[Guide] Creating Official Seals with GIMP

[Virana]

For those who prefer to work with vector image editing programs, Gristol-Serkonos has made this excellent guide for making official seals with InkScape.

Creating Official Seals with GIMP

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Programs required: GIMP 2.8

Let's face it: official seals (like those used by US government agencies) are cool, and making one for your NationStates country would be even cooler. There was a website, says-it.com, where you could generate official seals in addition to a number of other interesting images; unfortunately, the Official Seal Generator on the site has been down for years, and my attempt to contact the webmaster about it resulted in no response.

But, luckily for us, creating our own seals is not very hard (though it may take a bit longer than the official seal generator). Once I learned to make seals for myself, I was appalled at how easy it was and how stunningly realistic the end result was. In this guide, I'll describe how to design one—complete with visuals explaining the process on GIMP. The best part? GIMP is entirely free, so this process costs absolutely nothing!

Note: In order to fully comprehend this guide, one must understand the basics of the Paths tool on GIMP. Here is an excellent guide that contains basic use of the Paths tool to create images.

[Virana]

Step 1: Open a new file

When you open GIMP, click File >> New. GIMP will prompt you for the dimensions of the image. For the purposes of this guide, I will use 800x800 px, a size I use for all my seals. This is the recommended size; however, you may choose a different size, but keep in mind that this will change resizing measurements depicted later in this guide.

Step 2: Create a circular path

Choose the Ellipse Select Tool; it should be the second tool from the left on the top row of the GIMP toolbox. Create a circle that spans the entire length of the canvas, as depicted:

Click to enlarge. A circular selection has been created spanning the entire canvas. Look at the Tool Options section under "Size". Note how the length and width are both 800. This is important, because the canvas is 800x800, so both length and width should match the dimensions of the image.

Above: This image shows which tab
on the right sidebar is the paths
dialog.

Now, in the bar at the top, click Select >> To Path, as shown to the right. This will create a circular path. We can view this in the Paths dialog on the right sidebar (note: not the layers dialog; if you are in the layers dialog, use the tabs at the top of the sidebar to reach the paths dialog. See image to the right for a visual.)

Step 3: Create the base of your image

We are going to create the very base of the image; this base will be the outline of the seal. For my purposes, I will use light brown (HTML code #B88955).

First, create a new layer by clicking Layer >> New Layer and name it "Base." Go into the paths dialog, right-click on the new circular path, and click "Path to selection." Now, fill it in with the color you chose. Your result should look something like this.

We have just filled in our path with a base color.

Step 4: Make an area for text

On seals, the text is generally in a thick band within the border. The easiest way to do this is to resize our circular path. The first thing to do is right-click on our path in the Paths dialog and click "Duplicate path." This will create the same path again.

Now, make your path visible. Next to the Base Path copy tool, enable the "eye" like so:

The "eye" means that the path is visible. One the image, you should see a red line marking the location of the path. Throughout this guide, we will be making paths visible and invisible to give ourselves a clear view of the path and the picture.

Now, we must actually resize the new path. Click the resize tool (). You will want to make sure you are resizing paths, not the image. Do this by making sure this option is selected in the Tool Options panel on the left sidebar:

With this option selected, GIMP will resize the selected path rather than trying to resize the image itself.

Now, click on the path and make it smaller. The exact size will vary based on the dimensions of the canvas and how thick of a border you want for the image. Feel free to experiment with different sizes. For this guide, I will resize this path from 800x800 to 750x750.

We have to center the new path now. Click the alignment tool (). Click on the circular path that is out of center. You will see the following options appear in the Tool Options panel:

Click the middle option in both rows. This should place the path into the center of the image. The image, with the smaller path visible, should look like this:

Now, create a new layer and name it "Text area." Go into the Paths dialog, right-click the new path, and click "Path to selection" again. Fill it in with a color of your choice; I chose tan (HTML code #EAD6C0). Your image should look something like this:

Notice how our base color has now become the border to the seal. If you want a thinner border, try resizing the inner path to be larger. For a thicker border, make the inner path smaller.

Step 4a: Create a border for the text banner - OPTIONAL!

Different seals have different designs. The borders of a seal are often elaborately put together, but different seals have different systems for their borders. For this image, I will create a border on the outside of the text layer. This step is entirely optional; once you understand more fully how to make seals, you can experiment with different techniques to create different types of borders. This guide will give you a very basic idea of how to make one.

Remember that we created a text area. To make a simple border, first select the color you want the border to be. I will choose a darker shade of brown (HTML code #87653E). Then, create a new layer called "Text area border."

We are going to stroke the path to create the border. Go into the Paths dialog again and right-click the path denoting the text area, and click "Stroke path." A new window will pop up to set the parameters for the stroke. Set the thickness of the stroke you want (thicker border means a wider stroke). I chose 3 px for mine, like so:

Then, click "Stroke" and voila, the path is now a border!

Step 4b: Create a double-border - OPTIONAL!

For this guide, I am going to create a "double border" found on some notable seals. This step is also optional. First, duplicate the smaller path and reduce the new path's size slightly. I changed it from 800x800 px to 770x770 px. Create a new layer called "Double border." Now, simply stroke the path. For this one, I did a thicker 5 px stroke. The result:

[Virana]

Step 5: The inner circle

As you may know, seals generally have some sort of image or coat of arms on the inside, generally within their own circle. This inner circle will form the inner boundary of our text area, as well.

Repeat the previous process of selecting the latest path, duplicating it, and resizing it. You should experiment with different sizes for the inner circle. A larger inner circle means a thinner text area, meaning you will need to use a smaller font. For this guide, I resized the circle from 800x800 px to 580x580 px. Then, after centering it, the image should look like this:

Create a new layer and name it "Inner area." Then, right-click on the inner path and click "Path to selection" and fill it in with a color of your choice. For this tutorial, I am using a navy blue (HTML code #00294C). It should resemble this:

Step 5a: Border for the inner circle - OPTIONAL!

I will make a border for the inner circle using the same "stroke" method discussed in Steps 4a and 4b. This step is, again, optional, but it is very simple.

Create a new layer and title it "Inner area border." Right-click on the inner path and click "Stroke path." Select the thickness of the stroke and voila. For this tutorial, I chose 5 px using the same dark brown shade used for previous borders.

Step 6: Text line path

Now, we need to create a path the text will follow. Curved text on GIMP is not a complicated process, but it involves making text "follow along" a path; in this case, the path will be circular.

Duplicate one of your paths and size it such that it bisects the center of the intended text area. On mine, I took the double border path created in Step 4b and resized it from 800x800 px to 690x690 px. It may take a few "guess-and-check" tries to get the size of this path right. Remember, it should bisect the text area, like so:

Step 7: Write something!

Now, we can write something that will go across the top of the seal. Government seals typically have a traditional serif font (think Times New Roman), but many seals use other types of fonts. Most seals contain text that is in all caps, as well. A size in the range of 60-80 px should be fine depending on the length of what you want to write. You may have to experiment a little bit.

I will write "CREATING OFFICIAL SEALS" in Times New Roman, size 70 px. My image looks like so:

Now comes the interesting part. Make sure the text bisecting path is selected in the Paths dialog. Now switch over to the Layers dialog and right-click on the text layer. Click "Text along path."

Now, a new, circular red path in the shape of text should appear on screen, like so:

This text will most likely be off-center, and you'll have to rotate it to the correct position. To do this, simply select the rotate tool () and make sure the following option is selected:

Now, click on the path and rotate it until it's in the center. It should look something like this:

To turn this into visible text, go into the Paths dialog. Above the text bisecting path should be the text path we just rotated. Right-click on this path and click "Path to selection." You can make the path invisible by clicking the eye.

Now, create a new layer called "Text 1." Fill in the selection with any color you choose. I used the same blue from the inner circle to fill in the text. The image should look something like this:

Step 8: Write something at the bottom

We've written text on the top half of the seal, but the bottom is empty! Some seals, like the Seal of the President of the United States, have text that is so long it makes an almost complete circle; seals like that don't need additional text at the bottom. However, my seal's top text is not very long, so half the seal is empty. So, we need to put something at the bottom.

The text bisecting path is important here, but if we tried putting something on the bottom of the seal using the current text bisecting path, it would be upside down! In order to fix the issue, duplicate the text bisecting path, and flip it vertically. You can do this by selecting the Flip tool (). Again, make sure this option is selected:

Now, simply select "Vertical" and click on the duplicate bisecting path. You won't see a visual difference, since it's still a circle; we just flipped the circle upside down.

Now, repeat the same text process as before by writing something. I will write "WITH GIMP 2.8" to complete the title of the guide on the seal. For this guide, I used the same Times New Roman 70 px font as before. Right-click on the new text layer and click "Text along path." Now, create a new layer called "Text 2." Go into the Paths dialog, right-click on the new text path, make that path invisible, then fill it in with a color of your choice.

Your image should now look something like this:

Congratulations, most of your seal is complete!

Step 9: Add a coat of arms

The image placed in the center of the seal—usually a coat of arms, insignia, or logo of some sort—is generally the most difficult and overlooked part of designing a seal. This guide will not cover how to draw the image to put in the center, because the image can be any logo or visual representation of the organization for which the seal is being made. For this guide, I simply used the GIMP "Wilber" logo, resized to roughly 400px in width.

Make sure you put the center image in a new layer!

Step 10: Get rid of the white background

Seals should have transparent backgrounds so that there is no ugly white color covering the corners. Go to your Layers dialog and scroll down to the background layer. If you have not already, then click the "eye" to make that white background layer invisible. Don't do this to the "Base" layer we made as the base of the image.

Once the white background is invisible, it will be replaced by a grayscale "check board" pattern. This is GIMP's indication that the area is transparent. Now, you can save the image as an XCF (make sure to save it as an XCF - that way, you can edit the image later if you need to), then export the image as a PNG.

And we're done!

Note: The GIMP logo is free software released under the GNU General Public License Version 3. Its use in this guide does not represent any official GIMP support or endorsement for this guide.

[Virana]

Guide resources

As a firm believer in openness, I am hereby releasing the GIMP and Photoshop files (complete with the actual layers and paths used in this guide) for the seal created in this guide for free and open use. Feel free to see how I did things, make your own modifications, etc.

Download XCF (GIMP) | Download PSD (GIMP or Photoshop)

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Find anything confusing or incorrect in the guide? Any questions, comments, or feedback? Don't hesitate to post in this thread or TG me!

Also, if you've created a seal using this guide, post it here! I will be glad to give feedback or input regarding the seal, including tips on how to fix anything that may have gone wrong. If you discover some unique technique you think is cool, make sure to post that here as well!

Keep in mind that the techniques and methods described in this guide are not the only way to accomplish the desired effects. Paths are a very flexible tool that can be manipulated in many different ways. Once you are comfortable with paths, feel free to experiment with your own techniques!

Gallery

[Tippercommon]

Not enough potatoes.

[Hanalia]

Thanks very much for this guide, took me a while to get the hang of things being an absolute beginner but got there in the end. Here's my first attempt

[Virana]

Thanks very much for this guide, took me a while to get the hang of things being an absolute beginner but got there in the end. Here's my first attempt

([url=http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q624/EdwinHanalia/Hanalia/th_GREATSEAL_zps2cddb774.png]Image)[/url]

Wow, good work! That's much, much, much better than my own first attempt at making a seal. Glad my guide worked out for you!

One thing you could try to do is redraw or find a clearer version of the image inside the seal. It seems to be a little bit blurry, possibly due to resizing or just naturally like that, which makes it contrast with the smooth design of the rest of the seal.

[Gristol-Serkonos]

Did my own.

It's not Gimp though, I used a vector software called inkscape then exported it to bitmap.

[Virana]

(Image)

Did my own.

It's not Gimp though, I used a vector software called inkscape then exported it to bitmap.

Good work! I really like it.

And yeah, Inkscape's a great program for vectors. I'd make a guide for it too, but I don't have the experience on Inkscape that I do on GIMP.

[Gristol-Serkonos]

(Image)

Did my own.

It's not Gimp though, I used a vector software called inkscape then exported it to bitmap.

Good work! I really like it.

And yeah, Inkscape's a great program for vectors. I'd make a guide for it too, but I don't have the experience on Inkscape that I do on GIMP.

I could help out.

I tried using GIMP myself, it doesn't work for me.

[The New American commonwealth]

Tag, this will be very good for me

[Vicious Debaters]

You deserve a medal.

Fucking amazing, I love GIMP and this is a great guide. Always wondered how to make text in a circle or semicircle.

[Virana]

You deserve a medal.

Fucking amazing, I love GIMP and this is a great guide. Always wondered how to make text in a circle or semicircle.

Thanks! Haha, yeah, GIMP is a very powerful and no-cost tool for a lot of very cool graphics work. I also used to have trouble getting text into a circle; I learned how to get it into a curve using this same technique, but it took a while to strike me that I could use circular paths and rotate them to achieve that circular text.

[Darkey]

You deserve a medal.

Fucking amazing, I love GIMP and this is a great guide. Always wondered how to make text in a circle or semicircle.

Thanks! Haha, yeah, GIMP is a very powerful and no-cost tool for a lot of very cool graphics work. I also used to have trouble getting text into a circle; I learned how to get it into a curve using this same technique, but it took a while to strike me that I could use circular paths and rotate them to achieve that circular text.

[Amerinia]

How to you add the stroke? Every time I try to add it, a message comes up that says not enough points.

[Virana]

How to you add the stroke? Every time I try to add it, a message comes up that says not enough points.

Sorry for the late response; haven't been on NS much lately.

It sounds like the path you're trying to stroke is only a single point, as opposed to a continuous line through multiple points. If you're following the guide above, that's not something you should have to worry about, since GIMP automatically generates the path from the circular selection. Can you go into a bit more detail about what's going on?

[The Sotoan Union]

Tag.

[Gristol-Serkonos]

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=306459

For those of you using Vector, here's an alternative.

[The GAmeTopians]

tag
Great tutorial!

[Rookanse]

Thank you so much! I shall make one soon!

[Jupitiana]

It took awhile, and I had to restart several times to understand it, as I don't use Gimp too often, and I'm more used to PSD. However, after lots of hard work I was able to finish it.

[Ranonline]

thank you very much for great tutorial, you made me understand it.