The first part was to create the text (logo1.gif). I used the text tool to create "The GIMP" text in 60 pt Bodoni with antialiasing set to 10 (its highest value). Tip: play around with the text tool with antialiasing set to 1 and only turn it up when you've found the desired font and size. I initially started with a 300x100 grayscale image. After creating the text I used the crop tool to shrink it down and center the text in a 300x73 grayscale image.
Next I used the duplicate plug-in (Filters/Channel Ops/Duplicate). I blurred the new image 5 times (Filters/Blur/Blur) to create logo2.gif. I then offset (Filters/Channel Ops/Offset) it 4 pixels in the x-direction and 3 pixels in the y-direction with wrap-around on (logo3.gif). I created another image from the original blurred image offset -4 pixels in the x-direction and -3 pixels in the y-direction (logo4.gif).
The 2 offset images were then differenced (Filters/Channel Ops/Difference) creating a new image (logo5.gif). The differenced image was then differenced from the original image creating logo6.gif. I then inverted this image to get a metallic effect for the logo. It just has a bunch of other artifacts I don't want. I'll extract the metallic effect using composite (Filter/Channel Ops/Composite) later.
Now I created the drop shadow on the light gray background. I differenced the first offset image (logo3.gif) and the original image (logo1.gif) to create the drop shadow (logo7.gif). This image was inverted (Filters/Effects/Invert) to get it into its present state. I duplicated the original image and using the palette selected a light gray color for the foreground. I selected the entire image and using the paint buck filled the entire image with the light gray (logo8.gif).
I then multiplied (Filters/Channel Ops/Multiply) the drop shadow image (logo7.gif) with the light gray image (logo8.gif) to place the drop shadow on the background (logo9.gif).
The mask for the composite operation was created by duplicating the original image (logo1.gif) and then blurring it a single time (logo10.gif).
The final image (logo11.gif) was composited together (Filters/Channel Ops/Composite) by specifying the metallic effect image (logo6.gif) as the first image, the drop shadow with background (logo9.gif) as the second image and the blurred original (logo10.gif) as the mask image.
-Peter Mattis
logo1.gif - original image
logo2.gif - blurred image (5x)
logo3.gif - offset (4,3) blurred image
logo4.gif - offset (-4,-3) blurred image
logo5.gif - difference of logo3.gif and logo4.gif
logo6.gif - difference of logo1.gif and logo5.gif...inverted
logo7.gif - difference of logo1.gif and logo3.gif
logo8.gif - light gray background (kinda hard to see)
logo9.gif - multiplication of logo7.gif and logo8.gif
logo10.gif - blurred version of logo1.gif (1x)
logo11.gif - final composited image