Paint.net (freeware) can be used to Photoshop images for either creative purposes or good old fashioned mischief. For instance I have an old friend who I've not seen in years. It turns out he now lives in Regina Sask, and manages the Loghouse Thrift Store. To get his attention I downloaded an image I found online of him standing behind the counter at the Thrift Store he manages. Then I downloaded a copy of a liquor store, cut out the thrift store image of him, some of the store's signs, and pasted them as a new layer onto the liquor store image. I then posted it where he would find it online, and waited for his response. It worked and in short time we were in touch. Below are the two images, and it shouldn't be hard to tell which is the thrift store and which is the liquor store. If anyone is interested I've also included a link to where Paint.net can be freely downloaded. Note that it can also be obtained in the Microsoft App Store. So if anyone is interested let me know here in this thread. To start, download and install Paint.net. Now there are a lot of plugins which will be discussed later on in this thread. Note that I will updating each post segment as I go. This is a link to Paint.net https://www.getpaint.net/download.html
A good first step in PhotoShopping is to learn how to create transparent pngs. A transparent png is an object inside an image/screenshot that has had everything erased except what you wish to keep, and then saving it as a png. To do that open Paint.net, navigate to an image file you wish to work with. It can be a little tricky using a mouse to trace an image object without making errors. An error can be quickly corrected by selecting crtl+z on your keyboard. Follow the steps in the Paint.net screenshot. The following three images show the original, a screenshot, and the completed png which can be used as an added layer inside another image.
Now that we know how make a transparent png, the next step is overlaying it onto another image as an added layer. Adding a new layer is as simple as copying and pasting with the only difference being you have to select the option to add a new layer. To demonstrate I've downloaded the model of a ship and created a transparency png of it. I then downloaded an ocean image and another of Godzilla. I will now copy and paste both the ship and Godzilla as new layers over the image of the ocean. To make it appear as though the ship is sinking added layer I used the eraser tool to erase part of ship. The eraser tool can be set to completely erase and object or to partially erase it which makes it translucent. When you add a new layer you can resize it, tilt it, and move it around, but once you've saved it the new layer becomes fixed in place, but not permanently as long as it's still loaded in Paint.net. If for some reason you decide your original positioning of an images is not what you're looking for, you can back it off, and start over using Ctrl+Z. The transparencies of the ship and Godzilla will be uploaded along with the image of the ocean so that you can download them and practice adding them as a new layer to an image of your choice. When you overlay an image as an added layer it will sometimes leave a visible line around the edges of the layered image, and it will detract from making your shopped image appear as part of the whole. This can easily be remedied during the overlay. For instance if you look at the outer edges of Godzilla, the base in particular, they are too sharp which makes the image appear out of place. If you look at the area around the ship where it is sinking into the ocean you will see an area where it looks as though you can see the ship through the water. This is done by adjusting the opacity of the ship using the eraser tool.
