Box of tricks, aka adjustment layers

[Espermaschine]

The idea for this thread comes from a conversation with CRogers on G+ and a script package from deviantart.
Somebody was asking when we finally gonna get non destructive adjustment layers as in Photoshop, and i remembered the deviantart script pack which is basically a memory aid for people who dont understand layermodes.

So here are some tricks how to imitate adjustment layers for non destructive image manipulation:

Saturation Adjustment:
create a new black layer on top of your (color) image and set the Mode to 'Color' (you will get a b/w image).

Inversion Adjustment:
create a new white layer on top of your image and set the Mode to 'Difference' (you will get a negative)

Sharpening Adjustment:
get RobA's HighPass Filter script (registry.gimp.org/node/7385), run it on your image and set the new layer to 'Grain Merge' or 'Hard Light' (this will sharpen your image)

Adjust Lights, Darks or Mids:
use this tutorial (clownfishcafe.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/color-pop-on-midtone-grayscale.html) to manipulate specific value parts of an image with a layermask.


Any more non destructive tweaking tricks ??

[Blighty]

Dodging and Burning

Create a new grey (127,127,127) layer above your image. Set the mode to Overlay.
Paint the grey layer with white to dodge, with black to burn.

[Espermaschine]

(10-28-2016, 04:55 PM)Blighty Wrote: Dodging and Burning

Create a new grey (127,127,127) layer above your image. Set the mode to Overlay.
Paint the grey layer with white to dodge, with black to burn.

Cool ! Thats the stuff im looking for.

On a side note: 'Overlay' = 'Soft Light', because of the bug they still havent fixed.

[ian]

I think the High Pass Sharpening adjustment is not really equivalent to an adjustment layer, as it will need refreshing on changes to the layer below.

[Espermaschine]

(11-08-2016, 10:13 AM)ian Wrote: I think the High Pass Sharpening adjustment is not really equivalent to an adjustment layer, as it will need refreshing on changes to the layer below.

I agree, although its still a way to non destructively sharpen an image. Its kind of interactive too, because you can play with the layermode and opacity.