Over 50 recipes to produce amazing graphics with the GIMP Recipes for working with the GIMP, the most powerful open source graphics package in the world Straightforward instructions guide you through the tasks to unleash your true creativity without being hindered by the system Part of Packt's cookbook series practical and efficient In Detail The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring, and is a viewed by many as a rival to commercial applications like Photoshop. The GIMP is one of Open Source's legendary applications renowned for its power and flexibility, but daunting to new users and with a steep learning curve to mastery. This book is packed with answers to get you preparing great images with the GMP immediately. Even if you are a relative novice to this powerhouse application, the straightforward instructions will guide you through the tasks to unleash your true creativity without being hindered by the system. GIMP 2.6 Cookbook begins with simple tasks like drawing and painting and then moves into the deeper and more rewarding areas of filters, effects, text, and fonts. You will learn how to create fantastic logos, scintillating effects, and beautiful backgrounds. Experiment with color and sharpness and also create a web design layout for your website. Imagine how great you will feel when you are equipped to create wonderful images that can give your website a much-deserved makeover. Straightforward instructions guide you through tasks with the GIMP to unleash your true creativity without being hindered by the complexity of the system. What you will learn from this book Draw and paint using the GIMP Use filters and effects to modify an image as per your needs Play with text and fonts to create logos, 3D text, and glowing effects Manipulate images by scaling, cropping, flipping, and rotating Play with color and sharpness to create exciting and unexpected results Create a simple web design layout with glossy buttons, blog template, and headers Create beautiful and attractive images that can work as website backgrounds Install and use plugins and scripts Approach This book is part of Packt's Cookbook series. A Packt Cookbook contains step-by-step recipes for solutions to the most important problems you face when working with a topic. Inside this Cookbook you will find: A straightforward and easy-to-follow format A selection of the most important tasks and problems Carefully organized instructions for solving the problem efficiently Clear explanations of what you did Details for applying the solution to other situations Who this book is written for This book is for anyone who wants great images, without worrying about how a system as powerful as the GIMP works to get them. If you're a graphic designer, a photographer, or just want to prepare images for the Web, you will find the answers you need here.