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- <title>Chapter 7.  Painting with GIMP</title>
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- <div class="navheader">
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- <tr>
- <th colspan="3" align="center">Chapter 7. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Painting with GIMP</span>
- </th>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="gimp-using-web-transparency.html"><img src="../images/prev.png" alt="Prev" /></a> </td>
- <th width="60%" align="center">Part II. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">
- How do I Become a <acronym class="acronym">GIMP</acronym> Wizard?
- </span>
- </th>
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- <div class="chapter" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
- <div class="titlepage">
- <div>
- <div>
- <h2 class="title"><a id="gimp-painting"></a>Chapter 7. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Painting with GIMP</span>
- </h2>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <div class="toc">
- <p>
- <b>Table of Contents</b>
- </p>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-painting.html#gimp-concepts-selection">1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">The Selection</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-painting.html#id2591958">1.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Feathering</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-painting.html#id2592060">1.2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Making a Selection Partially Transparent</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-selections.html">2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Creating and Using Selections</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-selections.html#gimp-using-selections-moving">2.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Moving a Selection</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-selections-free-select.html">2.2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Creating a Free Selection</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-image-window-qmask-button.html">3.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">QuickMask</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-image-window-qmask-button.html#id2592899">3.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Overview</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="ch07s03s02.html">3.2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Properties</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-quickmask.html">4.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Using the Quickmask</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-paths.html">5.
-
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Paths</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-paths.html#gimp-using-paths-creating">5.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Path Creating</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="ch07s05s02.html">5.2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Paths and Selections</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-paths-transforming.html">5.3.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Transforming Paths</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-paths-stroking.html">5.4.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Stroking a Path</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="ch07s05s05.html">5.5.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Paths and Text</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="ch07s05s06.html">5.6.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Paths and <acronym class="acronym">SVG</acronym> files</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-concepts-brushes.html">6.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Brushes</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-brushes.html">7.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Adding New Brushes</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-animated-brushes.html">8.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">The GIH Dialog Box</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-variable-size-brush.html">9.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Varying brush size</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-variable-size-brush.html#gimp-using-variable-size-brush-varying">9.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">How to vary the height of a brush</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-variable-size-brush-creating.html">9.2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Creating a brush quickly</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-concepts-gradients.html">10.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Gradients</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-concepts-patterns.html">11.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Patterns</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-concepts-palettes.html">12.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Palettes</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-concepts-palettes.html#id2598226">12.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Colormap</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect1">
- <a href="gimp-using-simpleobjects.html">13.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Drawing Simple Objects</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-simpleobjects.html#gimp-using-line">13.1.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Drawing a Straight Line</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- <dt>
- <span class="sect2">
- <a href="gimp-using-rectangular.html">13.2.
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Creating a Basic Shape</span>
- </a>
- </span>
- </dt>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- </dl>
- </div>
- <div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
- <div class="titlepage">
- <div>
- <div>
- <h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="gimp-concepts-selection"></a>1. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">The Selection</span>
- </h2>
- </div>
- <div>
- <div class="revhistory">
- <table border="1" width="100%" summary="Revision history">
- <tr>
- <th align="left" valign="top" colspan="3">
- <b>Revision History</b>
- </th>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td align="left">Revision $Revision: 2353 $</td>
- <td align="left">2007-07-15</td>
- <td align="left">romanofski</td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <a id="id2591682" class="indexterm"></a>
- <a id="id2591695" class="indexterm"></a>
- <a id="id2591710" class="indexterm"></a>
- <p>
- Often when you operate on an image, you only want part of it to be
- affected. In GIMP, you make this happen by <span class="emphasis"><em>selecting</em></span>
- that part. Each image has a <span class="emphasis"><em>selection</em></span>
- associated with it. Most, but not all, GIMP operations act only on the
- selected portions of the image.
- </p>
- <div class="figure">
- <a id="id2591740"></a>
- <p class="title">
- <b>Figure 7.1. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">How would you isolate the tree?</span>
- </b>
- </p>
- <div class="figure-contents">
- <div class="mediaobject">
- <img src="../images/using/fog-tree-example.png" alt="How would you isolate the tree?" />
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <br class="figure-break" />
- <p>
- There are many, many situations where creating just the right selection is
- the key to getting the result you want, and often it is not very easy to
- do. For example, in the above image, suppose I want to cut the tree out
- from its background, and paste it into a different image. In order to do
- this, I need to create a selection that contains the tree and nothing but
- the tree. It is difficult because the tree has a very complex shape, and
- in several spots is hard to distinguish from the objects behind it.
- </p>
- <div class="figure">
- <a id="id2591784"></a>
- <p class="title">
- <b>Figure 7.2. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Selection shown as usual with dashed line</span>
- </b>
- </p>
- <div class="figure-contents">
- <div class="mediaobject">
- <img src="../images/using/select-outline.png" alt="Selection shown as usual with dashed line" />
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <br class="figure-break" />
- <p>
- Now here is a very important point, and it is crucial to understand this.
- Ordinarily when you create a selection, you see it as a dashed line
- enclosing a portion of the image. The idea you could get from this is that
- the selection is a sort of container, with the selected parts of the image
- inside, and the unselected parts outside. This concept of the selection is
- okay for many purposes, but it is not really correct.
- </p>
- <p>
- Actually the selection is implemented as a <span class="emphasis"><em>channel</em></span>.
- In terms of its internal structure, it is identical to the red, green,
- blue, and alpha channels of an image. Thus, the selection has a value
- defined at each pixel of the image, ranging between 0 (unselected) and 255
- (fully selected). The advantage of this approach is that it allows some
- pixels to be <span class="emphasis"><em>partially selected</em></span>,
- by giving them intermediate values between 0 and 255. As you will see,
- there are many situations where it is desirable to have smooth transitions
- between selected and unselected regions.
- </p>
- <p>
- What, then, is the dashed line that appears when you create a selection?
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a <span class="emphasis"><em>contour line</em></span>, dividing areas that are more
- than half selected from areas that are less than half selected.
- </p>
- <div class="figure">
- <a id="id2591865"></a>
- <p class="title">
- <b>Figure 7.3. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Same selection in QuickMask mode</span>
- </b>
- </p>
- <div class="figure-contents">
- <div class="mediaobject">
- <img src="../images/using/select-outline-qmask.png" alt="Same selection in QuickMask mode" />
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <br class="figure-break" />
- <p>
- You should always bear in mind, when looking at the dashed line that
- represents the selection, that it only tells you part of the story. If you
- want to see the selection in complete detail, the easiest way is to click
- the QuickMask button in the lower left corner of the image window. This
- causes the selection to be shown as a translucent overlay atop the image.
- Selected areas are unaffected; unselected areas are reddened. The more
- completely selected an area is, the less red it appears.
- </p>
- <p>
- QuickMask mode, and its uses, are described in detail below. Meanwhile, if
- you are following this discussion by trying things out in GIMP, you should
- know that many operations work differently in QuickMask mode, so go ahead
- and toggle it off again for now (by clicking the QuickMask button once
- more).
- </p>
- <div class="figure">
- <a id="id2591928"></a>
- <p class="title">
- <b>Figure 7.4. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">
- Same selection in QuickMask mode after feathering
- </span>
- </b>
- </p>
- <div class="figure-contents">
- <div class="mediaobject">
- <img src="../images/using/select-outline-qmask-feather.png" alt="Same selection in QuickMask mode after feathering" />
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <br class="figure-break" />
- <div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
- <div class="titlepage">
- <div>
- <div>
- <h3 class="title"><a id="id2591958"></a>1.1. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Feathering</span>
- </h3>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <p>
- With the default settings, the basic selection tools, such as the
- Rectangle Select tool, create sharp selections. Pixels inside the dashed
- line are fully selected, and pixels outside completely unselected. You
- can verify this by toggling QuickMask: you see a clear rectangle with
- sharp edges, surrounded by uniform red. In the Tool Options, however, is
- a checkbox called “<span class="quote">Feather edges</span>”. If you enable this, the
- tool will instead create graduated selections. The feather radius, which
- you can adjust, determines the distance over which the transition
- occurs.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you are following along, try this out with the Rectangle Select tool,
- and then toggle QuickMask. You will now see that the clear rectangle has
- a fuzzy edge.
- </p>
- <p>
- Feathering is particularly useful when you are cutting and pasting, in
- helping the pasted object to blend smoothly and unobtrusively with its
- surroundings.
- </p>
- <p>
- Actually, it is possible to feather a selection at any time, even if it
- was originally created as a sharp selection. You can do this from the
- image menu, by choosing
- <span class="guimenu">Select</span> ‚Üí <span class="guimenuitem">Feather</span>.
- This brings up a dialog that allows you to set the feather radius. You
- can do the opposite--sharpen a graduated selection into an
- all-or-nothing selection--by choosing
- <span class="guimenu">Select</span> ‚Üí <span class="guimenuitem">Sharpen</span>.
- </p>
- <div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
- <table border="0" summary="Note">
- <tr>
- <td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25">
- <img alt="[Note]" src="../images/note.png" />
- </td>
- <th align="left">Note</th>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td align="left" valign="top">
- <p>
- For technically oriented readers: feathering works by applying a
- Gaussian blur to the selection channel, with the specified blurring
- radius.
- </p>
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- </div>
- <div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
- <div class="titlepage">
- <div>
- <div>
- <h3 class="title"><a id="id2592060"></a>1.2. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Making a Selection Partially Transparent</span>
- </h3>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <p>
- You can set layer opacity, but you cannot do that directly for a
- selection. It is quite useful to make the image of a glass
- transparent. You can achieve this by using these methods:
- </p>
- <div class="itemizedlist">
- <ul type="disc">
- <li>
- <p>
- For simple selections, use the Eraser tool with the wanted opacity.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- For complex selections: use the command
- <span class="guimenu">Selection</span> ‚Üí <span class="guimenuitem">Floating</span>
- to create a floating selection. This creates a new layer called
- “<span class="quote">Floating Selection</span>”.
- Activate it and use the opacity slider to get the wanted opacity.
- Then anchor the selection: outside the selection, the mouse pointer
- comes with an anchor icon. When you click, the floating selection
- disappears from the Layer Dialog and the selection is at the right
- place and partially transparent (anchoring works this way only if a
- selection tool is activated : you can also use the command in the
- context menu that you get by right clicking on the selected layer
- in the layer dialog).
- </p>
- <p>
- And, if you use this function frequently:
- <span class="keycap"><strong>Ctrl</strong></span>-<span class="keycap"><strong>C</strong></span> to copy the selection,
- <span class="keycap"><strong>Ctrl</strong></span>-<span class="keycap"><strong>V</strong></span> to paste it, creating so a floating selection,
- adapt the opacity then make Layer/New Layer that pastes the floating
- selection into the new layer. You can also create a shortcut for the
- New Layer command to use keys only.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Another way:
- <span class="guimenu">Layer</span> ‚Üí <span class="guisubmenu">Mask</span> ‚Üí <span class="guimenuitem">Layer mask</span>
- to add a layer mask to the layer with the
- selection, initializing it with the selection. Then use a brush with
- the wanted opacity to paint the selection with black, i-e paint it
- with transparency. Then Layer/Mask/Apply Layer Mask. See
- <a class="xref" href="gimp-dialogs-structure.html#gimp-layer-mask" title="2.1.3.  Layer masks">Section 2.1.3, “
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Layer masks</span>
- ”</a>.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- If you want to <span class="emphasis"><em>make transparent the solid
- background of an image</em></span>, add an Alpha channel and select
- the background by using the Magic Wand. Then, with the Color Picker
- tool, select the background color which becomes the foreground
- color in Toolbox. Use Fill tool with this color on the selection,
- in the “<span class="quote">Color Erase</span>” mode. This method erases pixels
- which have this color; other pixels are partially erased and their
- color is changed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The simplest method is the
- <span class="guimenu">Edit</span> ‚Üí <span class="guimenuitem">Erase</span>
- command, which gives complete transparency and doesn't allow to
- enjoy the Opacity setting of the Fill tool.
- </p>
- </li>
- </ul>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <div class="navfooter">
- <hr />
- <table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer">
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- </a>
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- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td width="40%" align="left" valign="top"><a accesskey="p" href="gimp-using-web-transparency.html">2.3. 
- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Saving Images with Transparency</span>
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- <span lang="en" xml:lang="en">Creating and Using Selections</span>
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