Filling Text With An Image

Filling Text With An Image

In this lesson you will learn how to use GIMP to fill text with an image as in this example ...

Among the skills used in this lesson are ...

• Creating a new image
• Creating and modifying a text layer
• Selecting by Color
• Using the Paste Into command
• Adding a drop shadow to a selection
• Anchoring a layer
• Flattening an image

Though there are a number of ways to accomplish this effect, this method is quick, simple, and flexible.

Step 1 - Create a new image
File > New Use the setting Width 420, Height 300, Fill with : Foreground Color

Step 2 - Create a text layer
Select the Text tool Using a bold, heavy font produces better results. I used Impact Condensed, Size: 85, Color: White, Justify: Centered

Step 3 - Select the text
Choose the Select by Color tool Click anywhere inside the white text and all of the white text is selected.

Step 4 - Delete the text layer
Using the Layers dialog Select the text layer and delete it. The white text will be gone but your selection will remain.

Step 5 - Open the fill image
Open the image you want to fill the text with. I found an image of fireworks to use as my fill. This image should be about the same size as your new image or a bit larger. It may be necessary to scale this image.

Step 6 - Copy the fill image
From the fill image's menu, Edit > Copy

Step 7 - Paste the fill image into the selection
From the new image's menu, Edit > Paste Into This fills the selection with the fireworks image as though the text has been cut out and and the fireworks image is behind it.

Step 8 - Adjust the position of the fill image
You may use the Move tool to slide the pasted layer around to get the best effect.

Step 9 - Add a drop shadow
Filters > Light and Shadow > Drop Shadow ... Adding a bit of a drop shadow will enhance the effect.

Step 10 - Drop Shadow dialog settings
I used Offset X: 2, Offset Y: 2, Blur radius: 8, Color: Red, Opacity: 80 (Offset X controls the horizontal position of the shadow. Offset Y controls the vertical position.)

Step 11 - Anchor the Pasted Layer
Layer > Anchor Layer Cements the pasted layer to the background. After this step you will no longer be able to edit this layer.

Step 12 - Flatten the image, deselect, and save
Image > Flatten Image This will reduce the image to a single layer so you can save it as a jpg file.
Select > None This will remove the selection

The finished product ...

This is a basic example. You may play around with the settings and the way you have the layers stacked, and so on. I went one step further and used Filters > Light and Shadow > Sparkle ... with the default settings to get a little glitter thing.

You can use this method to fill shapes other than text, too. In this example, I filled stars with an American flag. I created the stars with a third-party brush, otherwise the procedure is identical.

I hope you found this lesson useful and that you will share it with others.

Lawn Care with GIMP

In this short tutorial, you'll learn a technique you can apply to fixing many kinds of photo problems. In this lesson you'll use ...

• The Lasso selection tool
• Feather a selection
  

• The Move tool

• Move a selection
• Move a layer

• The Layers palette

• Floating Selection
• New Layer
• Merge Down

• and Flatten Image

In this photo you'll notice a couple of bad patches of lawn that detract from the appearance of the picture. We're going to repair the larger patch to the left.

1. Use the Lasso selection tool to draw a border surrounding the area to be repaired.

2. Feather the edge of the selection by at least 10 pixels, Select - Feather...

3. The selection needs to be dragged to a patch of good grass. Click the Move tool's icon then click the Selection icon so the move affects the selection only ...

... then drag the selection to a patch of good grass that will be placed over the bad patch.

4. Usethe keyboard shortcuts Control-C to copy that patch of good grass, then immediately Control-V to paste it as a Floating Layer on top of itself.

5. Use the Move tool again, but this time with the Layer icon chosen for Affect ...

... and position the copied patch of good grass over the bad patch.

6. Now, put the Floating Selection on a new layer of its own. In the Layers palette, be sure the Floating Selection is active, then click the New layer icon in the bottom left corner ...

... so the Floating Selection becomes a Pasted Layer in the Layers palette ...

... and the selection boundary has disappeared. (The layer boundary is still visible.)

7. Position this layer exactly as you want it, then merge this layer with the Background layer by right-clicking the Pasted Layer in the Layers palette and selecting Merge Down from the context menu.

8. Repeat this process to repair the other bad spots, then flatten the image, Image - Flatten Image, and save your work.

I haven't had much time for writing tutorials recently, but I've wanted to share this for some time. I hope you learn something you can use.

This is likely the last tutorial I'll write until I get GIMP 2.4 and learn about it.

Put on a Happy Sky

In this lesson you will have the opportunity to learn a procedure to replace an overexposed sky in a photo with a more attractive sky from another image.
Before -

After -

Included in this lesson -

• Decompose HSV filter
• Threshold tool
• Quick mask
• Adjusting a selection
  
• Moving layers

Open the photo with the unattractive sky (foreground image) and the image with the good sky you want to use. It's much easier if these images are the same size, so you may want to scale one or both images before proceeding. For the time being, you may want to minimize the "sky" image to reduce clutter.

Step 1 - Decompose the background image to HSV

Filters - Colors - Decompose ...

Select HSV in the dialog. This will create a new image with the same name as your original foreground image but which has HSV appended.
Be sure the Value layer is active (white border) in the layers dialog

Step 2 - Apply the Threshold tool to the Value layer

Tools - Color Tools - Threshold ... OR Layer - Colors - Threshold ...

Push the middle slider to the right until the sky is white and the foreground is black. Use one of the Paint tools (pencil, brush) to make any adjustments needed.

Step 3 - Apply Quick Mask to the foreground image
Select your original foreground image and toggle the Quick Mask ON by clicking in the bottom left corner of the image window (Shift+Q OR Select - Toggle Quick Mask).
The entire image should now be covered by a translucent red layer.

Step 4 - Copy the Decomposed image and paste it onto the Quick Mask in the foreground image
Select the Decomposed HSV image and copy it.

Edit - Copy (Ctrl+C)

Switch to the foreground image.

Edit - Paste (Ctrl+V)

Step 5 - Define the selection
Toggle Quick Mask OFF by clicking in the bottom left corner of the image window (Shift+Q OR Select - Toggle Quick Mask).
The red layer should be gone and the "marching ants" selection border should appear.

Right now the sky is selected, but you want the foreground to be selected.

Select - Invert (Ctrl+I)
Select - Shrink ... [setting: 1 pixel]
Select - Feather ... (Ctrl+Alt+F) [setting: 2 pixels]

Step 6 - Place the foreground on a new layer of its own

Edit - Copy (Ctrl+C)
Edit - Paste (Ctrl+V)

You should see a floating selection at the top of the layers dialog.


Put this on a new layer of its own.

Layer - New Layer ... (or click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the layers dialog)

Name this layer "foreground".

Step 7 - Copy the new sky from the other image to the foreground image
Activate the image containing the sky you wish to use and copy it.

Edit - Copy (Ctrl+C)

Activate the foreground image

Edit - Paste (Ctrl+V)

Layer - New Layer ... (or click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the layers dialog)

You now have the sky image on its own layer. Name this layer "sky".

Step 8 - Reposition the sky layer
Move the "sky" layer below the "foreground" layer in the stack by either dragging it or using the down button at the bottom of the layers dialog.

Step 9 - Finish up
If you want to save your image in JPG or PNG format you'll need to flatten it to a single layer first.

Image - Flatten Image

Understand, this is NOT the ONLY way to do this. It works well for me and gives you an opportunity to use some functions of the GIMP which may be less familiar to you. The techniques used can be applied in other tasks as well. I hope you find this useful and instructive. Comments and/or donations appreciated.