Odd question - can GIMP do it?

[freebird54]

I have a problem - I am NOT an artist. However, I *DO* like to play around with images sometimes. I am not a Photoshop guy, nor a Gimp guy - at least not yet. Is there some kind of alternative for someone who is more used to doing things the hard way?

Most of my 'digital manipulation' experience came on the Amiga - wih the wonderful (for the time) DeluxePaint programs. Does anything out there give one the same brush functionality? It could take any selection, from any pic, and use it as a brush on any other pic. You could do what apparently channel ops do, without having a specific matched size to do it with - even text.

I know - too old fashioned for words. So - assuming I'm SOL on that, can anyone aim me at a tutorial for getting a piece of 1 pic integrated into another easily? (say, a logo onto an existing work?)

Thanks in advance!

[RaZer0r]

well you can make the logo transparant and import it as a new layer with gimp, other than that, i don't know at all

[lyceum]

GIMP is the hard way :) I am sure you CAN do that with the GIMP. Start here:

http://gimpbook.com/

Check out the "Tips and Tricks" links.

[freebird54]

GIMP is the hard way.... nahh - I'd never believe it! :) Isn't it one of those things where it is incredibly easy once you know how?

I'll check that link out - I can't be only one trying to fix up an avatar and splash screens!

As for the hard way - I have been known to edit with 'POKE' commands from BASIC at the pixel level for substantial graphics! (not too recently though) :D

[IYY]

I'm not sure whether or not I understand what you mean... But aren't you just describing the clone stamp?


Hotkey C; Ctrl+Left Mouse Button to select the region to be the brush, and then just paint as though with a normal brush. It's handy for editing photos.

[freebird54]

It might be that I am! I was just reading the sample chapter from the book I got pointed to - and it appears that what I am used to is a cross between the clone and the smudge tools. If single-clicked it 'stamped' the selection, if dragged it smudged it at the edges and stamped only at the drag finish point.

The MAIN thing I was looking for was to pick up the selection in one image, and be able to stamp it down (perhaps with fuzzy edges - or anti-aliasing on) on another unrelated image. Can you pick a clone from another frame? Or is this a layer trick?

I'm reading as fast as I can - but there is a *LOT* of stuff out there!

[IYY]

The MAIN thing I was looking for was to pick up the selection in one image, and be able to stamp it down (perhaps with fuzzy edges - or anti-aliasing on) on another unrelated image. Can you pick a clone from another frame? Or is this a layer trick?


Sure, you can do this with the clone stamp by switching layers. The other behavior you describe, I am not sure how to get... It sounds like what you got when you Shift+dragged selections in MSPaint, but I haven't seen it in any modern program.

[freebird54]

I have been doing some more reading, and it appears that it is the answer - a clone + layers operation. However, doing it pre-supposes a few things I don't know yet :)

I found a good reference ( http://gimp-savvy.com/BOOK/index.html ) and the subject comes up in Chapter 7 - but it needs some info from previous chapters to be comprehended first. Some reading ahead!

Thanks for the help everyone! Good thing I can read fast....

[freebird54]

Just an update. Still haven't found out how yet - but I managed (once again) to find a hard way. As you can see from my avatar - pixel by pixel still works!

I was surprised, though, by how many operations it took to get things done. It appears that the mouse usefullness is quite limited, as the right button only seems to bring up a menu?? Does this mean that things like alternating foreground/background colours requires a hand on the keyboard as well?

(yes - I really was starting from scratch here!)

Well thanks all for the links - and back to the reading (as time allows)...

[ronniet]

Loved using DPaint for many years on my Amiga... :D

Are you meaning where you could put like say; some text, copy it and use it as a brush? So you could, in DPaint, draw horizontally with the text and you'd get a 3D effect. You could also draw it, same idea, but semi-transparent giving you a kinda 'ice' text effect... what what you mean??

Anyway... if thats what your meaning then yes, in Gimp you can draw anything and instead of saving it off as a Gimp file, you save it as a .gbr file (a gimp brush). So you now look in the brushes tab and there's your 'thing' as a brush! :)

Hope that makes sense... :D

Vive la DPaint! :D

[freebird54]

That was definitely the sort of thing I meant - especially if it will 'stamp' it easily. I did find another way to sort of get the same effect with importing something as a layer w/transparent background too :)

Another new image in the avatar again - My Leafs got knocked out of the playoffs, so go FLAMES! :D (Calgary is my 'other' team)

so far - to me it feels as GIMP is amazing capability with a few 'clunky' implementations as yet.

I still keep my A2500/030 hooked up to the same monitor here, and it still amazes what it can do with 7M RAM - but the resolution hasn't kept pace with today's hardware (sigh)

Keep the Faith!