Is there a way to apply transparent frames to photos while arranging them in layers? In the past, I’ve had to apply a transparent frame to my photos in one photo editing program, save, and then fit the photos together using a separate program. It’s very cumbersome, especially when you have to tweak each picture a couple times to get out to fit in with all the others. I just installed Krita, but am open to using any free (or low-cost) editing program that will let me both edit a photo’s color and brightness AND let me apply transparent frames, all while the photos are in layers over the calendar page.
You could use Inkscape and link the images instead of embed them (at least during the edition phase). It even allows you to define a default editor to open the image with the context menu.
You can do that with gimp:
- Add a calendar image twice in two different layers
- Add an alpha channel to the upper layer (for transparency)
- Use the erazer to create 'holes" in the calendar (upper layer) where the images should appear
- Add your pictures in layers beetween
Okay, I’ve installed Inkscape, and have learned the difference between embedding and linking images. (total newbie here, as you can tell). I’m having trouble figuring out what context menus are and how to access them. You said I could Define a default editor. How would that help me to make the process smoother?
I’m not an expert in Inkscape either, but my workflow for your process would be:
- Create your calendar form in Inkscape. If you already have an SVG, it would be as simple as opening it
- Import the images as links (*). Position, crop rotate, etc. each image as needed inside Inkscape. For frames you can use forms with holes, for example
- If you need to edit an image, open it in the appropriate program (outside of Inkscape), save it again with the same name as the linked version, and it should update automatically in the Inkscape render
- Once you are ready to “publish”, don’t forget to convert all images to embedded or to export a plain PDF, because the linked images are not inside the file.
Right-click any object (including the images), and you’ll get a context menu with things you can do to that item
For example, if the image is a JPG you can define Gimp as the default editor. Right-clicking an image will give you the option to edit the original file on Gimp, instead of having to find the right linked file outside of Inkscape. Once saved, the Inkscape version will update.
(*) Probably linking is not really needed, as embedded images can also be edited using the “default editor”. The extra that linking gives you is that you can have a master image (even a RAW file) that you export to JPG. If you link the JPG, you can re-edit the image using the master as many times as you like without loss of quality, as long as the filename and pixel size is the same for every JPG re-export this would be transparent to Inkscape.