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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher.
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This wikiHow teaches you how to draw on a canvas or an image in GIMP.
Steps
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1Open GIMP 2. Click or double-click the GIMP icon, which resembles an animal with a paint brush in its mouth.
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2Open a new image or canvas. Depending on whether you want to draw on an image or a blank canvas, do the following:
- Image — Click File, click Open..., select an image, and click Open.
- Canvas — Click File, click New..., select a canvas size, and click OK.
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3Click Tools. It's a menu item at the top of the GIMP window (Windows) or the screen (Mac). A drop-down menu will appear.
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4Click New Toolbox. This option is in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the toolbox bar, which is a vertical window with different icons.
- If you just see Toolbox here, click it to bring the toolbox to the front.
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5Select a drawing tool. There are four main drawing tools in the toolbox:
- Paintbrush — Click the paintbrush-shaped icon, or press P.
- Pencil — Click the pencil-shaped icon, or press N.
- Airbrush — Click the airbrush-shaped icon below the paint brush icon, or press A.
- Fill — Click the bucket-shaped icon, or press ⇧ Shift+B.
- Eraser — Click the eraser-shaped icon, or press ⇧ Shift+E.
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6Select a color. Click the black rectangle at the bottom of the window, then select a color in the pop-up window and click OK.
- Make sure you click the top rectangle, not the one below the top rectangle.
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7Click and drag your cursor around the canvas. Doing so will draw along with your cursor.
- If you're using the "Fill" tool, simply click once the item you want to fill with your selected color.
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8Change your tool's size. If your brush is too big or too small, double-click the tool's icon in the toolbox, scroll down to the "Size" bar, and click and drag left or right on the bar to shrink or enlarge your drawing tool.
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9Save your project. Once you're satisfied with your drawing, you can save the completed project as an image file by doing the following:
- Click File, then click Export... in the drop-down menu.
- Enter a file name for your project.
- Click a save location.
- Click Export, then click Export when prompted.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionSo how do we draw shapes in GIMP? Like make a circle, or a square?angelina waynCommunity AnswerFrom the tools menu, choose the encil Tool. Select the Brush icon from the Tool choices menu. Choose a brush that closely mimics the desired shape, such as block, star, or ellipse. Hardness should be set to 100. Adjust the size and aspect ratio to your liking.
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