Here, I’ll start with a new file at 600×200. Hit Ctrl-L to open the layers dialog and add a new transparent layer over the white background. From the menu you get from right-clicking on the image, select Image->Guides->New Guide (by percent). Do this twice, with a guide at 50% for both horizontal and vertical so we have a nice centered cross-hair. Now pick the circle-select tool, click on the center of the image, and hold down the Ctrl key as you drag out an oval - the Ctrl key will just keep the oval symmetrical. Use the bucket fill to paint it black. Repeat the process with the oval select inside the black oval and hit Ctrl-K to cut a new oval out of this oval. Use the color-select tool and click on the black frame. Pick the gradient tool and double-click to open its dialog, and select “Shaped (spherical)” for the shape. Click and drag a little inside the oval frame and it will make a gradient rim.

If the frame looks too jaggy, you can Right-click->Filters->Blur->Gaussian Blur to smooth it out. In the layers dialog, create another new layer and add text you want using the text tool. Now, if you didn’t get it centered, just pick the crossed-arrows move tool and select the text, hit Ctrl-X to cut it, and Ctrl-V to paste it back in. It will auto-center. Click off the text to deselect it. In the layers dialog, create one more new layer and use the arrows in the dialog to move it down below the text. Pick the paint bucket tool and this time select “pattern fill” in the paint bucket dialog. Pick a pattern you like and click in the image to fill it - don’t worry, we’ll still have the frame and text in separate layers unaffected.

In the layers dialog, click the top (text) layer to select it, then in the image window Right-click->Layer->Colors->Invert to make the text white. Now Right-click->Filters->Blur->Gaussian Blur and maybe bump the number up to 7.0 or so. We want a fuzzy white text that still retains its shape, because next we’re going to texture the pattern fill using this text as a mask. Now in the layers dialog, click the filled pattern to select it, then in the image Right-click->Map->Bump Map. You want the bump map dialog to use the text layer to apply to the texture, so make sure the very top menu “bump map” is set to use the text. Play with the slider settings until you have a nice shadow effect.

Now we have that white text on top. Select the text layer in the layer dialog, and in the image hit Ctrl-C to copy. Once you’ve done that, it’s best to delete the text layer in the layers dialog. Then in the layer dialog’s image layer click the texture again and right-click and select “Add layer mask”. In the dialog that pops up, select “Black (full transparency)” Don’t worry, it doesn’t change the image until you tell it to! In the image window (be careful you keep the mask of the texture layer selected!) hit Ctrl-V Ctrl-H to paste the text mask in and anchor it to the mask. You now have text shaped and filled with the pattern and a raised 3D effect. If it looks satisfactory, right-click the mask in the layer dialog and select “Apply layer mask”.

In the layer dialog, click the eyeball next to the text layer to turn it off temporarily, then select the frame layer. use the magic wand tool to select the inside of the oval in the image, and fill it with the paint bucket tool and the pattern of your choice. Deselect the oval when you’re done. We can now delete the white background layer (it was just there to keep from going blind looking at the black-and-gray checkers). In the layers dialog select the text layer and in the image RightClick->Script-fu->Shadow->Drop Shadow. You should uncheck “allow resizing” in the drop-shadow layer and customize the settings to suit. You can always try one, then Ctrl-Z to undo it and repeat it with different settings. When the shadow is how you want it, right-click in the layer dialog and pick “merge down” for each layer until only one remains. We can’t just say “flatten image” because we want the background transparent. Save it as a .png.

Note to Windows Internet Explorer users: If the square edges around the oval are not transparent, you need to upgrade to IE7.

It isn’t the most elite logo, but experimenting with different techniques and variations can produce some good, quick logos and banners.

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• Gimp Tutorial - Plastic Text
• How to Beat Up Imus in Gimp
• Free Software Graphics Programs That Aren’t Gimp
• Online Graphics Tools - part 2
• Making bad websites behave with Firefox

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