Graphics+Activity+One

Graphics Activity One Original Image:

Edited Image:

﻿For this activity, I decided to use GIMP because I don't really have any experience with this program. Needless to say, GIMP is extremely difficult and challenging to utilize when editing a picture. I searched YouTube and watched several videos to help me with this activity. I thought the entire program was challenging. I don't understand the reasoning behind people who make these types of programs because I know that they could manufacture a product that is easier to utilize. For example, I attempted to edit my image several times, but I had to continually close out of the program because I had clicked on the wrong tool and altered the picture in a way that I didn't intend to which created a challenge for me. I also encountered difficulty when trying to modify the background of the original image. Many of the tutorial videos were unclear and I could not determine the correct steps that I needed to follow in order to alter the background in the manner that I wanted. However, I managed to remove the school wall and people in the background of the original picture and place us in a nice, snowy mountain scenery which is something I'm looking forward to this winter! Although this task was complex and I experienced some difficulty with GIMP, I learned a vast amount of information. First and foremost, I learned the steps to follow when attempting to edit the background of my picture. Secondly, I gained experience and knowledge with the features and tools in this program and now I feel more comfortable when using GIMP to edit my pictures.

Here are the steps I used while editing my picture: (My goal was to change the background of the original image)
 * 1) I opened my image and chose the //Free Select Tool//. This tool allowed me to select the region with me and my mom in it so that I could eventually move it to the new background.
 * 2) Then, I //right-clicked// the image, chose //select// and then //invert//.
 * 3) Next, I selected //layer//, //transparency//, and //Alpha Channel//. Then, I used the //delete// button which removed my current background.
 * 4) After the previous step, I utilized the //Eraser Tool//, which allowed me to erase any imperfections that were not removed when I used the free select tool.
 * 5) Then, I selected //edit// and //copy// so that I could paste the image into the new background.
 * 6) Next, I used the //Move Tool// to reposition us in the middle of the new background.
 * 7) Lastly, I selected the //Scale Tool// to compress the image to a smaller size and saved my new picture as a JPEG.

Reference: Snowy Mountain Picture on Creative Commons (I can't find the picture I used!)