Creating Images – Simple and Quick

By Karen Cioffi

Creating images on your own is easier than you might think.

Normally, for any of my image needs I would go to BigStock.com, choose the image I wanted. This could take quite a bit of time, since for most topics there are lots and lots of images to go over. But, hey, the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," so spending the time to find the 'right' one was necessary.

While this is a good strategy, again, it takes time.

Suppose you just wrote an excellent blog post and want an 'on target' image to go with it. If you're like me, you'd have to search through the images you already bought, or you'd have to go into your image resource site to find and buy the image you want.

You could also check out MS Office ClipArt, which has some pretty good images. But, if you're looking for something 'on target' and you just can't find, you settle.

This goes with the blog posting territory.

Well, a few weeks ago I wrote an article, and just couldn't find an image that 'hit home.' And, I didn't want to waste too much time finding one, so I decided to throw something together myself. And, I did it with Microsoft Office 2010. It took around five to 10 minutes.

My article title was, "Using Video for Marketing," and I wanted an image that would quickly reflect the topic. So, this is what I did:

1. Opened a Word doc and typed "Play Video."
2. Used Text Effects in Home: Font.
3. Highlighted the text and chose an orange color from Home: Paragraph: Shading - there's actually I reason I chose that color, but that's another post. :)
4. I highlighted, copied, and pasted the pre-image into MS Paint, cropped it, and saved it as a jpg.
5. I inserted that jpg into the Word doc I had open.
6. I click on the jpg and went into Picture Tools Format.
7. I choose Picture Effects - Preset #11.
8. Then, I highlighted the image and chose the orange 'shading' again.
9. For this step I couldn't simply highlight and copy/paste into Paint because of the special effects, so I clicked on Print Screen (Prt Sc). Be careful when you use Prt Sc, because any thing on on your screen or in the image will appear.
10. I copied the newly revised image into Paint, cropped it, and saved it as a jpg.

That's it. I had a quick and easy 'on target' image for my post.



And, if I want, I can upload that image to image sites and sell it.

You can also, use an image you already have (one you bought) and tweak it. Just remember you can't sell that revised image, or claim it as your own design. Here's one I simply tweaked:



 I had the SUCCESS IMAGE and just added the text "GUEST BLOGGING" to it, using MS Word 2010. Then used the same process as above to create a new jpg.

Again, quick and easy. Why not give it a try.

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