So after ofnuts boggled my mind with his sine wave magic, i used a bw bi-linear gradient, with a duplicate set to 'Difference', posterized to get this seamless pattern:

   

After bumpmapping the pattern into a grey layer, curves and a bit of processing, then G'MIC Sepia, i got this, which i like for its 3D-ish quality:

   

Get them here, they are nice for giving your image a bit of texture:

http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/freebies...-photoshop

Brushes are 2000x2000px.
ABR file type, but work in Gimp 2.8 without a need to convert.

   

I just tried to reply using the Quote button. It is inactive, nothing happens.
I'm using Windows 7 and Firefox.

Why does the site blow up images ?

EDIT: i know why...chrome bug...its not the site, its my browser.
This started a week ago, i must zoom to 80%, then its correct...:\

I was thinking of something like that:
http://tinyurl.com/ztrg45o
(the logo in the middle).

Thats an effect from the late 90ies so shouldnt be too exotic.

I tried mapping text to a sphere, but Gimp's 'Map To Object' filter doesnt look good.
The 'Lens Distortion' is not extreme enough.
'Apply Lens' makes it all jaggy edged.
G'MIC doesnt seem to have the right filter...'Fisheye' distorts parts of the text too much in an ugly way.

I downloaded Mathmap, but im new to this filter pack, so i dont know.

   


Not that easy to achieve realistic TV snow. Of course, who remembers what that looked like?

Edit: better with scan lines
Edit2: better without spelling errors and more lens distortion

When I first started working with paths I made a How To list. I printed this and kept referring to it whenever I was working with paths. It helped me, so I am sure it will help others just starting to use Gimp paths.

Consider this a Work In Progress. ie it is not complete and not guaranteed to be 100% correct. Please feel free to correct and add to it. I would like to see it posted somewhere permanent when completed.

HOW TO:


Create a new Path:
Design: Click, Click, Click, Click, ...

Close a Path:
Design: Ctrl-Click on first node.

Move a Node:
Design: Drag Node

Add a new node:
Design: Ctrl-Click on segment
Edit: Click on a segment

Delete a node:
Design: Select node, then Shift-Ctrl-Click on the node
Edit: Select node, then Shift-Click on the node (or Shift-Ctrl-Click on the node)

Delete a segment:
Design: Select Segent, then Shift-Ctrl-Click on the segment
Edit: Select Segent, Shift-Click on the segment

Join two nodes with a segment (close a path):
Design: Click on one node; Ctrl-Click on the next node.
Edit: Click on one node, Click on the next node.

Open (Extract) a handle:
Design: Select node: Ctrl-Drag square
or Edit: Drag square

Open (Extract) handles while creating a path:
Instead of just clckng, Click-Drag.

Close (Delete) a handle:
Design: Shift-Ctrl-Click on the handle
Edit: Shift-Click on the handle

Make handles symmetrical:
Design or Edit: Press Shift while dragging a handle
Design or Edit: Press Ctrl-Shift while dragging a handle

Bend a segment:
Design:  Click on the segment and drag
or Edit: Click on the segment and drag (Caveat: this adds a new node!)

Start a new section in the same path
Design: Shift-Click
(Can be used to create an O shape path with inner and outer sections)

How to tell Gimp that this path is complete and I want to start a new path:
Paths Dialogue: Click on New Path (similar to creating a new layer in the layers dialogue.)

How to smooth nodes or a complete path:
???

A couple of  techniques that work with all selection tools, once you know that:

• You can save your current selection (Select/Save to channel)
  
• Channels can operate on the current selection: bluntly replace it, but also be added, subtracted, intersected with it
  
• Channels appear in the "Channels" dialog   (Windows/Dockable Dialogs/Channels)
  

• Do some selection
  
• Save selection to channel
  
• Start new selection part in "addition"/"subtraction"/"intersection" mode, with some possible overlap with current selection (shift-click, usually, but for scissors you have to "shift-enter" at the end (instead of plain "enter"))
  
• Save the new selection to a channel (and keep the old one)
  
• Etc...
  

• Do some selection
  
• Save selection to channel
  
• Repeat (with some overlap most of the time)
  
• Once done, use the Channels dialog to add/subtract/intersect the channels to the current selection. In Gimp 3, you can selected several channels together and set them as the selection (Gimp adds them all together, and then applies the result wit the operation specified).
  

• Since you spent so much time doing these selections, save the final selection, too. May come in handy.
  
• As long as you save the image with as XCF, the selections that you saved as channels are saved with it. You can interrupt your work... or at least do periodic and useful saves of the image.
  
• Nothing says you have to use the same selection tool all along... you can use the best tool for each partial selection.
  

A quick script to automate the background erasure when the background is uniform.

To use:

• Make a selection on the background using the fuzzy selector with a threshold big enough to include small irregularities
  
• Use Layer>Erase background
  

• Most of the background is completely deleted and is guaranteed to be totally transparent (thanks Blighty)
  
• The color used for color-to-alpha is deduced from the erase background color, and so doesn't ned to be specified.