The Paths Tool in GIMP is ideal for simple cartoon type pictures, such as if you want to draw a ghost character. Ghosts are great for beginner drawing tutorials in GIMP because they are quite a simple shapes, but can be elaborated and embellished.
This tutorial relies upon the Paths Tool in GIMP and if you're not familiar with the tool, you can read this How to Use the GIMP Paths Tool article before pressing on.
I find drawing fun characters like this freehand very difficult, so if you're the same, you may find this technique to draw a ghost useful and adaptable, perhaps for a Halloween design.
1. Open a New Document
Go to File > New to open a blank document.
2. Draw a Ghost Outline
This probably sounds easier said than done at first, but the Paths Tool allows you to easily break down the outline into short sections which can be easily edited. This gives the Paths Tool a real advantage over the Pencil and Brush Tools.
If you find it difficult to draw a ghost, click on the thumbnail and try and copy the simple shape that I drew, one section at a time. Remember to make every line a curved section so that you can adjust the degree of each curve and don't forget that you can click on a node and drag it to reposition it.
Note: If the outline disappears, open the Paths palette and double-click on the icon representing the outline to make it visible and active.
3. Add Eyes
The eyes are a very simple shape to draw using just three nodes.
Click to add a node at the bottom left, then add one above and to the right, curving the line between. Then add the bottom right node, again curving the line, before closing the shape, by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on the first node. When you've added the second eye, if you're not happy with the position of the eyes, you can move them. To move a whole eye, click on one of the nodes, then hold down the Shift key and click the other two nodes. Now, when you click on a node and drag it, the other nodes will move simultaneously.
4. Add a Mouth
You can get away with just adding eyes, but a mouth can help to make your ghost more friendly.
You can make the mouth as complex as you like, but, as with the eyes, I used just three nodes to form the mouth.
5. Turn the Paths to Lines
At this point, the ghost drawing is only a set of paths and these need to be changed to outlines.
In the Paths palette, right-click on the ghost path and select Stroke Path to open the Stroke Paths dialog. You can experiment with these settings but I used the Stroke Line option with a Line width of six pixels and Solid color. Click the Stroke button to apply the outline.
Note: The Stroke tool uses the currently selected foreground color, so be sure to select your desired color before applying the stroke.
6. Fill the Eyes and Mouth
You may prefer to draw a ghost with outlined features, but filling the eyes and mouth with solid black is very straightforward.
Click on the Fuzzy Select Tool in the Toolbox (the Magic Wand icon). Now click inside one of the eyes and you'll see an active selection. Next hold down the Shift key and click inside the other eye and the mouth. Go to Select > Grow and in the Grow Selection dialog, set it to one pixel and click OK. Finally go to Edit > Fill with FG Color, followed by Select > None.
7. Conclusion
This is an easy little tutorial to draw a ghost in GIMP and practice using the Paths Tool. If you're like me and not a natural cartoonist, you should find that this technique makes it easier to produce results that you'll be happy with. If you're producing a Halloween design, why not have a look at my dripping blood text tutorial to enhance it even further.