-Go to Drive and click New>Google Slides>Blank Presentation.

-If you want to choose a theme for your slide, you can do so on the right. Different themes will also offer you different custom color palettes in the swatch menu.

-Resize. In Slides, go to File>Page Setup>Custom.

-Insert >Table and select the number of rows and columns you need. Then, resize the table to the borders of your slide. Then you can delete the table when you’re done designing. If you accidentally delete content you wanted, go to Edit>Undo or File>Version History.

-To change the background color of the slide, click Background.

-Click the T icon to draw text boxes for your headings and body sections. When the text box is selected, you can fill your text with a color by selecting the paint bucket icon at the top of the page, and the stacked lines icon to change the border color and thickness.

-Change the color of your text by selecting it and clicking the A icon.

-Insert images by clicking the mountain icon. You can upload from your desktop, link to images in your Drive, link to an image on the web, or search Google’s repository and insert from there. The default size of the image when it’s inserted is the original size; if you make it bigger, it might look pixelated.

-Zoom to 100% to check image resolution.

-You cannot insert PDFs into slides, only image files. Try opening your PDF in Acrobat or Adobe Reader (free) and click Export To>Image>PNG.

-If you want to draw shapes, arrows, etc., there are some available in Slides. Click the square/circle icon and then draw the shape at the size you want. Click the paint bucket icon to fill it with a color and the stacked lines icon to change the border color and thickness. You can also type within a shape by double clicking inside of it.

-Find free PNG vector art on flaticon.com. You will need to create an account in order to download graphics. When you find a pack you like, click “Download Pack” and “Free Download.” They are Creative Commons files, so make sure to add a line in small font at the bottom of the page that acknowledges where the art is from

-When you’re finished, you can download your slide as a PDF by clicking File>Download As>PDF.