User Guide

GNU Image Manipulation Program
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Shape The GIMP provides 11 shapes, which can be selected from the drop-down list. Details on each of the shapes are given
below.
Linear
The Lineargradient begins with the foreground color at the starting point of the drawn line and transitions linearly to
the background color at the ending point.
Bi-Linear
The Bi-Linear shape proceeds in both directions from the starting point, for a distance determined by the length of
the drawn line. It is useful, for example, for giving the appearance of a cylinder.
Radial
The Radial gradient gives a circle, with foreground color at the center and background color outside the circle. It
gives the appearance of a sphere without directional lighting.
Square
There are four shapes that are some variant on a square: Square, Shapeburst (angular), Shapeburst (spherical), and
Shapeburst (dimpled). They all put the foreground color at the center of a square, whose center is at the start of the
drawn line, and whose half-diagonal is the length of the drawn line. The four options provide a variety in the manner
in which the gradient is calculated; experimentation is the best means of seeing the differences.
Conical (symmetric)
The Conical(symmetrical) shape gives the sensation of looking down at the tip of a cone, which appears to be
illuminated with the background color from a direction determined by the direction of the drawn line.
Conical (asymmetric)
Conical(asymmetric) is similar to Conical(symmetric) except that the "cone" appears to have a ridge where the line
is drawn.
Spiral (clockwise)
The Spiral tools provide spirals whose repeat width is determined by the length of the drawn line.
Repeat There are two repeat modes: Sawtooth Wave and Triangular Wave. The Sawtooth pattern is achieved by beginning with
the foreground, transitioning to the background, then starting over with the foreground. The Triangular starts with the
foreground, transitions to the background, then transitions back to the foreground.
Dithering Dithering is fully explained in the Glossary
Adaptive Supersampling Adaptive Supersampling is a more sophisticated means of smoothing the "jagged" effect of a sharp
transition of color along a slanted or curved line.