Monogrammed Desktop Tutorial
This is a tutorial for Mac.1. Download Paintbrush here and install it. It’s free and only takes a second.
2. Download the Monogram KK font here. It’s also free. Follow the install instructions here.
3. Open up Paintbrush. Make sure your dimensions are as follows
- Width: 1280 pixels
- Height: 1024 pixels
This may be a preset, but if it’s not, type in the dimensions and press OK.
4. Now, minimize Paintbrush and open your web browser. Google whatever print you want (damask, quatrefoil, Lilly Pulitzer print) in Google Images. No matter what print you want REMEMBER: THE IMAGE MUST BE REPEATABLE. As in, if you were to right click that image and select Set Desktop Background and had your desktop settings set to “tile” the image, it wouldn’t look distorted or patched together. The pattern needs to be SEAMLESS. Anybody who ever fooled around with MySpace layouts during the day is capable of choosing the correct image. In some cases, you can OVERLAP certain patterns to make them work (this can not be done by simply clicking to set a desktop background, but can be accomplished with Paintbrush). Adding “pattern” to the end of your Google search is always helpful :)
5. Once you’ve found your print/pattern, right click and copy it. Then, paste it into your Paintbrush window.
The image will paste directly into the upper left hand corner of your canvas and have an animated outline. Click your mouse outside the image to permanently place it there.
6. Again, past your image. The image will paste to the exact same spot and the animated outline will reappear. Click inside the image and drag it.
Play around with the image until you have either lined it up with the other or overlapped the two so that they are SEAMLESS.
No.
YES.
7. Repeat step 6 until there is no more white on your canvas.NOTES:
- Each time you paste your image, make sure you are back to the original position of your canvas (all the way to the left and all the way up). Otherwise, the image with cut itself up.
- If the image starts to leave a trail of itself, don’t worry. It will go away once you place it and click outside the image.
- This takes some practice. Take your time and just play around with the images. You’ll get the hang of it.
SAVE IT NOW!!! That way, if you mess up the monogram somehow (i.e., it’s waaaay off-center) you can start again without reliving the copy-and-paste circus.
8. Eyeball the center of your canvas. I always drag both scroll bars to the center of the arrows for a starting point.
9. Now, go to your tool box, which is the gray rectangle in the image above. Click the oval shape.
Choose the orange and blue (GO GATORS!) box.
I like to make my stroke size 5.
10. Again, eyeball the center of your canvas and drag-and-draw your monogram border. You can make it a circle, but I find ovals are easier to center (or make look centered) and fit the letters into.
11. Using the Fill tool (the icon in your tool box that looks like a tipped paint can), mess around with the border and center colors of your oval/circle. Change colors by clicking the top square (the black one) and selecting your color. If you want a solid oval/circle, simply color the border and middle the same color. Once you do this, however, you will no longer be able to edit the border and middle separately, and will have to “undo” until you reach an oval with different colors.
Contrasting colors are great, like lime green background/hot pink monogram, but experiment with solids!
12. Time for text! Select the “T” icon in your tool box. Your point will turn to a cursor. Simply click anywhere on your canvas and text editing tools will appear.
In the top box, type in the letter that will be the center of the monogram (typically, the last initial). Highlight the letter you just typed, pick its color, and then go to your text editing box. Scroll through your fonts and select “monogram kk” and set the font size to about 400-425 (FONT SIZE WILL VARY; PLAY AROUND UNTIL YOU GET THE HANG OF IT). If the size of the letter in the top box doesn’t change immediately, click in it. The letter should adjust. Then click “Place”.
Now you can drag and drop the center initial of the monogram to the center of your monogram border.
13. Click your cursor again. The text editing boxes will appear. Repeat step 10 for the first and middle (outside) initials, but change the font size to about 300-325 (subtract 100 from your first font size).
14. All done! Simply save your image (check the thumbnail to make sure your monogram is pretty much centered; if not, open the saved image from step 7 and repeat the rest of the tutorial until the monogram is centered) and set it as your desktop background!
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