Easy Peasy Graphics Using PicMonkey

Looking for a quick fix to your website images or to spruce up your blog?  Or how about creating some fun memes to share on social media?  I’ve got the solution!

Just follow my lead and you’ll be creating easy-peasy graphics using PicMonkey in no time!

No. 1 – Take a Deep Breath & Visit PicMonkey.comAt PicMonkey, you’ll find one of the greatest and most user-friendly photo editing platforms around.  There is a free version, which allows you to create great images using overlays and fun fonts, or you can upgrade to PicMonkey Royale in order to receive full access to all available overlays, photo effects and supreme fonts.

Your pick!

No. 2 – Select Your Image

Today we’re going to add text to an image, to use on a website, blog or to share on social media.  But before we begin, you’ll need to decide what image you want to spruce up.

You will want to select a high quality image to start off with, especially if you intend to resize or crop your image.  You can find some great high quality and high resolution images at the following sites, for FREE:

• Unsplash 
• PicJumbo
• SplitShire
• Gratisography
• Pixabay

Once you have located the image you wish to liven up, right-click on the image to download it to your computer (for Mac users, use CTRL+click); making careful note of where you save the image and under what name.

No. 3 – Let’s Get StartedTo begin, back at Picmonkey.com, select ‘Edit’ from the top tool bar and select what source you will be using to open your photo of choice.

Note: If you intend to share your image on Pinterest, vertical images are preferred. No worries if you do not have a vertical image, more details on cropping and/or resizing images to come!

Open your image from the location that you saved it.  And let’s get started!

No. 4 – Let the Editing Begin {Resizing}The first thing you’ll want to do is to resize your image.  This allows you to keep the quality of the completed image at a premium level.  To do so:

• Click on the first icon on the left-hand toolbar and scroll down to the bottom.
• Click on the option to ‘Resize’ and change the second number to 800, making sure that ‘Keep proportions’ is checked.
• Click the green ‘Apply’ button.

No. 5 – Cutting Things Down to SizeThe next thing you will want to do is to crop your image (unless you are completely satisfied with the dimensions and proporation).  This step is important if your intent is to share the image on social media.  The ideal proportions for July 2014 are:

• Facebook shared images should be 800 x 800 pixels
• Pinterest pinned images should be 736 x 1128 pixels
• Twitter shared images must be a minimum of 440 x 220 pixels

To crop your image:

• Click on the first icon on the left-hand toolbar.
• Click on the first option to ‘Crop’.
• Change the numbers to the preferred proportions for your end result.
• Drag the cropping tool (already set to scale) to the desired portion of your image.  The shaded area will be cropped out of the final image.

No. 6 – Time to Get CreativeNow comes the fun stuff!  This step is where you can add text, overlays, or even change the color filter for the image.  There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to selecting the look of your image; just personal preference.  Sometimes the quirkier (<– is that a word?) your image is, the more exposure it will receive!

The basics of how to add text and a simple overlay as a watermark to your newly resized and cropped image:

To add text:

• Click on the fourth icon down on the left-hand toolbar.
• Select the PicMonkey font of your choosing (remember that the options are limited for free users) or select a font from your desktop.
• Click ‘Add Text’ and a textbox will appear on your image.
• Type the text that you wish to include in your image and resize the box to fit within the space.

To change font color:

• Option 1:  Using your mouse, click on the colored box next to the color spectrum and a small eye-dropper will appear.  Move this over the image to find a color match for your text.
• Option 2:  Move the color indicator (small circle) on the color spectrum to the color of your choosing.  The selected color will appear in the box to its right.
• Option 3:  Create an exact color match to your brand’s color scheme by entering in the HTML color code for your preferred color in the right-hand corner of the Text menu.

No. 7 – Adding OverlaysOverlays allow you to add pizazz to your image or to highlight an area of the image.

To add an overlay:

• Click on the fifth icon down on the left-hand tool bar.
• Select the PicMonkey overlay of your choosing (remember that the options are limited for free users).
• You can also select to overlay an image file from your desktop by clicking on the ‘Your Own’ button at the top of the Overlays menu.
• Select the kind of overlay you want to add by clicking on the title of each type.
• Click on the specific overlay you wish to add and it will appear on your image.
• All overlays (including your own) can be resized or rotated.
• Overlays can made transparent by clicking on the Fade bar on the Overlay menu.

In the image below, I have added my own overlay (a PNG file of my watermark).

No. 8 – It’s Time to SaveWhen you’ve got your image, text and overlays set just as you like them, then be sure to save your finished product!  You don’t want to walk away and come back and accidently close the tab (as I’ve done more times that I care to share).

To save your finished product:

• Click save from the top toolbar
• A new page will appear to walk you through selecting the file type & name of your image.

No. 9 – Selecting QualityThere are multiple options of the level of quality in which you can save your files, but I always save them at the highest quality.  I figure that if I’ve spent the time creating a quality item, it should be presented at the highest quality.  And if the case calls for a lower quality or file size, then you can always go through back to steps 1-4 and resize your image to a smaller, yet quality size.  Besides, nobody likes fuzzy images (unless it’s of a baby bunny)!

To select the quality of your file:

• From the Save menu, select .jpg from the dropdown menu.
• Select ‘Sean’ as your level of quality (this is the highest level).
• Return to the dropdown menu and select .png as your file type.
• Rename your file, being specific to describe what is in your image (this is important for SEO settings on websites and blogs).
• Click the green ‘Save to my computer’ button and select the location you wish to save your file.
• Celebrate – because you just created your first PicMonkey image!

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