Gimp ed 101

Make a funny graphic look good

2011-11-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

I'm going to show you how to use Gimp to make the graphic below (left) look better than it currently does (right). This is a rather involved little project, but bare with me. The many different techniques I cover in this can be applied to all kinds of other stuff.
Before I go on, I also want to note that I simply consider this a funny graphic, and don't necessarily agree, politically, with everything put forward in this.

1- Setup your image, and trace

I simply opened the original graphic and left the dimensions alone (860x553 pixels). Save as a .xcf file. Create a new transparent layer and trace the black lines of the original graphic in solid black lines.

2-Create the American flag on U.S.
Find an American flag online, download it, and open it as a layer in your Gimp image.

Resize and duplicate as needed so that the flag(s) are covering the three places on the map. Going back to the outlines layer select inside where you want the flag to show up. In our case, that would be the U.S. land mass, Alaska, and Hawaii. Then in the selections menu 'grow' your selection by two pixels, like below. this will make the clipping mask we'll be creating to overlap, so there is no gap between the black lines and the flag.

3- Create a mask for the flag

Once your flag is positioned and a selection created, right clicking on the flag layer and select the 'Add a layer mask' option. The below dialogue will open. Select the 'selection' option and click 'OK'. A mask will then be created that matches the selection you had on the U.S. territories.

I used three copies of the flag, repeating the above process three times. You don't have to do this, but I did it to get the result I wanted. See below.

4- Fill in the colors for the rest of the world.
There are a couple ways to do this. The simplest would be to choose colors and simply use the bucket fill tool on the outlines layer. This may or may not work very well. If you want to make sure the color and the lines are solid, create a new transparent layer for the color fills of the various countries. Then repeat making a selection, growing the selection by 2 pixels, switch from the outline layer to the new fill layer and fill the selection you just made. Repeat this until you have a color filled for each country. Below is what I came up with.
NOTE: I still have the flags on a separate layer, so I can create a drop shadow on them later.

5- Create a background
For a background, create a new transparent layer. Fill it with a Black to white, circular gradient, where the white is in the center. Now go to Filters>Render>Clouds>Difference of clouds. Then enter the paramenters shown on the screen capture below.

The filter should create an affect similar to this one.

Now in the menus go to Color>Map>Gradient map. If your Background/foreground colors are right you should get an affect similar to below. Notice I have also applied a drop shadow filter to the U.S. flag layer.

6- Labeling

Now you can begin labeling the graphic. Start by using the 'type' tool, copying the text from the old graphic. You will need to adjust size, font and color as needed. Note that to make the drop shadow on the U.S.text you will have to Discard text information in by right clicking on its layer in the layers palette. Continue to copy, move and type until the chart is fully labeled.

7-Labeling continued

For the text that requires a pointer of some kind you will need to utilize the 'paths tool' and the 'paths palette'. Activate the tool and create a path similar to the one shown below.

8- Stroke path

Create a new transparent layer above all the rest. Make your foreground color the color that you want the stroke to be. Go to the paths palette, click on the newly created path in the palette. Then in the lower right corner of the palette, click on the 'stroke path' icon. A dialogue will appear. Set the stroke width to 3, then click OK. You should get a similar stroke as below. If not, experiment with the width until you get a nice thin stroke.

9-Moving and editing your path
Now move your path to the next set of text on the map. To do this you will need to be sure the path you want to move is selected, then in the 'move tool' options select the 'path only' icon and the 'move the active path' icon.
You may need to alter the anchor points of your path once you have moved it into position so as to make the pointer point in the right direction. To do this activate your 'paths' tool. Then using the left mouse button double click the path in the 'paths' palette. The anchor points will reappear and you should be able to edit them to fit what is needed. After this, stroke your path, then reactivate the 'move' tool, move your path and continue the process until all the pointers are created

10- The final image
I didn't like Red as the color for the pointers, so I changed them using the Hue/saturation palette to alter the color to a Nice darkish blue. The colors don't clash so much when blue is used.

Conclusion
As you can see below the differences and improvements in the design are stark. Its easier to look at, and on top of this I improved on the verbiage and made it a little more kid friendly while maintaining the hilarity.
I give my thanks to Rick packer, my brother-in-law for bringing this graphic to my attention. Also, a thanks to whoever originally created this. Not sure who you are, but it made us all laugh at ourselves (Americans), and cause us to stop and think if this is really how we think of the world around us.

Crop to 4x6 or 5x7 aspect ratio

2011-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial I will show how to use Gimp to crop to a specific size and aspect ratio. I'll be using the macro image I snapped on a recent camp-out. You can use any photo you would like.

1-Understanding aspect ratios

It is important to know that all photo development labs, weather at Wal-mart, Walgreens or Kmart, develop and print photos at specific standard sizes that are are more or less universal. These various sizes come in two different aspect ratios. The reason for this, I believe has to do with the various types of cameras in use by the general public. Respectively, most cameras (Medium and large format are excluded from this) shoot in two aspect ratios. One is wide and the other not so wide. Below are shown the two aspect ratios and their respective sizes within those ratios.

2-Crop to a specific aspect ratio in Gimp
Activate your crop tool. Then simply click on the 'fixed' icon in the crop tool palette as ssen below. Once this is done your crop will be to the exact aspect ratio of whatever image you have open. But what if your image was shot at a 5x7 ratio, and you want to crop it to a ratio that will allow you to print it at a 4x6 or 8x12 so you dont have to worry about the photo lab cropping out parts of the photo you want to remain. Read on to find out.

3-Changing the aspect ratio of your photo
There are several ways to do this, but I find this way the simplest. first, in the menus, go to 'image'> 'Scale image'. In the dialogue that opens change the 'pixels' to 'inches'. In my case I want this image to be 6 inches tall at 300 DPI. If you want yours to be 8x12 Just change the 'height' to 12. Below is what I did.

4-Crop to the correct size
Create a crop frame on your image, it doesn't matter what size. Now in the crop palette change the size parameters to 'inches' and the crop-box size to 4x6. Then reposition the crop-box to what ever position you desire. After this type return to make the crop permanent. See below for the crop palette settings.

Conclusion
I hope this is understandable. Keep in mind that you can crop from a 4x6 aspect to a 5x7 by changing the 'width' instead of the height in the 'Scale image' dialogue. Enjoy cropping!

Crop and tone a photo

2011-08-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lets crop and enhance (tone) the appearance of a photo. For this demonstration I have this photo of my son at the bowling alley.

1-Crop the image: fixed aspect

First lets crop this image to tighten up the view of the boy and the alley. Do this by activating the crop tool (control+C). Going to the crop palette click on the 'fixed' option as shown below. This will force your crop box to maintain the images current aspect ratio, which just happens to be a 4x6 inch ratio. Click on the image below to see what I just explained above

2-Tone the image
You will notice this particular image has a yellowish tint to it. What we want to accomplish is a reduction in yellow. Then achieve an overall balance between colors (Red, Green, Blue). this being a basics tutorial I wont bore you with all the nitty-gritty details. Just a step-by-step process that is specific to this photo. Your own photos will follow this process, but unique adjustments will need to be made for each individual image to attain the desired results. Lets: begin
-Open your curves palette (Colors menu>curves), adjust your 'values'(Red, Green, Blue) curves in a similar way as seen below.
-Then adjust your Red, Green, Blue curves each until you get the desired results. This can be a tricky part, but I find that much of the time its a matter of adding blue and reducing the green just a little.
-Experiment until you get the desired results for your image. You will be amazed what can be achieved color-wise. If you're satisfied with the color of your photo, all that needs to be adjusted is the value part of curves, to give your image a nice subtle contrast and color enhancement.
Click on the image below to enlarge so you can see the details.

3-Adjust levels (If necessary)
Sometimes curves doesn't quite do the job when it comes to brightness and darkness. Open your Levels palette (Colors menu>levels). slide the black gray and white nodes to adjust the darkest areas, lightest areas, and the areas in between. I like to adjust the gray node to the left to brighten up the shadow areas a little. As with curves experimentation is needed for each image. See image below for what I did on this image:

Conclusion
Below is a side-by-side comparison of the image before and after tonal adjustments. As always, this is just a guide to get you started. Experimentation is key to your learning all you need to know about the many uses of the gimp.

Layers: Understanding how they work

2011-07-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

It has recently come to my attention that a tutorial on the various functions of the layers palette and how layers work, could be very beneficial for any beginner in Gimp. To That end I have created this. I hope it helps anyone to easily understand the basics of the layers in Gimp. Also, I know it is referred to as a "dialogue" in gimp. The two terms are synonymous. I am used to the term "palette", and that is the terminology I will use. Sorry if this causes any confusion.

1-Run-down of the Layers palette
Below is a diagram of the layers palette. Click on it to see a larger version of it. Look it over and then we'll move on.

2- Copy and Paste an image from one file to another in gimp
Copying and pasting an image from one file to another can be a bit confusing. Just follow these steps.

Open the image to be copied, and the image to be pasted into. Below I have a nice cutout of a T-rex skull that I will copy, then paste into the image of the T-rexon the left. Simply make sure the active window is the T-rex skull. Type Control+C to copy the cutout. Then click on the other window to be sure it is active. Type Control+V to paste the skull into the new image.

3- Copy and paste cont.
Looking at the image, it appears that the skull was successfully copied. But we're not finished. Notice there is a selection around the skull. Also, looking at the layers palette, you'll see that it's layer isn't a layer yet. It appears as a 'Floating selection'. The easiest way to make it a new layer is to click on the 'new layer icon' in the lower left corner of the layers palette. Whahla! you have just successfully copy and pasted a new layer into your image.

4- Layer masking and Layer modes
You'll notice I made a few alterations to the image below.
I altered the Layer mode of the skull to 'difference'.
On the T-Rex image I created a layer mask, then using a Black to white gradient, I used the gradient tool to cause the fading affect.
After this I created a new white layer and moved it to the bottom. The white allows the skull to show up the way I want it to.
If you're unsure how to create a layer mask please refer to my tutorial called 'Layer mask basics', for full instructions on how to create a layer mask. They are amazing!

5-Using the anchor icon
Lets say you wanted to readjust the position of an element on a cutout or an image without creating a new layer. To do this create your selection of the element to be adjusted. Cut the selection by typing Control+X. Then select none by going to the 'Select' menu and clicking 'None '. Then type control+V. Using the 'move' and/or the rotate, and scale tool (depending on what you want), reposition the newly pasted floating selection. Now click on the 'anchor' icon at the bottom of the layers palette. The floating selection has now become a permanent part of the layer directly below it. If you wanted to create a new layer out of it click the 'new layer' icon instead. The image below shows you how I have repositioned the T-Rex head a little before I anchor it.

Conclusion
That about covers the basics of the Layers palette. If you have any questions about any of the icons I didn't cover in detail, let me know. I'll be glad to help out.

I may be updating this in the near future. The next version of Gimp will include additional options in the layers palette.

Illustration is finally complete

2011-07-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to finally post the completed digital illustration. After much frustrating work (mainly having to do with the colors), I have completed my illustration of my second child. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Please feel free to click on any of the images here to see greater detail.

Final Thoughts
The techniques I mentioned in previous posts for creating the color were far too difficult and time consuming. Although I am somewhat pleased with the overall look, I recognize it could be much better. That is why I keep practicing and learning. Hope you enjoy this.

Fix slow custom brushes

2011-05-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

So I got really tired of my custom brushes being extremely slow and chunky while using my pen tablet in Gimp. I finally figured out how to eliminate most of the slowness, and still use my pen tablet.

1-Go to preferences.
Click 'preferences' in the Edit menu at the top.

2-Image window
Click on 'Image window' and change the following preferences as indicated below:

3-Paint on
Now you should be able to paint with very little lag. (If you create a brush with 20 layers or its just plain massive, over 300 dpi, it will still be slow).
The only downside to this is you no longer see a preview of your paintbrush tip. But I find this a minor annoyance is worth the price to be able to make bold broad strokes on your canvas.
Paint on! Paint on!

Place a planet in the sky

2010-12-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

Her is a fun little tutorial to finish out the year. I'll show you how to place a planet in the sky of a landscape. Lets begin

1-Get a landscape
Here is a photo of the Salt Lake valley looking south from Ensign Peak. I'm going to place a planet of my own creation in the background so as to make it look like its orbiting the Earth. When you do this you'll want to keep the angle of the sun in mind. The lighting of the planet to be used will determine how realistic the final image will turn out being.

2-Get a planet
Create a planet (See my tutorial) or get a planet, Saturn, Jupiter, the Moon, Mars from the internet. For this I made up a ringed planet. I saved it as a PNG file then going to File>Open as layers, Opened it as a layer into the Photo. then I saved the image as a new .XCF file. See below:

3-Place planet
I then positioned my planet in the place I want it to be on the horizon. I also had to re-size it a bit. Experiment until you get the position and size you want.

4-Change the layer mode and alter color
Going to the layer mode tab in the Layers palette change the planets layer-mode to 'Screen'.
Going to 'Color' in the menus, then 'Color balance', i made a color adjustment to the planet to more closely match the to yellowish tone of the building in the photo. See below:

5-Make the planet go behind the horizon
Create a layer mask on the planet layer. Using a fuzzy paint brush make invisible the parts of the planet that should be behind the horizon. I also painted out parts of the planet where there are clouds to increase the illusion.

Conclusion
There you have it. Now save your image as a .JPG file and send it to the printer. Your friends and family will get a kick out of the photo.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Layer Mask Basics

2010-12-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial I'm going to demonstrate the basics of using a layer mask. When I first learned about layer masks, some 8 years ago, I had a difficult time wrapping my brain around exactly what they do. After some experimentation I figured them out. But for the sake of (hopefully) making this easier for newcomers I'll use a Harry Potter analogy. A layer mask is a lot like Potter's invisibility cloak. In the movie he could make himself completely invisible or partially invisible if part of the cloak wasn't covering him. A layer mask works in a similar way. You can make part or all of an image invisible, so as to allow other layers to show through. The whole image still exists. There are just parts of it you have made invisible or partially invisible. And because the image exists in its entirety, it is no problem to bring back parts of the image you didn't intend to make invisible. Two words, 'Non-destructive editing'. Lets begin.

1-Creating a layer mask

First you will need to find an image to use a layer mask on. I chose this flower.

1-Creating a layer mask cont.
Go to your layer mask and right-click on the flower layer. Scroll down and click on the 'Add layer mask' option. See below

1-Creating a layer mask cont.
When clicked, a new dialogue will come up with multiple options. This being a basic tutorial, we will only concern ourselves with the 'White (full opacity)' option. select this, and click OK.

2-Elements of the layer mask.
Notice that nothing on the canvas changes. But take a look at your flower layer. Notice there is now a white box next to the flower thumbnail. This is what indicates the presence of a layer mask on a layer. Notice also, that the white box has an outline/border. It is very important to know that when this is selected you are in 'layer mask mode' and cannot affect the pixels of the actual image. On the flip side, if you select the Image thumbnail, to the left, you are back in 'image edit mode', and can't edit your mask. Not being aware of this can cause a great deal of frustration as you edit your image. REMEMBER THE MASK.

3-Working with a layer mask
Now the fun part, making parts of your image invisible. There are several ways to do this. The first method I'll show you is the 'Bucket fill' method. First activate the 'free select' tool. draw a selection all the way around the flower. After this, type the key command 'Control+i' to invert your selection. Activate your 'Bucket Fill' tool, select the 'Fill whole selection' in the bucket fill options and be sure your fill color is Black, then click on your canvas. all the selected areas become invisible. Notice the mask mode box in the Layers palette. From this you can tell which areas are transparent, opaque, or somewhere in between. This becomes somewhat useful when working with multiple layers. See diagram below.

4-Working with a layer mask, detailing with the Paint brush
Now lets say you want to refine the look of your image. Some parts you don't want showing, others you want to bring back into visibility. Here is where your paintbrush comes in. Be sure you're still in 'layer mask mode' on your layers palette. Activate your 'paint brush' tool (or any tool that paints: Ink, pencil, airbrush). Change your foreground and Background colors to Black and white (Double click on the little black/white icon next to the Fore/Background colors).
To bring parts of your image back to visibility simply paint with white as your foreground color.
To make parts of your image invisible, paint with Black as your Foreground color.
(tap the 'X' key to quickly switch your Fore/Background colors). I did some of this in the below image

5-More detail masking with the Paint brush
For a dramatic feathered affect change your brush to a very soft fuzzy brush, enlarge the brush to about a 3rd the size of the flower, reduce your brush opacity to about 40% and be sure the foreground is set to White. Now paint in a circle, a little towards the edge of the flower. Notice that this brings in a nice semi-transparent gradation of your image. This can be a fun affect to do with photos of friends and family. I also added a white layer below the flower layer, to more easily see the gradation of the image.

Conclusion
This concludes this tutorial on the basics of layer masking. Hopefully it has been illuminating for all the beginners out there. I encourage you to experiment with different brushes and images. Layer masking is one of the more powerful tools in Gimp, and can be utilized in more ways than I can count.

As a bonus here are several images I've created using layer masks to cut out images. ENJOY!

Cole Portrait November 28, 2010

2010-11-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

Much progress has been made in the last two weeks. This, despite getting another part time job on top of my full time job. I am feeling more confident every day about my ability to complete this before Christmas.

Combining colorizing methods
Ive figured out a new way to color my painting. First I select the area on the painting I want colored. I then create a gradient that mimics the tones and shadows of skin, or the shirt. Then, making sure the new gradient is selected I go to Color>Map>gradient map. When selected the gradient map will apply color of the gradient based off lightness and darkness of pixels. Below is the gradient i used for the skin.

Applying the gradient map

Below is the face of my son after I applied the above gradient as a gradient map. I had to experiment with the gradient over and over until I had the colors adjusted just right. The results are amazing once the gradient was squared away.

Applying additional color

Despite how nice the gradient map turned out it was abundantly clear that additional reds and blues would need to be applied to the skin to make it more vibrant and alive. To that end i created a new transparent layer above the skin layer. I changed the layer mode to 'color', found a nice pink and a light blue color, and lightly painted in blues and pink where necessary. Below is the result. It is very important that these colors are NOT applied to the canvas at full opacity. The intensity of the colors would be too much. I used a pen tablet, so I lightened my pen pressure. If using a mouse be sure to reduce your brush opacity to at least 20%.

Here is what the painting with the skin layer turned off so you can see clearly where I applied additional color on the layer above

More details applied on the Profile

As you can see below I have advanced the details of the profile. Still a ways to go, but things are moving along very well.

Illustration November 23, 2010

2010-11-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since the last illustration entry. Hopefully the wait will be worth it. I must be the slowest illustrator in the world. I finally set a real deadline for myself. I'm going to have this thing finished by the middle of December so I can have a framed image for my wife by Christmas.As you can see below I have made an incredible amount of progress in the past two months. I spent a great deal of time on his face. I am still not quite satisfied with it, but it is a decent likeness of my second son.
What is becoming an increasingly attractive style for me is placing incredible detail where I want the viewer to see detail. the purpose being to direct a persons view to what is most important. Also, to emphasise his personality in every detail of his face. Much of his clothing I have done very loosely, but his face I have made an attempt at exact clarity. At this point it still feels imperfect. That is the way of learning as an artist. I realize more than ever that I have a long way to go in perfecting my style and technique. So I will be satisfied with this current illustration and move on, make my next on e even better. Please read on to find out more about my techniques for this illustration.

The piano
I am very pleased with the overall feel of the piano and its keys. I was able to pull off a nice shiny surface. A big part of my technique involved altering the shape of the edit brush in the brushes palette to a semi-soft rectangle. I dabbed this along the surface of the piano, rotating between darks and lights until I got the affect I was looking for.

coloring my painting
As you can see in the above image I have begun experimenting with using layer modes to colorize my grayscale image. It has proved to be more challenging than I first thought. I started by creating a transparent layer above the grayscale layer. I painted in some red and a skin colored tint. Then I shifted through every single layer mode until I found one that worked the best. In this case I believe it was the mode 'Overlay'. My colors were too intense though, so I've been messing with different opacities to get the colors just right. It isn't very easy. I may not use this technique in the future. Instead I will use straight colors. It will be a little more traditional than what I'm doing here

A New artist brush
As a bonus for this particular blog I am providing a brush I created. It mimics as closley as I have ever seen in gimp, a fine artist brush. If your using a mouse turn on the fade in the Brush options. Then reduce the Brush spacing at the bottom of the brush palette to 1 or 2.0. If your using a pen tablet Do the above with the addition of turning on opacity and size by pen pressure in the brush dynamics in the Brush options. As you can see below, (Click on the image) this particular brush has a nice artsy, painterly affect.
To get this brush simply click on the image of the brush below, save to desktop, open in gimp, then save as a .gih file type into your gimp brushes folder. I don't normally give away my own brushes. But this is the giving time of year. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays!!!

Remembering September 11, 2001

2010-09-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Click on image to see better detail

This is my own little artistic way of remembering the events of that dreadful day nine years ago. Sorry this is a bit late. Better late than never I suppose.
It is regrettable that such tragedies occur as they inevitably do. Yet, how wonderful that so many people turned to a higher power for strength. I am proud to be an American all the time. But more especially when I see people turn to God. I saw even more of this at Glenn Beck's 8/28 rally. May such fervor for a higher being and liberty continue to grow in this nation. As men love God more, they grow to love each other more. Forgiveness, tolerance and mutual understanding grow. When men place their trust and love in a higher power, only then will hatred be overcome. Only then will we have peace on Earth.

Create a thank you card using Gradient map

2010-09-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

I was just selected as one of two people in my department to stay on at the Deseret News here in Salt Lake. I decided to create a thank you card to send to those who chose me. As part of the creation process I used iWarp in Filters and the gradient map option in the 'colors' file menu.

1-Size
I chose a horizontal aspect ratio for the size. Actual print size is 7.5x3 inches at 300dpi.

2-using iWarp
Paint in a random gray-scale background on the back ground layer. Then Going to Filters>Distorts>iWarp the iWarp dialogue opens. Increase the Deform radius and deform amount to nearly their maximum range. Select the 'shrink' option and begin sucking in at the center of your image. Use this until you get the affect you like. If you make a mistake, use the remove option to undo the distortion you created. Don't like the whole thing click the 'reset' button at the bottom left. When you get a nice effect click 'OK' and you distortion will be rendered.

3-Create a gradient
Using 'Scriptina' font type "Thank you". We'll keep it black for now.
Go back to your Background layer. Open your Gradient palette. At the bottom of the palette click the icon second in from the left. This will create a new gradient and open the gradient editing dialogue. Using this create a gradient similar in colors to this one:

This will automatically be saved to your gradients palette. Name it whatever you wish.
Alternatively, if you don't wish to make your own gradient you can use any of the many preset gradients already available.

4-Apply the gradient to a gray-scale image
Being sure the new gradient is selected in the gradient palette, in the menus go to colors>map>Gradient map. Once clicked the Gradient map will apply itself to the current active layer. This is what will occur in our case:

5-Make the image POP!
To make this image really stand out create another blank layer just above the background layer. repeat the steps we used to create our back ground layer and apply a slightly different gradient in a gradient map. Turn the new layers layer mode to 'screen'. This is what I came up with for the new layer. and the next image is what they look like when they are combined. The screen layer mode allows the background layer to show through partially. This creates the illusion of greater depth and contrast.

After this I chose to turn the color of my text a blood red. But you color things however you see fit.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I printed this at a local store, and wrote a little message on the back. Printing this on a heavier weight paper only ads to how nice this turns out.

06/25/10 details on shirt begin

2010-06-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

More work on the face and shirt of my son.
Don't know why, but feel like there is something inside me blocking me from working more vigorously on this. I guess there is a point in every major piece when I realize how much of a task the piece will be. Not sure why I can't seem to find joy at the beginning. But as I progress, things get better and flow easier.

New Version of the Salt Lake temple

2010-06-12T06:47:00.001-07:00

I have just completed the newest version of the Salt Lake temple. I am pleased with the previous versions, but this one, I feel, is something to behold. I hope all will agree.

Cole Illustration June 4, 2010

2010-06-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today i worked in more details of my boy's face. I found that by re-working the lower right jaw I solved, simply, what I thought was a huge problem. I added to and increased the detail of his hair. Now I need to finish up the details of the ears. Then on to the many details of his clothing. Many many folds.
this current session was about two hours

Illustration journal 1

2010-05-31T05:48:00.000-07:00

After finishing up my Utah temple series, I thought it would be fun to do an ongoing journal/tutorial of illustration work I'm doing. The following is an illustration I'm doing for my wife that I plan to print to canvas and frame.

1- Photos and compositing
First step I took was to have a little photo-shoot with my son. This can be difficult, as he was 1yr old when I took the photos. I use a Digital SLR with a nice macro lens. With little children it is highly recommended that you use a fast shutter speed, as they are constantly in motion.
I took two of the photos I liked the most and composited them together on a canvas 11x14 inches, 300dpi in size. I desaturated the photos and created a 50 to 60% gray layer in the background. I'm creating this in Black and white because when I illustrate this I'll be illustrating in Black and White. Then I'll use additional layers with layer modes later to create the color for this illustration. After compositing and adjusting the image in Black and White the way I wanted I printed this out.

2- Drawing in the real world
Using the composited photo as a source I sketched the head and body shot of my son onto two separate sheets of paper using a graphite pencil. I like to begin my projects in a traditional way. Highly detailed sketches done outside of the computer add a whole other level of art to my illustration when I do the final rendering in the computer. Once completed I scanned these into the computer. In Gimp I increased the contrast of the lines using levels, and composited the two sketches together like so:

3-Set up your illustration space in Gimp
I changed the layer mode on both sketches to 'Multiply'. In this mode the White areas of the sketches become transparent and the dark lines remain opaque. Then I created a new layer under the sketch layers. When I paint in Gimp the underlying layer will show through everywhere except the dark lines. This will give my illustration a nice artsy feel to it.

4-Painting the values
Now the fun part. I've begun on the face of my son to the right. I'm using my pen tablet. I put down a solid color that is the dominant value based off the photo and begin working in different values. I'm using a brush I created which was meant for cloud affects in my temple series. But seems to have a very nice painterly affect here. (Sorry I learned the word "painterly' from my Drawing-2 teacher in college. Never thought I would use it... Whadaya do?) As you can see I have a lot to work on. But you can see how the underlying layer works with the upper sketched layers set to 'multiply'. I really like this affect.
As I go along I'm finding how "off" I was on the hand draw sketches. In the future I'll try to be more exact when I sketch. If tracing is not below your standards (It is for me most of the time) I recommend using tracing paper over the photo to create the initial sketch.

I'll try to keep this journal updated more often from here on out. I'll create a new blog entry for every session I have

New Temple page and Website

2010-05-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

As any of you who follow this blog are aware I am LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mormon). In an effort to increase my own spirituality, and point others to a higher plain of spirituality; I have been creating a series of highly detailed Photo -illustrations of LDS temples Using Gimp 2.6. Please go to Aaron's Temple Page, My website at ATcreation.net, or my Imagekind.com gallery to view these. Below is a sample of one of my digital paintings. I hope you enjoy them, and are uplifted by them.
Perhaps, if you like these enough, you might consider purchasing one for yourself.
As always your constructive criticism is welcome.

Baby announcement

2010-04-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial I will show you how to create a simple 4x6 inch announcement that can be Emailed and or printed and mailed.

1-Preliminary design
First, I recommend doing something with this that I did not do: (especially if you are new to scrap booking.) Look at designs, patterns, announcements etc. to get ideas. Once you have done this get out a clean sheet of paper and begin sketching and coloring your own ideas for a baby announcement. Doing preliminary research and design in the real world almost always pays off with a better design when you hop on the computer.

2- create a pattern
Open Gimp. Create a new image (cntl-N) Set up the following parameters:

3- Pattern background
Now change your foreground color to a nice light pink. Change your Background color to an even lighter pink. In the paint brush options select the 'jitter' and 'paint from gradient' options. also select the random option for size in the brush dynamics. Using a fuzzy brush paint something similar to what I did below. This will create a nice random background for our pattern

4- draw a butterfly
Now create a butterfly on a new transparent layer. To do the one below I used a pen tablet, and the ink tool. An alternative to this would be to draw this on paper scan into the computer or take a digital image of your drawing.

5- Color the butterfly
The drawing I did already had transparency. But if you scanned a drawing in you will need to select all the white areas using the magic wand, then type the 'delete' button. It is highly recommended you ink your drawing so as to create the most contrast when you select the white areas to delete.
Now de-select jitter, color from gradient and the random size option in the Brush options. Create a new layer under your butterfly sketch. Paint your butterfly whatever color you wish. Then merge the sketch and paint layers.

6-Duplicate and swirl
Now duplicate your butterfly layer. Use Hue and Saturation in the 'color' menu. Use the 'hue' slider bar to change the color of your duplicated butterfly. Now Move ,re-size and rotate the new butterfly layer similar to what you see below. Also draw some swirls using the ink tool and a slightly darker hue of pink.

7-Save your pattern
Flatten your image. Follow the folder path (Starting from your 'C' hard drive) highlighted in the image below until you find the patterns folder. This is where patterns need to be saved in order to show up in the patterns palette. Save your image using the .pat file name extension. (Hint: click the patterns folder in the save dialogue, then click the 'add' button to create a shortcut to the patterns folder whenever you create a new pattern)

8-Test pattern
Close your pattern image. Click the refresh button in the patterns palette. Your new pattern should show up as some kind of pink square. Select your pattern.
Create a new image at 4x6 inches, 300dpi. activate the Fill bucket tool. Select the 'pattern fill' option in the Bucket fill options. Click on the canvas, your canvas is filled with your new pattern.
I felt this was too large for what I wanted. So I right clicked on my pattern and selected 'open pattern as image'. This opens the original pattern file. I re-sized to 128x128 pixels, saved, closed and refreshed the palette. I re-filled my canvas with the new pattern after deleting the old. You can see the results of both fills below

9-Design continued
I decided I wanted some sort of box to contain the photo of my baby. In this I created a new layer, created a rectangular selection, filled that selection white, reduced the opacity of my fill to 20% and filled again with my butterfly pattern. Then I applied a zoom filter to create the affect you are seeing below. After this I created a drop shadow. This filter creates a new shadow layer.
When I off-set this layer just the way I want I merged this with the white box above it

10-Filler photo box
At the time I didn't have my babies photo so I created a new layer and box selection filled it gray and draw a quick baby face. This will be where the real photo will go.

11-Create Photo corners
I decided to create old vintage style photo corners for holding a photo. To to this I filled black a triangular selection on a new layer. I then used the dodge/burn tool and a very small brush to create the highlights. Then I duplicated the layer three times. Rotate and reposition according to the size of your photo. merge your four corner layers.

12-New Gradient
After a while the color scheme for the background layer was really bothering me. I decided to fundamentally change the color scheme of the background pattern. To do this I desaturated the background layer. In the gradient palette I clicked the 'new gradient icon' at the bottom and created the following gradient. then I went to Color>map>gradient map. When selected it recreates the colors of the background based off the currently selected gradient. As you can see below I wanted a choco/pink look.

13-Info card
Now I want to create an info card to place all the basic info of my new baby. I decided I wanted a box with inverted corners. To do this I created a rectangular selection. In the menus: Select>rounded rectangle. In the dialogue select 'concave' then click OK. I filled with a light goldish gradient then stroked the edge of the selection with a fuzzy brush.
Using the eraser tool I cut two slim notches on either side of the box. On a new layer I paint ribbon going off the edge of the canvas on either side. Using a small brush and dodge/burn I created the highlights. Merge the layers and create a shadow similar to the photo box above.

14-Add photo and text
At this point I added my baby's photo by opening the image I want as a new layer. I crop and re size this as necessary.
Then I added the text I wanted as you can see below. I made the text a chocolate color to match the brown in the background.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As always experiment and have fun. Until next time live long and prosper and God bless.

Head replacement in an old photo

2010-03-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

IN this tutorial we'll learn to replace the head of one person with another in a photo. This is a fun novelty to try out with relatives.

1-Get photos to work with
Find a photo of a famous person. In this case I found this photo of President Regan with some of his buddies. Open this in Gimp. I then found a Photo of a relative of mine. Open this in Gimp as well.

2-Cut out face

In the relative photo use the lasso tool to create a selection around the face and neck. type control+C. Go to the Regan photo and type Control+V. Then go to the layers palette and right click on the newly pasted layer. Select 'create new layer'. The relatives face is now a regular layer. At this point you will want to save your file as an .xcf image. Save save save. As nice as this program is, it can crash, so save!

3-Touch up
Now the fun part. Go to the color menu, click 'desaturate'. Use the scale tool to re size the relative head to the correct size. Right click on the 'Relative layer' in the layers palette. Select 'Add layer mask>White (full opacity)'. Using a semi-fuzzy brush paint out the parts you do not want on the relative layer. Be sure the layer mask is selected when you do this. (Select by clicking on the box just to the right of the relative layer in the layer palette).
Notice the lighting on the relative face isn't quite right. It would take some seriously advanced techniques to change that. We will not be covering that. However, we will do a simple alteration. Zoom in very close to the eyes. Using a very small brush tip paint in highlights similar to what is on the eyes of the rest of the people in the Regan photo. See below.

4-Conclusion
As you can see below the results are not perfect. But they are not bad either. You wouldn't want it to be perfect either. There are people who do this kind of thing to make money by fraud. Let this be my disclaimer that the intention of this is not to train people in forging photos, but to teach how to create something fun for family and friends. Another idea is to do the reverse of this. Take a famous persons face and replace the photo of an unwanted relative in a group photo. Have fun!

Create a Valentine's card

2010-01-26T14:18:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it through January. You set your goals and probably broke half of them. So now it is time for a new all encompassing goal. The never ending quest that most all men have: Show your wife/girl/fiance/mother how much you care and love them. Valentines' Day in particular is the perfect opportunity to shine or completely fail in this regard. So, to help you make the most of this Valentine's I have five suggestions:
1- Surprise her with flowers.
2-Learn this tutorial and make your own card for her.
3-Get the kids out of the house for one evening.
4-Order some deep-dish pizza (Whatever is her favorite) Pizza Hut is awesome!
5- Do nothing but talk to her about the things she likes, constantly telling her how wonderful she is and how ardently you love her. Then optionally sit down with her in your arms and watch some romantic movie like 'Ever after', 'Phantom of the Opera' (Has great action in it along with all the singing and romance), or 'The lake house'.

In this tutorial I'll be using my mascot Garrot as the central theme of the card. What I'm creating here is kind of funny/romantic, but you can make any photo or object the central theme of your card. I suggest using a photo of your Honey, assuming it is a good one.

1-Setup your canvas
Open GIMP and create a new document (Cntl+N) 11x8.5 inches @ 300 dpi. I imported Garrot by going to File>Open as layer, and selected the appropriate file.

2-draw a heart valentine for Garrot
turn off Garrot's layer by clicking the 'eye' icon in the layers palette. Create a new transparent layer. Activate the ink tool (K), draw a heart and fill the center of it with a magenta reddish color. Be sure the black heart loop is completely closed, or you will fill the entire canvas pink.

2-draw a heart valentine for Garrot cont.
Turn on the Garrot layer. Re size the heart so it covers part of Garrot's chest. (Can Carrots have chests). At this point I could leave the heart as is for may purposes, but I want to make this look like a card that folds in half.

2-draw a heart valentine for Garrot cont.
Crop the heart layer down to a size that looks about right for a card. Using the magic wand, select the transparent areas around the heart. Fill this selection white. Deselect all (Shift+Cntl+A), then select all (Cntl+A). Stroke this selection with a black line about 6 pixels wide or whatever looks good to you.

Keeping the current selection, duplicate the heart layer. Fill in this (Activate fill whole selection in the bucket fill palette.) selection an off white (5% gray). Stroke this layers selection like the previous one. De select all, then move this layer behind the heart layer.

2-draw a heart valentine for Garrot cont.
Activate the skew tool. Alter your fold layer using this tool and the scale tool until you get it looking like the below image. Some rotation and repositioning may also be necessary to get this looking just right. When you get it the way you want, right click on the heart layer, and click 'merge down'.

3-Drawing the Arrow
Now I want an arrow skewering Garrot and the card. Create an new transparent layer above all other layers. Select a nice rich brown color for your foreground color. Using the paint brush tool+Holding down Shift, draw straight lines Back and forth until you get a rod type object that has a slight perspective to it. Then zoom in real close, switch to your dodge/burn tool. Reduce the size of your brush tip to 1 or 2 pixels and go along the shaft dodging and burning grain lines into the shaft Like so:

3-Drawing the Arrow
Create another layer just above the shaft. Use the ink or paintbrush tool to draw feathers and an arrowhead on both ends of the shaft. I used a pen tablet so the freathers end in wispy tips. a similar affect can be achieved by activating the fade option on the paintbrush palette. When done merge the arrowhead layer down with the shaft layer.

3-Drawing the Arrow cont.
Now the cool part. We need to make the arrow stick through Garrot and the Valentine card.
To do this create a layer mask on the arrow layer by right clicking on the layer and selecting 'Add layer mask'. Activate the paintbrush tool, zoom in close and paint out the parts of the arrow that are not needed (Be sure Black is your foreground tool. Use white to paint bring back what ever you don't want painted out). See below

4-Arrow details
On a new layer us a really small brush tip with the foreground a grayish color draw a little tear around where the arrow is puncturing the heart (Be sure to select the 'Sample merged' option in the eyedropper palette so you don't have to switch layers to get the color you want.). Use the eyedropper on Garrot to get a slightly dark orange color. Then draw a thin puncture mark around the arrow shaft next to Garrot. See below:

5-Finishing touches
Now create a heart animated brush. (See my animated brush tutorial on how to do this) For what I did below I selected 'Use color from gradient' in the paintbrush palette and increased the spacing at the bottom of the brushes palette. I made the foreground and background colors two different shades of Pink.

5-Finishing touches cont.
merge your hearts, Arrow, card and Garrot layers. Fill your background layer a very light pink. Increase the size of your heart brush and paint in some random hearts in the background. You may need to adjust your pink colors so they show up. Drag a guide from the rulers to the center of your canvas at 5.25 inches (Exact positioning is found in the lower left while you drag). Draw a very thin straight line (Redder pink) where your guide line is (This will be your fold line after you print). Remove the guide line (Drag off the screen). Place Garrot, Card and all, on the right side of canvas centered vertically.

5-Finishing touches cont.
Create another transparent layer. create an oval selection slightly larger than Garrot. Feather the selection about 200 pixels. Fill this selection white and place behind Garrot. Select some frilly type face and type in the below words. Change the color and size however you like. This is what I did below:

Conclusion
When your card is where you want it flatten your layers. Save your file as a .jpeg or .tif file, save to a jump drive or CD, and you're ready to print. Take it to FedexKinkos or any print shop and print it on some card stock paper. Once printed fold in half and express your feelings to your Honey on the inside.

OK, you could go to a store and buy a pre-made card. But women love it when they know you have sacrificed time for them. They will ask "Where did you get this". Your response,"I made it for you". Chu-ching!, you just scored some serious love points. Everything else you do is icing on the cake. Good luck this Valentine's Day.

New mascot

2010-01-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. With the completion of the basic tools series I thought it about time to create a new mast and mascot for my blog. His name is Garrot. He is a carrot (I was a poet and didn't even know it. Har har!) drawn from my garden last fall, with a few enhancements made by myself in GIMP. Every month I will have a new theme for him to reflect the holiday or season (Hence the ear-muffs and ice for January. I now look forward to creating some tutorials that have direct applications to Illustration, Graphic design, Scrap booking, and photo enhancement and manipulation. Hope you all enjoy this blog. I look forward to any feed back or suggestions for improvement.

Thanks,

Aaron Thorup

Blur/Sharpen, Smudge, Dodge/burn tools

2010-01-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

This tutorial concludes my series of tutorials on the basics of using the tools in the tools palette of GIMP. From here on out I will be focusing on intermediate to advanced GIMP techniques as applied to photography, graphic design, scrapbooking, illustration and anything just that's plain fun. Please feel free to ask me questions at any time. Suggestions on future tutorials are welcome.

As indicated by the title of this tutorial I will be covering the basics of the above tools. To do this we'll be altering this photo I took of a carrot pulled out of my garden this last October. Kind of reminds me of a vampire. (Tomorrah is the carrot harvest. But to the carrots, its not the harvest, ITS THE HOLOCAUST!) that last sentence is from some song which I neither know the title or the artist of. Let me know if you figure it out. I just thought it would be funny.

1-Blur/sharpen tool
We'll start out by blurring a the lower portion of our carrot. Activate the Blur/sharpen tool (Shift+U). Place cursor over the area you want to affect and hold down the left mouse button and move the cursor around. You will notice that this tool is set to blur by default. This is what I ended up with.

Before

After (Click on image to see better detail.)

1-Blur/sharpen tool cont.
Now just for kicks, we'll use the Blur/sharpen tool to sharpen the fangs on this carrot.
To do this simply hold down the control button and affect the area you want just like the blur tool. If you would rather, you can click on the sharpen option in the options palette. Below are before and after images. As you can see the sharpen tool works by simply increasing the contrast between pixels. I personally use this tool rarely, but it can be useful for affecting specific areas of an image. I also increased the rate in the options for a more dramatic affect.

Before

After

2-Smudge tool
I find this tool to be more useful for artistic affects. Activate the smudge tool (S) and increase the rate (Smudge options) to 80 or 90. Now place the cursor over the area to be affected, hold down the left mouse button and drag. This tool pushes the pixels in much the same way an artist would smudge paint around on an actual canvas, especially when you bump up the rate. In this particular image I decided to give our carrot a funky spike hair-do.

3-Dodge/burn tool
To show off this tool we'll put some buttons on this carrot. Activate the Dodge/burn tool. In the options switch the tool to 'Dodge'. Place cursor over the area to be affected and use the tool in the same way as the previous tools. You may have to click the button multiple times to get the same affect as what I have below.

3-Dodge/burn tool cont.
Now switch it to the burn mode in the options. Increase the exposure (Options) to 70 or 80. Decrease the size of your brush tip by half. Then in the center of each bright dot burn a dark dot.
As with the Blur/sharpen tool, this tool is nice for affecting specific areas. See below

Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this series on the tool basics of Gimp. As always experimet and be creative. All these tools can be used in one way or another to create and enhance graphics. The key is your own creativity and knowing what tools are available to you. Have fun creating!

Clone, healing, perspective clone tools basics

2010-01-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial we will be coving the basics of the clone, healing, and perspective clone tools. We'll begin with the clone tool and be using this photo of my sister-in-law to demonstrate the basic use of these.

1-The clone tool
Activate this tool (C). Place cursor over an area near one of the moles we're going to remove. Hold down the control button. Notice your cursor turns into cross hairs. Click the left mouse button to finalize your target. Now when you left click the mouse your tip will clone from wherever your cross hair goes starting from the target point you placed.

You have to make a target point before cloning (click to see larger image)

1-The clone tool cont.
Compare the below and above photos. This will give you an idea of how the clone tool works. Then try it on your own photo.
tip: Decreasing the opacity and changing to a brush tip with a fuzzy edge will increase the subtlety of the cloning.

2-Healing tool
This tool works in a similar war as the clone tool. Use the same process as above to create a target starting point. You will notice that this tool combines tone and color of both the target area and the healed area to create a subtle alteration in the pixels. Se the before and after images below. Try it for yourself.

Before

After

3-Perspective clone tool
This tool works exactly like the clone tool with an addition to it. Before you begin the cloning process a perspective box needs to be altered. See below. So Activate the Perspective clone tool. Left click on the photo (You will need to zoom out so you can see the entire image). A perspective box will appear. Alter it by clicking and dragging any of the four handles in the corners of the box, so as to change the perspective.

3-Perspective clone tool cont.
Now go to the perspective clone tool options and select the option that says 'Perspective clone' Now go through the same process as the clone tool. As far as i can tell the cloning will only work within the perspective box. I decided to clone my sister-in-laws right eye to show how the perspective clone works. See below:

So here she is after using all three tools. Of course you would never go through all the cloning and healing of moles and blemishes, just to put a ton of eyeballs all over her face. But for my purposes in showing you how these tools are used, it works just fine.

Drawing tools of the Gimp

2010-01-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial we'll be learning how to use the paintbrush, pencil, airbrush, and ink tools. As this is a basic tutorial, I'll only be covering the basics of how to use these tools and what these tools look like.

1-Paintbrush tool
Activate the paintbrush tool (B). Draw a line by left clicking+dragging over your canvas.

2-Pencil tool
Activate the pencil tool (N). Underneath the paintbrush line, draw a line by left clicking+dragging over your canvas.

3-Airbrush tool
Activate the airtbrush tool (A). Underneith the pencil line, draw a line by left clicking+dragging over your canvas.

4-Ink tool
Activate the ink tool (A). Underneith the airbrush line, draw a line by left clicking+dragging over your canvas.

5-About the drawing tools
As you can see from the above image (click to see better detail), all these tools produce different effects depending on how you go about using them. You will notice on the paintbrush and pencil lines that one has anti-aliasing and the other does not. I used my own cloud paint brush tip to illustrate how different they are.
The airbrush tool increases opacity over time. The longer you stay in one spot holding down the left mouse button, the less opaque the ink will become, just like an airbrush.
The ink tool works based on velocity. as you drag a line out you will notice that the slower you go the thicker the line will become.
In the brushes palette you will notice an assortment of brushes that are either default brushes that come with the GIMP or are brushes you have created yourself. (See my tutorial on creating your own brush tips). The ink tool is the only drawing tool that does not use custom brushes. However you can change the shape of the tip of this tool along with other variables in the ink tool options. Below is a screen capture of both the paintbrush and ink tool options. I will not be going into detail about the options for these tools, but encourage you to experiment and discover for yourself what each can do. (Note: Using a pen tablet greatley enhances the experience of using the drawing tools, but is not neccessary.)

5-Drawing straight lines with the drawing tools
To draw a straight line click once on the canvas where you want your starting point to be. then holding down the shift key move your cursor to the destination of your straight line and click the left mouse button again to complete the line.

Line Completed

6-Draw 90 degree or 45 degree straight lines
Lets say you want a 0, 45, or 90 degree angled straight line. Follow the exact directions as above for drawing a straight line with one addition. while holding down the shift button also hold down the control button. Move your cursor to the destination point while holding down these two keys. You will see that doing this only allows you to make lines at 0, 45 or 90 degrees. Click the left mouse button to complete the line.

7-Conclusion
These are among the most powerful tools in the Gimp. If you can figure out how to use the tools, especially in colaboartion with other tools and affects, the creative possibilities are endless. Enjoy using these!

Bucket and Blend fill tools Basics

2009-12-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Fill tools are simple and straight forward. We'll start with the Bucket fill tool

1-Bucket Fill tool
Create a new document 1000x1000 pixels at 72 dpi. Activate the Bucket fill tool (Shift+B). Place cursor over the canvas and click the left mouse button. The entire canvas is filled black. You will notice in the Bucket fill options that it is set to FG color fill (Foreground). Not totally sure why they have the FG and BG color fill options (All they need is a solid fill option), but the pattern fill is very useful.

2-Fill with a pattern
To fill with a pattern select the 'fill with pattern' option. Create a selection so we can see the difference between the solid back gound and the pattern (doesn't matter how, this is optional). Click on the pattern selection box and you will be able to choose from a variety of patterns. Click on one. Place cursor inside the selection and left click. The selection will fill with the desired pattern like so:

3- Filling by selection or similar colors
Create another selection. activate the FG color fill option and change the foreground color to green.Place selection so it overlaps the black and pattern fills. In the Bucket fill options you will notice the 'fill whole selection' and 'fill similar colors' options. Click on the 'fill similar colors' option and left click on your selection in the black area. You will notice that it only fills the black area and the pattern is left alone.

3- Filling by selection or similar colors cont.
Now control+Z to undo your fill. Activate the 'fill whole selection' option. Left click anywhere in your selection. Notice the entire selection is now filled green:

4-Blend fill tool
Using the magic wand go ahead and select the black areas. Activate the blend tool (L). Click on the gradient select button. This opens a gradient menu. Select a gradient. You will notice that a gradient based off the Foreground and background colors is at the top. Now place cursor over the canvas. Hold down left click and drag a blend line across your canvas. When you release the button your new gradient blend fill will appear in the selected areas. Experiment with dragging different directions and legnths. You will soon find that your gradient will alter according to how you click and drag.

5-Blend tool options
There are several interesting ways in which to blend. Go to the options menu and click on the shapes field. A list of blending options will appear. Below I have demonstrated all of them. I encourage you to experiment with all of them to see how they work. The Blend and Bucket fill tools are very useful for many different projects. Have fun!!

LinearRadial

SquareConical (Sym)Conical (Asym)

Shaped (angular)
Shaped (spherical)Shaped (dimpled)

Spiral (CW)Spiral (CCW)

Santa's rejected reindeer

2009-12-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a hilarious treat for the Christmas season. Last year I made a silly ornament of an obese reindeer. This year I decided to expand on the single reindeer and create and entire group of rejects. These deer all have their own hang-ups that have prevented them from ever being first string for the reindeer team. Heck, they would be lucky to make 2nd string. Any way this is all for fun and laughs (Hopefully). Perhaps I will do a tutorial next year on how I illustrated these. ENJOY!

Click on images to see full sized versions

Ash (original - Tate)
This guy is the son of Rudolf (No kidding!). Born in 1985. As he got older, realization of his Dad's massive popularity drove a deeper and deeper wedge in their relationship. Ash gradually became the opposite of everything his father embodied. Instead of a shiny red nose he has lots of shiny bling sticking out of nearly every orifice of his body. Santa has had him in and out of rehab the past 15 years. But they are finally making head way with him. He demonstrates his holiday cheer every year by dying his back spikes red and green.

Nurditzen
His father is Blitzen. His mother (unfortunately) was a Brocket deer from the Yucatan peninsula. Nurditzen took on many of her traits of smallness, shyness and quietness. It goes without saying that the other deer used to laugh and play all kinds of games with him. (Swirlies were so much easier with him than with Rudolf). Like his father (Little known fact), he is a huge trekky and way into conspiracy theories.
Nurditzen is currently the network specialist at the North poll and Webmaster for Santa's web site. Hobbies include creating viruses that go to the computers of naughty children.

Gimpy A.K.A Gonner (Real name - Spitz)
He is the son of Donner, hence his nickname. From the earliest age he has been extremely accident prone. He has received the Darwin award and voted "Most likely to get himself killed" by his graduating class. Filling in for his father in the Christmas of '03 he lost his right front leg to a helicopter blade in a mid-air collision. His flying days are over but nearly every time the other deer pass him they say "Wayda take one for the Team Spitz!". He has respect, it just cost him an arm or a leg. however you want to look at it. HEHE!

Buckar Al Mulik (Originally Buck)
His father is cupid. Buckar has vowed to destroy the capitalist system that has warped Christmas into a shop-or-drop holiday. Strangely he doesn't have anything against Christianity but has disowned his father until he changes his name. He considers 'Cupid' a pagan name and unworthy of his father.
Cupid and Santa have made many attempts at keeping him out of politics. All have failed. After making cameo appearances in 'The Santa Claus' and 'The Santa Claus 2' (He got paid in peanuts) He couldn't take it any more, and swore Holy Jihad on Hollywood and Capitalism in general. However, to remain festive during Christmas he paints his hand grenade and suicide bomb vest Green and Red (Both are completely dis-armed. Weapons don't work within the vicinity of the North pole). Buckar is currently undergoing psychological therapy.

Loaf (Real Name - Zeffer)
Loaf was an up-and-coming hopeful to become a first String reindeer. Then a series of unfortunate events changed everything. During the the sever winter of 1984 he got lost in a blizzard. Desperate and near freezing to death he tapped into deep hidden magic that is within all magic reindeer. Most reindeer channel this magic into flight, but loaf wanted more than anything to be some place warm with food. His mental desire for warmth and food was so great that he teleported himself right into Santa's food storage(He ate half the food in before they found and restrained him). This tapping of strong magic made permanent changes in Loaf's psyche to the affect that he could teleport at will. On top of this he has an abnormal and insatiable desire for food. Thus Zeffer, now loaf, has come to his current shape/state.
Loaf has had two tripple by-pass heart surgeries. Despite constant sedation his eating goes on unrestrained thanks to his ability to teleport. He is not expected to live past 2011

Text tool

2009-12-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial I will show you how to use the basic functions of the text tool. As a graphic designer I am used to using Adobe InDesign, the pre-eminant layout and text editing program used in the industry. Based off this, I can see how Gimp could use improvement. Despite this, the options available in Gimp are still decent. I recommend using the Gimp only for single words or small phrases. Having said that, lets dive in:

1-Typing text
Start by creating a new canvas 8.5x11 inches, 300dpi.
Activate the text tool (T), then click+drag a text box on your canvas. A text edit box will appear. When this box is open you are in a type/editing mode. You can type your text and make direct editing to your text from the options to the left. You will also notice that all your layer palettes disapear. This is temporary. Simply click on the Windows bar at the very top and they will reappear. (The programmers of Gimp really need to fix this)
Now type any text you want.

2-Change font
To change the font be sure the text editor box is activated.
Click on the font icon in the Text options. A dialogue appears. Scroll to the font you want. Once clicked on your typed text will change to that font.

3-Font Size
As before make sure the text layer you want altered is active along with the text editor box (Double click on text). In the Text options you can change the size of your text based off inches, pixels(px), points(pt), Millimeters(mm) and picas (pc). Use whatever works for you best. Then click the up/down arrows, or type the desired size in the 'Size' field. Your text's size will change accordingly.

4-Hinting
Hinting works like so: Lets say you want to create really small type that is 10pt. This is really small. As a result it will look very pixelated when printed. Simply click on the 'Hinting' option and the text will look clean and crisp when printed. (Disclaimer: I have not personally tested this. Not sure how well it works)

5-Antialiasing
When activated this will add minor feathering to your text so as to make it appear smoother on your canvas.

Before Anti Aliasing
After Anti Aliasuing is applied

6-Color
When a text layer is active with the text editor box open, clicking on the 'color-change' button in the text options will allow you to change your text to any color you desire.

7-Justification
The justifiy options will allow you to alter the position of your text within its text box. The three options are Flush left, Flush right, center and justified. See below for examples of these.

8-Text spacing
The next three options will allow you to adjust vertical and horizontal spacing between the individual letters and space between lines of text (leading). Experiment with these. these are the icing on the cake for designers. How you use these tools can determine the difference between a mediocre and professional looking design.

Transform tools

2009-11-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

The transform tools have many many practical applications. This tutorial will show you the basic use of these tools. As you advance in your knowledge of The GIMP you will see the necessity of using these tools over and over again in all your projects. This tutorial will cover the basics of the Rotate, Scale, Shear, Perspective and Flip transform tools.

1-Rotate tool
I have here, a cutout of a massive dump truck from the Kennecott copper mine (Fantastic place to visit!). you can use a cutout or any digital image you want to test out these tools.
To rotate a layer activate the rotate tool (Shit+R), making sure the layer you want rotated is the active layer (Layers palette). Click on the image. Notice the rotate dialogue box appears. you can use this to do exact rotating or you can place your cursor over the layer image click+drag your rotation. When you rotate it will look as though a copy of your image has been made. Don't worry, this is just a preview of what your image will look like after you have finalized your rotation. To do this click 'Rotate', type Return key, or double click with the mouse. The next two images demonstrate the rotate tool.

2-Scale tool
To scale a layer image activate the scale tool (Shift+T). Click on the layer. A dialogue appears. Use this to do exact scaling of your layer, or, like the rotate, you can place your cursor over the layer and click+drag to re size the layer. When you do this be careful, if you do not hold down the Control key you will end up distorting your image. In other words, to scale proportionately hold down the control key then click+drag your layer. As below:

3-Pixels and scaling
Another important aspect of scaling a layer is how it affects the pixels in that layer. Its pretty simple: Scaling your layer down = a subtraction of pixels from the layer. Scaling a layer up = pixels added to the layer. Ether way you lose detail to the image in your layer. Scaling down isn't much of a problem. But if you scale down, then decide you want to enlarge the layer again gimp will manufacture pixels for you and you will end up with a blurry image. The image below demonstrates how this happens quite clearly. (Click on image to see better detail)

4-Shear tool
Activate the Shear tool (Shift+S). This tool functions in a similar way to the previous tools. Either do an exact shear or drag with the cursor. You can shear vertically or horizontally as below:

5-Perspective tool
Activate the Perspective tool (Shift+P). Functions like the previous tools. You can do a vertical or horizontal perspective on your layer. This tool has the potential to create some interesting or funny imagery. See below:

6-Flip tool
This tool is very simple. Activate the Flip tool (Shift+F). Simply click on the layer to be flipped and it will flip it Horizontally or vertically depending on which option you have selected in the Flip options menu. The image below was flipped both ways.

Crop tool

2009-11-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

Now about the crop tool. This is definitely one of the better tools found in GIMP. The options palette is straight forward and easy to understand. today I'll be using this photo I took last Summer. Notice there is all kinds of black dead space around the firework. We'll use the crop tool to cut out all the waste, so when I go to print this the main focus will be the firework.

1- Crop tool options explained
Below is a diagram describing the functions of the various options within the crop tool

2-Crop using a fixed aspect ratio
It is important to note, before cropping, that all photos taken by a camera have a specific aspect ratio. This refers to Its width (x) and Height(y). Without going into boring details, all photo printers adhere to a standard x,y ratio to print photos. A 4x6 inch photo has the same aspect ratio as an 8x12. A 5x7 is the same aspect ratio as an 8x10, 11x14 and a 16x20. Most professional Photos have a taller aspect ratio (4x6) such as the photo I'm using in this tutorial. Most consumer/armature cameras take a shorter aspect ratio (5x7). For more on aspect ratios go to the following link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image). My point in explaining aspect ratios has everything to do with how you go about cropping. GIMP makes it easy to crop to your photos original aspect ratio so when you go to Wal-mart and print your image at 4x6 Dad's head wont get chopped off by their stupid printer.

2-Crop using a fixed aspect ratio cont.
Activate your crop tool. Select the 'fixed' box in the crop tool options. Go to the image, click+drag a crop box. You will notice that the aspect rato of your crop box remains the same no mater how large you make it. Lets say you want to maintain the aspect ratio of the image but crop vertically instead of horizontallly such as i do in this image. Simply click the portrait icon in the Crop otions. Re-drag antother crop box. The aspect ratio is maintained and you now have a vertical crop.

2-Crop using a fixed aspect ratio cont.
After dragging out your box you will notice you can continue to alter the size of your crop by dragging any of the handles found at the corners and sides of the box. When you are satisfied double click or type 'enter' to finalize your crop. You should get something like this:

3-Create a border around photo
Lets say when you go to print you would like a white border around your photo. To do this keep all the options active as before (You will have to re-activate the portrait option), then click on the 'Allow growing' and 'Expand from center' boxes in the options. Place your cursor as close to the center of your image as you can then click+Drag a box so it goes outside the borders of your original image. Re-adjust the position of your crop-box as needed then finalize your crop. Your canvas size will increase to the size of your crop box. You now have an image with a white border. Save your file. You are now ready to take this to the printer!

Alignment tool

2009-11-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial we'll discuss the use of the alignment tool.

1-Set up canvas
First Create a new canvas (Cntl+N) 1000x1000 pixels. Set up multiple layers of anything you want. I created one layer then duplicated that same layer 5 times. I spaced these out in a rough vertical alignment. I want to align these vertically and distribute them so the space in between the layers is perectly even. (See below) This is where the alignment tool comes into play.

2-Align
Activate the alignment tool (Q). It is the icon of a box with 4 arrows pointing away from the box, in the tools palette. Once activated click on each of the layers you want aligned while holding down the shift key, starting with the layer that appears at the bottom of the canvas. They will appear as below once selected

2-Align cont.
click the align 'center of target' icon on the top center of the alignment options palette. The selected layers will center vertically like so:

3-Distribute the layers
Now to distribute these layers evenly we'll need to do a little math. Take the height of your canvas (Mine is 1000 pixels) and divide by 6. Take that number and enter the negative of it in the offset field at the bottom of the distribute options (In my case -166) It is -166 because we selected the lowest layer on the canvas first (Not sure why this is, let me know if you figure it out). If I select the top most layer I would enter 166 instead. Whatever you choose the top most or bottom most layer must be chosen first for this to work properly. Click on the 'Distribute vertical centers of target' icon at the bottom center. You should get the following:

4-The 'relative to:' field
Below is a diagram with a brief explanation of all the options in the 'relative to' field. I used the 'First item' option for the above tutorial. I invite you to use all of them, experiment see exactly how they work.

Zoom, Measure, Move tool

2009-10-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

This will be a kind of three-in-one tutorial. The zoom, measure and move tools are all fairly simple. As part of explaining the measure tool I will , as a necessity, be required to show you some of the functionality of the crop and rotate tool. (Don't worry I'll have a tutorial on these as well, later). So lets get down to business

1-The zoom tool
I will be using this image of an LDS temple in Logan Utah, as an example of how we can use all three of these tools. First the zoom tool (Z).

1-Zoom cont.

After activating the tool place cursor over the image and click your left mouse button. By default this will cause you to zoom in closer to your image. Hold down the control key then click and you will zoom back out. By holding down the control key and moving your center scroll wheel, you can also zoom in and out. This is my preferred method of zooming, as it does not require you to even have the zoom tool activated!
To zoom in on a specific area click+drag a box of the area you want to be enlarged. The window will zoom into that area.

After dragging a box you will zoom into the area like below:

2-Using the measure tool
Thus far the only use I can find for this would be in the rotation of an image to correct a leaning object. In this case the temple is leaning a little too far to the left. So we need to figure out just how far this photo needs to be rotated in order to correct the lean. Much of the time I just eyeball this, but some images such as this one require more exact info. Activate the measure tool. Select the 'use info window' option. Drag a line from the bottom center of the temple, up to where the brown stone ends. the 'measure' info box will appear. This dialogue contains measurement info. One of these measurements is the angle at which your line is in relation to a 90 degree vertical line. My line is at an angle of 87.39. If you minus this from 9o you will get the exact (angle) number you need to rotate and correct the lean of the temple. In our case that number is -2.61.

3-Rotate the image
To do this correctly we'll need to set up the correct parameters. Activate the rotate tool (Shift+R). Left click on the image. The rotate dialogue will appear. First alter the rotation center. To do this find out the exact pixel coordinates by placing your cursor on the spot where you want the center to be. Look in the lower left of your image window to find out what the X,Y coordinates (X = horizontal, Y= Vertical) are, then enter these in the X,Y fields in the rotate dialogue. Then enter -2.61 in the angle field. Click OK. Your image will rotate accordingly.

4-Crop
Now that your image is rotated, the temple looks fine but now there are canvas holes in the upper right and lower left of your image. We'll need to crop the image to eliminate these. Activate your crop tool. Click on the Option that says 'fixed aspect ratio'. Then click+drag out you crop box. When you are satisfied with the size of your crop, type Return and your image will crop.

5-move tool
Activate the move tool. You will notice in the options three icons. In order these are what they do when selected.
a-Move the image on the canvas. Which ever layer you have selected, it will move the physical layer. (See below)
b-Move a selection. This option will disregard the image and move an active selection (See below)
c- Move a path. This option will ignore the image and move a path, so long as the path is activated. (See path tool tutorial on the creation of paths)

Moving the selection. Image is ignored and selection is moved

Moving the image. The selection is ignored and the image is moved

Color picker

2009-10-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

The color picker is a simple tool to use, and can be very useful in painting and other color related work within GIMP. So lets open a photo in the GIMP. I have this interesting photo I took several months ago. You could also pull something off the Web. Doesn't matter, so long as your image is full color.

1- create a new swatch palette
Lets say I really like the goldish colors in this image and would like to create a new palette for future art projects. Activate the color picker. click on any place in your image. you will notice that the foreground color changes to whatever color you just happen to click on using the picker.
Now in order to save the colors you want to a swatch palette you will need to do the following:
First select the 'pick only option'.

Go to your palettes palette (You may need to open this by going to the 'window' menu at the top and opening it) Click on the new palette icon in the lower left of the palette. The palette editor will open. Name it "gold" in the description field.

2-Sample colors from your image
Now we'll click on spots in your image of colors you would like to keep. You will see swatches appear in your swatches palette every time you click on your image. These colors will automatically be saved in your 'gold' palette.

3-Color picker information box
Select the 'Use info window' option in your picker options. Now every time you click on your image a color picker infrmation box will appear with info about the color you picked. This info can be useful in knowing what your colors identification is in RGB, CMYK, and web colors.

4-Using Shift+click to change Foreground or Background colors
Now turn off the Info box option and select 'set foreground color'. Click anywhere on your image. This will change your Foreground color box. Hold down shift then click on your image. This will change your Background color box.

5-Using Sample merged and sample averaged
Now create a new layer (Shift+click on new layer icon in layer palette), and draw something in that new layer. I created this (Below) gradated circle. Select the Sample merged option. Being sure your new layer is selected click anywhere in the image. This option allows you to pick a color based solely on what is seen and not on what is just on the layer that is activated. If you turn this option off and pick outside the active layer, the picker will interpret it as black. The Foreground box will turn black.

Sample average (When selected) will allow you to change the diameter of the picker tip. It will create a color based off the average of all the colors within the tip when the mouse button is clicked. Not totally sure what this is useful for.

That is about it for the color picker. Not the most interesting tool. But useful fore creating a color palette that can be used to paint or keep colors consistent within a design.

Using the Path tool

2009-10-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to October! The spooky season is upon us.
In this tutorial I will show you how to use the paths tool. You might ask the question, "Why the path tool? What is it used for?". Simply put, it is a shape tool. You can use this tool to create and save as many shapes as you want. These shapes can turned into selections which can then be used to fill spaces and apply strokes to your imagery.

Please study the path options and paths palette below to familiarize your self with the tools and options available within this tool. After that we'll get on with this tutorial.

In light of the new holiday season I'm going to show you how to create a simple pumpkin image using the paths tool. You could use this in scrapbooking or to make a card. Lets begin.

1-Create your path
We'll start by creating the path shape of the pumpkin. Activate your path tool (P). On the canvas, click and drag to the right. A node with node handles will appear. angle this first node slightly diagonal-up. Let go of the mouse button and move to where you want to place your next node. Continue this same process, remembering to drag right every time you place a node (As you move around in a circle you will end up dragging down or to the left). If you don't want a curve simply click and release, then move on to the next node. For future reference, if you wanted to go to your left to create your path you can. Just click+drag left instead of right.

1-Path creation cont.
Continue to place nodes until you come full circle back to your first node. As you create your loop don't worry too much about not getting the exact right shape. Just finish the loop and then go back and edit your nodes.
to close your loop simply place your cursor over the first node, and type control button+click.

2-Edit path nodes and node handles
Now we'll go back and edit your path nodes. go to the path options and be sure the 'design' option is selected. Click on the edge of your path and all path nodes should appear. Then click on a single node. The node handles will appear for that node. If you click and drag on a node you will move the node. If you click and drag on a node handle you will affect the path of the node. This is something you have to experiment with and practice so you can see how the nodes and node handles interact with each other. By messing with these you should be able to get the shape you want.

2-Edit path nodes and node handles cont.
You can select multiple nodes at the same time by holding down the shift key and clicking on the nodes you want selected. Once you have selected the nodes you want, click and drag them to alter their position.
Also if you want to add nodes to the path, click on the 'edit' option in your paths options, and click on the path somewhere where there aren't any nodes. A new node will appear. to delete a node select a node and type the delete key. The node will disappear and the path will adjust to close the loop.

3-Creating selections and strokes with paths
In order to colorize our pumpkin we'll need to create a selection that we can fill with the Gradient fill tool. to do this go to your paths palette, be sure the pumpkin path is selected. then click the 'path to selection' icon at the bottom of the palette. Your path still exists but now you also have a selection.
Activate your Gradient fill tool. Change your Foreground and Background colors to two shades of Orange. In the Gradient fill options, select the 'Radial fill'. click+drag in the selection. You should get something like below. If not, keep messing with the gradient fill until you do. You may have to switch your foreground and Background colors.

3-Creating selections and strokes with paths cont.
Now I'll show you how to change a selection to a path. First create a selection by using the free select tool to create a selection that will be the face of our pumpkin. (See my tutorial on using the Free select tool if you need help with this)
Once you have made your selection go to the Paths palette and click on the 'selection to path' icon at the bottom of the palette. Your selection will disappear, and be replaced by a new path.

3-Creating selections and strokes with paths cont.
Now we'll create a stroke along this path. To do this change the foreground color to black. Go back to the paths palette, be sure your new face path layer is selected (Click on the layer), and click on the 'paint along the path' icon and the 'stroke path' dialogue will appear. change stroke width to 9 pixels, click OK. A black stroke will appear along your path. then for practice create a selection from that same path and fill it yellow. Shift+cntl+A to deselect.

4-Finishing touches
To finish I filled my background layer Black. Then I created a new transparent layer (Shift+Click on the new layer icon. Bottom left of layers palette). Make sure this layer is selected. Go to your paths palette and select your pumpkin path. Click on the 'paint along the path' icon. Click the 'stroke with a paint tool' option. This option will emulate a paint stroke based on any options set up or selected by the paint tool. to get the below result I used my own custom made paint brush and other various options in the paint tool. Experiment until you get the result you want. Enjoy!

How to use the Foreground select tool

2009-09-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial we'll learn how to use the Foreground select tool. Start up the GIMP and open an image to select. You will want to use an image that has high contrast between the object you want selected and what you don't want selected. As with most of the select tools in Gimp this tool works best with high contrast in darks and lights. If this is not the case please see my tutorial on the free select tool to make the exact selection you need.

I'll be using the following image to illustrate how this tool works:

1-make initial selection
activate the scissor select tool. I'll start by clicking or click+dragging the mouse to create a selection around the entire flower. There is a great deal of contrast between the background and the flower. This will allow me to make a loose initial selection. I'll show you why.

2-mark the area you want to be the foreground
Once you make your loop everything that will not be selected turns a shade of blue (This is temporary). To refine and finalize your selection click and drag, loosely inside the flower (See 2nd image below).

2-Refining selection cont.
When you let off the mouse button the blue shade will snap to the edge of the flower (See below). If there are parts of your flower that have the blue shade simply click and drag over the areas that are blue and they should disapear. re-size your marker tip (smaller) to make really small adjustments to your slection. If you select outside the flower hold down the control button, click and drag in the area you want unslected and it will turn a shade of blue. To finalize your selection punch the return button.

You have now made a fairly decent selection of the flower. Now you can cut it out or do whatever you want with it.

Conclusion
I'm not a huge fan of this tool. It feels ungainly and is at times unpredictable. Still, if you need a fast selection with an image with high contrast between the Background and foreground, this tool will do the trick. Of course, the Fuzzy selection tool does about the same thing with fewer steps. I guess it is all a matter of preference. Whatever yours is, experiment and enjoy!

How to: Scissor Select Tool

2009-09-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Now we'll learn to use the Scissor select tool (I). Yep, that's right another select tool. (Groan!) But don't give up. You are doing great. Just remember, you aren't like Frodo. You don't have to trudge across forbidden lands, face insurmountable odds just to throw a puny ring into a volcano. No, you have it easy. However, the GIMP might draw you in and cause a mild addiction, that will cause you to spurn all other graphics programs. You may, like Gollum, call it "My prrreciousss!" Just kidding.

Any way for this tool we'll be cutting this flower out and inserting a different back ground.

1-Make selection
Open the photo or image you want to use (Cntl+O). Activate the Scissor Select tool (I). Zoom in on the edge of the object. Like the Free select, the more zoomed in you are on the edge, the more detailed selection you will be able to make.
Begin making your selection by clicking anchor points all along the edge of the object. (Click to see larger image)

1-Make selection cont.
You will notice that the selection snaps to the edge of your object based off contrast between the different colored pixels. If there is enough contrast you can make a nice quick selection with this tool. But what if there are parts of the image that do not have enough contrast? Your selection line will end up going off track. Instead of finishing the selection loop go back to one of the anchor points and drag it to a position that will create a better selection path, then continue selecting. If this doesn't work you can continue until you have selected the entire object. Instead of just creating your final selection (Return Key) you can go back to any of the anchor points and adjust them until they work. When satisfied type the Return key to finalize your selection.

2-Cut out your image
To create a none-destructive cutout of your object Go to the layers palette, right click on your object layer, and select 'Add layer mask'. The layer mask dialogue comes up, click on the 'selection' option and click OK. Everything outside your selection will disappear.

3-Create a Background
To finish up create a background. To do this Shift+Click on the New layer icon on the lower left corner of the layers palette. A new transparent layer will appear above your object layer. Click and drag your transparent layer to the bottom. Create or insert any background you want. This is what I came up with using the spiral option on the gradient tool.

Conclusion
As with all the selection tools experiment, experiment, experiment! You can put these tools to all kinds of uses creating graphics.

learn to use the Fuzzy and Color select tools

2009-09-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial I will show you how to use the fuzzy select (Magic wand) and the color select tools. these particular tools make general selections, but they are geared to do this in two different ways. The Fuzzy select makes selections based on contrast (The difference in brightness between one pixel and another), and the Color select makes selection based off similar colored pixels and the difference in color between pixels. For these tools to be affective there must be an incredible amount of color or brightness contrast in pixels. To show how these tools work effectively I will be combining two images. I will use the Fuzzy select on the first and the Color select on the second.

1-Fuzzy select image
I have here a nice black and white image of a circular celtic motif. You can use anything you want so long as there is high contrast. I recommend using a straight Black and White image like I have here.

2-Make a selection
What I want to do is make the center of this transparent so we can place our second image in the center with a background. activate your Fuzzy select (U), click in the center of the circular image. To get a better idea of what is selected activate your Quick mask tool (Shift+Q). You will notice if you look closely at this image (Click on it to see large image), that the Fuzzy select only selected areas that had white pixels connected together. Simply put, if there are areas you do not want selected be sure those areas are blocked by a different colored pixel. Deactivate the Quick Mask (Shift+Q).
If you are not satisfied with your selection quickly paint in black lines where you don't want the fuzzy select to go and you can hold down the control key and click on the areas you don't want selected anymore. This takes away from the selection. If you want to add to the selection hold down shift key and click on new areas that haven't been selected. This adds to the selection

3-Use layer mask to make selected areas transparent
Once you are satisfied with your selection we'll want to make the center of our image transparent. To do this create a new layer by shift+clicking on the new layer icon in the bottom left of the layers palette. Drag this layer to the bottom, then re-activate the celtic pattern layer. Invert your selection by typing Control+I. We're doing this because we want everything that isn't selected to disappear when we use our layer mask. Right click on the Celtic motif layer and click on Add layer mask... The layer mask dialogue opens. Click on the 'Select' option, Click OK. This will cause everything in the center to disappear.

4- Import New Image
Now we need to import a new image so we can see how the Color select is used. To do this go to The File menu at the top and click on Open as layer... Browse and click on the image you want to bring into Gimp, click OK. This is what I brought in: Mutant Apricots!

5- Selecting with Color Select tool
Use this tool the same way the Fuzzy select is used. Just keep in mind that this tool selects by color instead of Gray scale contrast. Activate the Color select tool (Shift+O). Put cursor over the black area of image and click. It selects nothing but black pixels.

6-Use layer mask on selected apricot
Now use the same process as above to create a layer mask, being sure to invert your selection. Just keep in mind that everthing that is selected will remain once you click Ok on the Layer mask dialogue. You should get the following:

7-Add a background
Once this is done Create a new layer (Shift click icon in lower left of layers palette). Drag new layer to bottom and fill in what ever background you want. This is what I did:

Yeah! You have now successfully used the Fuzzy and Color select tools

Using the 'Free Select' tool

2009-09-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial we'll learn the basics of using the Free Select Tool.
I'll be using this photo I took of this Siamese Apricot I picked from my Back yard. Pretty weird huh? Lets say we wanted to cut this out and insert a more interesting Back Ground; And we want the cutout to be perfect. This is where the Free Select tool comes in handy in a big way.

1-making the selection
First activate the Free select tool (F). Zoom in fairly close to the edge of the image you want to cut out. The closer you are the more detailed selection you get which transfers over to a more detailed cut out of your image.
What makes this tool so amazing in GIMP 2.6 is that it is capable of creating a point-by-point selection or a free-form selection. So start by clicking points along the edge of the image you're selecting. This is very controlled method of selecting. Then, just hold the left mouse button down and drag along the edge of the image. not as controlled but you quickly see how one tecnique is great for tight curves and the other is great for straight lines or very slight curves such as we have with our mutant apricot. Continue to use either/or method until you loop around the entire apricot(s). When you get to the end of the loop either type Return or double click your left mouse button. this will close the loop, and you will have selected the entire apricot(s).

2-Adding to and subtracting from a selection
Many times you will need to tweek your selection after completing the loop. You will need to know how to add to or take away from that selection. to ad to hold down the Shift key and click or drag an addition to your selection. To subtract from your current selection hold down the control key and click or drag to take away from the selection. The image below is fro demonstration purposes. You can plainly see how I added and subtracted from the Apricot.

3-Use Feather and Quick Mask
Before we make the cut I like to add a feather to the selection. When your initial selection is made it's edge is very hard. I like to soften the edge just a little to make it a tad more appealing. You may not need to do this. It all depends on how you want your final image to look like.
To feather we go to the selection menu at the top and select 'feather'. I set this to 15 pixels, this may be less or more depending on the size of your image. You may need to experiment. Click OK then activate your quick mask (Shift+Q) to observe the results. If your satisfied deactivate the Quick mask (Shift+Q) and we're ready to cut this thing out.

4- Cut it out using layer mask
To do this we are going to use what is called a layer Mask. To do this right click on your peach layer in the layers palette. Select 'Add layer mask'. The Layer mask dialogue will appear. Click the Selection option, then OK. Your Background and selection will disappear, and all your left with is your mutant Apricot.

5-About the layer Mask
I will be covering the details of the use of a layer mask more thoroughly in a future tutorial. It will be sufficient to say at this time, that if you click on the apricot thumbnail in the peach layer it will allow you to move and edit the cutout. If you select the mask thumbnail, right of the Apricot thumbnail, you can move the image around within the mask. Using the colors black and white and the Paint brush you can paint in and out what ever you want of the original image. This is a non-destructive way of working with cutouts. I love it!

6-Insert a backgound
Now you can create a new layer by Shift+clicking on the icon in the lower left corner of the layers pallete. Then drag that layer below the Apricot(s) layer. Paint in or fill in what ever back ground you want. The following is what I came up with. (Click on the image to view full size image)

7-Conclusion
The Free select is an extremely useful tool. I use it all the time. Please refer to the tutorial about the Rectangular and Ellipse selection tools for more ideas and functions of using selections. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Selection Square/Elipse

2009-09-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

This is the first tutorial in a series of tutorials I will be doing over the next several weeks to show how the basic tools (Tools palette tools) of Gimp work. Lets get started!

1-Where are the tools?
The first tool(s) I will be covering with you will be the Ellipse and rectangle select tools. Below I have Highlighted where they are located on the tools palette:

I will also be using this hilarious photo of my son to demonstrate how these tools work. You can use any image you want to practice. type Cntl+O to open an image.

2- create a selection
Select the Rectangle tool in the tools pallet (Shift+R). Move the cursor over you image, hold down the left mouse button and drag. let go of the mouse button. You have now created a preliminary selection. When you move the cursor over the marching dots you will notice smaller boxes appear on the side of your selection. These are sizing handles. Left click and drag on any of these and you can re-size your preliminary selection to anything you want. If you want to move your selection click and drag in the center and your pre selection will move to anywhere you want on the canvas. When you are satisfied hit enter or double-click to finalize your selection.

3- Be aware of where your selection is
When using selections it is important to be aware of what is actually selected. If you forget, the quick mask can be used to clarify things (More on what quick mask can do in a different tutorial). To activate this, click on the little square icon at the far bottom left corner of your image window. As you can see below every thing that turns red is what's NOT selected. Click the same little box in the corner to exit Quick mask mode.

4- Feather your selection
Lets say you wanted to feather your selection in order create a soft edge on a Photo. To do this you go to the Selection menu at the top and select feather. The feather dialogue will appear. Adjust it for what ever you feel. For the example below I adjusted it to 50 pixels. then I toggled the quick mask on and off to see what the feathered selection looks like.

4-Feathered selection cont.
Once you have the feather you want, turn the quick mask off and invert your selection (cntl+I). What this does is select the exact opposite of what you had selected before. Select your Bucket Fill tool (Shift+B). On the options below the tools select 'Fill entire selection'. Be sure the white color is your foreground color on your color selection (X). Click on the selected area and fill white. This is just one example of what you can do with a feathered selection. Others could include using the Guassian blur to blur selected areas of a photo, or to fill with a pattern (More about pattern fill later), selected parts to prepare a photo for a scrap book.

5-Move your selection.
Lets say you make a selection and want to readjust its position. Select the Move tool (M) at the top of the move options (See below) select the little red square icon. This allows you to move your selection without affecting anything else. Be sure to toggle the icon back to the little picture icon when you are finished so you can continue image editing.

6-Save selection
You can save a selection to be used at a later time. Once you have a selection you want to keep for later use, click on your paths tab (Next yo your layers and channnels tabs on the right). Put your cursor over the Paths palette and right click. This will bring up a menu. Select the option that says 'selection to path'. This will convert you selection to a vector path.

Paths palette

7-Convert path to selection
Once you want that exact selection back again go to your Paths palette, right click and select the 'path to selection' option. This will bring your selection back.

8-Stroke a selection
You can ad a solid line or a Brush stroke to your selection. To do this go to the Edit menu>stroke along selection.... The dialogue is pretty straight foward. the second option 'Stroke with paint tool', is incredibly dynamic. It mimics all the settings you have selected in your Brush tool options. This is a fun option to experiment with.

8-Stroke selection continued
Below is an example of a stroked selection with various settings utilized in the brush palette.

This concludes this tutorial on using the selection tool. The above examples are just a few of the things you can do with the Rectangle and Ellipse selection tools. I encourage you to experiment and discover what it can do for you.

Animated brush creation

2009-09-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial we're going to learn how to create an animated brush. I love these types of brushes. You can create any type of brush you want, and because this file type (.gih) supports layers, you can create a brush that has multiple tips. This has many potential applications. My favorite is the randomness it can create in an image. I'm an artsy kind of person, so I gear my brushes to that end. The brush we'll create today will definately be artsy. Lets get started!

1-Setup
Create a new image (Ctl+N) Image size should be 600x600 pixels at 300dpi like below. This is actually really large as brush sizes go. I do digital illustration so I need brushes that are large and very detailed. If your doing web design, dropping your dpi to 72 will work just fine.

1-Setup cont.
Start by painting your first brush tip. I like to use the inking tool to get things started. Even without a pen tablet this tool is capable of varying the size depending on how long you hold down the mouse button in one spot. This creates the affect of a fountain pen. Very cool! Once you are satisfied with this duplicate the this layer twice. (duplicate icon in the bottom center of the layers pallete)
2-refine tips
Now you can go layer by layer smudging, rotating or doing just about anything to your tips until you get the affect you like. As long as the image is gray scale from black to white, and there is no transparency, anything goes (Be sure to change the Image mode to Gray scale. Image menu at the top). My rule of thumb with artsy oil paint brushes, such as this one, is to make sure the style from layer to layer is essentially the same. The brush will still appear very random, but will also maintain a consistency of style as you paint. Here are the three tips I came up with on the three separate layers:

3-saving
Now that we have created the brush tips we want, we need to save our file. This part is critical, in that, where you save it will determine weather your new brush comes up in the Brushes palette or not. First make sure your image mode is set to Gray scale (Image menu at the top).
Then save your file by typing Ctl+S. This opens the save dialogue. Save this as Splat2.gih. The extension .gih is very important. You must have this in order for the animated brush dialogue to open.
The other absolute is the location. If you follow the file paths (highlighted in Red below. Click on image to enlarge) shown toward the top of the save dialog, you will find the Brushes folder. Your file must be saved in this folder if it is to show up in the brushes palette in Gimp.

3-saving cont.
Click OK and the animated brush dialogue opens. Use the settings as shown below. Re-name it Splat2 in the Description field. In the Ranks field be sure to change the number to how many layers are in your brush. In this case it is the number 3 because we have three layers in this file. Click OK

4-Accessing your brush in Gimp
Assuming you saved your brush as a .gih and in the Brushes folder, you should be ready for the next step. click the refresh button found in the lower right of the Brushes palette in Gimp (Circled red on image). Scroll down until you find you new brush. Click on it and begin painting in a new document. Wah-La! start being creative.

Planet creation in Gimp

2009-08-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

After a great deal of experimentation I have finally figured out how to create a planet using Gimp that looks every bit as good as what Photoshop can create. Below is a step-by-step guide to planet creation in Gimp

1-Setup
You will want to greate a new image after opening the Gimp (ctrl-N). Below are the settings I used for this tutorial. If you want incredible detail I recommend bumping the pixels up to 2000x2000 at 300 dpi. But only do this if you have enough memory and a fast processor in your computer.

2-set up your layers
I typically set up 3 other transparent layers besides the background layer. (click on the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers pallete, then click the duplicate icon in the same area to duplicate the new layer) on the top layer I create a circular selection (Hold down the control key while dragging to mae it perfectly round) Once the selection is made i fill this layer in black. Turn off the top layer.

3- Create land masses
Select the third layer down. Be sure you still have you original selction. If not, using the magic wand select the top layers black circle to get it back. On the third layer fill it with a circular gray scale gradient, like so.

3-Land masses continued

In the menus go to Filters>Render>Clouds>Difference of clouds. Use the following settings to render a random cloud fill.

3-Land mass creation cont.
From here we need to create some solid oceans. do this by filling black, only areas you want to be oceans like so

4-Create the sphear
With the planet still selected, we go to Filters>distorts>Lens Distort. Set the settings as follows (click on the 2nd image below) It will be necessary for you to repeat this same filter at least 3 times until you get what looks like a proper spherized landscape.

Having done this you should get something that looks like this:

5-Additional detail
I like to make my continents look just slightly elevated. It adds a richness to the detail. To do this duplicate your land layer. go to Filters>Distorts>Emboss. Adjust the settings until the land appears just slightly elevated. After this go to your embossed land layer and reduce its opacity to about 50%. Merge this layer with your land layer. You should get the following:

6-Colorize your landscape
We will be using what is called a gradient map to create the colors for our landscape
Before we can use this we need to create a gradient that will mimic a true planetary landscape when applied to the land layer. On the Gradients palette click on the create a new gradient found at the bottom of the palette. It will open up the gradient editor. right click on the editor. It will open up a menu. click on 'split segments at mid point'. This will give you more control nodes.

6-Colorize your landscape Cont.
Right click again and select the 'left endpoint...' Select a color for your oceans. you will need to do this process with each node until you get the following below Notice the segment on the far right is highlighted with a blue bar. That represents a single segment with left and right end point nodes. the gradient below has three segments, so there will be a total of 6 endpoint nodes to change the color. Adjust the nodes until you get something like this below. name this gradient 'living planet'. Keep the editor open.

6-Colorize your landscape Cont.
In the menus go to color>Map>Gradient map. If you have your living planet gradient selected it will colorize your planet. Every color on your gradient corresponds to a shade of gray, black and white.

6-Colorize your landscape Cont.
Based off the gradient you created you should get the following:

7-Shadow
Now we need to create the shadow of your planet. Select the top shadow layer. Go to Filters>Blur>Guassian blurr. make the edge of your shadow extremely blurry like so:

7-Shadow Cont.
You should end up with something like this. From here you resize and rotate your shadow layer beyond the boundaries of the planet until you get the shadow you want. I also make the opacity of the shadow 90%. You may want to study photos of planets to help you out with realism in this regard. It is at this point I usually fill the bottom layer black. this is in preparation for creating an atmosphere.

8-Atmosphere
Now we will ad an atmosphere. to do this will need to get our planet selection back. this can be done through the land layer. In the menus go to Select>Grow. Increase the size of the selection by 5 to 10 pixels. then go to Select>Feather and set it to 50 pixels, click OK.

8-Atmosphere cont.
click on the quick mask (lower left corner) As seen below you will be able to see just how much you selection has grown and been feathered. If it doesnt look quite right simply hit Control-Z a few times and do this step over. If it looks good click the Quick mask button again, to turn it off. Then select the atmospher layer and fill it an extremely light blue

8-Atmosphere cont.
You should get the following

8-Atmosphere cont.
Re-select the planet. Shrink the layer by 10 to 20 pixels. Feather the selection by 50 to 100 pixels. Use the quick mask again to see what your selection looks like. See below:

8-Atmosphere cont.
Turn off quick mask. Instead of filling this selction, erase it. You should get something like this:

Congratulations!!!
You have successfully created a decent looking planet using the Gimp.
Now using layers you could ad a space ship, a star field etc.