# GIMP Question



## Art Vulpine (Feb 5, 2013)

Hello all who use GIMP for their art platform. I need your answer to a question. 

I've been working on how to use layers lately to better my drawing ability. My question is how do I use more than two layers without haveing things bleed through?

Let me explain my process:

1) Scan and upload sketch (I can't draw from scratch yet on GIMP so I need to do this).
2) Create a Layer and call it Ink.
3) Draw the outlines of the character and other things.
4) Delete sketch layer and create a New from Visible layer and name it Foreground Color. 
5) Color Art. 

So here you have in order from top to bottom: 

Ink
FG Color

Now here's where things get interesting. If I don't have a background drawn prior I try this:

6) Create two New from Visible layers from the Ink Layer and name them Background Ink and Background Color.
7) Draw on Background Ink.

Now you have:

Ink
FG Color
BG Line
BG Color

Now when I try to color on the Background Color layer, it bleeds through part of the lines drawn in the BG Line area even when there's no gaps. I usually end up deleting the BG Color area and just drawing and coloring on the BG Ink area, but it looks kind of messy when I do that. 

So is there a special way to allow for no bleed through when I need to draw in a background? Do I have to extend the BG lines through the Foreground area, making a seemless line even though part of it won't show up? 

Apologies for the technical information, but i'd like some help with this.


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## Teal (Feb 5, 2013)

Did you select transparency or white...etc when you made a new layer?


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## Art Vulpine (Feb 5, 2013)

Transparancy.


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## Dreaming (Feb 5, 2013)

What do you mean by bleed through?? There are patches on the foreground colors where you can see the background?


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## zhuria (Feb 5, 2013)

Do you use a tablet? if you do I highly recommend you get Azdrawing2 (itÂ´s totally free) for doing the lines, it works quite better and has a stabilizer function like sai has. You can export your file to a .psd and open it on Gimp for coloring.
As for the bleeding, do you use the paint bucket?
I donÂ´t really get what you mean though, maybe post a screenshot of it?


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## Art Vulpine (Feb 6, 2013)

By bleeding I mean when I create the layers for inking the background and one for coloring it, when I use the Paint function to fill in the areas, it bleeds through to areas I don't want that color as. Now all the lined butt up against the lines of the foreground characters, making a seemless picture, but it still does this. Maybe just using one layer for inking everything and then seperate layers for foreground and background coloring will work. 

And I do use a Wacom Create Tablet, which has worked fairly well.


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## Littlerock (Feb 6, 2013)

The reason your bucket tool isn't working the way you'd like it to revolves on the solidity of your lines. The bucket tool in the GIMP adds color according to similarities in the color you selected to change. Colors that are very similar, and have similar 'bridges' between them will also be colored. You can change the sensitivity of this effect with the 'threshold' number on the bucket's tool settings, but if you have a very similar bridge, it may not be enough.

Rather than using the paintbucket tool to fill your color areas, use the paintbrush or ink tool to fill in the areas you would like to be colored with a single, solid color. After this is all filled in, beneath the lin-art layer, lock the alpha on the color layer. You can now use your paintbrush, airbrush, ink ect. to color the color layer in, without having to worry about any coloring outside of the lines. It tales a bit longer to do, but the result is well worth your time.


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## zhuria (Feb 7, 2013)

Littlerock said:


> The reason your bucket tool isn't working the way you'd like it to revolves on the solidity of your lines. The bucket tool in the GIMP adds color according to similarities in the color you selected to change. Colors that are very similar, and have similar 'bridges' between them will also be colored. You can change the sensitivity of this effect with the 'threshold' number on the bucket's tool settings, but if you have a very similar bridge, it may not be enough.
> 
> Rather than using the paintbucket tool to fill your color areas, use the paintbrush or ink tool to fill in the areas you would like to be colored with a single, solid color. After this is all filled in, beneath the lin-art layer, lock the alpha on the color layer. You can now use your paintbrush, airbrush, ink ect. to color the color layer in, without having to worry about any coloring outside of the lines. It tales a bit longer to do, but the result is well worth your time.


This!
Also the poligonal lasso tool is your friend (I have gimp 2.8.2 and itÂ´s shortcut is "F"). Select the areas you want to color and then fill in with the paint bucket or the gradient tool.


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