text art? Solved!

2-ton · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 7:47 pm **(#1)**

GIMP Version: 2.8.10
Operating System: Mac OS
GIMP Experience: Basic Level

Does anyone recall what you call it when you take a bunch of text and displace it onto a photo to make it look like the photo is made up of the text? I can never find anything using search because I never know what words to use in the search.

molly · **Joined:** Apr 07, 2010 **Posts:** 14182

Cloud text, you can download free generators for that in google, just type in cloud text. Or word cloud generator or work tag.

jeanniem · **Joined:** Nov 04, 2013 **Posts:** 207

ASCII Art, hope that helps.

2-ton · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 7:57 pm **(#4)**

Thanks….Off to check them out. I had thought there was a tutorial on here,

molly · **Joined:** Apr 07, 2010 **Posts:** 14182

I used one of those generators to make that banner with the gimp chat sign and my two Wilber's, with the denim outfits on., one with the poodle.

2-ton · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 8:09 pm **(#6)**

Something like this, but for Gimp. I am sure there was a thread and tutorial here somewhere…
http://youtu.be/pBGXksqYzeQ

molly · **Joined:** Apr 07, 2010 **Posts:** 14182

Yes, that one is here, I think it was mahvins, not sure, I will look in the morning, when I boot up my PC.

Esper · **Joined:** Jul 17, 2012 **Posts:** 2769

2-ton wrote:

Something like this, but for Gimp. I am sure there was a thread and tutorial here somewhere…
http://youtu.be/pBGXksqYzeQ

http://www.gimpusers.com/tutorials/create-text-portrait

2-ton · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 8:29 pm **(#9)**

Hi Esper! Almost…the text part seems about right, but the effect had it displaced or bumped or something, that deformed to to the photo, so it looked like the photo was actually 3-d underneath the text and making it 'form-fitted', with the depth and contours or the pic below. Argh, I cannot explain it very well. It's as if the text was molded over the 'person' underneath.

Esper · **Joined:** Jul 17, 2012 **Posts:** 2769

Hi 2-ton

this one ?
http://gimpchat.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4945

2-ton · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 8:47 pm **(#11)**

YES, that's it! Thanks for finding it, I have been looking and looking but couldn't remember the 'flowing text' title!

2-ton · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2014 10:55 pm **(#12)**

Well, this is a toughie…much more difficult to do than I remembered. Looks like I will have to do it several times to get it to look decent.

Erisian · **Posted:** Wed May 14, 2014 4:31 am **(#13)**

Is this what you are looking for? viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4884

2-ton · **Posted:** Wed May 14, 2014 12:51 pm **(#14)**

No, but your tutorial on the flowing text the Esper linked is exactly what I was loping for. I don't suppose you have any helpful hints on how I can do this easier? Here is a shot of my first try…I was hoping to be able to make the text more warped to show more detail of the person underneath, rather than just use a transparency of the pic to tell who it is. If that makes any sense. I got lost in the tutorial, and ended up just mapping the text to a desaturated pic, but it didn't warp enough to tell what it was so I had to add the faint pic behind the text.

Esper · **Joined:** Jul 17, 2012 **Posts:** 2769

how about G'MIC Ascii art ?

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=10047

2-ton · **Posted:** Wed May 14, 2014 8:10 pm **(#16)**

I might try the ascii in g'mic, but I really wanted to have specific text in the picture. I am still working on Erisian's tutorial. I can get to step 7, then I sort of get lost and my results don't look like his steps in the tutorial after that. Especially the eyes and mouth…total fail there.

Esper · **Joined:** Jul 17, 2012 **Posts:** 2769

2-ton · **Posted:** Wed May 14, 2014 9:24 pm **(#18)**

I like that, now if I could do that with the text block I have prepared, it would work. But, alas, my g'mic version is too old to have that filter. And I have to wait for Partha to make an updated McGimp with the latest g'mic before I will have that filter. So…back to Erisian's tutorial and some tearing out of my hair!

Esper · **Joined:** Jul 17, 2012 **Posts:** 2769

just to be clear, 2-ton, this is really a combination of the ascii G'MIC filter and the displacement technique, plus my own spin on it

i think what you did, is the right direction
but the text is too warped (you need less displacement) and the whole image lacks contrast
you could render the guy and invert the color of the text, that makes up the background, for example, so that you get a black bg with white text

rimfire39 · **Joined:** Feb 22, 2014 **Posts:** 4

This PDF hard copy may help it was made for a seniors computer club.