gimp girl tutorial: make your own chalkboards

{new to Gimp? start with the washi tutorial, then try some wall art!}

Chalkboards are huge right now, and it's an easy way to add some vintage sass to your images.

Here's how to make your own simple chalkboards using Gimp.

{so ok, you can just download mine and be done with it, but do the tutorial anyway -- you'll want to add these techniques to your Gimp Girl arsenal.}

In this tutorial, you will learn how to:

Use images as overlays

Adjust opacity

Adjust image highlights using curves

Desaturate images

Ready? Me too.

First, go to File > New to create your canvas.

 Decide how big you want your chalkboard. 

I made mine 1000 pixels square, then filled the background with transparency.

{the transparency part doesn't really matter in this project, but it's a good habit to get into, IMO.}

Next, select the chalkboard color. 

Double-click the color palette and drag the crosshairs around to find a color you like.

I picked a dark slate grey.

Go to Edit > Fill with FG Color.

{FG stands for Foreground.}

And now you have a big square.