GIMP and clothing design

Hi all:

I'm using GIMP, with Chip's templates to creating clothing.
Here are my questions:

I went through a shirt tutorial, where the person said to use the Paths tool to make the collar, etc. I'm using the same tool, to eliminate part of the shirt that im making that I dont want in the shirt itself. I was wondering if there was another way that I could do that without using the Paths tool.

In addition, I've been using the lasso tool to trace out the section of the template that I want to use for my shirt, then filling it in with the texture. What I would LIKE to do, is just be able to paint along the seams and such, and perhaps trace an outline out and such with the shirt, instead of it going outside of it with the lasso tool.

Do I just create another layer, and work with that instead, and then paint that layer with the texture, in the lines and save that as the finished product?

Any help would be appreciated. I really like GIMP, so much easier than the PSP that i have!

i made a chain mail bustier using his template. and what i did was make a new layer and work on that.. with his template as the background texture.(guidelines)

If you create a new layer the same size as his template..usually it'll be all white..then add alpha to the the new layer and change white to alpha..then you'll have an all transparent texture..Cntl + L shows either the layers window for that new template or his template..open the layer window for your transparent template and drag and drop it ontop of his template..then in the layer window youll see two templates..transparent and and his.

If you highlight your transparent layer(it should highlight blue) then anywork you do on that layer will only be on that layer(not any others)..after the work is done..delete his template layer and you'll have only your work left.

Uhm i had a nice chainmail texture that was alphad..I dropped it on his template and resized it.....cropped it..added a glass lens for the breasts so any sl distortion would be offset.You can also redrag and redrop your work(say if you were doing the left side first) and then flip it and move it in to fit.When i was done i selected his layer and deleted it.

Is that easier than using the path tool?

~Lana Tomba

Well, I'll try that.

What I did, is that I made a transparency layer and cut out what i wanted..like i usually do. I then created another transparency layer, to work on for the main layer that will be my shirt.

The problem that I am running into, is that i want to paint in the texture, and I cant seem to do that, on the new transparency. It seems all that I can do, whenever I make a shirt, is use paint bucket..ugh.

The path tool is really quite easy to use. Just set you anchor points and drag the path to form a curve. Then go to the select menu and choose "from path". Then under the edit menu either "stroke path" or "stroke selection". That will bring up a dialog box to set the line size or whatever drawing tool you might want to use........pick the one you want and click "OK". Just remember the line will be drawn with whatever forground color you have set for your draw/fill tools.

And simple way to always have a transparent layer to draw on is to make a layer using the main GIMP window...........use "new". Define the size in pixels (since I mostly use Chip Midnights templates, mine is 1024 x 1024), under "color" in that dialog box choose "transparent". Save it to where you have your other templates.............of couse name it something you will recognize (mine is named "transparent layer 1024). Then any time you need a layer to draw on just go to file in the image window and "open as layer", navigate to that file and open it.

Oh, I I found out by accident that you do not need to delete the template layers when saving. Just make sure they are not showing. GIMP will only save the layer you have showing (the one with the eyeball). That's unless you are saving to .xcf format. GIMP saves all layers showing or not showing. TGA and other formats only save the one layer showing. I haven't tried saving PSD files..............but they may work like XCF.

Open a transparent layer above you texture layer you want to work on. Draw on that. Then when you are done, merge the two layers.........or more if you have more than one transparent layer you have drawn on.

So, the with the drawing, how do I get the program to let me draw with a pattern?

Use the clone tool. Make sure you have "pattern" selected and the pattern you want is the one used.............like you do with bucket fill.

In addition to what Peggy said, all good stuff, there is in GIMP a "Paint using Patterns" tool. I use it quite often. The icon for it looks something like an ink stamper. You can turn any texture into a pattern for this use.

Thanks for all the help! I'm making clothing now with GIMP..my only prob is lining up the seams..lol..trial and error..and i have the previewer too..lol