HOW TO MAKE A GRAPHIC

Brought to you by Animal Jam Graphic Central

FIND A PROGRAM

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Before you can get to making the graphic, you will need a tool. Photoshop works the best, but there are many other free photo-editing sites to use for making a graphic. Check out the list below to find some!

• Pixlr (free and can create colored background and transparent background, though not as good quality)
• Photoshop (extremely good quality, but costs money)
• Gimp (free and can create colored background and transparent background, but has to be downloaded)

FIND AN IMAGE

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To make a graphic, you need to start out with an image! Look around Jamaa and find an object that you would like to turn into a graphic.

There are some tips on finding good objects to make graphics of, so make sure to look down below! Look on the next slide for examples.

If you are making a white-background graphic:

If you are making a transparent graphic:

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Try to pick a background with little going on. For example, if you would like to make a graphic of your eagle, fly over to a Crystal Palace den and take your photo with you on the blue water, this way you can easily make the entire blue background white when you go to make your graphic.

Look for an object that isn’t surrounded by other colors and objects that are similar to the object you want to make a graphic of. Also, make sure that nothing is in front of the object that you wish to make a graphic of, as this will make the graphic-creating process almost impossible, and extremely difficult.

EXAMPLES

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NO

NO

YES

YES

It is always better to use a solid background when making graphics, but if it is absolutely necessary, a patterned background is okay.

TIPS

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Some great places to take screenshots for graphics:

• Kimbara Outback (on the orange rock when you first spawn)
• The ocean in the Crystal Palace den
• On a cloud in the sky (if you have an eagle)
• Mountains in Coral Canyons (if you have an eagle)

Try to take the screenshot as small as possible so you will have less cropping work to do later on.

The best graphics are the objects with sharp outlines and not fuzzy, faded ones in the background.

STARTING

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Open up your program of choice and upload your image to it. On Pixlr click on the Open image from computer option and select the image from your computer. On Photoshop and Gimp, click on the File button and upload your screenshot.

UNLOCK

If you are making a white background graphic, DO NOT complete this step. But if you are making a transparent graphic, this step is the most important part of making a graphic. Find the lock icon on your layer and click/double click the icon until it goes away.

CROP/COLOR

On the next two slides, you will find instructions on how to make your graphic transparent or have a colored/white background. Select the eraser tool if you are making a transparent graphic, and the paint bucket if you are making a white background graphic.

TRANSPARENCY ON PIXLR

Begin to drag your cursor around on the canvas (by clicking and dragging). You will see a checkered pattern begin to appear in the background. This is the sign of transparency. Continue dragging until you have cropped out the entire background of the object.

TIPS:

• Change the size of the brush often to get more accurate and clean edges.
• Zoom in closely so you can get in the hard-to-reach areas easily.
• Crop out the outline of your object first, then make the rest transparent with a larger brush afterwards.

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BACKGROUNDS ON PIXLR

To change the background color of your graphic (ex: white, purple, blue etc.) select the paint bucket tool, change your color to white, and click on the background. If you have a patterned background, you may have to click multiple times or use the paintbrush tool.

or

TRANSPARENCY ON PS

Begin to drag your cursor around on the canvas (by clicking and dragging). You will see a checkered pattern begin to appear in the background. This is the sign of transparency. Continue dragging until you have cropped out the entire background of the object.

Note: You can also use the lasso tool to make a transparent graphic on Photoshop. Here’s how:

• Select the lasso tool, click and drag. Surround your whole image.
• Right click on the image and choose the option Select Inverse and then Make Layer via Copy.
• Delete the first layer and only keep the first. Keep in mind that this way of making graphics won’t always work.

SAVING

After you have cropped the background out of your image and you are happy with it, go to File and then click the Save As button. Create a file name for your graphic and save it to your Documents, Downloads or Desktop.

To upload your graphic to Blogger to share with your viewers, complete the following steps:

• Go to the image upload icon on the top toolbar of your page/post.
• Click the Upload button and find your graphic (wherever you saved it) and click on it.
• The graphic should appear in your post/page, and you can add a caption and resize it.

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Good luck with your graphics!

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them on the Ask AJGC page by clicking here! And if you have any comments, be sure to leave them on any post or page for me to read!