MS Paint - Attributes

Click on 'edit/paste from'. A window will pop up , so you can browse to where your image is stored. Use the drop down menu in the 'look in' box.

Make sure you have selected 'all picture files' from the drop down menu in the 'files of type' box.

MS Paint - All Picture Files

Find the picture that needs resizing and click on open.

MS Paint - Clipboard

You may get a message as is shown above. Click on 'no' and your image will open.

MS Paint - Resize

Place your cursor on the image and you will be able to move the image.

Manipulate the image until you have it in the position you want.

You will be able to move the image around the white box until you anchor it.

MS Paint - Anchor Your Image

To anchor your image and prevent it from moving, select any tool from the toolbar. On the image above, I have selected the paint bucket.

You are now ready to save your image.

MS Paint - Save Your Image

Click on 'file/save as'.

In the 'save in' box, use the drop down menu to browse to where you want to store your new image.

In the 'file name' box, give your new image a name.

In the 'save as type' box, use your drop down menu to select *.jpg.

Click on 'save'

That's it!!! You are ready to upload your new image to the gallery.

METHOD TWO

To crop your image, go to 'file/open' and browse to where your picture is located. Click on 'open'.

MS Paint - Open File

If you select 'image/attributes', it will show you the current size of the image, which in this case is 274 X 275 pixels.

The image needs to be cropped to be 200 X 200 pixels.

MS Paint - Attributes

Now to crop this picture, you need to select (click on) the 'select' tool which is the dotted square in the tool box.

If you run your cursor over each tool button, it will tell you what each is used for. Notice the red arrow pointing to the 'select' tool in this MS Paint image below.

Make sure that you have selected the 'select' tool. Start somewhere on the image by right clicking and holding the button down on your mouse, drag the square dotted box until your image is 200 x 200 pixels. The box on the bottom right of your paint window will show u the current size of the image you have selected. If you want to change the start point, click outside the image and your box will disappear. Now you can start over.

MS Paint - Crop

With the dotted line still around what you want to crop, go to 'edit/cut'. Your image will now have a blank spot. Go back to 'edit' and select 'paste'.

Your image will look like the one below.

MS Paint - Paste

Go to 'image/attributes' and change the width and height to 200 pixels.

Click 'ok'.

MS Paint - Attributes

Below is what your finished image will look like.

MS Paint - Finished Image

Thats it...you are done!!!

MS Paint - Save

This new image is 200X200 pixels. Go to 'file/save as' and save as a jpg. Remember to select your destination folder and make sure to name your image.

The file gets saved the same way no matter what program u use.

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IRFANVIEW

Irfanview is one of the best free graphics viewers available. Click here to download the program. I am using version 3.75. I find this program to be much easier to use than MS Paint. It is much more versatile as well.

There are two ways to resize images in Irfanview.

METHOD ONE

This method is extremely simple and works well when your image is almost square, as this one is, and you want your resized image to be square.

Open Irfanview.

Go to 'file/open' and browse to your image. Click on 'open'.

Go to 'image/ resize/resample'

Irfanview - Open Image

Enter your new dimensions (in this case 200 x 200). Make sure that 'preserve aspect ratio' is unchecked (Caution: if you do this with a rectangular image, it will end up distorted.). Click ok.

Irfanview - Resize/Resample

That's all there is to it. Save your image as a jpg.

METHOD TWO

This method works best when your image is rectangular and you want to make it square. It is a bit more complicated as it involves cropping.

Open Irfanview and go to 'file/open'. Browse to your image and click on 'open'.

Irfanview - Open Image

Once again if you select 'image/information', you can see that the current size of the image is 274 x 275 pixels.

Irfanview - Image Information

To crop an image with Irfanview you do not have to select a tool. Just click on the image where you would like to crop and a box will appear. Drag your mouse until you have the desired size.

The size will be shown in the top tool bar.

Irfanview - Crop

Once you have the size u want (as indicated in the tool bar), go to 'edit/crop selection'

Irfanview - Crop Selection

Your image is now cropped and resized. The little window on the bottom left shows the current size (or you can go back to 'image/information' to check the size).

Once again, go to 'file/save as' and save your image as a jpg.

Irfanview - Finished Image

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PAINT SHOP PRO

I am using PSP version 7.2 for this tutorial. Click here to download the 30 day trial version.

As with Irfanview, it is possible to resize an image without cropping, although in my humble opinion it leaves you with a blurry image. If you want to try this method anyway, open Paint Shop, go to 'file/open' and open your image. Select 'image/resize' and enter your new dimensions. If you want a clearer image follow the instructions for cropping.

Go to 'file/open' and browse to your image. Click on 'open'.

As you can see in the bottom right hand corner, your image is 274 x 275 pixels.

This information is also available if you go to 'image/image information'.

Paint Shop Pro - Open

Select the crop tool from the tool box (indicated in the image below with a red arrow).

Place your cursor on the image and drag your mouse until you reach the desired size (the current size of your cropped image is shown on the bottom tool bar, also indicated by a red arrow).

Paint Shop Pro - Crop

Now you can crop your image by going to 'image/crop'.

Paint Shop Pro - Crop

In the botttom left hand corner you can see that your image is now 200 x 200 pixels.

Paint Shop Pro - Finished Image

Go go 'file/save as'.

In the 'save in' box, select a folder from the drop down menu where you would like to save your image.

Name your image in the 'file name' box.

In the 'save as type' box, select .jpg and click on 'save'.

Paint Shop Pro - Save

CONVERTING IMAGES

Do you have an image that is a .bmp (Bit-Mapped Graphics) or .gif (Graphics Interchange Format) (or other format)? For the purposes of this gallery ALL images must be in .jpg (Joint Photographic Experts) format.

It is possible to just re-name an image with a new extension but this makes the image unstable and it may even become unusable.

You need to use a graphics viewer to re-name any image correctly. In this example I have used Irfanview.

Any of the programs I have used in this tutorial will do the job and all in the same way.

Open your graphics viewer and open your image by going to to 'file/open'.

You can see that this image is a .gif if you look in the top left hand corner.

Irfanview - Convert Image

Go to 'file/save as'.

In the 'save in' box use the drop down menu and browse to where you wish to store your image.

In the 'file name' box, make sure you have named the image the way you want it.

Using your drop down menu in the 'save as type' box, select 'JPG - JPEG Files' (this may vary slightly depending on which graphics viewer you are using).

Click on save.

Voila! You are done!

Irfanview - Convert Image

Below is an example of how to save your image using MSPaint.

Notice that the extension name listed here is different from Irfanview but it is still saved with a .jpg extension.

MS Paint - Convert Image

How To Do A Screen Shot (Capture)

It is very uselful to know how to take a screen capture...that is a picture of what is on your screen at the moment. For instance, I have done screen shots of all the images you see on this tutorial page.

In comic chat you could take a "shot" of your avatar (or character) and crop it to whatever size you want. It is also an essential part of doing reverse-engineering of your avatar.

Open your favourite graphics program. I am going to use Irfanview here. Find and press the key that says 'print screen', usually on the upper right part of your keyboard. With Irfanview, go to 'edit/paste'. Thats all there is to it. You now have a full 'captue' of whatever is on your screen. You can crop whatever part of the screen capture you want, using the methods above.

Irfanview - Screen Capture

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Kudos go to Prip, Mermaid Elizabeth, Beanz and B-Bear for their help with proof reading, editing, testing and suggestions. Special thanks to Nostrodomos and Nightshade for their encouragement.