(09-10-2026, 04:03 AM)Tom Atkinson Wrote: My god. What an intensely frustrating experience, trying to turn off the lighting effects.
I am a bit of a newbie and had been experimenting, and got to the point where I now just wanted to turn them off completely, so as to get back to where I was before I started the experimenting. ....snip....
Experimenting is the best way to go. You will develop your own favourite ways of editing. There are always several ways to get to a desired result.
As quick exercise, I might use a work-flow along these lines.
(1) Backups - can be as simple as duplicating a layer and moving out the way. There is a plugin that takes snapshot .xcf files at intervals, but you can do that yourself.
(2) It is worth using a layer group (or groups) to keep your editing together.
(3) For old plugins like lighting effects You can do "new-from-visible", work on that and keep previous work safe.
(4) I had a look at the gmic plugin, http://www.gmic.eu the light leaks filter, That uses a black layer in Screen mode, you could probably paint one yourself. Do not like the result ? Fill layer with black and start again.
(5) As an example of what is editable, when you get that fx icon on the layer click on it for options.
...but the main thing is, keep experimenting.