The power of gradient.

In GIMP, the gradient effect is the most powerfull feature. If one's knows how to manipulate it one's can create a stunning blue box like below.

That left image is actually the original image that inspired me to try to create that cool looking box. I found that image when I google icon for my system interface. But that image is not free. Anyway after I obeserved that box carefully, I realised that this box is created by manipulating a series of shape with gradient effect. So this is when I begin my first attempt to immitate that box using GIMP. ;)

This are the steps...

First, create a new image file size 400 x 400

Create new layer and draw a box.Draw a box (348 x 321) using Rectangle Select Tool

Set the box Rounded Corner setting to 60.

Set the fore colour to 407dce and the back colour to 72d2e8 .

Select the gradient tool and apply it to the box from bottom to top.

Create a newlayer with transparent background

Apply shrink to the new created layer. Goto the select-shrink menu.

Set the shrink selection to 5 pixels.

click ok, then the selection shall shrink which look like image shown below

Select the gradient tool and apply it to the box selection from top to bottom.

Create new layer with transparency fill. Set the shrink selection to 15 pixels.

Use Rectangle Select Tool and click on the layer to unable gimp to set the box selection Rounded Corner setting to 70.

The result should display like to image below.

Select the gradient tool and apply it to the box selection from bottom to top.

Create new layer with transparency fill. Use Rectangle Select Tool and click on the layer to unable gimp to set the box selection, and adjust the selection box to 308 x 141. The result should display like image below.

Set the fore colour to ffffff and fill the new layer created and the result should be display like below.

Then goto the layers windows, right-click and the new layer created and choose Add Layer Mask. Choose "Black (Full Transparancy)" setting.

Select the gradient tool and apply it to the box selection from top to bottom.

Unselect all the seelction (Shift+Ctrl+A) and the result should display like below.

That's all.

Me, My Work and GIMP.

Assalamualaikum.

This is the first post in this blog and my original & primary intention of creating this blog is to act as my work diary. Which means, from time to time I will write some of the new & interesting stuff that I learn from my working experience. Anyway, if there are some interesting things hapenning in my personal life, I'll probably write it also in this blog. InsyaAllah. After all, this blog is called Calel's World.

So, as a jumpstart to this blog, I want to write about my exploration on learning graphics editing tools called GIMP. The best about this tools is it is an Open Source software, which means there's no licence. The needs to use GIMP started when my office don't have a licence for Adobe Photoshop. Although there is a crack for photoshop, but it is an issue to use a pirate software in my office and it takes the hassle of bureaucracy if I want to purchace it, so I just start googling for an open source graphic editing software... then walaaa, I found GIMP.

The first thing that I want to share about GIMP is how to make a Web 2.0 Text Logo. Basically my learning approach of using GIMP is by seaching at google. So I consider a double work if I type what I learn from a website where it is much more simpler if I just displayed the URL of where I learn it from. Here is the URL.

http://gimp-tutorials.net/node/91

The only thing that I want to add is how to add more font in GIMP. To add more font design in GIMP is actually by adding more font to windows font directory. Windows font directory is located at C:\WINDOWS\Fonts. Basically to add font in windows is just by copying .ttf file (font file) into C:\WINDOWS\Fonts folder. To get the .ttf file, please visit http://www.dafont.com where you can find and download tone of cool fonts. As a matter of fact, that's the only website that I frequently visit to find any font that I like.

Below is some of my work that I achieved by just using GIMP.

The next post I will write on how to create the blue box and how to make that picture in that blue box looks a little bit iconic. But to create that stunning wet floor effect at the blue box is explained in http://gimp-tutorials.net/node/91. Some technique on how to used gradient and masking is also explained in that tutorial. The "Smart Kitchen" title is using the "Radio Space Italic, Italic" font which can be find and download at www.dafont.com.

Thank you for reading.