How to Make a Chain on GIMP

Trace and customize a chain in GIMP.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free digital image editing software which imitates the functioning of a more professional application like Photoshop. To make an image of a chain without any other background image, you can extract a chain image from a photograph and recolor it to your liking. Once you extract and customize the chain you can save, print, add it to a website or make it a part of another image.

Instructions

1. Find a photograph or image of a chain you like. Take a photograph of an old chain if you can’t find an image you like.

2. Upload the image to the computer. Open GIMP and open the chain image in the application. Select the fuzzy select tool. Look in the left toolbox for the icon that looks like a magic wand. Check the “Feather Edges” box in the settings box that appears underneath the selected fuzzy tool.

3. Move the threshold slider from between 1.0 to 2.0. Move the slider up or down if the wand does not select the chain correctly.

4. Click on the chain and continue clicking until the entire chain is outlined in a dashed outline. Right-click on the outlined chain and select the “Copy” option.

5. Open a blank document in GIMP by going to “File” and “New.” Make the document large enough to accommodate the chain image. Press “Ctrl” and “V” simultaneously to paste the chain image to the blank GIMP document.

6. Click the “Layers” tab and click “New Layer.” The new layer will appear above the chain. Select the paint brush tool from the left toolbar. Adjust the brush diameter to 2 to 3 pixels in the setting window that appears under the brush. Select the "Feather Edges" box option to give the line a soft outer edge, otherwise your line will appear choppy and uneven.

7. Click on the chain and start to outline it with the brush. Click the mouse and make a short brush outline and release the click. Click the mouse again and continue to move the brush over the outline. By using this click and release method, when you make a mistake you can click the “Edit” and “Go Back” link to eliminate the last trace you made.

8. Select the eye icon on the bottom chain layer to make the original chain invisible, leaving only the outline.

9. Create another layer on top of the outline by selecting the “Layers” tab and the “New Layer” option. The layer will appear in the layers window.

10. Select the color swatch from the left toolbar and choose the color you want for your chain. Pick up the paint brush again and select the "Feather Edges" box to give the brush a soft edge. Begin to paint the chain. Do not worry if your brush flows out slightly from the outline.

11. Click on the top layer in the layers window and drag the top color layer underneath the chain outline. This will make the color appear under the outline and hide any brush lines that flow out of the outline.

12. Save your chain drawing as a .JPG file by clicking “File” and “Save as.” Name the file and choose .JPG as the file type.

References

• Linuxtopia: Fuzzy Selection Tool
• Red Hat Linux 7.2: Manipulating Images With GIMP