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Applying a Tattoo to the Head of a Bald Man

Inthisproject,youwilluseanumberofGIMPstoolsandfilterstosimulateatattooonthehead
ofabaldman:ForegroundSelecttool,QuickMask,ScaleandRotatetools,Distortsand
EdgeDetectfilters,andmore.

Sourceimagesfromfreeimages.com:lighthouse|baldguy

Part 1: Prepare the lighthouse image.

Thefirsttaskistoopenthelighthouseimageandremovethesky/groundbackgroundfromit.
Selectallthelighthousebyyourfavoritemethod.IchosetousetheForegroundSelectTool,
thenQuickMaskmodetorefinethedetailsoftheselection*.

Applying a Tattoo to the Head of a Bald Man

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Inverttheselectionsothatitincludesallthesky/groundbackground,SelectInvert(I).You
nowwanttoreplacetheselectedareawithtransparency,soyouneedtoaddanalphachannel
totheimage,LayerTransparencyAddAlphaChannel.Nowcleartheselection,Edit
Clear,anddeselectSelectNone(A).

Applying a Tattoo to the Head of a Bald Man

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Part 2: Place the lighthouse image onto the bald head.

Copythelighthouseimage,EditCopy(C).Openthebaldguyimage.Pastethelighthouse
imageontoitasanewlayer,EditPasteasNewLayer.

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Scalethelighthousetofitthebackofthehead.SelecttheScaleTool(T),reducetoabout
20%.UsetheMoveTool(M)topositionitonthebackofthebaldguy'shead.

Younextneedtorotatethelighthousetomatchtheangleofthehead.SelecttheRotateTool
(R),grabthegridanddragcounterclockwiseabout20.Youwillprobablyneedtoadjustthe
positionontheheadabit.

Part 3: Manipulate the lighthouse layer.

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Nowtodistortthelighthouseimagetomatchtheshapeofthemanshead.FromtheFilters
menu,chooseDistortsApplyLens.AdjusttheLensRefractionIndextogetacurve
matchingthemanshead.Thismayrequiresometrialanderror.Iendedupusing1.25.

ConvertthelighthousetograyscaleusingColorsDesaturate,Chooseshadesofgray
basedon:Average.

Thenextstepistoconvertthelighthouseimagetoalinedrawing,FiltersEdgeDetect
Sobel,defaultsettings.

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IntheLayerspallet,settheblendingModetoMultiplyandreducetheOpacitytoabout55%.

Now,blurslightly,FiltersBlurGaussianBlur,blurRadiusof1pixelbothHorizontallyand
Vertically.AddatinybitofNoisefromtheFiltersmenuchooseNoiseRGBNoise,justuse
thedefaults.

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AlittlemoreScalingandPositioningwillproducethisresult.

*Ifneeded,seeinstructionsforusingtheForegroundSelectToolhere.SeeaQuickMask
tutorialhere.

Applying a Tattoo to the Head of a Bald Man