Re: [Gimp-user] Working with images

[Steve Kinney <admin pilobilus net>]

On Sat 23/04/16 19:13 , Deborah Bates batesd124204 gmail com sent:
> I'm new to Gimp and not familiar with some of the terminology, so
> pleasekeep that in mind with your responses.  I have an image of a diamond that
> Ihave scaled from 100% to 50%.  I want to duplicate that image side by
> side all over the screen to use as a background.  What is the best way to do
> that?  Thanks so much for your help!

The easiest way is to put your image file in whatever directory your operating
system keeps its desktop backgrounds in, select it in your desktop settings, and
the same menu where you can do that should include an option called "tile" or
"mosaic" that will do the job.  

But that answer's no fun at all:  Doesn't got any GIMP in it.

So open up your image in the GIMP, and try these commands:

1st option:  In the main menu, go to to Filters > Map > Tile.  A dialog box will
open, asking you what size to tile your image to, and whether or not to make a
new file for the expanded version of your image.  Enter the size you want the
tiled image to be.  You will probably have to click on the small chain-link icon
next to the boxes where you enter your new image size; otherwise, entering one
dimension will automatically change the other, to retain the same ratio of height
to width.  When your desired size (in pixels) is set, click the OK button and
there it is:  Your image duplicated side by side.  It most likely won't come out
even, that is, the edge of the image will cut off parts of your diamond in those
rows.  To avoid this, you can try again:  Next to where you enter the new image
size is a selector that says "px" for "pixels."  You can change that to "%" and
enter even multiples of 100 to assure that "whole" copies of your image fill the
resulting expanded version.  But that won't be the same size as you monitor, so a
bit more tweaking may be required.  See "More" below.

2nd option:

Do you see unwanted seams between the individual copies of your original image? 
Here's a quick fix that usually works:  Discard your tiled-up image, open the
original, and in the main menu select:  Filters > Map > Make Seamless.  This tool
presents no options, it just does the deed:  blends the edges and corners of the
image with their opposite counterparts to make a seamless fit when they are
assembled side by side.  Then return to option 1, and tile that "seamless" image
up to the size you want.  Example: 
http://docs.gimp.org/en/plug-in-make-seamless.html

More:

You probably won't like the result of any of the above as a desktop background,
because it will most likely be way off center.  You can do a lot of tinkering to
arrive at different solutions to this, but here's a very simple one to try: 
Using your original "made seamless" version of the diamond image, use the Tile
tool to make an image larger than your monitor screen.  Then use the Crop tool to
cut the tiled image down to size, centered where you want it to be for best
results.  Turn on the Crop tool in the toolbox (its icon looks like an Xacto
knife), and find the Tool Options dialog tab.  If you have not customized your
GIMP installation, it should be the window directly below the toolbox itself. 
Click and drag with your mouse to draw a box in the upper left corner of the
tiled image.  In the boxes labeled "Size" in the Crop tool's dialog, enter the
width and height of your monitor:  The rectangle on your image will grow to that
size.  Now, right click and hold down your mouse button inside that box, and drag
it around until you like what you see.  Release the mouse button, click and
release inside the rectangle, and there it is:  An image the size of your monitor
screen.

There's a lot more things you can do in this category.  Check YouTube for video
tutorials, search the web for written ones, and have fun!  

:o)

Steve