[magick-users] ImageMagick command composition basics

[T o n g]

Hi, 

Here are some very basic questions that I had been wanting to
know. Upstanding them will help me apply the examples from 
http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/ creatively, instead of using them
as cookie cutters.

- what's the difference between -draw, -annotate and -label?

- If I see an example using one of them, can I substitute the example with
other two? For example, I figured out that the following 2 are equal, are
they?

 -draw "text 28,68 'Anthony'"

and

 -annotate +28+68 'Anthony'

- how to come up with fancy ImageMagick commands as normal user? I mean, 
  for a command as complicated as this,

    convert -size 100x25 xc:none -gravity center \
            -stroke black -strokewidth 2 -annotate 0 'Faerie Dragon' \
            -channel RGBA -blur 0x3 \
            -stroke none -fill white     -annotate 0 'Faerie Dragon' \
            +size  logo:  +swap \
            -gravity south -geometry +0-2  -composite  anno_fancy.jpg

it would be very unlikely for a person who don't know convert command syntax
to his heart to come up with one on first attempt. Could you show me how the
command can be build step by step -- starting from as simple as possible and
arrive at this point as many steps as possible?

As a more easier practice, I tried to decompose the steps, but failed:

    convert -size 100x25 xc:transparent -gravity center \
            -stroke black -strokewidth 2 -annotate 0 'Faerie Dragon' \
            -channel RGBA -blur 0x3 \
            -stroke none -fill white     -annotate 0 'Faerie Dragon' \
            anno_fancy.step1.jpg

    convert anno_fancy.step1.jpg +size logo: +swap \
            -gravity south -geometry +0-2  -composite  anno_fancy.step2.jpg

The error is:

 convert: no such image `anno_fancy.step1.jpg'.

please help

thanks


-- 
Tong (remove underscore(s) to reply)
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