Articles by Ian Pullen

Take a look at the effects you can achieve with Colour Surprise and consider some ways to use the resulting images.

This is a very easy photo edit you can do in GIMP using the Brightness-Contrast feature.

This tutorial shows you how to draw a simple Christmas tree graphic with Inkscape, but the techniques used here apply to many drawing projects and are vital basic skills to possess.

This tutorial will demonstrate how to add a fake snow effect to a photo using Paint.NET.

In this tutorial I'll show you how you can achieve the glossy text effect using the free and open source image editor, GIMP.

Here's a list of keyboard shortcuts that allow you to select tools from the GIMP tools palette without once touching your mouse.

Discover how GIMP offers an easy way to add and change keyboard shortcuts using the Keyboard Shortcut Editor.

Another way for GIMP users to change and assign shortcuts is by enabling and using Dynamic Keyboard Shortcuts. Learn how you can make use of this feature to customize GIMP to function more as you want it to.

Paint.NET is a free pixel-based image editor that offers an alternative to Adobe Photoshop for users on a budget.

Paint.NET started life as a college project aimed at producing an alternative to Microsoft Paint, but has developed into an accomplished and feature-packed pixel-based image editor suitable for use as a day-to-day image enhancement application or to produce more creative results.

Here we'll take a look at the simple steps to use the Red Eye Removal tool in Paint.net.

The Red Eye Removal tool makes light work of this common problem with flash photography, even for users with little experience of using GIMP.

Serif PhotoPlus SE is Serif's entry into the free pixel-based image editing segment of the graphics software market. This is a slightly cut-down version of Serif's paid for PhotoPlus image editor with a number of tools disabled and a more restricted feature set to encourage users to upgrade to the paid version.

PhotoPlus SE is the free version of Serif's established image editor available for Windows users.

PhotoPlus SE's Red Eye Tool is extremely easy to use, with absolutely no user selectable options.

Inkscape is the open source community's alternative to Adobe Illustrator, the accepted industry standard tool for the production of vector-based graphics. Inkscape is a generally credible alternative for anyone whose budget can't stretch to Illustrator, although with a couple of limitations.

Inkscape is the open source community's alternative to Adobe Illustrator, the accepted industry standard tool for the production of vector-based graphics. It is a credible alternative for anyone whose budget can't stretch to Illustrator, with some caveats, including the fact that as powerful as Inkscape is, it doesn't match the full range of features of Illustrator.

GIMP doesn't offer a universally popular user interface, with many finding it's system of floating palettes counter intuitive, but the tools and features are easily accessible and there are many options for presenting tools in a personally preferred way.

The tools break down into three primary groups of tools, namely selection, paint and transform tools, with a few miscellaneous tools falling outside these groups.

The Rectangle Select Tool in GIMP is perhaps the simplest of all the selection tools on offer. It can be used to select simple rectangular areas of pixels or can be combined with other selections to produce more complex selections of pixels.

GIMP's Ellipse Select Tool is a relatively simple way to select pixels, but the various options make it rather more flexible than it may seem at first glance.

The Free Select Tool in GIMP is also often referred to as the lasso tool and is a very easy and intuitive way to make selections.

The Paths Tool can be used for various purposes, but personally I probably most often find that I use it to make selections around elements of an image in cases where I'm not fully satisfied with the results produced by some of the dedicated selection tools.

The Paths Tool can take some practice in order for you to feel comfortable with using it, but it has a couple of advantages over the selection tools that you draw with.

GIMP's native file format is XCF which retains all the editable information of the files, such as layers and text information. That's great when you're working on a project and need to make amendments, but an XCF file isn't much use once you've finished your work and need to use your piece in a real context, such as a web page.

If you are using a simple graphic in a web page, a GIF file may be appropriate. GIMP can be used to produce such files.

It is quite straightforward to save images as JPEGs in GIMP and the application offers a range of more advanced settings for those who like a greater degree of control when saving their images.

In the case of graphics for a web page, PNG files are becoming increasingly popular and the steps to produce PNG files in GIMP are very straightforward.

If you want to save an image from GIMP that you can later work on many more times, TIFFs are ideal as you won't be losing any image information each time you save your image if you choose not to use compression.

Photo Pos Pro is a free pixel-based image editor that offers an alternative to Adobe Photoshop for users on a budget.

Photo Pos Pro was previously offered as a paid for application but is now available for free. This pixel-based image editor promises much, but lacks the overall coherency to set itself apart from the other applications in this field.

Tutorial to Show How to Remove Red Eye Using Photo Pos Pro

Despite those missing features, DrawPlus SE does offer enough power to serve as a good introduction to vector-based graphics editors and can be a useful tool for home users seeking a vector application to complement their favorite pixel-based graphics editor and desktop publishing software.

Serif DrawPlus SE is a reduced-feature version of a paid-for application and so does have some limitations. However this free vector-based graphics editor offers a reasonable range of features within a clear and well-presented user interface.

This article quickly looks at the range of options available when using the Select By Color Tool in GIMP.

A look at how to use GIMP's Blend Modes to fake some basic adjustment layer effects, and to bring non-destructive editing to GIMP users.

This is a simple step by step for Paint.NET beginners to create an antiqued sepia tone image with a lens vignetting effect.

Pixia is a free pixel-based image editor originally conceived for anime and manga artists, but with a feature set that makes it a viable tool photographers seeking an image editing application.

Pixia is a free pixel-based image editor suitable for basic image enhancement and more advanced creative work on Windows machines.

This is a simple and easy step by step tutorial showing how to make a free calendar using Pixia.

The GIMP Scissors Select Tool can be a quick way to select objects with strong edge contrast.

The Fuzzy Select Tool in GIMP is a quick and easy way to select areas of an image that would be far too complex to achieve with many of the other GIMP selection tools.

This is an easy step by step tutorial showing you how to use Pixia to produce an antiqued sepia-tone image.

GIMP's Foreground Select Tool can be a very effective way to make complex and difficult selections.

This article shows you how to use the Foreground Select Tool in the free image editor GIMP. The Foreground Select Tool attempts to make complex selections in an automatic way.

GIMP offers users with basic experience the tools to produce simple animated GIF files. Learn how to produce an animated GIF in GIMP with this tutorial.

PhotoFiltre is a free pixel-based image editor that offers useful tools for image adjustments.

This step by step tutorial will show you how use Paint.NET to straighten a horizon in a photo, or correct skewed perspective in any crooked picture.

This tutorial shows you how to use Paint.NET to create a shiny glass ball effect.

This tutorial will introduce you to using the Clone Stamp tool in Paint.NET to remove unwanted items from a photo.

This Paint.NET tutorial shows how to make a text reflection. This popular text effect can be suitable for adding interest to headings in printed leaflets or on web pages. Even if you're a complete beginner to using Paint.NET, you should still be able to follow this text reflection tutorial and use the results in all sorts of ways.

This text effect tutorial will show you how to produce text filled with an image using Paint.NET.

This photo image editing tutorial shows techniques for correcting a color cast using the free editor Paint.NET.

A photo image editing tutorial to show you how to correct a dark, underexposed image with the free photo editor Paint.NET.

This Paint.NET photo image editing tutorial shows how to correct a too-light photo due to overexposure.

PhotoFiltre is a free pixel-based image editor suitable for basic image enhancement work on Windows machines.

This tutorial will show you how to produce a rubber stamp like graphic. Rubber stamps don't produce perfect prints when applied to paper and the technique we use to replicate the imperfect impression can also be used to produce grunge style effects where text and images look distressed.

This tutorial shows how to use GIMP to produce a rubber stamp effect text graphic. This tutorial produces the effect of a rubber stamp on paper, but the technique can be used in many ways to produce distressed grunge effects, both for print and web.

Seashore is a free pixel-based image editor for Mac users seeking an alternative to GIMP.

Seashore is a free pixel-based image editor suitable for basic image enhancement and more advanced creative work on Mac OS X.

This tutorial shows you a simple technique for adding a fake rain effect to your photos using the free pixel-based image editor GIMP.

Here's a simple technique for adding the effect of fake rain to a photo using the free pixel-based image editor Paint.NET. This fake rain effect is quite straightforward and even new users to Paint.NET should have little difficulty following the steps to produce a striking final image.

This tutorial looks at giving a photo an antique sepia effect using the free pixel-based image editor Photo Pos Pro. It also shows how the Advanced option in the sepia tool in Photo Pos Pro can be used to produce some different effects.

This tutorial to make dripping blood text in GIMP is ideal for Halloween, but this technique also can be adapted to produce dripping paint text, if you want the effect of simple graffiti.

A tutorial to produce dripping blood text suitable for Halloween using Paint.NET. The same technique can be used to mimic dripping wet paint for a graffiti effect.

This simple picture fix tutorial shows how beginners can use the free PhotoFiltre software to improve their photos. The picture fix approach taken by PhotoFiltre, with one click tools applying fixed incremental adjustments, is extremely intuitive. Even complete newcomers will quickly find that they can mix and match the different tools to greatly improve their images.

The GIMP Rotate Tool can be used in several ways thanks to the tool options that we look at in this tutorial.

This simple tutorial shows a GIMP digital photo editing technique to straighten a horizon in a photo or align a picture which is crooked by using the corrective option in the rotate tool.

This is a simple GIMP tutorial to show how to draw a ghost with the Paths Tool.

Review of "The Book of Inkscape: The Definitive Guide to the Free Graphics Editor" by Dmitry Kirsanov. The Book of Inkscape is a resource for all Inkscape users, whether they have never used the application before or have been using the editor for a while and want to expand their knowledge to ensure that they are making the most of the power that Inkscape offers them.

This is a simple spray graffiti style text tutorial that will show you how to create the effect of spray painted lettering in GIMP.

This is a quick introduction to the Paint.NET user interface and anatomy of Paint.NET.

This article looks at the Colors palette in Paint.NET. The Colors palette in Paint.NET offers a surprising range of features for specifying colors.

This is an explanation of the anatomy of the Layers palette in Paint.NET and the features available. The Layers palette in Paint.NET is a flexible tool that offers a wide range of creative options.

The History palette in Paint.NET is a convenient way to move through the steps that have been taken to produce a piece, rather than using the...

The Tools palette in Paint.NET offers tools for making selections and painting images. The Tools palette offers a strong range of tools and to get...

The Rectangle Select tool in Paint.NET can produce more than simple rectangle selections. The different selection modes mean that some unusual and...

The Magic Wand can be a very powerful tool allowing you to make complex selections that might not be possible otherwise. Making full use of the...

Livebrush is an exciting and fun free drawing application that reacts to the way that you move the cursor. It can produce some wonderful effects...

This simple tutorial shows how to add a fake snow effect to a photo using GIMP.

Photoshop brushes can be used in GIMP to make the free pixel based image editor even more powerful. This tutorial shows you how you can extend GIMP by installing the many free Photoshop custom brushes that are available online.

The free online image editor Picnik is an effective web application that allows users to upload and adjust their digital photos. The website also offers a paid for service with more features, but the free version will cover many users' needs and certainly serve as an introduction to the service.

Pixlr Express has a clear and intuitive interface that encourages users to experiment with this free online image editor, rather than overloading users with information about how to use it.

FotoFlexer is a free online image editor that offers a wide range of tools for beginner and intermediate users. For casual digital camera owners who want to make basic adjustments to their photos before sharing them online, FotoFlexer appears to fit the bill very well. It also offers plenty of features that will appeal to users who want to...

Pixlr Editor is a very accomplished and powerful free online image editor. Pixlr Editor is an excellent option for experienced users who haven't got access to a computer with a pixel-based image editor already installed.

Sumo Paint is a very well-featured free online image editor. Its strong range of adjustment features make it a powerful tool for intermediate and advanced users, though the inclusion of Auto Levels means new users can make a one click fix to their photos.

Hornil StylePix is a free image editor with a modern and clear user interface with a strong range of tools and features for beginner to intermediate users.

This tutorial will show you how to draw a simple Christmas tree in GIMP using basic techniques which can be carried over to many other projects.

This tutorial shows how to draw a Christmas tree in Paint.NET using simple triangular shapes. Paint.NET doesn't have a tool for drawing triangles, so the first part of this tutorial shows how to produce a triangle. This demonstrates how a little lateral thought can help you produce effects that otherwise might not look very straightforward.

Photoshop Express Editor is a free online photo editor with a clear and intuitive user interface making it suitable for less experienced users.

Raw Therapee is a free RAW converter which offers a strong feature set for processing RAW digital camera photos.

Zoner Photo Studio Free is photo management and adjustment tool that would be well suited for enthusiastic photographers who don't require a more powerful image editor.

Drawing For Children is a free drawing application designed specifically for children.

FotoSketcher offers a clear and intuitive way to produce creative results from your photos.

VSO Seam Carving is a free windows application designed to allow anyone to apply the principle of seam carving to their photos.

uMark Lite has an intuitive user interface for applying semi-transparent watermarks to images.

This tutorial shows how to use a digital photo to make a greeting card in Inkscape, the free vector-based graphics editor.

Inkscape can be used to trace raster graphics, such as JPEGs, and produce a vector line version. In this tutorial you will learn how to trace a snowflake design from the free online "Make-A-Flake" snow flake generator.

Make-a-Flake is a simple online snow flake generator that can be used to easily produce snowflake graphics for your winter holiday and Christmas projects.

Snowflakes downloaded from Make-a-Flake can be easily edited in GIMP to better suit your preferences.

Learn how to create a custom double-sided greeting card with the free software GIMP.

Use your own digital photo to produce a double-sided greeting card in Paint.NET.

Myoats offers a stylish and intuitive user interface making it easy to produce quite intricate patterns and designs.

AndreaMosaic is a free application designed to produce photo mosaics.

This tutorial shows you how to produce a photo mosaic using the free software AndreaMosaic.

The Vision Board Builder user interface is focused and intuitive, making producing photo montages very easy.

Inkscape can export vector graphics as PNG files which can be used in other pixel-based image editors.

This tutorial shows you how to add a fake Lomo effect to your photos using GIMP.

This tutorial shows you how to simulate a Lomo effect in a digital photo using Paint.NET to add a vignette, adjust the color curve, and add film grain.

This tutorial shows how to add a fake sun to a photo using the Supernova filter in GIMP.

An introduction to the Supernova filter in GIMP for creating lens flare and starburst lighting effects.

Learn about Greenshot free screen capture software for Windows.

This tutorial will show you how to draw a love heart for Valentine's day using the Bezier tool in Inkscape.

The Pencil tool is a quick and easy way to draw a love heart in Inkscape.

This tutorial shows one way to draw a love heart in Inkscape by editing the nodes of a circle.

This tutorial will show you how to convert a triangle to a love heart in Inkscape.

There are several ways that you can draw a love heart in Inkscape and the results, though similar, do appear slightly different for each method. If you take a look at all of these different techniques, however, you'll learn much more about Inkscape than just drawing heart shapes.

If you need a love heart graphic for a Valentine's Day or romantic project, this tutorial will show you a quick and easy way to draw one in GIMP.

This tutorial will show you how to draw a love heart in Paint.NET quickly and easily.

Introduction to the Lasso Select tool in Paint.NET and how the Selection Modes work.

The Ellipse Select tool in Paint.NET can produce elaborate selections using the different selection modes.

Paint.NET's Move Selected Pixels tool allows the contents of selections to be moved, resized and rotated.

The Move Selection tool in Paint.NET allows selections to be moved, resized and rotated.

The Zoom tool in Paint.NET allows you to work more accurately by magnifying part of the page. Learn how to use the zoom tool, and alternative ways of zooming in and zooming out with Paint.NET.

The pan tool in Paint.NET makes it easy to move a page around when you are zoomed in. Learn how to use the pan tool, as well as some alternative methods for panning a document.

The Paint Bucket tool in Paint.NET offers a variety of ways to apply colors and patterns to an image.

The Gradient tool in Paint.NET can produce some very striking effects and has a lot of flexibility thanks to the options available.

Learn how to use the crop tool in GIMP and adjust cropping options for the best results.

The Allow Growing option of GIMP's Crop Tool requires some explanation to understand how it works.

GIMP offers a good range of tools for making selections that allow you to make quick and simple selections or more advanced selections.

These are a selection of handy keyboard shortcuts for GIMP users.

Use the Display Navigation palette in GIMP to pan and zoom quickly.

Making Curves adjustments to your photos in GIMP can help to quickly improve their appearance. The Curves feature in GIMP can look quite intimidating, but it is very intuitive to use.

GIMP Levels adjustments are a quick way to make your photos look better. If you've ever opened the Levels dialog in GIMP, it can look a little overwhelming, but it is a very simple tool to use.

A summary of some of the upcoming features we can look forward to in GIMP 2.8.

Using Paint.NET's Curves feature may sound complex, but it is in fact a very easy and intuitive way to make adjustments to your photos.

Paint.NET's Levels adjustment feature can give a boost to photos that appear to be too low in contrast.

Pinta is a clone of Paint.NET for Mac OS X. The free image editor Pinta offers the basic drawing tools that you'd expect from an image editor, as well as more advanced features, such as layers and image adjustment tools.

The Layers palette in GIMP is a very powerful feature of the free image editor. It allows users to produce creative results by combining layers within an image in different ways.

Layers can be linked together using GIMP's Layers palette.

This simple tutorial shows how to add a text watermark to an image using GIMP.

This tutorial shows how to apply a graphic watermark to an image in GIMP.

Adding a watermark to your images is very easy using Paint.NET and can help to protect your copyright, since a watermark will make it harder for a casual user to infringe your intellectual property.

Paint.NET can be used to add semi-transparent graphic watermarks to your images.

You can easily apply semi-transparent watermarks to your work in Inkscape. Applying a watermark to your designs is easy to do in Inkscape and can help to protect your copyright online.

The Inkscape Layers palette offers several useful features for managing objects within a document.

LiveQuartz is an image editing application for OS X that offers the power of non-destructive filters.

Image Tricks encourages experimentation and offers the ability for a wide range of effects to be combined and applied to pictures.

Paintbrush is a basic image editor that may be viewed as a Mac OS X equivalent of Microsoft Paint or MacPaint.

Color Scheme Designer is a free online application for quickly and easily producing harmonious color schemes.

This tutorial for Color Scheme Designer will show how to use the free application to produce color schemes to use in your projects.

You can use Color Scheme Designer to create a GPL palette file to import into GIMP. This tutorial will show you the process.

You can produce palettes using Color Scheme Designer and then import these into Inkscape. This tutorial will show you the process for getting your custom color schemes into Inkscape.

You can't import color schemes as palettes into Paint.NET, but this trick will help you use pre-generated color palettes within the image editor.

GIMP makes it very easy to create a color palette based on the colors in an image or digital photo. This tutorial will show you how to create a color scheme based on an image in GIMP.

GIMP offers several methods for producing color schemes and one useful method is to import colors from a gradient.

Learn how to produce a simple gradient in GIMP that blends from red to green to blue. You can use the same techniques to build more complex gradients with many more colors.

This technique can help you change the color of your digital papers in one simple step using the Hue-Saturation feature in GIMP.

This technique can help you change the color of your digital papers in one simple step using the Hue-Saturation feature in GIMP.

This is a simple technique to change the color of digital papers or other digital elements using the Colorize feature in GIMP.

With a basic text editor, you can edit color schemes produced with the free online palette generator Color Scheme Designer so that you can open them in Paint.NET.

The Hue / Saturation feature in Paint.NET offers an easy way to change the color of digital papers.

Auto FX Mosaic is a free stand-alone program and Photoshop-compatible plugin which offers fine grained control over mosaic image effects.

Dreamy Photo is a focused little application designed to make it easy to produce dreamy and romantic soft focus effects. Dreamy Photo can be used stand-alone or as a plug-in for Photoshop.

Hugin is a powerful free panorama photo stitcher that is suitable for beginners and more advanced users.

It is possible to use many Photoshop-compatible plugins in Irfanview, the free pixel based image editor. This tutorial will show you how easy it is to download and install the necessary plugins to make this possible.

Learn how to create a camo pattern with a free Photoshop plugin from VanDerLee.

Learn how to use Photoshop plugins in GIMP using the PSPI plugin.

The free VanDerLee NightVision plugin can add night vision effects to your photos, replicate security camera images, and add TV scan lines.

Pixelmator is an attractive image editor for Mac OS X. This introduction will help you decide if Pixelmator is suitable for you.

Fotomatic is a free set of eight filters to produce photography effects that mimic vintage film.

Browse a number of creative effects from The Works, a free special effects plugin collection offered by Cybia software.

Using a brightness and contrast adjustment in Pixelmator, you may be surprised how you can improve the appearance of photos that you previously thought looked fine.

These are five suggestions for using Flaming Pear Freebies Photoshop plugins to create mono images.

Explore five ways to use Flaming Pear Freebies Photoshop plugins to create different color photo effects.

This tutorial will show you how to quickly create a photo vignette using Pixelmator. If you're new to using Pixelmator, you'll be introduced to using layers, changing blending modes and layer opacity, as well as creating and feathering selections.

This article will show you how to add a sepia tone to an image in Pixelmator to give the effect of an antique photo.

VectorDesigner is a vector line drawing application produced for Apple Mac computers running OS X. VectorDesigner will allow you to produce images that can be scaled up or down to any size without any loss of quality. This introduction to VectorDesigner will help you decide if it is suitable for you.

Cenon is a free vector-based drawing application for Mac OS X. Cenon is a flexible drawing app with a number of interesting features. This overview of Cenon may help you determine if it is suitable for you.

DrawBerry is a free basic vector-based drawing app for OS X that may be a good option for beginners.

EazyDraw is a reasonably-priced vector drawing app for Mac OS X with features that could make it ideal for some users.

Asking which is the best photo editor for Mac OS X may sound like a simple and straight forward question, however it is a more complex question than it may at first seem. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of several options and should point you in the right direction for finding the best Mac photo editor for you.

This review looks at how effective a tool FX Photo Studio Pro is for adding artistic effects to digital photos.

Learn how to improve a photo using Curves in Pixelmator and understand the basics of a histogram. Curves in Pixelmator offer the ability to change the lightness and darkness of pixels across the full tonal range which offers a great degree of fine grained control.

Pixelmator offers a number of tools and features that can be combined to create a fake Lomo toy camera photo effect.

This is a fun tutorial that will show you how to add a fake rain effect using Pixelmator.

The Channel Mixer tool in GIMP offers flexibility when converting color photos to black and white.

Layer masks in GIMP give you the ability to edit specific parts of an image in different ways.

This technique for converting photos to black and white in Pixelmator offers a little more flexibility than using the Desaturate tool.

Liquid Rescale is a GIMP plugin that gives you the power to change the size and proportions of images without distorting important elements. This tutorial will take you through the process of installing the Liquid Rescale GIMP plugin and then using it to resize a photo.

This simple tutorial will show you how to use Pixelmator to straighten a crooked horizon in your pictures.

This tutorial shows the basics of how to produce an Etsy store banner in GIMP, the free image editor

This tutorial details the steps required to make an Etsy store banner in Paint.NET.

This tutorial will show you the basic steps required to produce an Etsy store banner using Inkscape.

This tutorial will show you how to use Seashore, the free image editor, to make an Etsy store banner.

This tutorial shows you how to produce an Etsy store banner using Pixelmator.

How to create a glossy text effect in Paint.NET.

Overview of editing text in the Pixelmator image editor for Mac.

An overview of Xero Freeware Plugins, a set of 42 effects filters for Photoshop and other plugin-compatible image editors.

Learn how to create and edit gradients in Pixelmator, the image editor for Mac OS X.

Ian shows a simple technique for producing a glossy text effect using the Pixelmator image editor for Mac OS X.

This tutorial will show you the options for mixing colors in GIMP.

When mixing colors in Inkscape, you can choose from RGB, HSL, CMYK, Wheel and CMS color mixer controls. Learn how each of these work and which to use when.

Learn how to adjust line spacing and letter spacing of text in GIMP to make text fit within a defined space.

Ian shows you a work-around for the lack of a kerning adjustment for controlling the spacing between letter pairs in GIMP.

Inkscape offers a number of tools for adjusting text that go some way to matching the flexibility of DTP software.

Learn about Photo Effect Studio, an inexpensive creative photo editor for Mac OS X.

This review takes a look at HDR Darkroom Pro, a High Dynamic range app for Mac OS X.

This step by step tutorial will introduce you to the process of making a high dynamic range photo using HDR Darkroom Pro for Mac.

Learn how to use the Exposure Blend plugin in GIMP to produce an HDR photo.

Learn how to draw a really easy ghost for Halloween.

Corel Quicksort is a well-presented and effective free tool for viewing, sorting and sharing pictures, for both Windows and OS X users.

Learn how to use Corel Quickstart to sort your pictures and upload them to Facebook with this tutorial.

Learn how to apply a subtle split tone effect to your digital photos in Pixelmator.

Learn an easy technique to apply creative "split tone" tinting effects to your digital photos using color balance in GIMP.

Learn how to achieve a split tone effect with the Gradient Map in GIMP to produce subtle color tint effects with mono images.

Learn about Colorate for Mac, a free color scheme generator.

Learn how Pixelmator can be extended by installing and using plugins.

The DigitalColor Meter is a versatile little utility app that comes with every copy of Mac OS X and gives you the power to find the color values of any item on screen.

This tutorial for Pixelmator beginners will show you how to draw a shiny glass ball graphic.

Ian shows you how to correct a color cast from an incorrect white balance setting using Levels and a few other tools in GIMP.

Create an inner shadow text effect with GIMP and the help of this tutorial.

This tutorial will show you how simple it is to create a dreamy soft focus effect using layer blending modes in GIMP.

Learn how easily you can produce a dreamy soft focus Orton effect using the free image editor Paint.NET.

With Saint Patrick's Day coming up, we're starting the craic early with this fun tutorial to add a person's face to a cartoon leprechaun using Paint.NET.

Learn how to create personalized cupcake wrappers in GIMP. This is a popular craft project which makes a fun decoration for a party or birthday celebration.

Learn how to make customized cupcake wrappers you can print at home using the free software Inkscape and this tutorial and template.

Learn how to make customized cupcake wrappers you can print at home using the free software Inkscape and this tutorial and template.