I am making progress

Have managed to create a layer with just the silhouette but can't figure this part out:
"Created transparent layer above, copied layer mask to it and filled it with radial gradient tool, picking colors with color picker from the color box."

How do you copy the varying degrees of green with the colour picker?

bredies: good job!
no need to pick more than the lightest and the darkest shade of green you can find in the original image.
click , click lightest green spot you find. click the arrows on this:fg2bg, then click again. then click the gradient tool and do the rest. if this was too basic for you, just ignore it .

Thanks Anmal it could never be "too basic" for me.

hi, bredies

Anmal has explained how you pick colors from your image for radial gradient. As for creating a mask from selection, I see why you're struggling.
Sorry I was multitasking that day and did not have time to explain everything in detail.

here what you do to create layer mask from the silhouette



I did it in a different more complicated way (the one I described earlier in this thread) for a reason but the above-mentioned method will work 100%

Thanks K1TE.
I am not sure how exactly but I managed to get that far. I used the colour picker.

Have since moved on to the gradient behind the image and it took me forever to realise that in order to get the circle effect I need to start my gradient from where I wanted the centre of the circle to be! That's how much of a noobie I am at this! You have to explain like I am a 2 year old kid. (With the greatest of respect to two year olds)

I have just been watching a video to try and get the blurred border and the tutor lost me within seconds. Struggling to work out how the blur tool works. My edges remain stubbornly sharp!

If you need to blur just the edges you need to make a rectangular selection with the Rectangular Select Tool. Draw mouse cursor just to have the selection along image borders, adjust if necessary.
Then go to Select menu and click Invert. After that you can blur the edges with one of the blur filters (Filters>Blur)
For this particular task Gaussian Blur at 10 px is good enough.

K1TE Can I ask really basic questions here?
1. "you need to make a rectangular selection with the Rectangular Select Tool." On which layer?
2. If a new blank layer what colour is the BG and where does the layer go in the pecking order?
3. "Draw mouse cursor just to have the selection along image borders, adjust if necessary." Along the outer border or slightly in to the thickness that I want the blur?

My next question would have related to Gausian but I found that! Whoop!

1. on the layer where you have that green background color
2. Normally when you create a new layer the default is 'transparent'.
For a new image background is white, foreground is black. BG/FG colors are displayed in two overlapping color boxes under the toobox area on the left side of the screen.
3. The latter - slightly in, within image boundaries.

bredies,
Here is an idea of the difference between blurring when you have alpha to selection and blurring without the marching ants.

Open a default layer - which will be white.
Add a new transparent layer
Make a sphere selection > fill with color or pattern or gradient
Create a duplicate layer. You will now have three layers, white background layer and two transparent layers with a colored sphere.
Take your move tool and move the top layer so they will be side by side.

On your bottom layer, it should be still selected with the marching ants around it. got to select > invert > filters > blur > gaussian blur. blur 50 pixels horizontal and vertical. Select > none
Now go to the top layer, do not go alpha to selection on this layer. Now got to blur > gaussian blur and repeat the 50 pixel blur.

You will now have on your left a blurred outline and on the right all the edges are blurred, check out the xcf attached below

Hi Molly
Thanks for that explanation. All above me on first reading.
Unfortunately I cannot open that xcf file for some reason - haven't been able to open any of them.
I'll work through your example and see if I can get the same result.

I think I may have my layers wrong on my image as the blurring is only happening in my eyes from looking at a screen all day!

How are you trying to open xcf files?
Maybe you need to set file association for xcf file to be opened with GIMP.

Unfortunately, Mac is terra incognita to me, can't help you here. You can google it.

I am simply clicking on it and downloading it but it does not give me the option to open with GIMP.

I have managed to get Molly's blurred sphere - the one on the right but not the other one! Go figure.

Having done that (which is the effect I want) I then tried exactly the same thing using the rectangle select tool>invert>Filters>blur>Gaugasiam with 15 pixels

No result at all.

This basic problem of mine is now on to it's sixth page (and 3 days) must be some kind of record!

But I will persevere.

Bingo!

What you all failed to tell me was that I should reduce my green background layer so that it was smaller than my white underlay!!

Or at least I think that is what you should have said!

Anyway by "select rectangle>invert>cut>filter>blur>Gaussian …etc" I now have what I was looking for. The blur is visible as the white now comes through. Could also just have been a transparent background.

Thanks to all of you for all of your help.

But …. sadly for you lot it won't be the last you hear from or see me!!

bredies: well done! you've mastered some of the gimp basics now . but we want to see the proof, where is your image?
i think it's a good thing to have real beginners around, makes us all better at giving good instructions and has made me think a lot about how things really work, things that i just automatically do without reflecting on it.

Well I am kind of embarrassed as it is not exactly Renoir but as it is part of a web site page I am quite happy with the end result.
So here is what took me 6 days and tested all of your patience with me.
Do not laugh!

I think it is very nice. Something doesn't look right though with the outer frame, It isn't the same all the way around. (and why would anyone laugh?)

Hi Molly
Thats a screen shot so the outer frame is my computer screen. The image is from the white in.

ooo, sorry.... then you did a very nice job, you should be proud.

bredies: well done, well done! i prefer that to renoir, never liked his stuff . seriously speaking, it's a neat image to put on a website and you made it yourself and learned a lot, so take molly's advice and be proud.

Guys.

I couldn't have done it without your help.