Making a Pumpkin Face – Customize in Gimp

3.1 Customize in Gimp

We are going to get inspiration to design the pumpkin head from this image which is not copyrighted.

We encourage you to use a different design. Find the one that fits best with your style.

To customize your own pumpkin head, we have provided you with 2 colored textures, 2 gray shadow maps, and 2 wire maps. In this guide, we will use the following ones:

Let’s start!

Now, the colored texture is the one you see on you screen.

To see the colored texture and the wire map above it, change the Layer Mode (Layers Tab) value.

To draw a face, let’s create a layer between the wire map and the colored texture layers. This layer will contain the eyes and nose.

A new window opens to set the attributes of the layer.

  ○ Drawing the eyes and nose

• • 1. Make sure that the Foreground Color is set to black and the Background Color is set to white.

       In this case, the Foreground and Background Colors are set to black and white respectively already.

       
       

       You can set the Foreground Color to black and the Background Color to white, by following the next steps:

       • Set Foreground Color to black
         • Click on the Foreground Color icon
           
         • A new window opens and a pallet of colors is displayed
         • Enter in the HTML Notation field the value 000000 and click OK.
           
       • Set Background Color to white
         • Click on the Background Color icon
           
         • A new window opens and a pallet of colors is displayed
         • Enter in the HTML Notation field the value ffffff and click OK.
           

    2. Make three triangular sections (eyes and nose) by using the Free Select Tool .

       Free Selection Tool

       The Free Selection tool , or Lasso, lets you create a selection by drawing it with the pointer.To learn more about this tool, click here.

       Let’s start by doing the left eye.

       You can use the Zoom Tool to magnify or reduce the view of the texture.

       Ensure that the “Eyes+Nose” layer is selected and click on the Free Select Tool .

       

       The wire map layer is our guide to draw the triangular sections.

       Once the Free Select Tool is selected, draw the left eye following the next sequence:

       • click and draw a line
       • click and draw a line from the end of the last line you drew
       • click and draw a line that meets the first dot you drew

       Let’s fill the triangular section with solid black color by selecting the Bucket Fill Tool .

       To do so, click on the Bucket Fill Tool and make sure that the “FG color fill” option is selected in the window that is displayed under the Toolbox once the Bucket Fill Tool is activated.

       

       Move the mouse over the triangular section (the left eye) and click on it.

       

       Repeat the same steps to create and fill the right eye and the nose.

       

  ○ Drawing the mouth

Just a few more steps and the pumpkin face will be ready!

• • 1. Let’s change the name of the layer by selecting it and making double-click on it.

       A new window opens to set the attributes of the layer.

       Set the Layer name field to “Eyes+Nose+Mouth”. In this way, you know that this layer is related to the eyes, nose, and mouth of the pumpkin.

       

    2. Ensure that the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” layer is selected and click on the Free Select Tool .

       

       The wire map layer is our guide to draw the mouth.

       Once the Free Select Tool is selected, draw the mouth following the next sequence:

       • • click and press “F” on your keyboard
         • click and draw the bottom part of the mouth
           
         • click and draw a line that meets the first dot you drew
           

        

    3. Let’s fill the mouth with solid black color by selecting the Bucket Fill Tool .

       To do so, click on the Bucket Fill Tool and make sure that the “FG color fill” option is selected in the window that is displayed under the Toolbox once the Bucket Fill Tool is activated.

       

       Move the mouse over the mouth and click on it.

       

    4. It is time for teeth creation!

       Select the Rectangle Select Tool    on the left Toolbox to create the teeth and hide the wire map layer to have a better visibility by clicking on the eye icon .

       
       Rectangle Select Tool

       The Rectangle Select Tool   is designed to select rectangular regions of the active layer.

       To learn more about this tool, click here.

    5. • Using the Rectangle Select Tool , select an area that looks like a tooth.
       • Use the Move Tool to position the tooth wherever you want.

       
       Move Tool

       The Move Tool   is designed to move paths, guides, selections, texts, or layers.

       To learn more about this tool, click here.

    6. • Click on the Eraser Tool to remove the color of the area selected, that is to say, to remove the black color.
       • Ensure while using the Eraser Tool that the “Hard Edge” option in the Dynamics Options List is checked to avoid partial erasure at the edges of the brush-stroke.
       • Once the Eraser Tool is selected, remove the black color of it by clicking on the area and dragging the mouse over the selected area until the black color disappears.

       

       Repeat the same steps to create as many teeth as you want.

       

  ○ Bringing in the symmetry (Optional)

This is not a required step but some of you might want their designs to be perfectly symmetrical. If you don’t want that, you can gladly skip this step.

Let’s add symmetry to the pumpkin face.

• • 1. • Make sure the wire map layer is visible again by clicking on the eye icon .

       • Use the wire map as a guide to know where the middle of the face is.

       • Click on the Rectangle Selection Tool icon and select the side of the face you like less.

       

    2. • Select the Eraser Tool .
       • Click on the selected area and drag the mouse until removing its content.

       
       Eraser Tool

       The Eraser Tool   removes areas of color from a selection of the current layer or from the current layer.

       To learn more about this tool, click here.

    3. • Duplicate the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” layer. To do so, right-click on the layer.
       • A menu pops up.
       • Select the “Duplicate Layer” option.

       

    4. • Make sure that the duplicated layer (“Eyes+Nose+Mouth copy” layer) is selected.
       • Select the Flip Tool on the left Toolbox.

       • Ensure that the “Horizontal” option is selected in the window that is displayed under the Toolbox once the Flip Tool is activated.

       
       
       Flip Tool

       The Flip Tool provides the ability to flip layers or selections either horizontally or vertically.

       To learn more about this tool, click here.

       Once the Flip Tool is active, the shape of the cursor changes to a double-headed arrow.

    5. Click once on the screen.

       The half face has flipped.

       Select the Move Tool to position the flipped “Eyes+Nose+Mouth copy” layer until getting a symmetric face.

       

    6. Now that the right half face and the left half face are symmetric respectively, it is time to merge both layers into one layer.

       • To do so, right-click on the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth copy” layer (the duplicated layer).
       • A menu pops up.
       • Select the “Merge Down” option.

       

  ○ Scaling the pumpkin face

Let’s reduce the size of the face in order to fit properly in the pumpkin.

1. To scale the pumpkin face:

   • Ensure that the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” layer is selected.
   • Use the wire map as a guide.
   • Right-click on the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” layer.
   • A menu pops up. Select the “Scale Layer…” option.

   

   The Scale Layer window opens.

2. Set the values of the Scale Layer window fields according to the image below and click on the Scale button once you are done.

   

3. • Select the Move Tool to position the face.
   • Use the wire map as a guide.

   

  ○ Adding details and depth to the pumpkin face

Let’s add more detail and depth to the pumpkin face. We will add a drop shadow to the eyes, nose, and mouth.

• • 1. Let’s duplicate the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” layer. We will work with the original layer and keep the copy. If someday we want to work on the pumpkin face again, it is a good a idea to save a copy of the layer.

       • To do so, right-click on the layer.
       • A menu pops up.
       • Select the “Duplicate Layer…” option.

       

    2. • Hide all layers except the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” and colored texture layers.
       • Make sure that the “Eyes+Nose+Mouth” layer is selected.
       • Go to the top menu and click on Filters ➞ Light and Shadow ➞ Drop Shadow

       The Drop Shadow window opens.

    3. Enter the following values to the fields of the Drop Shadow window:

       • X: 1.000
       • Y: 1.000
       • Blur radius: 1.50
       • Opacity: 1.500

       
       

       Once you have set the values, click OK.

       

  ○ Saving the pumpkin face

CONGRATULATIONS! The pumpkin face is ready!

Let’s save it.

1. • Save the changes by going to the top menu and click on File ➞ Export As …
   • Select the folder where you want to save the pumpkin face, name it, and click on Select File Type (By Extension).

   

2. Select the JPEG image option and click on Export.

   

3. A new window appears. Click on Export.

   

The new texture has been saved in your chosen folder