Hello Bar

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Creating an Andy Warhol-like Effect with GIMP

°❑ Includes:

• ❑ Using guides

• ❑ Resizing the canvas

• ❑ Threshold dialog

• ❑ Anchoring a Layer


• ❑ Part 1 - Prepare the base image to copy


❑ From an existing image, make a square selection that will be the image used in your creation

❑ Use the Rectangular selection tool

• ❑ Select 'Fixed aspect ratio'

• ❑ Set Width and Height to equal numbers ( I don't think it matters what numbers)

❑ Apply Filters - Enhance - Unsharp Mask to the selection

• ❑ Set the amount between 2 and 3



❑ From the image menu, Layer - Colors - Threshold
• ❑ After you select Threshold, click anywhere in the image to open the dialog

• ❑ Set the middle slider so the lower bound (on the left) is 100

• ❑ Edit - Copy (Ctrl+C)


• ❑ Part 2 - Create a new image


❑ Create a new file, File - New

• ❑ By default, the Width and Height should be equal to the dimensions of the base image

❑ Now resize the new image to fit four copies

❑ Image - Canvas Size

• ❑ From the drop-down, select 'percent' instead of 'pixels'

• ❑ Change Width and Height both to 200

• ❑ You should now have an image with a white square in the upper left and the rest transparent

❑ Next, expand the white square to fill the image

• ❑ Layer - Layer to Image Size

• ❑ Save in xcf format


• ❑ Part 3 - Position the guides

❑ From the image menu, Image - Guides - New Guide (by Percent) ...

• ❑ Select 'Horizontal' from the drop-down, set at 50%

• ❑ Repeat the two previous steps, this time selecting 'Vertical'


• ❑ Part 4 - Paste, position, and color the base image

❑ Edit -Paste (Ctrl-V)

• ❑ This places one copy of the base image in the center

• ❑ Select the Move tool and position the image in one corner

❑ Filters - Colors - Colorify ...

• ❑ Select red

❑ Edit -Paste (Ctrl-V)

• ❑ This places another copy of the base image on top of the red one

• ❑ Select the Move tool and position the image in another corner

❑ Filters - Colors - Colorify ...

• ❑ Select green

• ❑ Repeat these steps to fill and color the other two corners


• ❑ Part 5 - Closing out


• ❑ Anchor the copies to the background by using Layer - Anchor Layer (Ctrl+H)

• ❑ View - Show Guides (deselect)


• ❑ Save your finished creation



If you find this useful, a small donation would be appreciated.




Monday, June 18, 2007

Create a Realistic Looking Ticket (GIMP)

❑ Create a new image

• ❑ Default size (300 x 420)

• ❑ Portrait orientation

• ❑ Use the View menu to show the grid and snap to grid

❑ Select a rectangular region using the Rectangle selection tool

• ❑ Use the Bucket Fill tool to color the rectangle

• ❑ Use a muted primary color

• ❑ Remove the selection (Ctrl+Shift+A)


❑ The next step is to cut quarter-circles from each corner

❑ Use the Elliptical Selection tool

• ❑ Select fixed aspect ratio (drop down box)

• ❑ Be sure to choose Add to Selection mode (second button)

❑ Draw a circular selection centered on each corner of the rectangle


• ❑ Click-hold the left mouse button on one of the corners

• ❑ Hold Ctrl while making your selection

• ❑ Edit - Clear (Crtl+K) to cut out the corners

• ❑ Delete the selection (Ctrl+Shift+A)


❑ Now the semi-circular perforation holes in the middle of each end of the ticket will be cut out


• ❑ Using the same procedure as in the last step, make a circular selection in the middle of each short side

• ❑ Use Ctrl+K or Edit - Clear to cut out the semi-circles

• ❑ Again, remove the selection as previously described


❑ Now we'll add a very slight drop shadow for a realistic effect

❑ Use Select Regions by Color tool to select the body of the ticket

• ❑ Threshold should be pushed all the way down to 0.0


❑ Script-Fu - Shadow - Drop-Shadow

• ❑ I used these settings to get a very slight effect.

• ❑ Remove the selection

• ❑ You should now have the body of the ticket completed



❑ Now you can add text, lines, etc



❑ Adding some lines

• ❑ Create a new transparent layer

❑ Use the Path tool to draw some lines on your ticket

• ❑ Select Design mode and check Polygonal so your lines will be straight

❑ Stroke path with the Paintbrush tool

• ❑ Choose a small brush and default colors


❑ Add the serial numbers

❑ Select the Text tool

• ❑ Use default colors

• ❑ Select a font that would be appropriate for the serial number

• ❑ Position the numbers near the end of the ticket with the Move tool

• ❑ Duplicate this layer (Layer - Duplicate)

• ❑ Move this layer (the duplicate) to the other end of the ticket

❑ Right click on this layer in the Layers dialog, choose Merge Down

• ❑ This places both sets of serial numbers on the same layer

• ❑ Now dial down the opacity of this layer to about 70

❑ Finally, put some text in the middle of the ticket

❑ Turn the ticket on its side

• ❑ Image - Transform - Rotate 90 CW

❑ Use the Text tool to create some appropriate text

• ❑ Use default colors

• ❑ Use a heavy font

• ❑ Set Opacity for this layer at about 70 to get a faded look

• ❑ Turn off the grid.


• ❑ You're finished!

If you find this useful a small donation would be appreciated







Monday, May 28, 2007

Create Water (GIMP)

Water is one of the easies things to create in gimp.
All the settings in this tutorial are the ones I used feel free to experiment and adjust the settings (by droz928, GIMPtalk)

This is what you should have when you complete this little tutorial.


Step One: Setting up the base layer


First open a new image I used 400x300 it really doesn't matter what background you choose.

Fill the image with clouds Filter>Render>Clouds>Solid Noise
Settings
Random Seed: 4294966803
Detail 1
X Size 2.0
Y Size 2.0
Click Ok

A note about the clouds. You should try to get a cloud layer that is distributed unevenly. You want to achieve a good contrast between the black and white.

Now apply a radial motion blur Filters>Blur>Motion
Settings
Set it to Radial
Angle 45
Click Ok

Now apply a Gaussian blur Filters>Blur>Gaussian
Settings
Blur Method set to IIR
Horizontal and Vertical 35
Click Ok

Step 2: Adding waves and ripples


Add waves Filters>Distorts>Waves
Settings
Mode Smear
Amplitude 55
Phase 190
Wavelength 37
Click Ok

Duplicate the layer Layer>Duplicate
Flip the duplicate layer Tools>Transform Tools>Flip (Shift + F)
Click and drag the flip curser from left to right across the layer. Poof it is flipped.
Set the layer mode to difference.
Duplicate the layer. Layer>Duplicate (Shift + F)

Rotate the second duplicate layer. Tools>Transform Tools>Rotate (Shift + R)
Click the any where on the layer the rotation settings dialog should appear.
Set the angle to 180 than click ok

Merge all the layer together Image>Merge Visible Layers (Shift + M)

Add the ripple Filters>Distorts>Ripple
Settings
Orientation: Horizontal
Edges: Wrap
Wave Type: Sine
Period: 130
Amplitude: 10
Click ok

Step 3: Adding Color


The easiest way to add color is to add a new layer Layer>New Layer

Set your primary color to a nice aqua color try #239fa7.

Switch to the bucket fill tool Tools>Paint Tools>Bucket Fill (Shift + B) and click anywhere on the new layer.

Set the layer mode to color

Merge all the layer together Image>Merge Visible Layers (Shift + M)

Step 4: Final Step Cleaning and cutting


Select all Select>All
Shrink the selection Select>Shrink
Setting 6
Copy Edit>Copy (ctrl + C) or Cut Edit>Cut (ctrl + X) the selection.
Paste it as a new image Edit>Paste As New.
Poof you are done. Save the file as water texture or whatever your heart desires.