How to: Using Paintbrushes in the Gimp (Part 2 of 2)

In Part 1: How to Create a Paintbrush in the Gimp, I showed you how to take an image and turn it into a paintbrush.

In Part 2, I will teach you how to use paintbrushes by showing you how I created the "Tutorial" button above.  Do not let the number of steps below overwhelm you. It really is quite simple and just a few mouse-clicks. I am known for over-explaining things.  If you have a question, please ask! I love to share knowledge!

Here are the supplies you need:

1. The GIMP (free download link)
2. A couple of paintbrushes (refer to Part 1: How to Create a Paintbrush in the Gimp)
3. Your Font choices

Step 1: Create a new file in the Gimp. Any size will do, but 600 px wide X 400 px high is a decent size.

Step 2: Select the Paintbrush tool from the Toolbox.

• Select the shape from the "Brushes" dialog box.
• Select the scale by increasing and decreasing the slider on the scale.

Step 3: Click & release on the workspace where you want the image to stay. You can try to center it perfectly (or you have an option for cheating in Step 4).

Step 4 (optional): To center it perfectly, we will crop the image around the shape.

• With the "Fuzzy Border Tool" selected, click the white background space
• From the Select menu, click "Invert" 
• From the Image menu, click "Crop to Selection"

Step 5: Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each additional image you want to add

Step 6: Add your text

At this point, the only thing left is to save it. Go to the "File" Menu, click "Save a Copy".

Choose .jpg as the file type.

Click "Export" if the screen below pops up:

When this screen pops up, click "Save":

And, now you have a beautifully designed image!

Credits:

A huge thank you to Sugarflies Designs for allowing me to use her images in this tutorial.  She designed both the whimsical outline shape and the cute, little owl.

Check out her beautiful designs in her her Etsy store and become a fan on Facebook.

How to Create a Paintbrush in The Gimp (Part 1 of 2)

You should learn how to create and use Toolbrushes in the Gimp because it will make your life so much easier! Don't believe me? The "Tutorial" image above was created using only two tools and just a couple mouse clicks: Text & Paintbrush. The outline shape is a paintbrush. The owl is a paintbrush. A few mouse clicks and the rest is text. Cool, right?

So, what is a paintbrush? The way that I am using the "paintbrush" tool is like a stamp...click once, release and the image stays. Click through for a demonstration of how to use the paintbrush.

I am going to create a paintbrush (aka stamp) of Fritz.

1. Open the file in The Gimp (Free Download link)
2. Click the "Fuzzy Select Tool":



3. Click on the white area (background).
   TIP: When creating a brush, you should only select the white areas you want to get rid. For example, I do not want to get rid of the skin on Fritz's face:



4. Invert the Selection by clicking on the Select Menu --> Invert:



5. Press the Delete button on your keyboard and the background changes to a gray checkerboard (gray background = transparent background):



6. Save the file as a .gbr file in the brushes folder:
NOTE: If you are a Windows user, it is located here:
C:/Users/YOUR NAME HERE/.gimp-2.6/brushes

Congratulations! You now have a paintbrush. Read the follow-up tutorial on how to use the paint brush.