ESPN-like Game Promo Graphic

ESPN-like Game Promo Graphic

Using GIMP to Add Falling Snow to an Image

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

An Easy Halftone (Newsprint) Photo Effect

Learn how to apply a halftone, newsprint effect to a photo in just a few quick, easy steps using GIMP.

Halftone Effect in GIMP

Building a Spy Movie Banner

In this GIMP project, you will learn the basics of creating a movie banner in a style that might be used for a spy movie. You will use layer blending modes, text layers, and color manipulations, as well as other skills.

Source images you can download or use your own similar images:
Kremlin (Original photo by Yaroslav Ushakov)
Man in Suit  (Original photo by Rubén B. Todos)
Bull’s Eye

• Part 1. The Kremlin

Apply a dark, monochromatic red, slightly blurry effect to the Kremlin image.

Open the Kremlin source image. Convert it to grayscale, Colors -Desaturate..., Choose Shade of gray based on: Luminosity.



Duplicate the layer, Layer - Duplicate Layer. Set the blending Mode of the copy layer to Multiply and slide the opacity down to 70%.



Merge these layers into one, Layer - Merge Down. Name the new layer, Kremlin.

Apply a slight Gaussian blur with a radius of 5 for both Horizontal and Vertical, Filters - Blur - Gaussian Blur... .

Now, for the dark red hue. From the Colors menu, click Colorize... . Set the Hue slider to 360, Saturation 50, Lightness -15.



You can now set this image aside for a bit.

• Part 2. The Man in the Suit

Open the Man in Suit image. With the Crop Tool, remove most of the background area. Now add transparency (an alpha channel) to the image, Layer - Transparency - Add Alpha Channel.

You need to remove the remaining white background. The Select by Color Tool will do the heavy lifting here. Click and drag in the background until all that remains is to clean up the detail around the edges of the man. Toggle on Quick Mask mode, zoom in and, with the Paintbrush Tool, clean up any remaining bits of the background, especially in the hair and inside the man's right elbow. Grow the selection by 1 px, Select - Grow. Then clear the contents of the selection, Edit - Clear. Save the image and close.



You can now reopen the Kremlin background image. Open the Man in Suit image you just worked on as a new layer, File - Open as Layers... . Be sure that in the Layers pallet it is above the Kremlin layer and name it Man.Use the Move Tool to position the Man layer to the left side of the picture and down just a bit.

• Part 3. The Text

Add the movie title and some other bits of text to the banner. Select the Text Tool. For the title choose an appropriate font and size.  I used HeadlineA, 240 pt, Color white. Click in the picture and type the desired text. Position the text in a good place.



Create a selection around the text with the Select by Color Tool. Click anywhere on the white text and it will all be selected. Create a new transparent layer on top of all the others, Stroke. Reset the color swatches to the default. Apply a 4 pixel black stroke to the selection on the Stroke layer Edit - Stroke Selection... . Merge the Stroke layer down onto the text layer.



Similarly add additional text elements to the picture.

• Part 4. The Bull’s Eye

Open the Bull's Eye image as a new layer under the Spy Movie text layer. Set the blending Mode to Lighten Only. Reduce the Opacity to about 85%. Position the bull's eye where you like with the Move Tool.



You've now brought all the components together. Use this lesson as a starting point for your creative expression. Modify and experiment to your heart's delight!

Stick a Label on It

In this GIMP tutorial you will create an effect that appears similar to a strip of embossed tape as produced by some label makers.

 

 

Some of the things used in this project:

• Layer Effects-Drop Shadow
• Layer Effects-Bevel and Emboss
• Path Tool
• Merging layers
• Selection by color
• Text Tool

 

Note: To complete this tutorial, you will need to have the Script-Fu Layer Effects plugin installed. Get it here if you don't have it yet.

Create a new image 800 pixels wide by 250 pixels, File - New... . Set the foreground color to a medium gray (8b8b8b), then fill the image, Edit - Fill with FG Color.

With the Rectangle Select Tool, make a selection about 500 pixels by 100 pixels.

 

Make a new transparent layer, Layer - New Layer..., named Strip. Reset the color swatches to the default colors. Fill the selection on the Strip layer with the foreground color (black).

The next step is to add a white drop shadow to the strip. Script Fu - Layer Effects... - Drop Shadow... . Set the Color to white and the Size and Offset Distance each to 2.0.

 

Deselect, Select - None. Make the Strip layer active and merge it with the Script-dropshadow layer, Layer - Merge Down.

 

 

Click the Text Tool in the Toolbox. In the Tool Options, I used Monospace, 64, white. Click in the black strip and type a line of text.  With the Move Tool, position the text in the center of the black strip.

 

Use the Select by Color Tool and click anywhere in the text to select the white text. Apply the embossing effect, Script-Fu - Layer Effects - Bevel and Emboss… with the settings shown below.

 

 

 

Deselect. In the Layers pallet, select the upper of the two new layers created in the emboss process and merge it down to the lower layer. To the resulting layer, apply a slight blur, Filters - Blur - Blur.

 

 

Get an even more authentic effect by 'folding down' a corner. 

 

Make the Strip-dropshadow layer active. With the Paths Tool (in Design mode), draw a triangle in the upper left corner of the black strip. In the Tool Options dialog, click the Selection from Path button. Delete the selected area, Edit - Clear.

 

 

Deselect everything. From the Paths pallet, delete the path you drew.

Make a new transparent layer, Fold over. Use the Paths Tool again to draw a triangle to represent the folded corner. Convert it to a selection.

 

 

Fill the triangle with white, Edit - Fill with BG Color. Deselect, and delete the path.

 

 

Note: The Bevel and Emboss settings were determined after a lot of experimentation. You might improve the effect by further refining these settings.

Carve the Text

In this quick, fairly simple GIMP project, you will create the effect of text having been carved into a textured surface using layers.

Some techniques you will use in this project:

Layers

Text layers

Merging layers

Selection by color

Alpha channels

Noise generator

Gaussian blur

Open a texture image as the Background layer. I used a marble texture that I downloaded from Image*Afterhere. Select the Text Tool and create a text layer with your desired text and center it. Use a bigger, bolder font. I chose Futura Ultra-Bold Condensed, 196 pt.

Create a new empty layer, Layer > New Layer…, name it Gray. Use the Bucket Fill Tool to fill it with a medium grayish-pink color. Drag it under the Background layer in the Layers pallet.

With the Text layer active, make a selection of the text. Use the Select by Color Tool and click on the text.

Hide the Text layer by unchecking its ‘eye’ icon in the Layers pallet. Select the Background layer and add transparency to it, Layer > Transparency > Add Alpha Channel. Clear the selection, Edit > Clear. The Gray layer should now be showing through the text.

Add a new layer, named Black. Invert the selection, Edit > Invert Selection. Reset the color swatches to their defaults, and fill the Black layer with black, Edit > Fill with FG Color.

Duplicate the Black layer, Layer > Duplicate Layer. Name the copy White. Fill the White layer with default white, Edit > Fill with BG Color.

Deselect all, Select > None.
With the White layer selected, choose the Move Tool, slide the White layer up slightly, one or two pixels.
Do the same with the Black layer, except move it straight down. (Note: I have exaggerated this a bit for clarity.)
Select whichever of the Black layer or the White layer is on top, then merge them together into one layer, Layer > Merge Down. Name the merged layer Shadow.

Apply a slight Gaussian blur with a radius of about 3.5 pixels to the Shadow layer, Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur… . Drag the Shadow layer between the Background layer and the Gray layer.

Finally, add a little texture to the carved surface within the letters.
Select the Gray layer. Add some noise, Filters > Noise > Noise Generator. In the  dialog, click the Poisson tab, 1 Photon, Luminance noise only is checked, Gamma correction is not checked.

Apply a Gaussian blur with a radius of 2 pixels.

To extend the project, you might like to use the original textured background instead of the Gray layer. Make some slight brightness adjustments and apply a little blur.

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!

Southern Exposure

In this short lesson you will learn a quick, easy procedure to use when you need to recover a badly underexposed photograph. A photograph is described as underexposed when there is not enough light in the photo, so it has a loss of shadow detail. This GIMP tutorial is based on a method described by Dave Johnson in PCWorld.

Open the image you want to make a bit more presentable.

Duplicate the background layer (right-click on the layer and select Duplicate Layer or select Duplicate Layer from the Layer menu) so that there are two identical layers in the Layers pallet.

Be certain the duplicate layer, [image name] copy, is the active layer. From the Colors menu select Hue-Saturation... . Slide the Saturation control left to reduce the saturation to -50.

Again from the Colors menu, choose Invert.

 

The top layer should now look more or less like the negative of a black-and-white photo.

In the Layers pallet, change the Mode of the duplicate layer to Overlay.

You should now have a somewhat better looking photo than you started with.

I'm going to flatten the image merging the two layers (Image > Flatten Image), and repeat the entire process once more (saturation reduced to -30 this time) to further enhance the image.

Although this isn't a great fix, it will make an underexposed photo much better for casual use, say for Twitter or Facebook, with very little time and effort.