Emphasing the dialog

After having applied the fade effect, we now add an emphasis to the dialog. Starting point is the picture after addition of the white background and merging of all layers.

Starting point for emphasis

1. Create a new layer in the picture in the "Layers" window. Set its default filling to "transparent".

   
   

   
   New layer dialog

   
   

2. After addition, check whether the new layer really is

   • on top of the stack,

   • selected and therefore the one you are working on.

   As the new layer is all-transparent, you won't see anything of it at this stage.

   
   

   
   Layer configuration for emphasis work

   
   

3. We will have to do pixel-exact work now. Therefore, click on the glass tool to magnify the picture display.

   
   

   
   Glass tool selection

   
   

4. Click into the main window to magnify the display. Then move the scroll bars and resize the window so that the complete area-to-be-emphaized is shown on the screen.

   
   

   
   Screen composition for emphasis work.

   
   

5. Take the rectangular region selection tool from the GIMP's main menu.

   
   

   
   Rectangular region selection

   
   

6. Select the menu region. It is composed out of two rectangles, one around the menu bar item ("Project"), one around the actual menu. To archieve the unified selection, follow these steps:

   • Point to the lower left corner of the menu and press the mouse button.

   • Drag the selection box to the upper right corner.

   • Release the mouse button. The menu is selected.

   • Point the mouse exactly to the left border of the selection rectangle.

   • Press the "Shift" button on the keyboard. A small "+" is attached to the mouse cursor.

   • Press the mouse button. Drag the mouse. A selection square opens.

   • Release the "Shift" button. The "+" is persistant at the mouse cursor but you are now free again to drag any non-square selection regions.

   • Move the mouse pointer to the upper right corner of the menu bar item "Project".

   • Release the mouse button. The new selection is added to the current one.

   Pressing "Shift" for unifying region selections (or "Ctrl" for intersecting ones) works with all selection tools.

   
   

   
   Selection of emphaised area

   
   

7. Select the fill tool again and click on the foreground color in the GIMP's main menu. Change the foreground color to red.

   
   

   
   Fill tool and color selection

   
   

8. Click into the selected area. It will be totally filled with red hiding the menu completely.

   
   

   
   Fill the selected area

   
   

9. Go again to the "Layers" window. Change the overlay settings for the emphazing layer. Its overlay mode should be changed to "Multiply/Burn" and the opacity to something around 30.

   
   

   
   Overlay settings

   
   

10. Cool. The red color is now semi-transparent and does not hide the menu any more, but emphazes it as it was planned.

    
    

    
    Emphaized menu

    
    

11. As with the fade effect creation, it is possible now to merge the layers.