Hello. After read some GIMP tutorials and practised a little bit, I feel like that I can make an image like in this example:

gopher://sdf.lonestar.org/I/users/weiwu/trans_sample.jpeg

Looks really simple, I can do this image in OpenOffice Draw in 3 mintues: open the photo, create a shape of rounded square, put it above the photo, adjust opacity, put text above the rounded square.

Now this is what I did in GIMP, spending me 4 hours: 1) try very very hard to make a rounded square path using path tool. The path handle seems never be in the right position to make a good looking round corner;
2) fill the path with gray color (white background), now call it layer "mask";
3) insert the photo in another layer, create a mask on this photo layer, copy the whole content of layer "mask" into the photo layer's mask; 4) create a background that is completely white; 5) hide layer "mask";
6) now put a text layer on top of everything and it's done.

This is not only too complicated, but not easy to adjust. e.g. if I wish to make the opacity of the rounded square a bit more transparent, in OpenOffice I need to specify higher opacity value (one step). In GIMP I need to:

1) show layer "mask"; 2) fill the rounded square with ligher gray; 3) copy this layer and past to the photo layer's mask;

I think I must have done something very wrong, to mess up this simple process so complicated. Is my way wrong? Is there a better way? Do I simply have wrong concept of masks?

-- Zhang Weiwu Real Softservice
International business: http://www.realss.com International sales: 0086 10 84606011 Inland business: http://www.realss.cn Inland sales call: 0086 592 2099987 Sent from Pine: http://www.washington.edu/pine/

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006, Akkana Peck wrote:

Zhang Weiwu writes:

Hello. After read some GIMP tutorials and practised a little bit, I feel like that I can make an image like in this example:

gopher://sdf.lonestar.org/I/users/weiwu/trans_sample.jpeg

Looks really simple, I can do this image in OpenOffice Draw in 3 mintues: open the photo, create a shape of rounded square, put it above the photo, adjust opacity, put text above the rounded square.

Now this is what I did in GIMP, spending me 4 hours:

Yikes! No, it's really easy in GIMP, and it's basically the same steps as in a vector drawing program, except that you have to create the layer explicitly (which a vector drawing program does with every new object).

1. Open the photo. 2. Make a new layer (click the New button in the Layers dialog). 3. Use the rect select tool to select the rectangle. 4. Round the selection with "Rounded Rectangle" (in the Select menu). 5. Fill it with white (Edit->Fill with FG should do it if you haven't changed colors from the default). 6. Adjust opacity with the slider in the Layers dialog. 7. Add the text (which will be a third layer).

I didn't quite follow why you were using a layer mask, but it's not needed for a simple task like this.

Ah, thank you, this works fine for me! I think I must have wrong concept.