Bezier Lines

[suityou01]

Been messing around in GIMP this evening as I want to create a shape.

Basically a wide and not very tall rectangle, solid colour, a banner if you will.

Then subtract a bezier curve from it.

Hard to explain in just text

I have been getting some alarmingly weird results in GIMP.

In theory what I can do is draw a rectable selection area, then draw my bezier curve (path tool) over the top of the rectangle area, and before clicking "selection from path" I hold the control key down, which should subtract from from t'other.

Not quite working for me though as it tries to turn my bezier curve into a polygonal shape and then subtract that from the rectangle with some alarmingly weird results.

Googling around for hours and cannot find anything on the topic.

Are there any artistically capable bods on here that can describe to me what it is I am trying to do?

[Cliphead]

Isn't GIMP more of bitmap editor / Photoshop thingie than a vector drawing tool?

I use Corel Draw if I need to create shapes, curves etc.

[Moscow Mule]

If I understand you correctly, entirely possible I don't, you want to invert your selection, copy then paste into a new doc.

[suityou01]

If I understand you correctly, entirely possible I don't, you want to invert your selection, copy then paste into a new doc.

Don't know what "invert your selection" means I'm afraid.

Imagine drawing a rectangle, then drawing a wavy line across the bottom right hand corner, so that the wavy line intersects the rectangle. Then remove everything to the right of the wavy line, so that the rectangle remains, with a wavy bit nibbled off the bottom right, and fill it with a solid colour.

[Moscow Mule]

Don't know what "invert your selection" means I'm afraid.

Imagine drawing a rectangle, then drawing a wavy line across the bottom right hand corner, so that the wavy line intersects the rectangle. Then remove everything to the right of the wavy line, so that the rectangle remains, with a wavy bit nibbled off the bottom right, and fill it with a solid colour.

I don't use gimp, but this would work in pixelmator which is roughly similar

1) draw your rectangle
2) get a new layer
3) get your "odd shaped selection" tool.
4) create an odd shaped selection - it will have two straight lines & 1 wavy line. Pixelmator does this automatically if you draw a wavy line at the edge of a document
5) fill selection with desired colour
6) fiddle with moving layer created in 2 around until it looks ok (optional)
7) merge layers.

I'm not a pro at this, so there might well be an easier way to do that, but it WFM.

[Spacecadet]

use paint.net
It's free, It works more like photoshop and there are a lot of tutorials around

[Weltchy]

use paint.net
It's free, It works more like photoshop and there are a lot of tutorials around

Seconded

[xoggoth]

Never heard of paint.net before. Looks really good.

PS In future, will anyone posting info about good FREE stuff please do so before I have spent loads of dosh on commercial things that are no better? Ta.

[NickFitz]

In Gimp, I did the following:

1. Created and filled a rectangle;
2. Selected the Path tool;
3. Clicked outside the bottom edge of the rectangle to start a path;
4. Clicked outside the right edge of the rectangle to add another point;
5. Clicked below and to the right of the rectangle to add another point;
6. Ctrl-clicked on the start point to close the path, thereby forming a triangle across the corner of the rectangle;
7. Edited the path segment that crossed the rectangle to make it nice and wavy;
8. Used "Selection from path";
9. Cut.

...and lo! I have a wavy-edged bit taken out of the rectangle

Was that what you wanted?

[Durbs]

Never heard of paint.net before. Looks really good.

Just had a look round their site and it does indeed look very good. Downloading it now but i'm surprised i've not come across that one before.

Fireworks is my graphics tool of choice but is silly money for what it is. Tried Gimp a couple of times but detested the interface.