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05 February 2011
In the first part of this tutorial, I demonstrated how to create a simple metallic button with text cutout. If you haven’t read the first part of this tutorial yet, I suggest you start there by clicking: GIMP Tutorial: How to make a Web 2.0 logo or button – part 1. I neglected to mention at the end of the first part that in order to retain our alpha (transparency) layer, you should either save your file in the native GIMP format (.xcf) which will retain your separate layers and transparency or in Portable Network Graphics format (.png) which will flatten your image but retain transparency.
If you are moving straight to part 2 of this tutorial from part 1, now would be a great time to save your work in case something should happen. I would suggest you save it in .png format.
At the end of part 1, we end up with the following.
Our next step is to add edge bevels. This is simply a matter of selecting “Filters>Decor>Add Bevel” from the menu.
From the “Add Bevel” dialog, we want to set our bevel thickness to 5 pixels. Also, as we aren’t using a Bump Map and want to keep working on our current image directly, we want to uncheck both the “Work on copy” and “Keep bump layer” options. Click “OK” to apply the bevel.
This gives us a nice bevel edge.
I should mention, however, that give doesn’t handle curved bevels exceptionally well. Zooming into your image to 100%% or better, you will notice the curved bevels are somewhat jagged. I’m not really sure what causes this, though I suspect it is something in the “Add Bevel” script itself. While I’ve yet to come up with a reliable solution to this issue, there is a simple trick that will help smooth these out to an acceptable level.
Start by duplicating your layer by pressing “Ctrl+Shift+D” on your keyboard or clicking the “Duplicate” button on your Layers Panel.
From the menu, select “Filters>Blur>Gaussian Blur”.
From the “Gaussian Blur” dialog, increase the horizontal and vertical blur radius to 10 pixels and click “OK”.
From the Layers Panel blend mode drop down menu, select “Value”.
Finally, right-click your duplicate layer in the Layers Panel and select “Merge Down” from the contextual menu.
While this doesn’t solve the issue completely, it does make a noticeable difference.
While this next step isn’t necessary, I find it adds a nice touch. I like to paint sections of the bevel edges with semi-opaque white to create highlights. From the Toolbox, select the “Select by color” tool and click the transparent area of your canvas.
Next, from the menu select “Select>Grow”.
Type in a value of 3 pixels and click “OK”.
Hold down the “Ctrl” key and click once more in the transparent area of your canvas. This will isolate a 3 pixel wide section of all your bevels.
Now, select the Paintbrush tool from the Toolbox. Make sure your foreground color is white and set your brush “opacity” to about 50%.
Paint over all of the leftmost and uppermost bevel selections.
Once you’re done, press Ctrl+Shift+A to deactivate your current selection. Alternatively, select “Select>None>” from the menu. Your highlights should look something like this…
At this point, you will want to save your work. Again, I suggest you save your image in PNG format.
In the final part of this series, we will add a color disc behind our button shield and the requisite 2.0 gloss. To read the 3rd and final part of this series, click : GIMP Tutorial: How to make a Web 2.0 logo or button – part 3
Thanks for reading!
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