Metuchen High School: GIMP |
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5. Adding a Frame (with a gradient & rounded corners)
4 points
In this exercise we'll add a frame around an image. The image will have rounded corners and the frame will have a color gradient. As an example, we'll work with this image:
To create a color gradient, to be used in the frame around the image:
- Open the Gradients dialog: Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Gradients.
- In the Gradients dialog, double-click on the FG to BG (RGB) gradient. This will launch the Gradient Editor.
- First set the foreground color. Click on the Color Picker Tool (the eyedropper) in the Toolbox. Then click in your image. The color of the pixel that you click on becomes the new foreground color. This color should display in both the foreground color / background color boxes at the bottom of the Toolbox, and in the Gradient Editor.
- Click the small white arrow, to the upper right of the foreground color / background color boxes at the bottom of the Toolbox. This will reverse the foreground and background colors.
- Click again in your image. The color of the pixel that you click on becomes the new foreground color. This color should display in both the foreground color / background color boxes at the bottom of the Toolbox, and in the Gradient Editor.
- Add space for a frame:
- Round the image's corners:
- Select the
Rectangle Select Tool from the upper-left hand corner of the Toolbox. Display the Tool Options dialog (if it doesn't display): Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Tool Options.
- Apply the color gradient to the frame:
- Choose
Select > Invert. This causes the frame to be selected.
Here is the
result:
Gradients:
docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-concepts-gradients.html
Blend Tool: docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-tool-blend.html Rounding an
image's corners:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtsTPRYv9Qc (no sound)
- Choose Image > Canvas Size and increase the canvas size to create space around the image.
- Click Center. Choose Resize Layers > All Layers. Click
Resize.
- In the Tool Options dialog, click on Rounded Corners.
- Select the image only (not the frame outside the image that you recently added). Increase or decrease the Radius of the Rounded Corners
until the selection looks good.
- Click
on the Blend tool from the Toolbox. Start at the very top (or the very
left) of the frame, and click and drag to the opposite side. This should
fill the frame with your color gradient.
Exercise
Find an image that you'd like to work with.
Follow the steps outlined above to add a frame, round the image's corners and
fill the frame with a color gradient.
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