Candid Castaway ([info]silentrainfall) wrote in [info]45caliber_icons,
2005-09-05 13:50:00
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Tutorial: Making Blends Using Layer Masks (GIMP)

What is a layer mask?
A layer mask is a very useful tool for blending and even erasing images. When applied you can then paint over the image in black, which will erase areas of the image, or in white, which will unerase areas of the image. It comes in very handy with things like this.

We will be making a simple blend using three images from the Evanescence video "My Immortal".


First off choose the images you wish to blend and open them up.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Crop and resize the images as needed. I make sure that each image is the same height. In this case that height is 300px.
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Open a new image 300px tall and 500px wide. Copy each image and paste it as a new layer into the new image, and arrange them side by side, overlapping each one.
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Add a layer mask to each of the top two layers by right clicking on them in the layers window and selecting "Add Layer Mask". When the window pops up set it to White (full opacity).
Image hosted by TinyPic.com Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Here is where it starts to get tricky. We are going to start blending the images together now.

Make sure that your forground is set to black and your background to white. Click on the gradient button and use the default forground to background gradient. Select the top layer. Place your cursor on the image you would like to blend into and drag it over to where you would like to start blending.
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Because of the mask the top image will fade into transparency, and thus into the image.
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Do the same with the second layer. Blending it into the third image.
Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Obviously, there is a problem. The images dont exactly flow seemlessly into each other and there is a line where the second meets the third. To fix this problem go to your brushes and select the fuzzy brush at 19px. Go over the images with the brush, erasing parts o them til they match, or at least flow a little better. If you erase too much of an image dont worry. Its a mask which means if you switch to white you can go over anything to want and unerase it. Do this to your satisfaction.

Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Congratlations! You've made a blend.

Fell free to use this blend, but make sure you credit me. This tutorial is for reference and learning only. You may use it but do not copy exactly. Be creative!
Tags: tutorial, tutorial: gimp, tutorial: personal, tutorial: technique

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[info]poet_girl_913

September 5 2005, 20:07:58 UTC 6 years ago

THANK YOU!!!

Though I've yet to actually try it, this tutorial looks like exactly what I've been looking for(and its for GIMP!). Thank you so much! I'm new to GIMP and making graphics, so any help I get is gold.

[info]spring_wide

September 6 2005, 01:15:46 UTC 6 years ago

Re: THANK YOU!!!

^^^ everything that she said. ^_^ ♥

[info]kt_stars

September 5 2005, 21:08:13 UTC 6 years ago

Thanks needed it

[info]briary_flower

September 5 2005, 22:14:46 UTC 6 years ago

Thanks so much! This is the kind of help I really need.

[info]murdocsangel

September 5 2005, 22:37:36 UTC 6 years ago

Yay! Yet another awesome tutorial with something I've been trying (to no avail) to figure out myself :)

I'm gonna go try it now hehe

M.A.

[info]icon_beauty

September 6 2005, 01:52:32 UTC 6 years ago

great tutorial! I'm gonna try that tomorrow.

[info]angelicid

September 6 2005, 03:22:50 UTC 6 years ago

Aha! I gave up on reading through Grokking the Gimp before I got to layer masks, and I looked around some to find a tutorial, but this is amazing and just what I needed. I'm too busy to try it now, but it looks really easy to follow. Thanks for posting this!

And that's a really pretty example.

[info]silentrainfall

September 6 2005, 22:58:25 UTC 6 years ago

Grokking the GIMP is where I get most of my tutorials from. This one at least. I just modified it to be a bit more simple than the one that was there. I think I might modify some more of those tutorials. They really are useful, if not a bit technical.

[info]bouncerbutch

September 6 2005, 16:01:38 UTC 6 years ago

More GIMP Love Yah! Memoried, and have tried it once. Did not work exactly the way I wanted it to, but I will have to continue to practice it! I just love the fact that this is easier to use than Grokking the GIMP

Thank you Thankyou!!!!

[info]silentrainfall

September 6 2005, 23:00:25 UTC 6 years ago

People seem to have alot of problems with Grokking the GIMP. Im glad I could simplify it for you. It does take a bit of practice, but if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.

[info]tesana

September 6 2005, 19:53:51 UTC 6 years ago

Great tutorial! I didn't know GIMP could do this!

[info]silentrainfall

September 6 2005, 22:59:03 UTC 6 years ago

The GIMP can do a lot of stuff you don't realize until you mess around with it a lot.

[info]tesana

6 years ago

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[info]r_hr_maniac

October 19 2005, 16:24:38 UTC 6 years ago

Thanks for that tutorial ^_^ but I am a newbie (total newbie actually) and I have one problem...I have Czech version of GIMP...it took me some time to realize that gradient is "přechod" in my language x_x But this is not the problem.

I used the default (forground to backround) and then selected the cursor, but everything what I got was this
What am I doing wrong? Please help me...

[info]silentrainfall

October 19 2005, 22:38:21 UTC 6 years ago

you need to make sure you are puting the gradient on the mask and not the image itself.

[info]vyleishious

October 29 2005, 13:10:03 UTC 6 years ago

i tried your tutorial and wow i can't do it lmao maybe it's just me but i tried blending 3 pics of trent reznor and omg i murdered them lol i will keep practicing though good tutorial

[info]cherryicejess

December 16 2005, 20:02:59 UTC 6 years ago

I'm a total newbie so I need help. I know how to crop but not resize. When I crop the image what do I do next to resize it. I tried to resize the picture but all that came out was a straight line.

[info]silentrainfall

December 16 2005, 20:41:43 UTC 6 years ago

Once you crop you right click. Go to Image > Scale Image and type in the size you want the image to be.

[info]cherryicejess

6 years ago

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[info]cherryicejess

December 16 2005, 20:04:12 UTC 6 years ago

by the way how do you copy and paste? I'm an idiot I know :)

[info]silentrainfall

December 16 2005, 20:44:59 UTC 6 years ago

You're a newbie, and you're only gonna learn if you ask.

To copy and paste I use Hot Keys. select the layer. Then, hit Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste.

Other Helpful Hot Keys
Ctrl+X - Cut
Ctrl+Z - Undo
Ctrl+Y - Redo
Ctrl+K - Clear Selection
Ctrl+I - Invert Selection
Ctrl+A - Select All
Ctrl+Shift+A - Select None

[info]cherryicejess

6 years ago

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[info]cherryicejess

6 years ago

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[info]silentrainfall

6 years ago

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[info]cherryicejess

6 years ago

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[info]silentrainfall

6 years ago

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[info]sundariharmony

December 18 2005, 20:47:02 UTC 6 years ago

Oh my gosh, that's great. Adding to my memories, thanks! ^__^

[info]cherryicejess

December 21 2005, 04:27:00 UTC 6 years ago

what tool do you use to drag the images?

[info]cherryicejess

December 28 2005, 02:30:43 UTC 6 years ago

how do you open a new layer and past an image into it?

[info]salmo23

December 30 2005, 06:29:44 UTC 6 years ago

I am definately putting this into my memories. This is very cool. Thank you for making this tutorial. *thumbsup* XD

~ Laura.

[info]murf1013

April 30 2006, 17:43:33 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you! This is a wonderful tutorial! I had no idea GIMP could do something like that and I would have never been able to figure that out on my own!

*runs off to try it!*

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

[info]jellyfrog

July 8 2006, 06:20:21 UTC 5 years ago

Thanks so much for this tutorial! I can't tell you how helpful it's been. I had no idea how to use layer masks before... Boy, do they make a huge difference! I won't be so afraid of blending from now on. ;)

[info]silentrainfall

July 11 2006, 16:46:03 UTC 5 years ago

happy to alieviate some of your fear. ^_^

[info]kyoku_icons

July 11 2006, 04:00:21 UTC 5 years ago

Great tutorial! SO much help ^_^

[info]silentrainfall

July 11 2006, 16:46:21 UTC 5 years ago

Im glad you like it.

[info]farfrmsomewhere

July 11 2006, 10:59:14 UTC 5 years ago

This is an awesome tutorial. I had no idea how to use layer masks before this. ^__^ One question: does this work for only B&W images or can I apply the same steps to blend color images?

[info]silentrainfall

July 11 2006, 16:48:32 UTC 5 years ago

the same steps can be applied to color images, but you will likely have to mess around with the coloring a bit. I may just write another tutorial using colored images ... may.

[info]farfrmsomewhere

5 years ago

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[info]hana_not_banana

October 1 2006, 14:34:58 UTC 5 years ago

Whenever I drag the layer mask, the other end of the screen erases the image. Is that supposed to happen? If not, what am I doing wrong?

Anonymous

June 14 2009, 21:43:53 UTC 2 years ago

You have to switch the foreground and background colors. (:

[info]tufna_tufna

April 21 2007, 18:34:50 UTC 5 years ago

The same thing happens to me. The image erases and it doesn't fade into the next one. I would really appreciate your help. Thank you.

Anonymous

March 14 2008, 02:45:43 UTC 4 years ago

confused.

same thing happens to me...

[info]anteyelullaby

April 4 2008, 05:21:14 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you so SO much for this! It was exactly what I needed. :D

Anonymous

July 16 2008, 20:24:44 UTC 3 years ago

Thanks!!!

Okay, thanks, but I dont know where the gradient button is!!! WHERE IS IT???

Anonymous

March 29 2011, 05:21:42 UTC 1 year ago

Re: Thanks!!!

Yeah, I con't find it either...

[info]skreyola

December 29 2008, 16:42:30 UTC 3 years ago

I found this useful. Thank you.
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