Getting Around in GIMP - New Layer

Layers are really key to just about any workflow in GIMP. To help illustrate the concepts I am going to talk about, I've put together a quick screencast using Wink to show some steps of creating a new layer from scratch (please let me know if there is a problem viewing the screencast, it's my first time trying this).

The previous tutorial just covering the interface can be found here.
The list of all my GIMP tutorials can be found here.




One of the main things to remember when working with layers is that they will affect other layers from the top down in your layer list. I haven't mentioned layer blending modes yet, but for layers with a "Normal" blending mode (the default) this means that the top most layer that is visible is what you will see in your image window (see video).

Creating a new layer from scratch is quite simple. There is a "Create New Layer" button along the bottom of the top half of the Layers window. You will then get a "Create a New Layer" dialog that allows you to choose:

1. Layer Name

   Whatever you want to call this layer

2. Width & Height

   Dimensions for this new layer (default is the current image dimensions).

3. Layer Fill Type

   You can have the layer automatically filled with either the foreground or background color, white, or start it as a transparent layer.

This new layer will then be created above the currently active layer in your list. Speaking of "active layer"...

Active Layer

The current active layer will have a white border around it in your layer list. This is important because it means that anything you do to the image will be applied to that active layer. If you activate a layer below another visible one, you may not see any changes you try to apply appear in your image window!

Look closely at the image above: the "Background" layer is active (white border), but there is another layer "New Layer" that is above it and visible. If you tried to paint or adjust the "Background" layer right now, you wouldn't see any of the changes (in fact, you'd just see a black screen in your image window).

To activate a layer, just click on it in your Layer Window list.

Visibility

You can toggle the visibility of each layer on/off by using the Eye icon to the left of the layer image. This will only affect the layer visibility in your main image window.

Very often I will use the layer visibility toggle to either compare a current layer to a previous one, or to show/hide the effects of a new layer on the ones below it (in the case of using a different blending mode or layer masks - which I will talk about shortly).

Getting Around in GIMP - The Interface

I've found myself using GIMP more and more lately to manipulate photos, and thought that perhaps some of the things I've been playing with might be helpful for other users as well. Especially translations of effects that are achieved by photoshop users, but replicated for the GIMP environment. It is my hope to be able to provide some level of tutorials that might help others get as much use out of GIMP as I have.

The main list of all my GIMP tutorials can be found here.

To help others get the most from these tutorials and GIMP in general, I am starting out my first GIMP tutorial post by quickly examining the main interface in GIMP, and what all those floating windows mean...

GIMP users often seem to feel that the user interface is a barrier to entry for them. I agree that at first it can seem odd compared to the paradigm used by other programs, but I feel it's just a small sticking point. Spend a little time with it, and you will quickly get used to it.

In general, there will usually be 3 main (floating) windows that all of your work will be done in with GIMP:

1. Toolbox
2. Layers, Channels, Paths
3. Image Window

Toolbox Window

This window houses all of the tools available to you to manipulate your image. It may seem overwhelming at first glance, but you'll probably find that for the most part you only use a few different tools as you're getting started (a full list of each tool with shortcut keys and description can be found in the GIMP wikibook).

The window can be considered in two halves (upper and lower). Above the foreground/background colors are all the actual tools. Below that are modifiers for the currently selected tool (the Heal brush, in this case).

Some very common tools you will likely use often are:
Rectangle, Ellipse, Free Select
Bucket Fill, Gradient, Paintbrush
Clone, Heal

Just below the tool palette in the center of the window is the Color Area. This displays the current foreground (black in this example) and background (white) colors. You can swap between the foreground and background colors by clicking on the double arrow just above and to the right of the colors. Choosing a new color is easily done by just clicking on the current foreground or background color.

Below the Color Area are the available modifiers for the currently selected tool. What is shown here will change depending on the options available for the tool you select to use. In this image the Heal tool is active, and the options (Mode, Opacity, Brush, etc...) will apply to the Heal tool specifically.

Layers, Channels, Paths Window

This window displays all of the current layers in the image (including Channels and Paths). Realistically for the most part I personally use the Layers portion of this window more than any of the others.

Similar to the toolbox, this window can be divided into an upper and lower half.

The upper half is has tabs running across the top that give you access to (from left to right): Layers, Channels, Paths, and Undo history.

I will write up more detail on using Layers in image manipulation later (it deserves it's own post).

The lower half of this window shows access to three more tabs: Brushes, Patterns, and Gradients.

Image Window

This is where the magic happens. This window will display whatever image you happen to be editing. You'll also notice all of the menu items that are along the top edge of this window. These menus give you full access to all of the options that are available in GIMP (you can also access all of these menu items by right-clicking in the image area anywhere).

This should serve as a (brief) introduction to the basic GIMP user interface. Hopefully this will help some people feel just a tad more comfortable about getting around and where to find things.

I have further tutorials coming up on achieving some basic effects on photographs (and hopefully some more advanced ones as well). Stay tuned for more to come!

Seriously? A camera AND a softbox?!

Seriously? A camera AND a softbox?!, originally uploaded by avhell.

Outtake from a quick Mothers Day shoot with little Beverly and her mom. Her expression is priceless.

She was a little on the squirmy side the entire time, and this annoyed look on her face made my day...

My ghetto 20" softbox with an FL-14 flash fired full power just to the camera left and a little high. About 2 feet away.