Tutorial - Gimp - Logo Design

[hexdef101]

Ok I have been commenting and giving advice on a couple of posts and I figured that I should just create some Gimp Tutorial's. This is the first one.

This tutorial will explain how to create a couple versions of my Apple-esque Logos. In fact the main design of Apple's logo is pathetically simple to recreate using a few simple steps.like these

[img]http://th07.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/f/2013/236/d/c/logo_linux_mint_candy_by_hexdef101-d6jj2u5.png[/img]
[img]http://th01.deviantart.net/fs71/200H/f/2013/249/8/a/mint_metallic_by_hexdef101-d6l9348.png[/img]
[img]http://th02.deviantart.net/fs71/200H/f/2013/299/d/a/mint_leaf_by_hexdef101-d6ru6qn.png[/img]


Oh do not add follow up posts as I will be filling this up with other Parts as I go along, if you need to ask questions or comment go here. [url]http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&p=790464#p790464[/url]

[hexdef101]

first lets start with the simplest version IE the current shaded one.

first step.

Template shape.

For any Mint Logo you need a starting point (unless you want to make one from scratch) Lucky for you thats not necessary as I have taken the liberty of doing it myself and I see no reason why you cannot just use mine.

[url=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/335/0/b/blank_mint_logo_by_hexdef101-d6wdqgt.png][img]http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/200H/f/2013/335/0/b/blank_mint_logo_by_hexdef101-d6wdqgt.png[/img][/url]

this is a straight link to the image on DeviantArt . without passing through the main page

[hexdef101]

Now on to the steps

1. open template image with gimp. this will be your first and only layer.

with the fuzzy select tool set the threshold to 99, and click the template. This should only select the gray area.

Now using either the [Delete] key, or Menu/Edit/Cut, Or just [Ctrl]+[X] delete the color portion. do not unselect the area though, if you do you will have to undo [Ctrl]+[Z] to get it back (be forewarned gimp doesn't keep all steps in memory so you can undo, occasionally it drops the earlier ones and you will have to start over)

step 2. select the [Blend tool]. Now with your colors set to Black and White (if not click the little black & white squares to set them). Set the Gradient to FG to Transparent.

Move your curser to the Lower right corner, click and drag to the upper left corner. you may need to zoom out and move slightly outside the area to get just the right shading.

export to .Png or save to .Xcf (don't know which version of gimp you are using) and your done.

or thus

[img]http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/150/f/2013/335/9/c/mint_shade_by_hexdef101-d6wdxj0.png[/img]

Why did I start with this simple one, well you will build off of this effect for other logos.

[hexdef101]

ok next version.

this one is also simple

Step 1

open another seperate image any will do just as long as its bigger then your template. [url]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Mint-leaves-2007.jpg[/url]

Wiki Commons is a good source for stock images though I also suggest [url]http://www.photos-public-domain.com/[/url]


step 2.
resize the image so that it fits the size of your template, Do this by Menu/Image/Scale Image... set the height to 1046 and click scale.

copy the image to clipboard or [Ctrl]+

step 3 .

Add second layer[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N] to your template image set to transparent

copy your other image to this second layer and Anchor it [Ctrl]+[H]

Step 4.

Masking.

Open the Layers Toolbox [Ctrl]+[L] (mine is always on)

select the base layer, thats your gray template. Fuzzy Select area outside the gray area, then select the top layer.
as you see your selection is still highlighted.

Right Click the layer in Layer Toolbox, Add Layer mask - set to White

Bucket Fill the to Black. now your image should be shaped like the template

Right Click Layer Toolbox And Apply Mask

step 5 Merge Visible Layers [Ctrl]+[M] and save. your done

[hexdef101]

Xtra

I've decided to take a few moments to discuss a few other bits of information that will go a long way in any art project and may come up in further parts of this tutorial.

Color.

Color is an important factor in designing any image, much less a specific part. Playing around with the color selector is all fine and good, but one needs a set of go to colors to work with. when replicating any design from apple's or other design sources its important to get the colors right.

using an earlier tutorial icon I worked up as an example (the YP icon) it will not look right unless you know the colors. use google to search a YP icon save it to desktop and open it in gimp or just use this one
[img]http://ipadinsight.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/YPYellowPagesIcon.jpg[/img]

Now with your Color Picker Tool select the outer color in this case it will be #e3a829 ███████
this will be your base color. using the template I gave you fuzzy select the gray template and bucket fill with that color.

here is a handy guide to go to if you need a helpful color guide
Html Color Guide
[url=http://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm][img]http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/335/e/1/color_picker_by_hexdef101-d6wetof.png[/img][/url]

I would suggest taking the time to create a helpful cheat sheet of colors that you like and want to use alot. just create a new image use the Rectangle Select Tool select small squares and Bucket Fill them with your favorite colors and save as .png

[hexdef101]

ok on to glass

version 1

1. open any nature wallpaper
2. add transparent layer
2. open your mint template, copy/paste it to new layer, and anchor it
3. make duplicate layer of logo layer.
4, set the top layer color to black
5. set 2nd layer to white, with no area selected Gaussian Blur the white layer by 49,add layer mask (white), temporarily select black layer, select the outer area, return to your white layer and Bucket Fill the outer area of the mask with black, apply mask.
6. set the black layer to Overlay, white layer set to normal with opacity of 50 (or whatever suits your mood and background,and Merge Visible layers.

you can use other methods of course but this is the simple method. note only seems to work with photographic backgrounds.

notes.
resize your initial logo blank to whatever size you are going for. 300 works well for large images, adjust size for smaller backgrounds.
larger images require higher Gaussian Blur amounts on the white layer
if you change the settings of the white layer from Normal to something else you can get some interesting effects.
play with opacity levels to get different color effects.
you can use my shadow method to add a drop shadow. if you do you need to cut out the center of the shadow layer so that your glass layers show.