how to make background 1800x1600, but..

..only 300 kb or less?

I am building a blog, and cannot figure out how this is done. I found an image online that is 1800x1600, and 161 kb. But, I am trying to use paint.net or another free image editor, to make one of my own, and I can't find out how to do it. I have 3 image editors now:

Paint.net
Gimp
Photoscape

I've checked out tutorials and just don't get it. Does anyone know how I can make a textured background that will fit the size for blogger?

Thanks in advance, for any help, Denise

 

For a textured background, you could actually use a tiny file, perhaps only about 1KB in size, and then use your HTML code to make it repeat. A search on free textured background image will yield numerous sources for free image files. And, a search on how to repeat a small background image on website will yield numerous references on the technique; for example: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3080362/how-to-repeat-a-small-background-image-througout-the-page

If you are using a blogging template provided by your ISP or by a web host, you might have to work with the interface provided for the blog, as opposed to working directly with HTML code. I suggest you search for a setting in the blog user interface that allows using a small background image and making it repeat.

 

I think I will break down and try the "repeating" but since I know little about them, I thought there would be lines (unwanted) showing. I am using Google Blogger, and it does allow editing the html. I could use one of the free backgrounds, the one I mentioned was free, it's just I wanted to get creative

When you are using a photo editor/image editor like Gimp, or another, I see no place where it tells you how many Kbs are being used, just the pixels, and resolution. Can you tell me how to know how many kb I am using? I know once the pic is ready by looking at the Exif Info, but nothing in these programs (that I can find) tells me the "size" in kbs?

Thank you for your help Veteran, and thank you for your service to America, Denise

 

I believe most of the photo/image editing programs do, indeed, lack that feature, although this is somewhat a guess since I'm not thoroughly familiar with some of them. Therefore, the usual way of seeing the file size on a system running Windows is to open Windows Explorer or go to Pictures on the Start menu (Win 7), assuming you put your images somewhere in Pictures, or, if using Windows 8.1, open File Explorer and then open Pictures or the specific folder in which you keep your image files. Once you've located the image file via Windows Explorer or File Explorer, right click on it and select Properties. The General tab in the Explorer panel will show the exact file size. You can keep the Explorer window open while you're working in your image editing program and saving new or edited image files. If you do so and the contents displayed in the Explorer window does not update when you save, you can press F5 to make the screen refresh.

When viewing files in Windows Explorer or File Explorer, you could try changing the setting of View to Details. This view shows a Size column which shows the file size of all files in the folder.

I can tell you of one photo editing program that will allow you to preview file size for .jpg files before saving. Unfortunately, that feature only works with the .jpg file type. If you'd like to try PhotoFiltre, you can get it at http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/photofiltre.html. PhotoFiltre also has a support forum at http://forum.photofiltre.com/

 

Ok,

I think I will just use Paint.net and tile. I found a good video tute to follow here (http://extremevirtualsupport.com/make-a-seamless-background-with-paint-net/, and the gal uses paint.net. It is the one I first used years ago so I am most familiar with it. I do appreciate all your help Denise

 

Hold on a sec. Here's step by step instructions for creating a textured background from one small tile pic in Paint.NET. What follows is a progression of menu items and commands that you find in the Paint.NET user interface.

Click File > Open > (browse to the file you want to use and select it) > click Open *** OR *** drag and drop tile pic onto Paint.NET program GUI

Click Image > Canvas Size > (select desired height and width of background graphic) > Click OK

Click Effects > Fill > From File > (browse to same file as before) > Click OK button

If you like what you see, click the next OK button in the little window

Click File > Save As > (give your new background a name and save it where ever you want).

 

In case you really want to get creative, here's a link to a page where you can download free plugins for the Paint.NET program that will allow you to do some pretty wild things with very plain pics.

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/44-plugin-packs/

BTW, did you ever get that Microsoft Office 2003 product key problem solved?

 

Thanks for the previous post as well rusty. No, I never did get my MS Suite to reload, but, it gave me an option to use a simplified version of Word, that worked. I would of course like to have my software back on, but this will do for now. It's call Word "Starter" 2010. I imagine they have it for Excel, Powerpoint, and Access if I should ever need them.

I don't know if I'll always have that "minimized" access, so I would still like to find a way to install my full programs Thank you again, Denise

 

Nice to hear you at least salvaged something to work with in terms of MSO. I'm not sure whether you've resolved the blog background issue but I neglected to mention an app that you may find useful, now or in the future. It's an app that can significantly shrink the size of a photo (the KB size, not the dimensions) without any loss in picture quality. There are a number of these apps. I use Caesium which you can download from this site:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/caesium.html

You should be able to reduce the size of your textured background pic, regardless of how you created it.

What's the topic of the blog, if I may be so bold as to ask?

 

ALLRIGHT, that's what I needed to hear, I'll try the caesium. Any other names are welcome too. This is the BEST answer I've seen, going to go download it now! I hope it is a program that actually shows you the kbs as you are doing the background. I want make my own background, not copy and paste, even the free ones. I want to create one myself!! Thanks rusty!!

 

If you're going to stick with Paint.NET (it's my personal favorite) then make sure to download and install the plug-in packs that I referenced in an earlier message. Plug-ins give the program a ton of addition graphics effects that allow you to really get creative with photo editing. Installing them is a breeze too.

Good luck and do let us know when you get that blog up and running

 

I did download a "pack" from that, very site Rusty It was funny you mentioned it, I found it in a Google search for "make a textured background in paint.net.

It is my fave too, paint.net, as every time I try gimp it is so dang complicated. Like adding a pre-made texture, you click and it appears in Paint.net, but in gimp, you have to hit at least to other buttons before it will insert the texture. I like some of manipulative things in gimp, but mostly I think gimp makes things more complicated then they need to be. I guess I am just more for the straight-forward, simpler programs.

I do know gimp does some very cool things so I keep it around in case I want to try "complicated" lol thanks again, Denise

PS the plugin I downloaded was Effects mega-lo packs, something like that. I'm looking through the list of plugins they have on the paint.net forum and geeeeeeeeeeeeez, tons of them, I could go nuts trying all those
also:
SeamlessTextureMaker.dll