How to Size and Position Image Assets

[LordEntrails]

Scenario:
I am putting together a map in FGU using image assets. This map will be a ship to ship battle. I have gathered several ship images from other resources and now I wish to place them on an ocean floor background. This is easy, but getting the ships to be the precisely correct size, and to get the snap to grid to be what I want is not easy. (This challenge is not unique to this scenario).

The Ask:
What ways, and what is the best way(s), to size these image assets and control (if possible) the snap point(s) to make them easier to place?

Thoughts/Details/Unknowns:
The ship images are not by themselves sized or positioned within themselves ideally (since they have been grabbed from other images). For instance, one of the ships is 1145x383 pixels, and about 13 x 4.4 squares (at 120 dpi).

One option to size them is to adjust the size X or Y values in FGU before placing the image. But this is based upon number of squares, and since the images are not a precise number of squares, this can be a bit annoying (but works). But, getting the grid to align with the image the way I want here doesn't work well. Once can move the layer using ctrl-drag, but this is not precise (plus future moves have to be done in the same manner.)

Also, by default, FGU does a pretty good job getting the pixels per grid pretty close (~20% off), anyone know how it is making this? Is it based off the image dpi or a default 100 pixels per grid or?

[Max Silver]

First tip is to add each ship as a new layer. Adjusting them to fit to the squares is easier that way. And move them around.

Second thing is that when you get maps and assets not directly from Forge for FGU the image is often skewed just a tiny bit, making the squares not fit quite right. Might fit in the middle, but then gets progressively worse toward the edges. Only real fix for that is to tinker with stretching until you get it "close enough" and using decimals when setting square size manually

[Max Silver]

Are you putting these ships in as layers in the assets or trying to bring them in as images? Can you get the ship assets as ungridded?

Sorry. Phone typing while waiting in line to get my kid

[LordEntrails]

Yep, I'm adding each ship as a new layer.

These images are "square". When they are not, I use the Map Align Utility to square them up. Unfortunately, these images (ships from Divine Contention adventure) nly come with the grid on them. I do not believe the artist has them on their website without (but have not looked).

What seems to be working is to go back to the ship image and adjust the canvas size, effectively adding a transparency boundary/buffer to map the image in a solid number of squares. In the above example, the image is at 85 pixels per square so I added canvas so the image is now at 1190x425 pixels. This has worked really well for aligning the image center to the center of a grid the width of the ship, but not with the length given the pointy end of the ship (name?!?!?). I've added a Wish List item to be able to move the image snap point (https://fgapp.idea.informer.com/proj/?ia=138567) which would make this easier, but I can get there with trial and error.

But, I'm still open to ideas.

[Max Silver]

parts of a ship (https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefactsite.com%2Fparts-of-ship%2F&psig=AOvVaw36ni19Kcq_K-tS2L_3k23U&ust=1649882962511000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCIjmupOzj_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)

If you have gimp or similar, you can change the canvas size without stretching the canvas. I don't know the utility you referenced. (at home now)
Image Tab > Canvas Size... > (pop up window) type the larger number in the smaller number's field. > Click the "Center" button > Make sure Layers at the bottom of the window is on None and Transparency

[Max Silver]

is it these ships? (https://media-waterdeep.cursecdn.com/attachments/6/256/ibovp-map-icingdeath-and-twinkle_dm.jpg")

https://imgur.com/a/4YXAOnN

images not allowed?

image here of squared ship (https://imgur.com/a/4YXAOnN)

Oh, I should add a <link to copyright content removed> to the original GM Binder by phixium

[LordEntrails]

Yes, it is those ships. And as I said, I have good squared versions of them.

As well, I did change the canvas size. I'm a little familiar and know Gimp can do it, but it was actually easier in Paint 3D. The challenge, with any of the programs is getting the grid to be in the center of the image. I think I will try Gimp or Inkscape since I can overlay a grid based on the image size and then move the ship around the canvas until it lines up better.

Thanks for helping :)