Blog making tutorial!

The first thing you need to know before you start is that there are many ways to make a blog, this is just one of the more common ways. The second thing is that I cannot provide a code for you because of size differences, text box placement, etc. You'll have to do that part yourself. ^^ Now, let's begin!

You should create a transparent image for starters, any size you wish. I tend to make my blogs 400x230. To create a new image, you can go up to File> New or just press the piece of paper beneath the file option. You can use a color for the bg, but transparencey tends to work best if you want to work on the background layer (also known as raster 1). Here's what my settings look like:

Example

Now, you can do whatever you like. Fool around with some brushes and textures to make the background picture for your blog. Don't be afraid to use layers while your working. They're much more handy than some people tend to think.

For those of you that aren't quite sure about layers and what exactly they do, they can be compared to layers of something like a sandwich. What ever you do on one layer stays on that layer and doesn't touch any other layers until you smoosh (or merge) them together. It gets a little confusing for people who are using this function for the first time though and that's understandable. You don't see the layers when you add them and when you're working, everything appears to be altogether. ^^ This is where you become best friends with your layer palette. What the heck is that?, you may be asking. Well, it looks like this:



It tells you how many layers you have and if you hold your cursor over the layer names, it shows you just what's on that layer right now. You can also rearrange layers by dragging a dropping them, a concept I'm sure I don't need to explain. Now some people might be wondering what the difference is between a raster and vector layer. Vector layers tend to appear when you use shape tools, which we'll get into in a bit. Raster layers are the more common layers for painting, floodfilling, adding text, stuff like that. Most all of the layers you should be using so far are raster layers, unless you're adding shapes into the background of your blog. Now, if you want to test layers to get to know them a little better, go ahead and use a paint brush on your first layer. Now, go up to Layers> New Raster Layer.

Example

Click 'OK' when the pop-up appears. You just made your second layer. Go ahead and add a second paintbrush. Now, to test your layers, go back to your first layer by clicking it on your layer palette. Erase the first brush you used. Notice how the second one is untouched. That's because it's on a different layer.

^^ Ok, now back to the tutorial. Once you're done making your image/design, go ahead and use layers to floodfill the background to an appropriate color. You don't want to floodfill a layer with brushes on it though.

Create a new raster layer then drag and drop it beneath all of the other layers. Color it by using the 'Flood Fill Tool' (picture above) to make your background color. Ok, so far your blog should look somewhat like this:

Example

Now for the fun part. Make a new vector layer, much like you did the raster layer. Select the 'Preset Shape Tool' (picture above) and select the rectangle shape.

Example

Draw a rectangle anywhere on your new vector layer. Make sure your vector layer is above all of your other layers. You'll probably not want your rectangle to be more than half the size of your blog, and remember to leave room for a header.

Example

Select the 'Flood Fill Tool' again (picture to the left). Find a color from the Materials Palette (below).



Select any color you feel goes well with your blog. I chose red, naturally. Now, again select the 'Flood Fill Tool' (picture above) and fill in the text box like so (it should ask you to convert to a raster layer, click ok):

Example

Now, many people ask about how to create this effect and it's not as hard as it seems. Refer back to your layer palette. There should be a black, fade to white bar beside each of the layer names. That's your transparency option. It controls how visible the images on that layer are. Click anywhere or slide the two triangles anywhere along the bar to find the right amount of tranparency for your text box. Somewhere between 50 and 70 usually works best. If you decide you don't like the color you chose, go ahead and flood fill the text box again, but with a different color. You can do this while the image is still partially transparent to get an even better idea of how it should look.

Example

^^ Now for the easy part. On a different layer if you like, go ahead and add in a header for your blog. If you want to get really fancy, you can add one in with a border. If you'd like to try that, please refer to my 'Solid text borders' tutorial.

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=) Now, if you like you can add a border to your blog. Go up to Image> Add Border.

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A pop-up will appear, asking you if it's alright to flatten or merge the image. Make sure you've made all of your changes because once the image is merged, all of the layers will flatten into one single layer. If you've flattened it by mistake, simply got up to Edit> Undo. Remember, when adding a border, your image's size is increased. I added two borders to mine so the width and height increased by 4 pixels. And here's what it should look like once it's finished:

Example