Need to extend Headline Picture

[candace]

Hello,

 

I am trying to make a picture fit a headline size of 960 x 150.  I have resized the picture to 160 x 152 so the height is good.  The object of the picture is on the right and that is where I would like to keep it.  What I would like to do is extend the width, to the left, to 960 and fill in that new space with the background color in the picture.  Then add the title of my website on the left.  I looked at the tutorials but cannot seem to make the tools do the changes I want.  I would appreciate any suggestions on how to make my headline.

Edited March 19, 2013 by candace

[DrewDale]

Hello and welcome

 Open up the picture, then go to image> > canvas size, follow the number steps on the screenshot I have enclosed below.

 

To get the colour you want for your background, use the colour picker   from the tools and pick the secondary colour ( Right Click on your mouse to select the colour)

 

Hope this is of help.

Edited March 19, 2013 by DrewDale

[minners71]

Here's what I would do.

 

1.Open a new file by pressing CTRL + N

 

2.Input the size as 960 x 150

 

3.Goto LAYERS>IMPORT FROM FILE and select your 160 x 152 image

 

4.Move this to the right with the MOVE TOOL ( the blue arrow )

 

5.Now use the RECTANGLE SELECT TOOL and select the left hand portion of your image as shown in the below pic.

 

 

6.Now use the MOVE TOOL (blue arrow ) again and drag it to the left using the middle left nub.

 

 

you could also after step 5 copy this to another layer and do step 6 on both and then run an effect on the top layer such as EFFECTS>DISTORT>CRYSTALISE and use a transparent linear gradient to blend them together.

 

 

 

 

 

[DrewDale]

A better answer than I gave, nice one minners71

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I'd use a combination of both answers. I'm not trying to be difficult Here's my reasoning:

I'd use the Canvas Size dialog on the open image to input the new dimensions (deselect Maintain Aspect Ratio)  and anchor the image to the middle + right. This does away with the need to import the image and moving the image subsequent to the resize.

Minners71 technique for extending the background is exactly how I would do it.

[candace]

This was wonderful gentlemen.  All three of your posts helped me to improve my headline and helped me start to experiment/learn how to use Paint.Net.  I wound up using the Gaussian and Radial Blurs, what fun!

 

Two more questions:

 

I'm assuming that I posted in the correct area?  I read the posting tutorials and they seemed to point me to the General area for any questions I had on how to use Paint.Net.

 

And, can or should I use Paint.Net to create a background for my website?

 

Thank you DrewDale, minners71, and Ego Eram Reputo,

Candace

 

P.S.  Ok, ok, one more question.  To get back to this post and your answers, do I just type in the title of my post in the search box and it will take me here or is there a way I can save this post to my computer or email it to myself?

Edited March 20, 2013 by candace

[pdnnoob]

Yes, you are one of the few newcomers who read instructions and posted here instead of in the tutorial section (ok, that's an exaggeration, but kudos to you either way )

You can make a website background with paint.net. Whether or not you should depends on the nature of the background you are creating because some programs are better than others at specific tasks. For example, if you are trying to create a digital painting, paint.net doesn't have the extensive brush system of photoshop or GIMP. Paint.net is great for many other tasks, however, so it just depends on what your plans are for your image.

If you want to save the topic somewhere, just copy the url and paste it where you won't lose it, or you can click the "follow this topic" button and the topic will show up in the sidebar on the front page of the forum when you are logged in.

[candace]

I want to create a very simple background, something that will frame my website without drawing attention away from the site.  I was thinking of a color gradient, from darker at the top to lighter at the bottom or a simple texture/color.  I did find some nice backgrounds at www.grsites.com, they say the backgrounds have been gathered legally and are free but I have not dealth with them before.  Has anyone here or has anyone heard about their reliability/honesty?

 

Also, in a few of the tutorials, I think it said that anything created in Paint.Net is a pdn, and that I have to change it to a jpg to use it on website?  Not sure if I understood that correctly.  Please explain in more detail what that means and what I need to do to use something I create with/in Paint.Net at another location.

 

Thank you,

Candace

[pdnnoob]

I don't know about grsites...but if simple backgrounds is what you want, paint.net is great for making them.

If you need jpg images, just select jpg in the save dialogue when you save.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

... can or should I use Paint.Net to create a background for my website?

 

Yes you can and yes you should  Images designed for web use should be optimized to avoid excessive bloat which slows page load.  I would recommend having a look at the OptiPNG plugin if you intend to use PNG files.

[Visual]

Here's what I would do.

 

1.Open a new file by pressing CTRL + N

 

2.Input the size as 960 x 150

 

3.Goto LAYERS>IMPORT FROM FILE and select your 160 x 152 image

 

4.Move this to the right with the MOVE TOOL ( the blue arrow )

 

5.Now use the RECTANGLE SELECT TOOL and select the left hand portion of your image as shown in the below pic.

 

 

I do pretty much the same thing miners. I would actually paste your selection above to a new layer and use a large circle in liquify and push it sideways across the page.

I have found the just stretching will mostly create pixeling. I guess that's why the crystalise? Everything else is spot on in my book.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Ego Eram Reputo
Shortened quoted post.