5. Created a new layer and drew the bright blue box (fill and outline) to correspond with the doorway (adding a bit extra as the doorframe would cover edges)

6. I needed to flatten the image, but the bottom layer couldn't be unlocked (not sure what I did wrong), so I duplicated the bottom layer, made the locked layer invisible and then flattened the image.

7. Used the Magic Wand tool (with a tolerance of 30) to select the entire blue area

8. Used the Magic Eraser tool to remove the blue area, leaving a transparent area in its place

9. Saved the image as a .png and uploaded it to SL, and adjusted transparency. (Don't forget to make the object Phantom and then Lock it!)

Once again, there are many ways to accomplish the same task in any image editor.

 

That method works really well, and is especially useful for those who don't want to bother with a full shell, and just want to make a nice accent wall or two.  I prefer to build the cutouts with the prims instead of the textures these days, but It is definitely viable for more complex surfaces, as seen in my Tahoe days.

 

[Kasha Redstar]

1 hour ago, Frigga Freidman said:

Yee haw! Done in Photoshop (CS4).

1. Created a white canvas 1024 x 512 px

2. Show > Grid, then took a screengrab of it; saved and opened the resulting .jpg in Photoshop (had to add 2 more pixels to the canvas on the right to make it up to 1024px)

3. Uploaded the grid image to SL and added it as the texture for my 8mx4m wall to get measurements

4. Opened the image I wanted to use as a texture in Photoshop, placed the grid image in a layer above it

5. Created a new layer and drew the bright blue box (fill and outline) to correspond with the doorway (adding a bit extra as the doorframe would cover edges)

6. I needed to flatten the image, but the bottom layer couldn't be unlocked (not sure what I did wrong), so I duplicated the bottom layer, made the locked layer invisible and then flattened the image.

7. Used the Magic Wand tool (with a tolerance of 30) to select the entire blue area

8. Used the Magic Eraser tool to remove the blue area, leaving a transparent area in its place

9. Saved the image as a .png and uploaded it to SL, and adjusted transparency. (Don't forget to make the object Phantom and then Lock it!)

Once again, there are many ways to accomplish the same task in any image editor.

 

I am biased as we live next door but I love having you as a neighbour ❤️ Your home is so lovely xx

[Arquet]

7 hours ago, Rabid Cheetah said:

I got GIMP and promptly got confused.  It seems to have a steep learning curve.

That it has. Could be worse (looking at you, Blender...)

There are actually some tutorials on the Gimp site, including several for beginners, they seem quite good to me:

https://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

 

[Rabid Cheetah]

I couldn't even figure out how to get a blank piece of paper and start drawing on it.

[Chloe Bunny]

I taught myself  20% of Photoshop years ago and still use the very old and free version and only really add to that 20% if I want to do something specific. Extracting, blending, fonts, patterns brushes... just the basics can get you quite far...

[Matthieu Quander]

7 hours ago, Rabid Cheetah said:

I couldn't even figure out how to get a blank piece of paper and start drawing on it.

I get it.  If you are using Windows Paint, then you are accustomed to a blank canvas already being there when you start the application.  What do you do if you mess up, and want a new blank canvas in Paint?  The process for getting a blank canvas in GIMP is the same as that.  Just look under the "File" menu and choose "New,"  set the canvas size, and click "OK."  

Why doesn't GIMP start with a blank canvas?  The answer is because preloading a blank canvas unnecessarily uses resources, and most GIMP users want to edit existing images, not draw from scratch.    

Again, you may want to have a look at one of the "getting started" tutorials.  If you are expecting to just know everything intuitively, and looking at a guide or two isn't your thing, then GIMP may not be for you.    

[Karl Herber]

You all have inspired me so I made a mural on my new Stilt (yes I gave up the chalet - though I love them, I love being on water better).

One on the outside...

And one on the inside.

[karynmaria]

@Karly Kiyori  That looks just so beautiful!  Really stunning. 

[Rabid Cheetah]

I wound up just buying some "wall tattoos" from the Marketplace.

[Chloe Bunny]

These look great on Victorians I used a couple on the Curiosity Cabinet when it was in Oleander...https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Vintage-Advertising-Signs-Wall-Murals/3254131

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

1 hour ago, Chloe Dolores said:

These look great on Victorians I used a couple on the Curiosity Cabinet when it was in Oleander...https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Vintage-Advertising-Signs-Wall-Murals/3254131

Oh, I like those! I have a building in Bay City that could definitely make use of one or two of them, even if I don't find a good spot on a Belli home for one. 

[Rabid Cheetah]

I agree, those do have a very Bay City feel to them.

[Rabid Cheetah]

So this is what we went  with on the outside:

Edited April 28, 2021 by Rabid Cheetah
me hate typ0s

[Rabid Cheetah]

And here's the future Cat Room:

[Elena Blossom]

I love it @Rabid Cheetah!!!

[Lillie Noelle]

Here are a few photos of my new camper, the garden 😍

[Nando Yip]

On 28/04/2021 at 08:07, Rabid Cheetah said:

Então, foi isso que fizemos do lado de fora:

can I give you a suggestion? ... maybe it will be putting the transparency of the image around 30% it will have an interesting organic effect, the lines on the boards of the original wall will appear and it will have a more "fluid" result.

[Rabid Cheetah]

15 minutes ago, Nando Yip said:

can I give you a suggestion? ... maybe it will be putting the transparency of the image around 30% it will have an interesting organic effect, the lines on the boards of the original wall will appear and it will have a more "fluid" result.

I'll give it a try.

[Rabid Cheetah]

Before:

 

After:

 

I prefer the former, so I switched it back.

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Rabid Cheetah

[Elena Blossom]

I wasn't a big fan of the chalets before the release, and now I admit I'm really falling for them, there are so many decor possibilites , it seems anything goes!

It is taking me forever, but here is a quick view of how my garden looks so far.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Elena Core
Grammar