Tutorial - Creating Buttons In GIMP

[SoupNBread]

Creating Buttons with GIMP
By: SoupNBread​

What you need:
GIMP (along with GtK) - http://www.gimp.org
Icon Border - http://www.freewebs.com/randommunkey/IconOutline.tga
An Image for the Icon - Google

Run GIMP and open up your Icon Border and your Image your going to be using for the icon. I'll be using an image from google of an axe.


On my Axe image (or whatever image you are using) I'm going to hit Image->Scale Image. I normally set the image width to 150 and it will set the appropriate height for me.


Now I will select my Icon window and create a new Transparent layer with the dimensions of 56 x 56.


Now select your custom image (my axe) and then copy it by using the hotkey Ctrl and C (hold ctrl then hit c). Then select the Icon Border and make sure the New Layer is selected, then hold Ctrl and then hit V to paste it. Move it to a position that you want for the icon. I made it even smaller to fit the whole axe head. Now hold Ctrl and hit H to flatten the image onto the layer.


Now you can close your original image, do not save unless you wish it to stay small. Now select New Layer and do the Copy hotkey (Ctrl and C). Now delete New Layer. You now do the Paste hotkey (Ctrl and V) and it should be directly centered. Do the Anchor Layer hotkey (Ctrl and H) to anchor it to the image.


Now you can save the image! Hit Save As and then name it BTN then your button name, then .tga so it should look like this: BTNAxe.tga
When you save uncheck the RLA Compression box. Now your button is done!


Most buttons require Disabled and Passive versions of the button, so why don't we do that right now. Use the select regions tool and select the border, including the black lines. Now grab the paint bucket and fill it in with black, and do that all around the border.


Now grab the Region tool and select the whole image. Now hold Ctrl and drag and cut out a hole in the center, have the border go 7 pixels in (3 in from the blakened original border). You should be selecting and area around the image with it going into the image 3 pixels.


Now hit Filters->Blur->Gaussian Blur set the Blur method to RLE and the Horizontal and Vertical to 3.0 and then hit ok.
Now you can deselect everything by holding Ctrl and Shift then hit A and you can now save your image (remember to do Save As) as PASBTN then your button name then .tga so it should look something like: PASBTNAxe.tga
When you save uncheck the RLA Compression box. We are almost done!


That was the Passive button and now we have to do the disabled button. This is the easiest one to do and only takes a few seconds! Select the paint bucket and make sure the color you have black as your color, then set the Opacity to 40.0 and then fill in the image. Now you have a disabled button ready to use!


Name it like the other ones except use DISBTN instead of PASBTN. Do Save As and uncheck the RLA Compression and you are done!

These Icons are ready for warcraft use!


Paths:
ReplaceableTextures\PassiveButtons\PASBTN -NAME- .tga For PASBTN
ReplaceableTextures\CommandButtonsDisabled\DISBTN -NAME- .tga For DISBTN
ReplaceableTextures\CommandButtons\BTN -NAME- .tga For BTN

 

[elmstfreddie]

Never read all the way through, kinda skimmed and seemed good but...
a) wtf is combichrist
b) (for the picture) you shoulda used something more... Warcraft like. Not many people are gonna use something like that, and I unno it just seems to make the tutorial crappy lol. Other than that it's fine

 

[SoupNBread]

Combichrist is an Industrial/Darkwave band, I could put something togethor more warcraft-like, but I did this while I was making icons for my new map, a music maul that I'm making from scratch.

EDIT: Updated with an Axe picture now. It was hard to see the selection part with the axe so I kept the Combi one for that picture only.

 

[elmstfreddie]

Oh, they sound crappy... Lol. Anyhow, tell me when the maul is done, music mauls somehow are better than most

 

[SoupNBread]

Well this was a waste of 2 hours...

 

[LordOglog]

Nice tutoral once again allready done loads but this is a good one, you should make them more wrcraft like (a flame or something wold be easy and bright). The gausian blur technique is good but 3 is way too little i suggest 7 inmstead.
IMO it wasn't a wast a waste of time.

 

[SoupNBread]

Thanks for the idea, I'll try moving it in more with something. You don't think an axe is Warcraft-like?

 

[LordOglog]

The axe is but the random dead persomn isn't really.