If you’re tired of using the same flat coloured elements that you feel your layouts need some major makeover, then it might be time to learn another GIMP trick. So we are giving you this wonderful tutorial to send in a shower of positive glow to your elements, that is, by adding glitters to them using GIMP.

Let’s get started!

Adding Glitters to your Elements with GIMP

Open GIMP and create a new file.

Add a new transparent layer. For tutorial purposes, we will use the star brush for our sample element.

Make this layer active and select the shape using the Fuzzy Select Tool or Color Selector Tool.

First, let’s add a blur into our star, go to Filter> Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the blur radius to 8 px.

To make it look like a little embossed, we’ll use the Bump Map technique. Just copy this settings:

Our star is now ready for glitters! Go to Filter > Noise > RGB Noise. Use
.20 on all values then click OK.

Say hi to our glittery star!

Note: You can take out the white background before saving the star as .png file to make it transparent

Here is what’s new in July!

Learn more about the things we added for July here.