layer effects

LayerGroups subsystem for Gimp

melocotone — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:23:53 +0200

LayerGroups subsystem for Gimp

New version 1.0a, uploaded June 30, 2009

LayerGroups is a comprehensive layer groups subsystem for GIMP. It allows the creation of groups and subgroups of layers without limitation, based on the layer names. It allows you to hide or show many layers simultaneously, link or unlink them, rename them, delete them, duplicate them in the same image or to another image, move them up or down in the layer stack (raise or lower) in relation to a specific reference layer, generate external image files (for example png, gif, jpeg etc) from each of the layers of the group, and several other operations.

The selection of layers for the group can be enhanced with filters, for example only layers that are linked, or contain a specific keyword in the name.

LayerGroups contains a built-in help system that works two ways: when you are on the GIMP menu system with the mouse above one of the menu options you get a multi-line window with help and instructions on how to use the specific functionality and when you are in the dialog box where you enter the parameters, there is a menu that you can open to read the same help text. This help system is prepared in such a way that it can be easily translated into other languages, like French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, etc.

LayerGroups has been thoroughly tested in a project with images containing hundreds of layers where most of the mentioned layer group functionality was required. As a useful spill off, the LayerGroups script contains many generic script-fu functions that could be very useful in other scripts for GIMP. It has been tested under Windows XP and Vista with Gimp Portable version 2.6.6 and under Ubuntu Linux, Gimp version 2.6.6. To install the script, copy the script file "mig-gimp-layer-groups.scm" to the scripts directory and from GIMP execute the menu option Filters->Script-Fu->Refresh scripts. You should get a new main menu option labeled 'LayerGroups' between 'Filters' and 'Windows'.

New version 1.0a: features

The new version 1.0a has a built in option to allow the LayerGroups subsystem to be placed under the 'Layer' menu of the Gimp image window. By the default you get a new 'LayerGroups' menu entry directly in the Gimp Image window. If you change the script file at line 35 - which contains the text '#f' in the first 2 characters - (change the 2nd character in that line from 'f' to 't') the 'LayerGroups' menu entry will become a sub-menu entry of the 'Layer' menu entry. Use any text editor to edit the 'mig-gimp-layer-groups.scm' file. For example, under Windows you can use NotePad to edit the file. Make sure the saved file maintains the extension '.scm'

This new version contains some bug corrections and new functionality. The new functionality includes 'delete linked layers', 'reverse the stack order of a layer group' and 'reverse the stack order of the currently linked layers'.

Average Layer

oeller — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:58:02 +0200

This script is intended for a series of photographs with (on each photgraph different) unwanted objects on it, e.g. a large place with moving people.

Update!

V1.1 works with rectangular selections! The plugin creates a new layer or a new image consisting of the arithmetical, geometrical or harmonic mean of every pixel, thereby creating a 'ghost effect' of the moving objects. If rather you want to remove objects, choose the 'cutoff' function, which removes outlier pixels after sorting the RGB values. This is also known as winsorizing. Also median and mode remove outliers, but less efficiently.

For best results, try to cutoff only on dark, bright or on both sides. Working on selections only greatly improves speed. Just make a rectangular selection in your image and then call the "Average Layer" script.

This was inspired by reports of a friend of mine on a Photoshop plugin, which also removes unwanted objects from a series of photographs. I haven't seen it myself nor do I know the algorithm behind it. If someone knows better algorithms than winsorizing means, tips are welcome!

Prerequisites

You need Scipy, a scientific computing package for python. Get it at the Scipy homepage.

Example

Before:

After arithmetical mean with 67% cutoff (dark outlier pixels):

Some shades are still left, one might correct this quite easily with other tools.

Layer Effects

JonStipe — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:43:37 +0100

This is a series of scripts that implement various layer effects:

Drop Shadow
Inner Shadow
Outer Glow
Inner Glow
Bevel and Emboss
Satin
Color Overlay
Gradient Overlay
Pattern Overlay
Stroke

Some effects can have contours (a.k.a. curves) and noise added to them. Effects can either be applied on a separate layer, or be merged into the active layer (which in some cases gives better results).

Tested with GIMP 2.4.2.

Updated 6/9/2009:

Stroke now supports gradients and patterns! (Python version only)
Better undo handling in the Python version.
Various bugfixes.

Updated 11/15/2008:

The Python version now has live previewing! With the "Preview" checkbox active, the preview now updates automatically every time you change a setting!
New "Reapply Effects" function: Reapplies all effects that have been applied to the current layer. If you change anything on the layer, use this to update all the effects in one go! (Mind you, this only works for effects that were not applied using the "Merge with layer" option.)
Various bugfixes.

Updated 09/02/2008:

Bugfix in Script-Fu version.

Updated 07/19/2008:

You can now scale patterns in pattern overlays. (Python version only.)

Updated 07/08/2008:
This script has now been rewritten as a Python plugin! This adds several new features that weren't possible in Script-Fu!

You can now preview effects! Click the "Preview" button to see what it will look like with the currently selected settings.
The plugin now records the settings used to make an effect, so now you can reapply it! Run the same effect plugin on the same layer again, and it recovers the previous settings for that layer and shows them in the dialog box. You can then change the settings and apply the effect again, and it will replace the original effect layer! (Note: This will only work if you don't select "Merge with layer". Once an effect has been merged into the layer, it can't be removed or changed.)

Updated 04/21/2008:

Bugfix

Updated 03/02/2008:

Added grayscale support
Bugfixes

How to install (Script-Fu version):

Right-click on the link below that says "layerfx.scm". A pop-up menu should appear. Click "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." or whatever the equivalent option in your browser is.
Save the file "layerfx.scm" in your scripts folder. If you're not sure where your scripts folder is, you can check by opening GIMP and going to <Toolbox>/File/Preferences -> Folders -> Scripts. If more than one folder is shown, then any one of them will work.
Once you have saved the file in your scripts folder, if you are already running GIMP, either click <Toolbox>/Xtns/Script-Fu/Refresh Scripts, or just close and reopen GIMP.
If you have done this correctly, the scripts will appear in the menu under <Image>/Script-Fu/Layer Effects. If this menu is not there, try clicking <Toolbox>/Xtns/Script-Fu/Refresh Scripts. If it's still not there, make sure the file is in your scripts folder and that the filename ends with ".scm", not ".txt" or ".scm.txt" or something.

How to install (Python version):

Right-click on the link below that says "layerfx.py". A pop-up menu should appear. Click "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." or whatever the equivalent option in your browser is.
Save the file "layerfx.py" in your plug-ins folder. If you're not sure where your plug-ins folder is, you can check by opening GIMP and going to <Toolbox>/File/Preferences -> Folders -> Plug-Ins. If more than one folder is shown, then any one of them will work.
If you're on a UNIX system, make sure layerfx.py is executable by typing this in the shell:
chmod +x layerfx.py
On other operating systems, you might have to do something else to make it executable.
Once you have saved the file in your plug-ins folder, if you are already running GIMP, close and reopen it.
If you have done this correctly, the scripts will appear in the menu under <Image>/Layer/Layer Effects, and <Layers>/Layer Effects. If these menus are not there, close and reopen GIMP. If they're still not there, make sure the file is in your plug-ins folder, that it is executable, that you have Python support installed, and that the filename ends with ".py", not ".txt" or ".py.txt" or something.