Replacing Picnik Webcast Schedule

I'm excited to announce that I will be hosting 4 Q&A Webcasts on my uStream channel next week. Each Q&A session will go for 1 hour, and I will be talking a little bit about some resources for the Picnik community who are looking for a replacement for Picnik in Gimp. I will answer questions for people who need help with the gimp interface, as well as anyone who wants to know more about my new eBook titled "Replacing Picnik."I will be going live on these dates: All times are in Eastern Standard TimeThursday, April 19'th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PMThursday, April 19'th from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PMSunday, April 22'nd from 4:00 PM to 3:00 PMSunday, April 22'nd from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PMCome join in! Simply visit this page within any of these time brackets.

 

Awesome Gimp Script - Copy Layer Mask From Above

The wonderful thing about open-source software is that anyone can modify their version of the program at their own free will.  What's even better, is that the open source community loves to share how they customize their own version of their program to fit their needs, giving you the ability to duplicate their customizations.

In a recent conversation on the GimpChat forum, we talked about how to duplicate a layer mask using Gimp and in the process uncovered a fantastic script that copies the above layer and turns it into a layer mask.

I went ahead and put the file together for download here.
This script came in with great timing, because I've stumbled on a very fascinating find that will help everyone isolate foreground images from background images in a new way.  I hope to have a tutorial written up on this soon.  Until then, I recommend that you brush up on your understanding of layer masks using gimp, you'll want to know about them when I post this tutorial.

PS: I use this script in this gimp video tutorial.

How It's Made - Police Line by Aloen D.art

View the original image here.
his photo makes good and subtle use of selective colorization.  The police line tape is not fully saturated, in fact it's barely saturated at all.  To acheive this Aloen D probably used 3 layers to get the job done.
One layer is the main image
The second layer is a layer filled with black, with a layer mode set to "color" with a layer mask applied to everything but the tape.  This would make everything but the tape black and white.
The final layer is the same as the previous layer, filled with black with a layer mode set to "color."  This image would not have a layer mask.  With this layer you now have control of how saturated the tape is.  simply adjust the opacity until you are satisfied with the result.
For more information on selective colorization, check out my how to convert color to black and white tutorial.

Photo Study - And the beat goes on by Jonni

View the original image here.
This photo has great lighting and the boy has a really great pose, but what about these cool little music notes Jonni added?  How could one go about adding those music notes to their photo and make it look convincing like this photo did?
This is a great example of how to use a custom-made brush and a good layer mask effectively.  I can only assume that the "edge" of the notes on the microphone are defined by a good layer mask paired with a layer that is nothing but a pattern.  The key here is the highlights and lowlights that were kept on the notes on the microphone.  That is what gives this the realilistic look, and it could be acheived with a white layer on the right layer mode paired with another layer mask that would hide everything  but the highlight.
What do you guys think?  How would you have gone about making these edits?

Product Photography Using Gimp

At long last, I finally uploaded this tutorial.  Sorry it took so long, I had a very hard time getting the video to record.  Enjoy this tutorial guys, I also went over how I actually took the shots as well.

Final result:

 

View the tutorial here.

Checkerboard Text Using Gimp

Today, someone on Yahoo Answers asked how to do checkerboard text.  I went ahead and did a gimp video tutorial for them since it was easier than typing up the entire tutorial.  The tutorial can be seen here

Think they'll hire me?

Tutorial coming soon!

Practical HDR Using Gimp

This tutorial goes over some practical HDR-styled exposure adjustments using Gimp.  The goal here is to get the best possible exposure by creating multiple versions of the same image from a RAW format.

Original:

Final Image:

The tutorial can be seen here.

3 Great Sources for Digital Art.

By nature, Gimp started out as a photo manipulation program, designed mostly to make tweaks to an existing photo.  As the community has grown, so have it's uses.  A lot of people use Gimp in combination with a Wacom Tablet to do some fantastic art.  Over time, I have stumbled on a few great resources for using Gimp to do digital art.  I hope these help you.
Check out these sources:
3 Tools Every Gimp User Should Know About
These 3 tools can really help you get the most out of Gimp.
Excellent list of digital art for absolute beginners.
This is an extensive list of tutorials that are directed toward absolute beginners in digital art using gimp.
Griatch's Art Tutorials
Griatch is a very talented Gimp user that is loved by the Gimp community.  His tutorials can show you some great methods that will make you a better gimp user.

Related posts:
Great Gimp Addon for Digital Painters - GPS

Contest Announcement - DeviantArt Seven Deadly Sins

This contest sounds like a lot of fun.  You have to use a few stock images to create a piece that relates to one of the seven deadly sins.  If you need some ideas, or some help, perhaps this Gimp Zombie Tutorial or this Gimp Tornado Tutorial will help.

Quoted from DeviantArt:

Does that scrumptious cupcake tempt you to gluttony? Maybe road rage on the freeway brings out your wrath? The deviantART #StockProject and Fotolia are challenging you to choose a side and either entice the city into further temptation or inspire them to stand fast against their inner vices.

Using stock from #StockProject create a billboard to advertise or warn people against your favorite sin.

Seven sinful or angelic deviants will have their artwork displayed around the city. There will be one winner per sin and the grand-prize winning ad will be displayed on a billboard. The grand-prize winner will be flown out to San Francisco, CA to see the ad in person.

What side will you choose?

More Information on Devinatart.com

Photo Study: Intensity by Max Vuong

In my personal opinion, I've never been one to "get" HDR for the most part.  I understand the process, and I have definitely seen some pretty cool HDR photos.  Unfortunately, this cool effect has now been emulated, repeated, and reused in so many places that I have become completely disgusted with the topic alltogether.  I believe that too many people aren't applying good Photo Editing Principal, and they're not taking photos to be HDR from the get-go, instead they're taking photos with blinders and later deciding "hey, I'm going to turn this photo into an HDR shot."

Of course, I'm generalizing an awful lot.  Don't get me wrong, as with any photo effect, I believe that HDR photography can be a beautiful thing as long as you are shooting for the edits, and practicing good Photo Editing Principles.

This photo is a prime example of what I mean by this.  Max Vuong took this shot with vision.  He knew exactly what he wanted the photo to look like before he ever took the photos.  There was little guesswork involved, instead his time was focused on gathering the ingredients needed to create his final photo.

Click here to view this photo on Flickr.

"Removing Your Photo-Editing Blinders - Shooting For the Edits" is one of my 5 exclusive gimp lessons, where I focus on teaching you how to beceome a good photo editor instead of teaching you how to use gimp.  You can sign up by visiting this page.

Gimp Keyboard Shortcuts

I was on Twitter earlier and someone mentioned that they were working on learning the keyboard shortcuts using Gimp.  I shared this link with him: http://www.keyxl.com/aaae27c/66/Gimp-Photo-software-keyboard-shortcuts.htm

I realized that I never shared this link before, so I wanted to take a second to make sure others knew about Gimp's keyboard shortcuts, especially since I habitually use them in my gimp video tutorials and occasionally forget to say what the shortcut is.

Make a Cool Wallpaper Using Gimp

This Gimp Video Tutorial will teach you how to make a cool wallpaper using gimp.  Here is the final image:

The cool thing about this tutorial is it focuses on using layer masks and layer modes to give you complete control, including the ability to change the color of the wallpaper quickly and easily.

How To Use Gimp To Make a Tip Jar Icon

I posted a gimp tutorial on how to use gimp to make a tip jar icon using a very powerful method of layer masking. This method will allow you to easily change the color of the jar as well as change the background.

The Tutorial can be seen here: How to use gimp to make a tip jar icon.

Photo Study: Road to Nowhere by Petera Oldeman

This photo is incredible.  The ominous feel that the fog and the color bring to the image just throw it over the top.  The curvy road makes the photo exciting.

If you can, try to imagine what this photo looked like before it's edits.  Now, try to think about when, where, and how the photo was taken.  Based on the shadows and the fog, it's pretty obvious this was taken early in the morning.  Odds are pretty good it was taken using a tripod or a monopod.
As I stare at the photo more, I ask myself "If I were to make the fog using GIMP, how would I do that?"  "How did they get that sepia tone?" and also "did they make exposure adjustments using gimp to bring out a bit of extra contrast in the grass and the road?  If so, what would be the best method of duplicating that in GIMP?  The curves tool?  an Overlay with a grayscale copy of the layer?"  There are several different ways to do the same thing, but all tools work a little differently.  You have to think about all of the possibilities.
This my friends, this is how you learn how to edit photos with Gimp.
The original photo can be seen here

Inspiration: Sun Rays

Sun rays can make or break a photo.  I was stumbling around my sources for photographic inspiration for my gimp editing and stumbled on this list of sun ray photos where the sunlight totally makes the photo.  Here's a set of some beautiful sun ray photos for your inspiration.

If you want to learn how to make beautiful sunrays using gimp like the photo you see below, check out this Gimp Tutorial.

Photo-Editing Contest

PSDTuts+ is hosting a contest in celebration of their new PhotoDune service.  They say that they will select 3 winners for this competition, and here are the prizes:

• 1st Place will win $100 in PhotoDune Credits and a 1-year premium membership to Tuts+.
• 2nd Place will win $75 in PhotoDune Credits.
• 3rd Place will receive an Envato t-shirt.

PSD Tuts+ said this: "Your task is to use at least one of the three images below to create a photo manipulation. You are free to combine these images with assets available on the web or in your personal collection. We will judge your entries based on their creativity, execution, and by how many of the below images that you use."

The best part is this - nowhere in the blog post do they say you have to use Photoshop which to me means that I am free to use GIMP to create my entry. I've already got ideas flowing like crazy, and can't wait to enter. Are you entering?  If you need some help using Gimp, feel free to check out my Gimp Tutorials if you haven't already.

Click here to see the tutorial details.