If anyone has revealed this method, I could not find it, so I am sharing it here.

A really quick PAINLESS way to create 3D Text without really even trying...



Simply put some text up on dark background and then open Zoom Motion Blur.

Position the CURSOR below in the middle of the text and on the Zoom options, select Merge for layer mode.

It works to a point, although it is LIMITED in angle orientation.

Settings for follow-up.

They are cool hey. Brilliant find Mahvin

Not as good as you, mahvin. I like this effect. Thanks a lot for sharing it.
I'll practice it more.

There are many options within GIMP to use, I'm just trying to sift through and find some good ones. Your result looks good and wispy. Sort of like text leaving a smoke trail.

One using Zoom Motion Blur; second, somewhat more flamboyant, using Path Blend. Each approach has multiple, variable possibilities

It's helpful to know as many different ways to do the same thing. Ease of use is a powerful tool, but it often makes people lazy to discovery. Like the GIMP Chat motto declares: Where Imagination meets Innovation, imagining is thinking outside of the cookie cutter box.