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Extracting a "Dotted Netw...
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Last Post: saint_m
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Batcher and simple animat...
Forum: Tutorials and tips
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10 hours ago
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Background - Foreground -...
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2.10.38---Dock sizes and ...
Forum: Windows
Last Post: IndiePubber
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Scanner menu missing
Forum: General questions
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04-15-2026, 11:26 AM
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Smaller font size main me...
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GIMP 3.0 RC: Text Tool fo...
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Last Post: sallyanne
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Working with layers - a h...
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04-11-2026, 01:26 PM
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apply a certain gradient ...
Forum: General questions
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How do I hide/unhide a *g...
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Last Post: rich2005
04-11-2026, 12:59 PM
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  Extracting a "Dotted Network" skeleton from a glowing raster image for vector editing
Posted by: saint_m - 5 hours ago - Forum: General questions - Replies (1)

good day dearGIMP-Fans,  Smile


first of all - many thanks for your great forum. i am glad to be here - to be a part of your great forum.

today i have a workflow question: i am interested in the extracting a "Dotted Network" skeleton from a glowing raster image for vector editing

the goal: I have a complex raster image (a network of dots/lines on a dark background). I want to "isolate a layer" to get a rough, clean vector skeleton (Base Layer). Later, I will use this skeleton as a foundation to build upon (a Model Layer).

 my base question 1:the right tool Selection
 
Which is the best primary tool for this specific "extraction" step?

a) GIMP: (For curves/threshold) - i guess that this is the tool to use
b) Inkscape: (For bitmap tracing)
c) Krita: hmmm  (For color-to-alpha)

My assumption is to use GIMP to kill the background and Inkscape to trace the dots to vectors. Is there a way to do this purely in one software?

the question here: Isolation Technique
 How do I isolate only the brightest: lines/dots  (..without dragging the "bokeh" (blurry glow) along with them?).....
 - Is it better to work with Layers (e.g., subtracting a blurred layer)?
 - Or is Color Decompose (HSV - Value channel) the standard approach?
 - Are there specific filters (like "Edge Detect" or "Threshold") that preserve the dot structure without making them blobs?

the Question 3: The Vectorization:
 
When using Inkscape's Trace Bitmap, how do I prevent the scattered dots from merging together? The original image has distinct nodes, but the glow connects them. How do I tell the software to separate the "nodes" from the "edges"?

I want to keep this technology-neutral to learn all possible approaches, but I am guess that it best would be gained if i go with GIMP 
to get the workflows done.

look forward to hear from you
 Thanks!

saint_m Smile


-additional: some little & tiny ASCII Graphics that illustrates the "layer--stacking"  .  the"Layer Stacking" concept.

the Figure 1: The Base Extraction
my goal here:  i wanna remove the background glow, and keep the structure.

Quote:
Code:
    [Original Image: Glowing Dots + Dark BG]
                  |
                  v (Threshold & Decompose)
    +---------------------------------------+
    |  EXTRACTED BASE LAYER                 |
    |   .-----o      .-----o                |
    |   |      \    /         |             |
    |   o       o--o       o                |
    |  / \     /    \       / \             |
    | o   o---o      o---o                  |
    |                                 (White lines, Transparent BG) |
    +---------------------------------------+


Figure 2: The Model Layer (Your desired workspace)
the Goal: Lock the base, draw freely on top.





Code:
    +---------------------------------------+
    |  MY_NETWORK (Drawing Layer)           |
    |  (Here I add my new colors/shapes)    |
    +---------------------------------------+
    |  BASE (Reference Layer)               |
    |   .-----o      .-----o                |
    |   |      \    /         |             |
    |   o       o--o       o                |
    +---------------------------------------+
         (Locked, semi-transparent)

Again: what i  want is - the main goal: the Extracting of  a "Dotted Network" skeleton from a example image: " glowExtracting" a "Dotted Network" skeleton from a glowing raster image for vector editinging raster image for vector editing


look forward  to hear from  you 
greetings Smile



ps - see a example -in  this illustration we see many dods - the question - how can we isolate some of them ..!?
   

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  Batcher and simple animation.
Posted by: rich2005 - Yesterday, 11:31 AM - Forum: Tutorials and tips - Replies (2)

Looks like nobody is using Gimp anymore, it is all AI, however Gimp 3 can come in useful at times.

This is using the Gimp 3 plugin Batcher   https://kamilburda.github.io/batcher/

(1) Removing a plain color background from an animation.  It might be something downloaded from one of those animation websites. If it is possible using Color -> Color-to-Alpha then in Batcher these Gimp operations gimp-layer-add-alpha and color-to-alpha

   






(2) Distributing the layers across the canvas using the Gimp 3 Align tool and adding a background with Batcher.

   






Which gives this:

   

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  2.10.38---Dock sizes and movability
Posted by: IndiePubber - 04-14-2026, 08:27 AM - Forum: Windows - Replies (2)

Thinking it might have some features the earlier version doesn't have, yesterday I got the bright idea to upgrade my version of GIMP from 2.8-something to 2.10.38 (the latest I can get that's compatible with my Windows 7 ThinkPad).

I've spent the last few hours trying to make it look and perform the way 2.8 did. (Insert usual excuse about my being a creature of habit.) I've figured out/stumbled onto most of what I need, but one thing eludes me, or maybe two:

Unlike with 2.8, the Tool Options, Toolbox, Navigation pane, and Layers box each seem to be stuck in one place, at one size. They're way taller than they need to be, and take up way too much space. I really didn't mind moving them out of the way when I needed to work on a more zoomed-in view of my image, but I don't seem to have that option here.

Is there a way to resize them and move them around?

Also, when using the Rotation tool, its dialogue box was sitting right on top of the image I was rotating, so I couldn't really see what I was doing. It wouldn't move, either.

Please, I hope there is a way to do this. If not, I may need to revert and forego any improvements 2.10 has to offer.

Thanks!

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  Scanner menu missing
Posted by: SylDer - 04-14-2026, 07:40 AM - Forum: General questions - Replies (9)

Hello, the menu to create an image from a scanner is no longer available.
Is this temporary or an oversight?

Thank you.



Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
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  Smaller font size main menu after some time
Posted by: mmhmjanssen - 04-13-2026, 09:51 AM - Forum: General questions - No Replies

It already happened to me several times that the characters of the main menu, as well as the icons in the control / status bar, suddenly have become very small when I reactivate the program after some time. It happens when I leave VLC Media Player open for a couple of days, switching between hibernation / sleep mode and active mode numerous times during the day.

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Question How do I hide/unhide a *group* of dockable dialogs?
Posted by: Uityyy - 04-11-2026, 05:44 AM - Forum: General questions - Replies (1)

GIMP 3.0.4 has me feeling like a dunce tonight.

I have what I assume is a very, very common scenario, where I'm not finding the solution obvious:

- I am in single-window mode and want to hide all dockable dialogs on the right-hand-side of GIMP.
- I do NOT want to hide everything with <tab> because I still want to use the the toolbox and list of open files while having more space on the right.
- I do NOT want to close every docker on right individually and permanently because then I would have to open each one individually again when I wanted it.

What I am looking for is the equivalent of:
- The Show/hide properties option mapped to F8 by default in MuseScore
- The right-arrow button that collapses the sidebar in LibreOffice Writer
- Or simply resizing the right-hand panel to zero width if it didn't set a minimum width.

This is something I imagine pretty much everyone who has who has ever had GIMP tiled in one half of a single screen and reference materials tiled on the other half will have wanted to do at least once, so I would be shocked if in the entire 25+-year history of GIMP development no one has been bugged by this enough to implement a solution -- yet none of the familiar ones seem to be present. What am I missing?

Thanks,
Timothy Gaskell
GIMP user since way back when the only way to get to the main menu was to right-click the canvas -- but still not good at it.

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  apply a certain gradient color-sheme to a image:
Posted by: saint_m - 04-11-2026, 02:01 AM - Forum: General questions - Replies (4)

good day dear experts,  Smile


in this thread - i have learned alot:  i have seen, that there  were awesome color-shemes. 

the thread: c.f.  https://www.gimp-forum.net/Thread-color-...al-example

i (we all) have learned - that we can use wonderful color shemes - such as: LCH  - Lightness, Chroma, and Hue: 

Quote:LCH stands for Lightness, Chroma and Hue. It is pretty similar to HSL but is modelled after human vision. Oftentimes, it is referred to as HCL color mode.

HCL or LCH - however you may want to call it, provides a consistent lightness of colors as perceived by human eyes. I prefer this color mode as it enables us to generate gradients with consistent lightness. Here’s an example:

cf.  https://www.prasannamestha.com/blog/scie...-gradients


well - i want o apply this on a image: - see here a shematic view: 

Code:
colorize this from left to right - with  LCH
+---------------------------------------+
|  Base-plane                           |
|   .-----o      .-----o                |
|   |      \    /      |                |
|   o       o--o       o                |
|  / \     /    \     / \               |
| o   o---o      o---o   o              |
+---------------------------------------+
-.. how to apply the gradient from left  to right


the base plane: with  a network 

what is aimed: i want to colorize this from left to right - with LCH


should i do this with - some kind of layers - where i have the gradient of the LCH stored in!?


look forward to hear from you 

regard

Saint M Smile

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  Gimp 3.2.2 (and 3.0) text tool problems
Posted by: SteveBros - 04-10-2026, 08:09 PM - Forum: General questions - Replies (1)

I installed Gimp 3.2.2 and the text tool does not work (same problem in 3.0). When selecting a font, instead of selecting the font, it just displays my partial search string. Also, when I click on a text layer, the font size is changed to a seemingly random and large font size. After the text is changed I cannot undo it either! Any ideas? I think 2.10.38 is working okay. macOS Ventura.

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  Working with layers - a headstart of a beginner...
Posted by: saint_m - 04-10-2026, 01:59 PM - Forum: General questions - Replies (3)

good day dear experts, hello everyone, 


i am currenty workin on some preliminary steps for a new project. 

i want to show a little image for illustration.  Therefore i need a image with some dots. 

I have a basic-image (which i want to use as a starting point.)
 

well -i need only the dots - that are blue  - not the green ones and not the yellow ones. 

how to achive this: 

well i think that i can work here with layers - or "masks" : can ´t i? 

that saidL i think that we re able to - let us say "to isolate  a certain amount oif the dots"

So - if i could work with layers - then i would be able to achive  a image where i only have a certain amound of dots left - the (above menitoned) blue ones 

How would you do that: - how would you try to achieve that - to make sure that only this blue dots remain.

so the question is:  – how would you approach this, what's the best way to proceed? Should I use layers or masks?

I think it should be possible to isolate a single color here – to focus on the dots with only  one certain color - the blue oner: , so to speak – and extract them - so that those dots are  what remains in the end.

Should I do this with layers (or layers) or masks?


   


i think that this is a gerneral Beginner question - and yes:  if i can do this - if i achive this - then i guess that i would be able to lots of other things more with GIMP

Loook forward to hear from you 

greetings Smile

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  color scala - how to define the colors right : with a real example
Posted by: saint_m - 04-09-2026, 02:44 PM - Forum: General questions - Replies (5)

good day dear friends, Smile

currently working on the preparing of a new graphic.

here i need to define the  color scala - how to define the colors right 


see the example which is me reference - scale of colors: 


   


how to define the colors - can you gives some reference points (/or colors) here .. in hexa..


i guess that we have the following 


yellow #FFFF00 255,255,0
 
yellow1 #FFFF00 255,255,0
yellow2 #EEEE00 238,238,0
yellow3 CDCD002 05,205,0
yellow4 #8B8B00 139,139,0

DarkOrchid4 #68228B 104,34,139
DarkViolet #9400D3 148,0,211
LavenderBlush FFF0F5 55,240,245

blue 0000FF 0,0,255
blue1 #0000FF 0,0,255
blue2 #0000EE 0,0,238
blue3 #0000CD 0,0,205


orange #FFA500 255,165,0
orange1 #FFA500 255,165,0
orange2 #EE9A00 238,154,0
orange3 #CD8500 205,133,0
 

hmm - do they fit right -!?
 
look forward to hear from you 

greetings  Smile

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