Tone-on-Tone Image Manipulation

Tone-on-Tone GIMP tutorial

How to Graduate Effects Using a Layer Mask

How to Graduate Effects Using a Layer Mask

Using GIMP to Add Falling Snow to an Image

Use GIMP to Add Realistic Falling Snow to a Photo by xmath

Happy Holidays!!! A Text Project

In this GIMP project, you will use layers, strokes, and several other techniques to create a festive holiday text effect.

 

 

Resources you can download:

Background texture | Text fill texture | Bow

 

Open the background texture image as the Background layer.

 

 

Select the Text Tool and create a Text layer using a big, bold font. I used Futura Ultra-Bold Condensed, 196 point. Set the size of the Text layer to the size of the image, Layer > Layer to Image Size.

 

 

With the Rectangle Select Tool, make a selection on a vertical section of a letter.

 

 

Create a new layer, Ribbon. Select the Blend Tool and fill the rectangular selection with the preset Golden gradient.

 

 

Create another new layer, Ribbon edge. Apply a 1 pixel stroke to this selection, Edit > Stroke Selection…, Stroke line, Solid color. Deselect, Select > None. 

 

 

Select the upper of the two ribbon layers and merge them together, Layer > Merge Down.

 

Make the Text layer active and select the text by clicking anywhere on the black text with the Select by Color Tool. Invert the selection, Select > Invert. Now, with the Ribbon layer active, clear the part of the ribbon that lies outside the text, Edit > Clear.

 

 

You can now hide the Text layer by clicking the 'eye' icon in the Layers pallet.

Open the red damask image as a new layer, File > Open as Layers..., name it Damask. In the Layers pallet, drag the Damask layer between the Text and Ribbon layers. Add transparency to the Damask layer, Layer > Transparency > Add Alpha Channel. Clear the selection to remove the part of the Damask layer outside the text.

 

 

Invert the selection again so that you can paint a thin border around the text. Create a new layer, Text edge. Use the Color Picker Tool to choose a color from the middle of the gold ribbon (the Ribbon layer must be active). Select the Text edge layer, and from the Edit menu, choose Stroke Selection…, Stroke line, Solid color.  The width should be about 3 pixels. Deselect.

 

 

Open the gold bow image as a new layer and place it on top of all the others. Name it Bow.

 

 

You now need to shrink the bow down a lot. Choose the Scale Tool, grab a corner handle of the bounding box, and appropriately size the bow. Expand the Bow layer to the image size, Layer > Layer to Image Size. 

 

Make a selection from the Bow layer. With the Fuzzy Select Tool, click outside the bow, then invert the selection. You might want to zoom in to do this more easily.

 

Create a new layer, Bow shadow. Set the color swatches back to default colors and fill the selection on the Bow shadow layer with default black. Deselect. Apply a Gaussian blur with a radius of 2 pixels, Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur… .

 

 

With the Move Tool, slide the Bow shadow layer a bit down and right. Drag the Bow shadow layer under the Bow layer. Merge the Bow layer down onto the Bow shadow layer.

 

 

Duplicate the Bow shadow layer, Layer > Duplicate Layer, and position the bows where you like.

 

 

You might want to add a horizontal ribbon, use bows of various colors, or different textures. Happy holidays!

Ghost in the Forest

By following the steps in this GIMP project you will see how to use layer blending modes and a variety of tools to create the effect of a ghost appearing in the forest.

Some of the concepts used in this project:

• Adding an alpha channel
• Desaturating an image
• Cropping to a fixed aspect ratio
• Using the Fuzzy select tool
• Opening an image as a new layer
• Using Layer masks
• Using Layer modes
• Selecting using transparency (Alpha to selection)
• Stroking a selection

I used this image of a lady from stock.xchng as the basis for the ghost. The first step is to eliminate all the white background around the lady and replace it with transparency. Begin by using the Crop Tool to eliminate most of the background area.

Add transparency to the image, Layer > Transparency > Add Alpha Channel. Pick the Fuzzy Select Tool and click and drag forward in the background. This will select most of the white background without selecting anything within the lady herself. (You might want to use Quick Mask mode to be certain that no part of the lady is selected and to clean up your selection if necessary.)
Feather the selection about 5 pixels, Select > Feather... . Clear the selection, Edit > Clear.

Deselect, Select > None. Zoom in on the lady and use the Eraser Tool to manually clean up any remains of the white background around the edges of the lady.

Convert the lady to a black-and-white image, Colors > Desaturate... with Luminosity selected in the dialog. Select Brightness-Contrast... in the Colors menu. Slide the Brightness down to about -50 and the Saturation up to about 30 to give the image a darker appearance.

Now, fade out the lower part of her body. Add a white layer mask, Layer > Mask > Add Layer Mask... . With the Blend Tool, drag a FG-to-BG gradient (default colors) vertically from the bottom of the image to about the level of her waist.

Finally, scale the image to a height of about 850 pixels, Image > Scale Image... . Save and close the image of the lady.

Moving on to the forest image. As the source for the forest, I used this image, also from stock.xchng. The first step is to crop out a portion of the image with the Crop Tool, in the Tool Options, select Fixed Aspect Ratio of 5:8.
Resize the resulting image to a height of 1200 pixels, Image > Scale Image... .  

Open the previously saved image of the ghost lady as a new layer in the forest image, File > Open as Layers... .  Make sure the image and not the mask is active in the ghost lady layer. Use the Move Tool to position the lady where you like. Set the Layer Mode to Overlay in the Layers pallet. Reduce the Opacity to about 60%.

Duplicate the ghost lady layer, Layer > Duplicate Layer. Set the Layer Mode to Grain Merge and reduce the Opacity to about 25%. Apply a Gaussian blur with a Radius of 10 to the ghost lady copy layer, Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur....

Add a soft glow around the ghost. Again, open the saved image of the ghost lady as a new layer. Rename this layer as glow. Delete the layer mask, Layer > Mask > Delete Layer Mask. Temporarily hide all the other layers by clicking the “eye” icon for each.

Now, to paint a white border around the lady. Select the image of the lady, Layer > Transparency > Alpha to Selection. Swap the default colors. Now stroke the selection, Edit > Stroke Selection..., Line width: 10 px. Clear the selection. Deselect.

Apply a Gaussian blur of 20 px. Unhide the other layers and use the Move Tool to position the glow layer around the ghost.

Swap the default colors back to black FG and white BG. Add a mask to this layer and fade it exactly as you did to the ghost lady layer earlier.

Experiment with various settings as you try out this lesson. Changing just a few things can dramatically affect the results you get. I hope you have fun playing around with this project.

Through a Keyhole

 

In this GIMP project, you will learn how to use layers, selection tools, the stroke dialog, and filters in creating the effect of looking through a keyhole.

Start by creating a new image 600 pixels wide by 800 pixels high. Open the image that you want to appear through the keyhole as a new layer, File > Open as Layers… . Note: It may be necessary to scale and/or reposition this image to get the best effect.

• Making the keyhole.

Create a new layer, brass, on top. With the Bucket Fill Tool, fill it with a brass-like color. I used #8a4500.

Set gridlines every 25 px in the Preferences panel, Edit > Preferences. In the View menu, turn on Show Grid (the box is checked).

Using the Paths Tool, draw a tall, narrow trapezoid, as shown below, to be the lower part of the keyhole. Suggestion: Dragging out guides can make the selections easier.

Now, in the Tool Options click the Selection from Path button to turn the path into a "marching ants" selection.

With the Ellipse Select Tool (in Add to the current selection mode) draw a circle to be the top portion of the keyhole as shown below.

Be sure brass is the active layer. Clear the contents of the keyhole-shaped selection, Edit > Clear. In the View menu, turn of the grid and guides.

• Putting a slight edge around the keyhole.

Create a new layer named edge on top. Make sure edge is the active layer and stroke the selection, Edit > Stroke Selection…, click the radio button for Stroke with a paint tool, and choose Paintbrush from the drop-down menu. In the Tools pallet, select a paintbrush of about 3 pixels. Set the color to a very dark brown (#532a00). Finally, in the Stroke Selection dialog, click Stroke.

• Put a little bit of shadow inside the edges of the keyhole.

Make a new layer on top, inside shadow. Using Stroke Selection again, chose the Stroke line style, a width of about 15 px, and solid default black, click Stroke. Then, remove the selection, Select > None.

Apply a Gaussian blur with a radius of about 35, Filters > Blur > Gaussian blur… . Drag the inside shadow layer immediately under the brass layer. Decrease the opacity to about 75-80%.

• Add some shadow through the keyhole.

Create a new layer above the inside layer, name it gradient, and fill it with black using the Bucket Fill Tool. Add a layer mask to the gradient layer, right-click the layer in the Layers pallet and select Add Layer Mask… .

Select the Blend Tool and choose a black-to-white radial gradient. Drag the Blend Tool vertically downwards in the lower portion of the keyhole to reveal the inside layer. You may have to experiment a few times to get a good result. Decrease the opacity to about 75%.

As they say in Montreal, “Voila!” There are numerous opportunities for modifications and variations in this project, so be bold and have fun!

 

The Poirot Effect

 

This project was inspired by the opening of the British TV series Poirot. I've always thought the graphics used were very dramatic and interesting, so, I decided to try to create a similar effect using GIMP.

 

 

Some of the things you will do in this project:

• Draw a path and make a selection from it
• Open an image as a new layer in the current image
• Scale a layer
• Use guides
• Apply a layer mask

 

Download these source images before you begin: Poirot | OHVLamp

 

Create a new image 800 pixels tall by 600 pixels wide. Fill it with default black using the Bucket Fill Tool. Drag out vertical guides to 525, 310, 290, and 75 pixels. Pull down horizontal guides to 650 and 125 pixels.

img: pult01

 

Step 1. The light cone

Choose the Paths Tool. Draw a tall trapezoid with corners at 290, 125; 75, 675; 525, 675; and 290, 125. In the Tool Options, click on the Selection from Path button. Create a new transparent layer named Cone. Use the Bucket Fill Tool to fill the selection on the Cone layer with white. Then deselect, Select > None.

 

Step 2. The light fade

Add a white layer mask to the Cone layer, Layer > Mask > Add Layer Mask… . Using the Blend Tool, draw a black-to-white gradient up from the bottom of the trapezoid. You may have to experiment a few times to get the best effect. I went from 675 pixels up to 400 perpendicular to the base of the image.

i

 

Step 3. The oval of light on the floor

Choose the Ellipse Select Tool. Draw a white oval 450 pixels wide and 95 high. Make a new transparent layer, Oval. Fill the selection on this layer with white. Deselect. Use the Move Tool to center it over the lower horizontal guide.

 

Step 4. Hercule

Open the Poirot image as a new layer in the image, File  > Open as Layers… . From the Layer menu, choose Scale Layer… , and scale it down to an appropriate size (I used 25%). Position this layer so that the feet are in the center of the light oval.

 

Step 5. Poirot's shadow

Add a new transparent layer, name it Shadow. With the Ellipse Select Tool, draw an oval around Poirot's feet. Fill it with black using the Bucket Fill Tool. Deselect. Select the Rotate Tool and turn it a little clockwise, about 5 degrees. You may need to adjust the position a bit with the Move Tool.

 

Apply a Gaussian blur with a Radius of of about 45, Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur… . Drag the Shadow layer under the Poirot layer. Turn down the opacity to about 85%.

 

Step 6. The overhead lamp

Open the OHVlamp image as a new layer on top of all the other layers. Scale it down to an appropriate size (I used 30%). Position it over the top of the light cone.

 

Adjust the Brightness-Contrast from the Color menu, Brightness: -100, Contrast: 30.

 

Extension

If you wish to continue, download this image:  Industrial

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd67/xmath_photos/GIMP%20Blog/Poirot%20Light/Industrial.jpg

 

Open the Industrial image as a new layer and drag it immediately above the Background layer in the Layers pallet. Scale the Industrial layer to fill the image above the lower horizontal guide.

 

Set the blending Mode to Lighten Only and slide the Opacity all the way down to 13.

 

From the View menu hide the guides. That’s it.