How To Add A Hat To A Picture Using GIMP

First you need to choose an image, I'm going to use Wilber, GIMP's mascot:

Then you need a suitable hat graphic. I found mine at Clker.com, they have a large assortment of royalty free and public domain clip art. I like that their images are mostly in the Portable Networks Graphics (png), and Scalable Vector Graphics (svg) formats, which are easier to work with than jpeg and gif formats when trying to merge multiple images.

I'm using png here, but that will still work well, and even if I had saved the svg version, GIMP is not be able to save the finished file in that format.

Another thing I like about images from Clker.com is that they are usually larger than the other free clip art sites. The Santas Cap I found is larger than the image of Wilber I have.

It's always better to make a large image smaller than to try to enlarge a small image, here's the dimensions as shown on the top of each Main Image Window:

The easiest way I've found to do this is to make a new canvas to work on. For this job, I'm going to create a new canvas based on the hat because it is the larger of the two pictures.

If the picture I wanted to add the hat to was the larger one, and didn't have enough space to fit the whole hat, then I would just make a canvas that was larger than the base image, and resize the picture or crop it after I finish, if it is too big.

To make a new canvas based on an existing picture, click "File" on the Toolbar, and select "New...":

Which brings up the Create a New Image dialog box ready to set the new image with the same size dimensions as the originating Image Window.

I'm going to start by adding the whole picture of Wilber. I copy it from its window:

Paste it to the new canvas:

Select the Move Tool from the Toolbox, which should be floating to the left of your Image Windows:

When the pasted image is where I want it, I set it in place. Either move the cursor on the canvas until I see a little anchor symbol, then click the picture, or click "Layer" on the Toolbar, then select "Anchor":

At this point I want to match the color of the canvas background with the color brought over from the image of Wilber.

In the Toolbox, I select the Color Picker Tool:

I just click on the color I want to pick, and in this case, I'm set up to select a foreground color. That changes the color shown in the foreground Color Indicator box. I'm doing this quick, so it really does not matter to me which is the foreground or background at this point:

I go back to the Toolbox and select the Bucket Fill Tool which is set by default to fill using the color shown as a foreground color in the Color Indicator:

Click anywhere on the canvas background and fill it with the same color I have chosen using the Color Picker:

Now I copy and paste the Santas Cap onto the new canvas creating a new layer:

Obviously, it is too big, so I click on "Layer" on the Toolbar, then select "Scale Layer...":

Which brings up the Scale Layer dialog box:

Between the two dimensions, there is a chain link icon. When it is linked, the width and height will change at the stay time and keep the same perspective. If you need to change one, but not the other, click on the chain to break the link.

Unfortunately, you do not see the layer change size as you change the numbers, so it is kind of trial and error until you get the size that looks best to you.

I get the size I like, and switch to the Move Tool again. I move the hat in place, and you can see the square outline of the original picture, but not the checker board background.

That background is the transparent Alpha Channel, and is the reason you want to use a png or svg image. Jpeg and gif images do not have an Alpha Channel, if you can only use them when doing a job like this, you would need to remove the background yourself using GIMP.

Now I've decided that the hat looks backwards, so I go to the Toolbox and select the Flip Tool:

Click on the Santa Cap, which flips the layer

It's not quite right, so I switch back to the Move Tool, and move it up:

It's still not right, so I go back to the Toolbox and select the Rotate Tool:

Click on the layer I want to rotate, and the Rotate Dialog box opens:

With the Rotate Tool, it looks a little confusing with all the different numbers, but with the slider bar, you can see the layer move as you adjust the bar. It is real easy to do this one just by looking at it.

You may have to move it again, or adjust the rotation until you get it looking the way you want, then anchor the layer in place.

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Original content:


How To Add A Hat
To A Picture Using GIMP
by CleanerLife
is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
United States License.