How to Produce Glossy Text in GIMP

The very first step is to open a new document by clicking File > New. The Create a New Image box that opens offers a selection of different templates that you can use to create your text. The document size that you select will depend on how you intend to use your finished text. If you intend to use the piece in a web page, you might select one of the first few pre-set sizes that are described in pixel sizes. You can see in the image that I've selected A5 (300ppi) which would give me a finished piece that would be of a suitable resolution for printing.

The next step is to add some text using the GIMP Text Editor. Click on the Text Tool and then click on the blank page. This opens the Text Editor, into which you can type the text that you want to use. Click the Close button when finished.

You should notice that below the Tools Palette, the Text Options Palette is visible and you can use the Font and Size controls to set the text up as you require. I've selected Arial Heavy as this effect is more clearly demonstrated on bold or black fonts, however, do feel free to experiment with different styles of font - the result can be quite variable.

Now we need to duplicate the text to give us a new layer that we can work on.

In the Layers Palette, click on the new text layer and then duplicate that layer by clicking the duplicate layer button in the bottom bar of the Layers Palette as outlined in the image.

The next step is to isolate the upper part of the text by applying a layer mask.

This is a simple step carried out by selecting the Rectangle Tool and dragging a rectangle shape over the top half of the text. This is the part of the text to which we will apply a gradient to give the effect of a glossy surface.

The rectangle selection is now used to add a layer mask.

We can add a layer mask by right-clicking on the top text layer in the Layers Palette and click on Add Layer Mask from the context menu. In the Add Layer Mask window that opens, click the Selection radio button and click Add.

If you now look in the Layers Palette, you will see a new icon has appeared by the upper layer which indicates the mask. The white area in the icon represents the part of the layer which is visible and the black area, which includes the lower part of the text, is now invisible. You can read more about how layer masks work and how to use them in this tutorial describing how to apply a vignette effect to a photo.

The penultimate step is to lock the top layer's pixels and select the gradient colors.

With the Rectangle Tool still selected, click on the page somewhere outside of the rectangle selection to deselect it. Before using the Gradient Tool, we need to lock the pixels on the layer, so that transparent pixels will remain transparent. You do this by clicking the top layer's icon (not the layer mask icon) and then click the Lock checkbox in the top part of the layers palette.

Before adding the gradient, click on the lower color box in the Tools Palette and in the color mixer that opens, select a pale gray and click OK. If the other color box isn't already black, click on that and select black.

The final step is to apply the gradient to this top layer. First select the Gradient Tool from the Tools Palette. Now click on the page just below the top line of the text and, while holding the mouse button down, drag the mouse downwards to about halfway down the text and release the mouse button.

If you're not happy with result, just go Edit > Undo and try applying the gradient again.

This is a simple technique that can be used in many different ways to add a little interest to text or shapes.

Variations

• Use the Pen Tool to create a layer mask with a curved lower edge to give the glossy effect a more organic appearance.
• Experiment with different colors and adjusting the layer opacity of the gradient layer.
• Use the same technique to produce shapes with glossy surfaces.