• TomatoPotato69@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    What’s the problem with making a circle with the select tool and then tracing it or filling it? It’s not hard to make a circle in GIMP…

    • JackFrostNCola@aussie.zone
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      3 days ago

      Exactly what i do.

      1. pick a grid coordinate and use ctrl+shift with circle selection tool to the size i want.
      2. then using the same starting grid coordinate i create a second inner selection but hold down (shift i think?) to do [ - ] selection instead of [ + ] selection and once the negative selection is started press ctrl+shift again to lock it to circle and expand until i have the circle outline i wanted.
      • TomatoPotato69@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        You could also use the select tool to draw a single circle, then go to the Select menu and click Border which will create the outer and inner selections with the width you specified between them. Much easier than selecting a circle and de-selecting the centre hole.

        • JackFrostNCola@aussie.zone
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          2 days ago

          Well that does sound easier… I only use GIMP for basic hobby projects so i havent learned all the ins and outs and am probably doing a bunch if things the hard way around haha.
          Cheers friend

    • spartanatreyu@programming.dev
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      3 days ago

      That’s not a circle, that’s a grid of pixels being colored in. It’s a lossy representation of something else.

      A circle is a shape which is a graphics primitive. Graphics primitives can be moved, transformed, skewed, etc… with no loss of information.

      If you do that with a grid of pixels, you’re going to lose information.


      Edit: Five downvotes. Apparently people don’t know how to use vectors in bitmap authoring software, or why selections are the lossy way to create shapes. See details in my comments below.

      • TomatoPotato69@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        Do you understand how bitmaps and raster drawing works? Everything is represented as a 2d array of pixels. The circle selection before you paint can be moved/scaled/etc and then when you actually want to draw the circle trace the path with the appropriate thickness and use antialiasing if you need to smooth it.

        If you want to make vector drawings, take a look at InkScape. GIMP is the wrong tool for that, so use the right tool for the job if that’s what you want to do.

        • spartanatreyu@programming.dev
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          3 days ago

          Do you understand how bitmaps and raster drawing works?

          Yes I know the difference between vector and bitmaps

          Everything is represented as a 2d array of pixels.

          Only after the rasterization has taken place.

          The circle selection before you paint can be moved/scaled/etc and then when you actually want to draw the circle trace the path with the appropriate thickness and use antialiasing if you need to smooth it.

          The problem is that the selection itself can lose information, it’s handled internally as a raster mask. That’s why you should use a real vector shape.

          If you want to make vector drawings, take a look at InkScape. GIMP is the wrong tool for that, so use the right tool for the job if that’s what you want to do.

          No. Raster editors can support vector shapes. They vectors are rasterized during the final export, not while creating the shape (which is lossy and what selection shapes are).

          Look at how to create, move and transform a circle in photoshop (or if you don’t want to give adobe money, use photopea).