GIMP Quick Tips: Matching Colors In Images

I started out with some text on a blended background:

I added an image (Wilber, the GIMP Mascot) over the text:

I ended up with some extra white areas around the added picture that I did not want:

Because of the blended color of the background, it is a bit more difficult to match the colors. Using the Color Picker Tool I can get the exact color of the points I click on in the background field.

First, I click onto the Icon for the tool in my Toolbox and I can see from the Color Indicator that it is currently set on white:

Then I go back to the image in my Main Image Window and just click on a spot near where I want to match my colors. Your cursor should look something like an eyedropper:

After I click on a spot the Color Indicator in the Toolbox changes to the color on the spot that I clicked on:

Now that I have my first color, I switch to the Fuzzy Select Tool by clicking the Icon in the Toolbox:

Now I click on the area I want to match. If you don't select the exact location you wanted, try again. Sometimes you can get pretty much the exact area you want with the Fuzzy Select Tool, other times you need to try clicking in slightly different spots to get it to select what you want.

I managed to get the whole area you see outlined the first time I tried. It is exactly the area I want to match to the first color I selected.

In the Toolbox, I switch over to the Bucket Fill Tool, and I can see that the color I have selected with the Color Picker is still the color in the Color Indicator box:

Back at the Main Image Window, I just click inside the selected area to fill it with the same color I picked up using the Color Picker:

Now I just duplicate the process for the other section:

You can remove the selection lines by clicking "Select" in the Main Image Window, and click on "None":

Since this is a blended background, the match is slightly off, if you look closely enough. So how can a blended background be better matched?

If your background is blended like mine, you can also use the Fuzzy Select and Blend Tools to match the colors. It's easy if you know which gradient was used to make the blend. Otherwise you need to experiment with gradients to find the right one.

Go to the Fuzzy Select Tool, select one section, press the Shift key and click on the other section, or sections you want to match:

Then select the Blend Tool in the Toolbox, and select the right gradient:

Add the gradient to the image. In this case, I add it the same way I did the original blend. Don't worry, the blend will only be added to the selected areas:

If you use the right blend, it is going to be pretty close to perfect. If it doesn't come out right, don't forget that you can undo the blend and try again:

This was an easy gradient to do because the shades are pretty close to the same, just for fun, I did the same procedure with a different background:

This was harder, I had to re-do it a few times before I was able to get the blends to match. To be honest, the first procedure wouldn't work for a blend where the shades change within the sections, like this one does.

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Original content:


GIMP Quick Tips:
Color Matching Backgrounds
by CleanerLife
is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
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