DavidWoodFX | Gimp, Photoshop, and After Effects tutorials

Gimp Tutorial - Fireballs

2011-11-26T18:57:00.003-05:00

How many times have you wished for super powers? Admit it, we all have. Well now you'll have control over fire with this awesome tutorial.

The written version is below the video.

[STOCK IMAGES]

http://cgtextures.com/

http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/stockart/nature/fire/?order=9

Download the project: http://projectfx.exofire.net/?p=359

Fireball Tail: http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2zl5heUMPg

Follow Me
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http://davidwoodfx.deviantart.com
http://noisejunkies.net
http://davidwoodfx.tumblr.com

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Here's a few different results you can make with this tutorial. The first three steps are used for the sun and fireball 2 examples

1.   First open a new image. I'm using the default size of 640 by 400 but make it big enough for the picture you want to add the fireball to. Fill the background with black. Next you'll need an account on CG Textures to get the stock photos we're going to use, or you can look for similar ones on DeviantArt. The links to both sites are listed above. Download the first image here. Load it into Gimp and use the scale tool to fit it into your canvas. Make the width the same as your image. Center the image using the Alignment tool.

(In case you want the fireball without the outer flames like in the Fireball1 example, use this flame image instead. Then follow the tutorial starting from step 4)

2.   Go to Filters, Distorts, Polar Coordinates. Uncheck the box next to 'Map from top' and hit OK.

3.   Now our image will be a circle, perfect for the outside of our fireball. But there's a seam on the top where the image edges meet. To hide the seam duplicate the fire layer and rotate it anywhere from 90 to 180 degrees. Set the blend mode on Lighten Only and move it to cover the seam. Now use a soft edge brush and paint the bottom half of this second layer with black, it should look like this.

4.   Now we'll load this picture. Scale it down to fit in the canvas.

5. Go to Filters, Distorts, Lens Distortion. Lens Distortion is designed to remove the bulging effect caused by wide-angle lenses but it can also exaggerate it. We're going to use that to our advantage. In the filter options set the Main amount to 100, the Edge to 100, and the Zoom to 50. Then hit OK.

6.   Go to Filters, Re-Show Lens Distortion or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+F (Shift+Command+F on Mac). Leave the settings alone except for the Zoom, set that back to 0 and hit OK.

7.   We want to run the filter again so use Filters, Repeat Lens Distortion or Ctrl+F (Command+F on Mac). Repeat the filter 8-9 times. The fire should now be nice and round.

8.   Set the layer mode on Lighten Only and place it near the middle of the fireball. Scale it if needed. Duplicate, rotate 180 degrees, and move the copy to the other side of the fireball to fill the middle.

9.   This is coming along nicely but the inside of the fireball is mirrored. To fix that we're going to open another flame image and apply the same filters to this. So once again import it as a layer, rotate the layer 90 degrees clockwise, and scale it to fit in the image.

Reapply the Lens Distortion first with the zoom at 50 and then again with it at 0. Repeat the filter 8-9 times.

Scale it down smaller than the other inside layers and set the blend mode on Lighten Only.

10.   Our fireball is almost done, just two more steps to finish it, color correcting the flames and adding a glow. Color-correcting will make all the flames blend together and look like an actual fireball. As you can see in the image above the inside of the fireball blends, but the outside flames are a dull red-orange instead of the fiery orange-yellow of the inside layers. Also the outer flame image doesn't have a solid black background, it's a very dark red instead.

So we're first going to make the background of the outer flames black by opening Levels under the Colors menu and setting the black triangular slider on the left to around 10, this darkens the background as well as the flames so to brighten the flames back up move the white triangle close to 245. Do this again for the second outer flame layer.

Now to color-correct it. Open up Color Balance, also under the Color menu. I'm only going to change the midtones but you can try the shadows and highlights if you want. Set the first slider to 100. Set the third to -100. See how this added more color to the flames? They should now be a more vibrant orange. But they're still kinda red. To correct this we are going to use the middle slider. This slider will either make our flames more red or more yellow depending on what way we move it. Since ours are already more red, we want to move the slider to the right, adding more yellow. Setting it on 40 or 50 should make the flames match the inside layers so once that's done click OK. Repeat this for the second flame layer.

11.   Now you can play around with the blend modes of the layers trying Screen or Addition, but be careful not to destroy the details. I just left them all on Lighten Only. Also use a small soft edge brush and paint with black any areas on the outside where the flames look weird.

Our effect looks pretty awesome doesn't it? But wait, you want to make it pop some more. We're going to add a glow. Select the top layer and choose Layer, New from Visible. Duplicate the layer twice. Hide the third one by clicking the eye icon in the layer tab. Select the second and go to Filters, Blur, Gaussian Blur. Give this one a high blur. For the size image I made, a blur of 150-200 worked well. Now turn the third layer back on and blur this one too, but this one should be much less, between 20 and 50 looks good for this size image.

Set the blend mode on Screen and the opacity around 65. Merge these two blurred layers together. Set the blend mode on Screen again You should now have a nice natural glow. If the glow takes away too much of the dark areas in the center take a soft edge brush, make it the size of the fireball, set the brush blend mode to Overlay and the color to black, and click once or twice in the center of the fireball.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your fireball is now complete, go ahead and save it, or import it on top of the picture you want the effect in. Set the blend mode to Screen or Add for best result.

These steps are completely optional and more geared towards the kind of fireball you would hold in your hand with a hot center. Make a new black layer above the glow layer, set the blend mode on Screen and paint a white dot with a hard edge brush in the center of the fireball. Set the layer mode back on Normal.

Duplicate the layer and set the blend mode on Screen, Duplicate it 2 more times. Gaussian blur each of these layers with the following amounts. The first by 5, second by 20, third by 40, and fourth by 80. It should look something like the image below. Merge all these layers together.

Make a selection around the hotspot and go to Filters, Distorts, IWarp.With a deform amount of .50 and a radius ranging from 5 to 15, click in the center of the hotspot and drag out to create a star shape, give it as many points as you want.

Remove the selection using either the option under the Select menu or Shift+Ctrl+A (Shift+Command+A on Mac) and set the blend mode on Add. Scale it if you need to and your hotspot is done.

Realistic Flaming Text Effect

2011-11-15T12:46:00.069-05:00

A very common asked for effect is realistic fire text. There are dozens if not hundreds of tutorials on this effect already but most results are very sub-par and far from realistic. But not anymore.

In this tutorial I converted a very good Photoshop tutorial into simple steps anyone can follow with great results. You can also download the project files on ProjectFX if you would rather figure it out on your own instead of watching me ramble on. The written version is below the video.

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Open up your canvas and fill the background with black. Get out your text tool, set the size to 200, make the color pure red #ff0000 and write the first letter of your word. This effect should be done one letter at a time for the best result. I'm using the font Trajan Pro Bold.

Duplicate the text layer, name it 'main', and change the color of this one to #cd7e2e. Hide this layer, select the first one again, name it 'glow', and Go to Layer, Layer to Image Size.

Bring up Gaussian blur (Filters, Blur, Gaussian Blur) and blur this layer by 15 or 20. Turn the 'main' layer back on.

Right click the 'main' layer in the layers tab and select "Alpha to Selection".

Make a new layer, shrink the selection by 3 and feather by 7. Fill in the selection with #872d0f and remove the selection using the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+A (Shift+Command+A on Mac) or going to the Select menu and clicking 'None'. Name this layer 'multiply' and set the blend mode on Multiply.

Again right click the 'main' layer in the layers tab and select "Alpha to Selection". Make a new layer above the multiply layer and fill it with the gold color #e5c23b. Shrink and feather the selection using the settings listed above and fill with black, then remove the selection. Name this layer 'dodge' and set the blend mode on Dodge.

Lock the alpha of the dodge layer and apply a Gaussian blur of 15.

Select the background layer and turn it off. Go to Layer, New from Visible. This makes a copy of all visible layers into a new layer. This layer should be below all the other text layers. Turn all those layers off and turn the background back on

If you want to make the text look like it's burning away, use a large soft edge eraser and erase around the areas you want to burn away. This step is optional but the results can look great.

Make a selection around the letter and open IWarp (Filters, Distorts, IWarp). Set the deform amount to .20. Then gently warp the edges of the letter, first with a radius of 20, then do it again with a radius of 10.

Now we're going to get our fire stock images. There are some great ones on DeviantArt and CGTextures. The one we're going to use is Fire-by-Shaedesofgrey

Load it as a layer, scale it down, use Levels to darken it up, and set the blend mode on Screen.

Make duplicates of it and place it around the letter so it looks like it's burning. Erase any edges and areas that stick out funny Here is a very rough result.

After adding more flames, color correct the piece of fire using Color Balance and Levels so the all blend properly. I also erased some of the edges to look like it was burning away. Next choose Layer, New from Visible. This will be our glow. blur the layer by something high like 200 or 300. Set the blend mode on Screen or Addition. You can add more fire if you want, just keep experimenting until you're happy with it. I added a few more flames and this is the result.

This example isn't as good as the first one I made, the effect will only look better the more time you put into it. Just for comparison here is my original image, I spent about an hour on it.

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Download Gimp: http://gimp.org/

Original Photoshop Tutorial: http://bit.ly/smr1OJ

Fire Stock: http://fav.me/dr896m

DA Stocks: http://bit.ly/uH6dcc

Download Xara Graphic Designer 5 for FREE until November 24!
http://t.co/jl11KrWZ

---Follow me---
Twitter: http://twitter.com/djwfx
DeviantART: http://davidwoodfx.deviantart.com
Noisejunkies: http://noisejunkies.net

Teen Titans: Dark Energy, Photoshop Tutorial

2011-11-07T14:19:00.000-05:00

All good things must come to an end. The final tutorial in this series, I think this result came out the best. We're going to cast a magical spell of doom on anybody that gets in the way of our copy of Photoshop.

Stock photo: http://fav.me/dxxyws

Noisejunkies: http://noisejunkies.net

Raven's powers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSMbc5Qn-RU
Starfire's powers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhM7HhYV7MY
Starbolts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dka9NKt6oAY
Cyborg's cannon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr8hd1Jp5nQ

---Follow me---
Twitter: http://twitter.com/djwfx
DeviantART: http://davidwoodfx.deviantart.com

Wallpaper by Ameba2k: http://fav.me/d47mczu

Teen Titans: Dark Energy in Gimp

2011-11-07T13:29:00.001-05:00

In the fifth and final Teen Titans tutorial, we're going to create a mystical energy modeled after the powers of Jinx using only the built-in filters.

Stock photo: http://fav.me/dxxyws

Raven's powers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fobGN6nbHNE
Starfire's powers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjsnW_jZkFE
Starfire's Starbolts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2zl5heUMPg
Cyborg's cannon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiViOKFn90Q

---Follow me---
Twitter: http://twitter.com/djwfx
DeviantART: http://davidwoodfx.deviantart.com
Noisejunkies: http://noisejunkies.net

Wallpaper by Ameba2k: http://fav.me/d47mczu

Teen Titans, Photoshop: Sonic Blast

2011-09-30T14:18:00.000-04:00

Teen Titans tutorial 4. Make the sonic blast created by Cyborg's cannon arm.

Noisejunkies: http://noisejunkies.net

Raven's powers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSMbc5Qn-RU
Starfire's powers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhM7HhYV7MY
Starbolts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dka9NKt6oAY

---Follow me---
Twitter: http://twitter.com/djwfx
Blog: http://davidwoodfx.blogspot.com/
DeviantART: http://davidwoodfx.deviantart.com

Wallpaper by Ameba2k: http://fav.me/d47mczu

Teen Titans: Sonic Blast in Gimp.

2011-09-27T12:40:00.003-04:00

In the fourth Teen Titans tutorial we'll make a cool sonic blast based off of Cyborg's sonic cannon.

Raven's powers
Starfire's powers
Energy Balls

Also check out Chameleon Circuit, http://charliemcdonnell.com/music/

---Follow me---
Twitter: http://twitter.com/djwfx
Blog: http://davidwoodfx.blogspot.com/
Affiliate site: http://noisejunkies.net
DeviantART: http://davidwoodfx.deviantart.com

Wallpaper by Ameba2k: http://fav.me/d47mczu

Teen Titans, Photoshop: Starbolts

2011-09-07T10:55:00.000-04:00

The Photoshop equivalent to my last tutorial. Learn how to make a plasma/energy ball based on the Starbolt effect thrown by Starfire and Blackfire from Teen Titans.

Portal: No Escape

2011-08-31T13:27:00.001-04:00

Have you guys seen this insane film yet?! Watch it after the break...

Teen Titans series, Gimp: Starbolts

2011-08-13T20:19:00.001-04:00

Teen Titans tutorial 2.5. Learn how to make a plasma/energy ball based on the Starbolt effect thrown by Starfire and Blackfire from Teen Titans.

Teen Titans Series, Photoshop: Starfire/Blackfire

2011-07-31T15:29:00.000-04:00

Photoshop tutorial 2 explains how to recreate the radiating energy seen around Starfire's, and her sister Blackfire's hands. Leave your comments below telling me if you like the series so far and if you have any criticism.

Teen Titans series, Gimp: Starfire's Power

2011-07-26T12:12:00.001-04:00

Tutorial 2 explains how to recreate the radiating energy seen around Starfire's, and her sister Blackfire's hands.

Teen Titans tutorial series, Photoshop: Raven

2011-07-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

The first Photoshop tutorial in the Teen Titans series is on the powers of Raven, the half-human, half-multidimensional demon.

Teen Titans tutorial series, Gimp: Raven

2011-07-26T12:03:00.001-04:00

I'm currently in the middle of a Gimp and Photoshop series on special effects from the tv show, Teen Titans. The first tutorial in the series is on the powers of Raven, the half-human, half-multidimensional demon.

Stormtrooper footage Available now!

2011-05-11T12:20:00.000-04:00

Now you will know the full power of the Dark Side with these 10 High Definition Stormtrooper greenscreen clips, courtesy of Edd Black. Download them now at NoiseJunkies!
To see what the videos look like watch the preview here:

Free Greenscreen Stormtrooper Footage

2011-05-09T14:01:00.001-04:00

Available at http://NoiseJunkies.net next week, Wednesday 11th. 10 HD (1080p) Stormtrooper videos.

REBLOG: "Word Insanity", the first app from Noisejunkies.

2011-03-30T15:05:00.001-04:00

This is a re-post from Noisejunkies.net, sort of how Twitter has retweets. Since I don't own any Apple products I can't say much about the app but what I've seen of it looks pretty awesome. Now, on to to main article.

Ladies and gentleman, it is with great honor that we introduce to you the first Noise Junkies app ever: Word Insanity. For the past month, Ashley and I have worked hard on an array of app-involved endeavors such as creating accounts, mastering xCode, designing cool graphics and of course [Ashley] programming the app! Word Insanity is a FREE app that basically generates random sentences. It’s supposed to be a funny app with sometimes odd/sometimes surprisingly fun sentences, but the user can also add their own sentences and even email them to friends! The app also features different colorful animated backgrounds (but you can turn that off if you would like) as well as some other functions.

Bottom line: We are proud of the app! Thank you for the Apple reviewers that accepted the app; the goal for this app was to start our path in this field, which believe us, we want to further explore. Many other cooler things are coming along the way, but meanwhile, please download this app in your Apple device (whatever it may be) and don’t forget to honestly RATE and COMMENT based on your judgment! (Please don’t be mean, but no need to overly excited!)

Link for the App: http://www.noisejunkies.net/njlabs/word-insanity

Quick Gimp Tutorial: Gold Jewelry Logo

2011-03-10T17:26:00.000-05:00

Requested by On1836, a quick followup to my tutorial: "Create gold jewelry text in Gimp" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fsVbkM-lAM

'For You and Your Denial' Music Video

2011-02-22T11:03:00.000-05:00

The first video for the new Yellowcard album is here!

Now if you don't mind I will give it a small critique.

Pros: The setting is nice, a country road, the old muscle car; it has an Ocean Avenue look and feel, like a continuation of it. The song is also pretty good. ;)

Cons: Most of the video that aren't shots of the girl in the car are shots of the band from behind. Why show them from behind? I would rather see their faces. The girl, to me, is a little scary, mostly it's the nose ring, not attractive at all. Also, what's with all the closeups of her lips? Just back the camera up two feet so we can see her better.
[SPOILER] Why don't we get to see what happens at the end? The film burn starts before we know what happens. I think a better ending would have been a shot from the outside in front of the windshield showing her stop and just kinda staring at Ryan. Or a sideshot showing her looking at the band and them looking back.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy the video, I was expecting something more but it's OK, I bet the video for 'Hang You Up' will be good.

Star Wars Kid - Corey Vidal Style

2011-02-21T12:37:00.003-05:00

So recently an awesome Youtuber named Corey Vidal made a series explaining how to get the most out of your camera. On the video for shutter speed he was swinging around a lightsaber and in one video he hit his foot with it. So I thought it would be fun to add the lightsaber effects to it. Corey was kind enough to let me do this so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

This is taken from Corey's amazing series 'Camera Wizard' Go check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQtb-3...

You'll probably notice many inconsistencies and that's because of two reasons. 1. I didn't want it to be perfect, I did this for fun. 2. It's very hard to find the saber on a solid colored background, especially in areas of high motion blur. A saber's glow barely shows up on a white background so I purposely made the glow visible.

The awesome man who's letting me make fun of him: http://youtube.com/ApprenticeA

I have his permission for this. http://twitter.com/CoreyVidal/status/...

Follow me on Twitter. http://twitter.com/DJWFX

Gimp Tutorial: Writing in the Sand

2010-12-14T11:10:00.001-05:00

In this tutorial I'll show you how to fake 3d depth and mimic drawing in the sand.

Here is a photo of what the effect looks like in real life:

Intros, Too Many People to Name

2010-07-31T12:26:00.000-04:00

WOW! I have had such a busy year, here are more intros I have made for people, and there's a lot of them.

Drew99957

Drew99957 Intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

Vtutorialz

GuitarrockerXD

GimperHD

TGM Studios

TheSilentNinja10

StyleWithGimp

NextGenDesignz

Jailbreaker909

Icrazepodz

Photoshop Tutorial - Create an unstable Lightsaber with Photoshop

2010-07-05T14:49:00.000-04:00

Yes! Finally! I have a Photoshop tutorial made, which, although it's not anything new, at least now my channel doesn't lie when it says I make Photoshop tutorials. :P

Gimp tutorial - Create the Tweetie 2 Icon

2010-06-09T18:03:00.000-04:00

Another request from Gimper.net, I really wasn't prepared for this tutorial as you can easily tell. I didn't rehearse at all and I apologize. :P

Monday Freebie - Resource Hive

2010-06-07T22:42:00.000-04:00

I recently stumbled upon this site and it has some cool resources, it was recently revamped with more categories, and an easier navigation system. ResourceHive

Intros - W240Tire, TriTechNinja, Awsm0down

2010-06-03T16:08:00.000-04:00

So, I really need to get back into the Gimp swing of things, but I have received so many intro requests it's been keeping me pretty busy. Here are three more.

W240Tire

W240Tire from David Wood on Vimeo.

TriTechNinja

TriTechNinja Intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

Awsm0down

Awsm0down Intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

Intros - Fawswrm, MultipleGimpTutorials

2010-05-05T12:45:00.007-04:00

I have two intros just recently off the AE press, hope you guys like them. :)

Fawswrm

Fawswrm Productions intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

MultipleGimpTutorials

MultipleGimpTutorials Intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

Monday Freebie - PizzaDude.dk

2010-05-03T09:30:00.005-04:00

I recently stumbled upon this cool site through a Gimper link, so I'm sharing it with you. :)

Jacob Fischer is a kindergarten teacher from Denmark who, in his free time, creates commercial and freeware fonts with a very relaxed style.

While his site lists a lot of his shareware fonts, the freeware fonts can be found on AbstractFonts, Dafont, and 1001fonts.

P.S. I'll try to come up with a Monday freebie every. . . . Monday. ;)

127 Useful Gimp Scripts and Plugins

2010-04-01T12:49:00.002-04:00

While I do record Photoshop and After Effects tutorials from time to time, lately my focus has been on my Gimp works. Therefore I have rounded up the best Gimp scripts and plugins available on the net, including scripts I personally use. Enjoy, and I hope you find these scripts and plugins useful.

FX Foundry

FX Foundry is without a doubt the best Gimp scripts collection around. The Foundry team has 117 gimp scripts, but the best part of the collection, the Layer Effects scripts. We all know Photoshop has layer styles, and are one of the big drawbacks due to Gimp's lack thereof, however The Foundry has written scripts to match (as closely as possible) the layer styles in Photoshop, I use these quite regularly.

http://gimpfx-foundry.sourceforge.net/

Liquid Rescale

A very, VERY useful plugin that, in the words of the developer,"[Liquid Rescale] aims at resizing pictures non uniformly while preserving their features, i.e. avoiding distortion of the important parts". It does exactly that, you can rescale an image with little or no distortion. I was so thrilled when I learned about this plug, and still am amazed by its abilities.

http://liquidrescale.wikidot.com/

GreyCstoration

GreyC as it's affectionately called, is an image denoising and interpolation plugin, it does wonders for cleaning up noise in your pictures. I use it on all my images as a final step. Unfortunately GreyC is no longer supported. There is an updated version called G'Mic, it contains all the features of GreyC, plus lots of other (in my opinion) useless features.

GreyC: Download: http://registry.gimp.org/node/137

G'Mic: http://gmic.sourceforge.net/gimp.shtml

High Dynamic Range filter

This script produces a fake high dynamic range (in essence a super saturated image).

Before:

After:

It's handy for creating the look of an HDR photo.

http://registry.gimp.org/node/11776

The next three scripts are great for creating a cool space scene, I've used all three in personal projects over the past three years.

SpaceScape

This is a fun star field script that you can pick the color, density, and image size. I used this back before I got really good at making my own. Kinda nostalgic . . . Anyways, it a tried and true tool for beginners.

http://registry.gimp.org/node/297

Planet Render

This script is included in the FX Foundry pack mentioned above, but if you don't feel like having all those, you can separately download it. It creates a planet with an atmospheric glow, and shadow. You can also adjust the angle of light, and how much light is cast on the planet.

http://registry.gimp.org/node/297

Planetary Rings

This is a great script to use with the above two scripts. Easily add some rings to the planets you make with the planet render script.

http://registry.gimp.org/node/297

More useful scripts

Gimp Python - Slice filter

Gimp uses various scripting languages for scripts and plugins. One of these is Python. There are several gimp scripts that you don't normally see due to needing Python installed. One of these that web designers will find very valuable is the Slice filter. This script uses guides to slice up your image and add the code to an HTML file, super slick if you ask me. Thankfully, PhotoComix has put together the instructions for getting these scripts to work.

http://photocomix-resources.deviantart.com/art/Gimp-Python-support-easier-74889017

Blade-Rotoscope - Lightsaber blade creator

This is another personal favorite. This handy script takes a selection and turns it into a lightsaber blade, a white glowing center, with a colored aura. You don't just have to use it simply for lightsabers though, it can be used in many situations, such as making a glowing logo, or text. I used this in my Supercharged lightsaber tutorial-

http://www.baudalign.com/lee/gimplightsabre.html

Ultimate Gradient Map

This one stems from my need to have a gradient map script that recognized if the gradient map was reversed. The normal Gradient map plug does not do this, so I asked Fencepost, from DeviantArt if he could write one. He had a similar script but it applied the gradient map to all layers instead of the active layer. So this script still does that, but now has the option to only gradient map the active layer. This will come in handy when you want to use the default gradients reversed.

http://gimper.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7034

MathMap

This is one I've recently come across, I haven't used it much but it seems promising. MathMap is an image processing plugin inside of Gimp, it has many filters and they can be linked together to create even more effects. It's also written in simple coding language so someone with a little knowledge can add on to the code.

http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/schani/mathmap/

A Tutorial

This is a brief tutorial on making small changes to scripts

Links

Last but not least, here are a few useful links to Script sites

DeviantArt
http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/applications/gimpactions/?order=9

Gimp Scripts
http://gimpscripts.com/?page_id=5

FencePost
http://fence-post.deviantart.com/gallery/#GIMP-Scripts

My intro, Kramer style

2010-04-01T07:34:00.001-04:00

This is my take on the tutorial by Andrew Kramer of Videocopilot.net. Complete with sound effects! :P

My intro, Kramer style B) from David Wood on Vimeo.

New intro for Graphic Tutor

2010-03-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

This is my latest intro for a Youtuber named graphictutor, It's a take on Andrew Kramer's latest tutorial with my own twist.

Graphic Tutor intro 1 from David Wood on Vimeo.

Gimp Gradient Mapping Part 1 Character Mapping

2010-03-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

The first in a two (possibly three) part tutorial series on using this sometimes complicated (yet absolutely necessary) tool. Learn the basics of gradient mapping, and see how it can be used to unite all the elements in your design. :)

First Written Gimp Tutorial Doctor Who Displacement Signature

2010-02-28T19:48:00.002-05:00

Well, I actually wrote a tutorial, please pick your jaw off the floor, I just waxed. But seriously, after posting this signature

I had a request from a member named Shark, Shark, this one's for you. ;D

New site! ProjectFX

2010-02-21T17:40:00.000-05:00

Well, it's time to unveil my latest fiasco, or, maybe it's a masterpiece, whatever you like. ProjectFX is a new site for hosting and sharing Gimp projects and other files. I have several personal projects as well as projects from my tutorials. Enjoy! http://projectfx.exofire.net/

Site review from NoiseJunkies.net

2010-02-21T15:19:00.000-05:00

This is Epic, a good friend of mine, Rafael Guerra, from the Videocopilot forums has posted a Vlog (Video Blog) and he reviewed my site! So Stoked! Check it out here. http://www.noisejunkies.net/2010/02/20/vlog-3-online/

GO NOISEJUNKIES!!!!! :)

Inspiring Iron Man color replacement scene

2010-01-30T20:49:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I haven't actually seen Iron Man but this was on Videocopilot several loooooong months ago, back in 2009.
It's a very cool scene done by Robert Donnelly in response to a photoshopped picture a friend did.

As you can see the piece isn't that good, his thumb is in front of the bottle and the logo on his chest has the perspective all wrong.

Now check out the video. Huge improvement! :)

The Jager Bomber!! from Robert Donnelly on Vimeo.

Heroes followup tutorial

2010-01-17T13:25:00.001-05:00

After looking at the various Heroes logos I realized mine was far from close to the original, so I present a followup where we will recreate the original logo.

Intros

2010-01-16T12:15:00.002-05:00

Due to seeing my skills (or out of desperation), I have been asked to make several intros for various Youtube channels and groups. With your kind indulgence I give you, the intros. . .
Also go directly to Vimeo to watch in HD.

GKH intro 2 from David Wood on Vimeo.

Pixellica intro updated from David Wood on Vimeo.

Gimpgiudes101, Technetic intro test. from David Wood on Vimeo.

InstallingStuff intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

StupidMovieMakerz intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

Dark Pixellica intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

ThePS3Cinema intro from David Wood on Vimeo.

Graphic Tutor intro 1 from David Wood on Vimeo.

Heroes eclipse tutorial

2010-01-12T10:35:00.007-05:00

The time has come for another Gimp masterpiece, or at least, another Gimp tutorial :P . In this tutorial we will recreate the famous Heroes eclipse logo using basic Gimp techniques. Enjoy!

Also there is a Photoshop version here. But it's not what I would call the best. Click here

40 Gimp Design Tutorials featuring my tutorial

2010-01-04T12:25:00.002-05:00

Gimp is an amazing program, nuf' said. While browsing Twitter I came across this tweet showing 40 gimp design tuts and when I went to the site, my abstract wave tutorial was #3. Very cool, I guess I'm moving up there slowly. ;)

http://naldzgraphics.net/tutorials/40-excellent-gimp-tutorials-for-designers/

First Photoshop tutorial, recreating the Yellowcard Paper Walls moon

2009-12-16T22:33:00.007-05:00

First PS tut is here and it's also on Pixellica.com. I'll show you how to create a full size version of the logo seen on the cover of Yellowcard's 2007 album, Paper Walls. Enjoy!

Don't forget to watch on Vimeo to see the HD version.

P.S. I also created the intro. ;)

Pixellica.com - Photoshop tutorial, Yellowcard Paper Walls logo from Pixellica Design on Vimeo.

Doctor Who wallpaper

2009-12-10T11:49:00.005-05:00

Just thought you guys would like to see this piece I made. It really shows the power Gimp has. :)

The background is from here:
www.computerfreewallpapers.com/wallpaper/Misconstrue-Spac...

David Tennant is from here:
lilcocky.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/doctor-who/

TARDIS from here:
www.flickr.com/photos/badlydubbedboy/23382092/

I do not own Doctor Who or work for BBC. This is purely a piece of fan art.

Don't forget about Flickr!

2009-11-23T10:13:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, don't forget to check out my Flickr photostream, got some cool photos and stuff you don't see on the blog. Sure I have the Flickr widget but it doesn't have the same effect as seeing the full sized image. ;)

Go to my Photostream

Cool font site

2009-11-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted much lately, working on some Gimp and Photoshop stuff. Just wanted to share a nice site with you. Check this out. Click Here

Also here is a sneak peek at something I made in Gimp.

I created this creepy eyeball effect and it looks like a movie poster doesn't it? In fact when I get my video camera I think I will write up a short story for it and try some VFX. I guess that's it for now. Take care guys!

Gimp signature tutorial.

2009-11-13T21:12:00.002-05:00

Yes there are TONS of signature tutorials out there. But I was playing with some fun background effects and it made a good signature so. . . Anyway here it is, and I hope you like it! :)

The beauty of fractals and flames

2009-11-09T17:51:00.007-05:00

Fractals and Flames are lovely. According to Wikipedia, "Fractal art is created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculation results as still images, animations, music, or other media". Flames on the other hand, while being similar are not mathematically driven.
So today I have put together some lovely artwork involving flame elements. These were all created using Gimp's flame plugin which you can find under Filters > Render > Nature. I have left a few colorless to allow you to adjust them to your own desires. Also here are several links to amazing fractal galleries and a tutorial by myself on enhancing the flame plugin.

http://www.fractalism.com/fractals/alien.htm
http://www.fractalism.com/fractals/geometry.htm
http://www.fractalism.com/fractals/kaleidoscope.htm
http://www.fractalarts.com/

Unposted Gimp tutorials

2009-11-06T10:52:00.009-05:00

Okay so I haven't really embedded all my tutorials on the site. So for you to enjoy yourselves and not have to travel the long distance to Youtube, I have placed all unposted tutorials up until this time here. Enjoy, rate, comment, and subscribe! All videos are embedded in HD.

Warning: This is a rant

2009-11-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Guys! I feel unjustly accused. Read this article and you'll know why.

http://gh0stdigital.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/the-let-me-teach-you-via-tutorial-phenom/

I have done nothing to invoke his wrath. I don't claim to be a pro, I don't act like I'm a pro, and I don't view myself as a pro (even discreetly). Daniel is acting like he's a god and he should crush all us worthless peasants. This guy needs to be set straight! >:(

Underwater tut.

2009-11-02T14:33:00.003-05:00

Here is the underwater version of the loading bar tut. Enjoy! :)

First After Effects tutorial.

2009-11-01T08:16:00.005-05:00

Okay! I have been saying After Effects tutorial for a while now and I now have one up. It's a long one coming in at just under 20 minutes. Create a cool loading bar with lens flares and sparks. Enjoy and rate, comment, and subscribe! :)

My Gimp tutorial on Gimp-tutorials.net!

2009-10-25T12:39:00.003-04:00

Alright! Many of you have seen the gimp wave effect that I converted from a paint.net tutorial. Well along with the video, Gimper, the administrator of gimp-tutorials.net, asked me to do a written version and I got $30 bucks to boot. Besides that I am now a moderator on the Gimper.net forum, yay!

http://gimp-tutorials.net/abstract-gimp-effect

Some news

2009-10-23T12:38:00.003-04:00

Okay so first thing you will notice is I added a Big If banner.
I think you all should check them out. Second I deleted the personal blog since I didn't have anything to say on it and if I have random stuff I post it on Twitter. Thirdly I am working on an After Effects tutorial about making a cool loading bar. You can see it in action in this promo I'm making for GimpKnowHow. The stormy weather idea petered out.

3D ice text tutorial.

2009-10-17T19:19:00.004-04:00

Alright, new tutorial up. Frozen text in Gimp.

Upcoming tutorial idea

2009-10-11T14:30:00.002-04:00

So I had a cool idea the other day to do a stormy weather tutorial in After Effects. Now you're probably thinking, "There are already tuts on this". Well, my result is a little different and it makes a cool wallpaper too.

Now this is far from finished but it looks pretty sweet.

NEW TUNES!!!!

2009-10-02T19:02:00.004-04:00

Wow I am stoked,
Big If has new demos up! I'm a little late in posting this but these songs are killer. Especially Empty Street, great beat and lyrics. :) I can't stop listening to it. Go check them out on Myspace
Also if you want all the songs including the previous ones I uploaded them to MediaFire

RIP Chocolate Milk

2009-10-02T13:32:00.002-04:00

I'm afraid the last bottle has bit the dust. No more will I taste the sweet flavor of Upstate Farm Intense chocolate milk.
Until I go to the store that is. We finished all the chocolate milk we took home from the Farm-city day. It lasted quite a while considering 7 people were drinking it. Maybe my friend Zach still has some.... Hmmm....

Tuts are done!

2009-09-29T19:42:00.006-04:00

The new tutorials are done. Let me know what you think! :)

http://youtube.com/davidwoodfx/

The end results: click for larger pictures.

Back from Farm-City Day

2009-09-26T20:45:00.007-04:00

Okay so every Autumn there's a day where a farm opens it's doors to the public. A lot of folks from the city travel down to have a look at country life.
Well this time it was the Drumm dairy farm over in Prattsburgh NY. Mainly we went for the corn maze, and to tell you the truth, it was a let down, not nearly as much fun as last year's. But there is a positive side...
CHOCOLATE MILK!!!
There was free chocolate milk and cuz it was cold and rainy no one was taking any. Plus they didn't have signs saying there was milk. So at 3 o'clock when the whole event is over, there was a big vat full of it. So as my buddy Zach and I are getting a drink one of the farm hands say, "Take as much as you want". So Zach takes off his sweatshirt and forms a bag and we start filling it up. We made two trips to his car and there was still milk left over, we only took the plastic ones (stupid us) and left the cardboard behind. A few other people were also filling their pockets. Anyway the point I'm getting at is all and all we carried away 96 8 ounce containers! Mom said that's over 5 gallons!! We went over to my grandma's house afterward and counted them.

Click for larger pictures.

There's also a video HERE.

That's not counting the ones we drank.

So in our eyes it was a very productive day. (I'm saving some for you Derek!) :)

Final note:
I am so glad I'm a country boy, those city drivers don't have a clue what to do on a dirt road and drive slower than molasses.

Upcoming Stuff

2009-09-25T13:05:00.009-04:00

Okay so I haven't had any comments on my posts but I'm posting anyway.
I have some cool Gimp tutorials coming up, one is on fire and the other is creating an awesome 'energy blade' effect, I don't have an exact name for it so maybe you can suggest something.
Here's a picture to give you an idea:

Submit requests

2009-09-15T10:57:00.004-04:00

Just so you know, I'll convert Photoshop and Paint.net tutorials for you guys. So if you come across a neat effect, send me a link and I'll check it out. :)

Welcome to the blog!

2009-09-14T16:06:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone, David Wood here. Just set this up so you can follow along and hear news about tutorials and stuff. Enjoy! Also I set up a Twitter account cuz a friend was egging me about it. ;)