GIMP Version: 2.6.11
Operating System: Windows
OS Version: Windows 7 SP1
GIMP Experience: Basic Level

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Hello fellow GIMP Users,
I am currently having a "How in the world do I do this?" moment.
I am on another site where a lot of Artists are around and I came across someone who does pixel text, but with neat designs.

Here is a example:



Does anyone know how to create something like these in GIMP?

P.S. These images were created by Sail, from another site.

The short answer is...yes. Unfortunately, I do not know enough about these processes to tell you how, but there are plenty of others here who can. Just give it some time as our members are from all different time zones.

Fencepost and PhotoMaster did some very nice tutorials along that line from this forum...

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=594
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1314&hilit=animated
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1163&hilit=animated
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=588&hilit=animated

Making these is a tedious process. You need a grid that has 1 x 1px squares. Then you draw your letters a using 1 pixel circle brush using the pencil tool to fill in the grid squares. I'm pretty sure you can't find a font that will work for doing this.

To start you need to draw just the white inside part of the letter.
Make a new layer, change the color to black and draw the black around the letter. Do not merge the layers.
Lock the transparency on the white layer. Next count the number of letters and duplicate the white layer that many times. You will have one more white layer than the number of letters and that is what you need.

Here is a screenshot of the zoomed image of the word GIMP that I drew one pixel at a time. The white area is on a separate layer from the black area. The green lines are the grid.



Be sure you are zoomed in far enough to be able to see your image well. I locked the transparency on the white layers and used the rectangle select tool to fill the letters with green. The bottom layer remains all white, and when the top layer is filled with green you are finished coloring your letters.

Here is a zoomed in image of each layer and how it is colored in sequence. The image includes the black border that will surround the other letters.



Here is a finished animation of it all. I can't anticipate what more you might need so please feel free to ask questions.

Nice job O!

I've found that pixel art is rather tedious and people rarely appreciate how much work goes into it.

p.s. Here is a hollow pixel font
http://www.dafont.com/hachicro.font
I didn't see any that contained both the pixel font and the hollow outline.

Thank you! I found another font that would work well too for larger animations. Those others up there make me squint.

The hollow outline you mention is the font with black text, the center part of that needs to be filled with color. Here is the Hachicro font you put up the link for and only some of the letters are filled.




Fipps font
http://www.dafont.com/fipps.font

I keep a small magnifying glass handy for those tiny fonts.

Better idea, that is easy to script:
- create text layer with transparent inner pixels and opaque background
- add layer filled with first "inner" color below
- add layer with second "inner" color between the two, and move it laterally to produce the various images.

Yeah, I know how to draw out my pixels .. It doesn't take me to long to do it. If you go to dafont.com you'll find pixel fonts and you can use those.. I was just wanting to know how to do the animation.

If you check out some of those tutorial links I posted Bonita, it shows how to do the animatiion in what you are looking for. I have done them all and they work great.

I wasn't aware that you knew how to do that. You didn't say it in your request for help.

An animation is just a stack of layers in GIMP. Each layer has a slightly different orientation and/or has different colors in it so that as the animation plays, each layer shows one-at-a-time, and gives the impression of changing colors and/or movement.

I think the best way for you to see how to animate your pixel art would be to download this larger animation. It's easier to see. Look at the layers. Also, while you have the animation open, click Filters > Animation > Playback and click the Play button in the dialog. It's the Fipps animation I put in earlier in this thread.

Alright, thank you all. ^_^ I am going to follow the tutorials y'all posted and take your advice and try this stuff out.

Here is the script cshw-textart.scm

Tested on 2.7.3
Appears at Filters -> Script-Fu -> Logos -> TextArt....

James, I downloaded the script and added it to my folder but I get when I try it.

sorry, that is because I used the new command for 2.7
I had updated and reupload the script
now it should work on 2.6
You can redownload and try it again
Thanks

thanks James. I do have 2.7 too, but didn't try it in there yet.

EDIT:
I got it to working great in 2.6.11 but the first one you posted for 2.7 doesn't show up in 2.7 script folder. I am sure it is the correct one. It is 3.5 MB

It would be nice if you could put a link for each version of gimp. Could you zip each one and name the zip files for each version?

Go here to find out how to upload attachments here in Gimp Chat.
http://gimpchat.com/viewtopic.php?p=317#p317

Very cool O!

Thanks, Willy. After I finished it I smacked myself in the head and thought, "Why didn't I use a brush instead of a quill pen?"