Free Select Tool in Image Editor Gimp
An Introduction to the Features of Gimp's Selection Tools
Jun 15, 2009
Gimp is a popular and well featured open source image editor that can be downloaded for free from the Gimp website. There are free versions available for use with Windows, OS X and Linux operating systems and there is some more information on the application in this Suite101 Overview of Gimp.
Gimp offers a number of different tools for selecting parts of the image and the Free Select tool is a straightforward tool to use. It is similar in use to the Lasso and Polygonal Lasso tools offered by Adobe Photoshop, but in Gimp the Free Select tool can do both jobs depending on how the Graphic Designer uses it.
Lasso or Polygonal Lasso?
There are two ways to use the Free Select tool and the user just has to start using the tool in the way that they desire without a need to change any other settings.
The first way is to draw a single constant line around an area that the Designer wants to select, keeping the left hand mouse button held down. The selection will be automatically closed when the cursor is brought back to the start point of the selection. Photoshop users will recognise the similarity to using the Lasso tool.
The second option is to use the Free Select tool in a similar way to Photoshop's Polygonal Select tool. This is achieved by moving the cursor to the desired points around an area that is to be selected and clicking at each point to place an anchor point. The selection can either be closed by clicking on the start point of the selection or by double clicking.
The second technique forms a selection that is made up of multiple straight lines and this is often an easier way to make an accurate selection around part of an image. In some cases using lots of short lines can be a suitable way of selecting a curved section of an image.
Selection Modes
When the Free Select tool has been chosen from the tool box, the tool's options become visible below the toolbox.
The first options are the four selection modes that are available for the tool. The first of these is Replace the current selection which is the default setting. In this mode when a selection is made, if there is already a selection live, it is cancelled and replaced by the new one.
Add to the current selection allows a Designer to combine more than one selection which can be useful when making complex selections. Subtract from the current selection will remove an area from the existing selection. The final option is Intersect with the current selection which allows a Designer to make two selections and the final selection will only include the area of the image that is contained within both selections.
Antialiasing
The Antialising checkbox defaults to on and in most cases this will be the best option for users. If a selection is filled with a solid color, this option will give the edge a smoother visual appearance. With this option turned off, the edge will appear more harsh visually and if viewed closely, individual pixels will be more obvious at the edges.
Feather Edges
This option allows Designers to make selections that can have very soft images and when selected a Radius slider becomes visible to allow the degree of feathering to be adjusted. When this is used and a selection is filled with a solid color, the color will fade to transparent at the edges, rather than finishing in an obvious border.
As with the other selection tools that are available in Gimp, Designers will find that through trial and error they will quickly learn which tools are most suitable for specific tasks and how the tools can be combined to make complex selections.
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