Meet the Gimp! is a weekly video podcast or tutorial about the Gimp graphics software from the viewpoint of a digital photographer. More information at http://meetthegimp.org

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Episode 034: Full Control! - Monochrome conversion (3)


In this last episode (for nowâ?¦) about monochrome con- version I show you a way to get full control over the process of making a monochrome image.

I â??decomposeâ?? the RGB image into three layers, each containing one of the three colour channels.
By adjusting the opacity of the three layers I mix the channels as with the channel mixer. But I have the full image as â??preview areaâ?? and can change the values as long and often as I want.

Each of the layers can be further modified with the curves tool, other tools or partially masked off. Donâ??t forget to make a safety copy of the layer.

The image on the top of this page was done in this way. Itâ??s an enhanced version of the one I showed in the video. I have added a masked red layer for the background and a bit red layer for all of the image. This version is in the files for downloading - just two layers more than in the video.

The challenge

You can use this technique in the current challenge. Do a monochrome conversion with GIMP, post the image in the meetthegimp.org photogroup at 23 and be sure to use the tag â??mtg-monochromeâ??. The challenge ends March 31 1600GMT and Iâ??ll draw a winner by random choice.

You can find the image used in this episode here on the Download Page