GIMP is certainly first and foremost a photo editor. However, it also can do some really great graphic design things that can look surprisingly professional – even compared to top graphic design programs like Adobe Illustrator (although GIMP is a raster-based program, and so what you create isn’t necessarily scalable beyond the size you originally design your project in – whereas Illustrator is vector-based and thus infinitely scalable).As you’ll see in the following list of my Top 25 GIMP Graphic Design tutorials from Davies Media Design (the largest active channel dedicated solely to GIMP), you can create some great compositions for personal and professional design projects using GIMP. These projects include brochures, business cards, logos, social media designs, websites, ads, posters, etc. Check out the list below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel!
20. Picture in Text with 3D Pop-out Effect
In this tutorial, I show you how to add a picture in text, plus add an additional 3D “pop out” effect to make it appear as if part of your photo is protruding out of the text. This creates a really eye-catching and creative final design that can really take your text to the next level.
19. GIMP 2.10 Tutorial: How to Make a YouTube Channel Art Design
Have a YouTube channel and want to design your own YouTube Channel Art? I show you exactly how to do that in this GIMP 2.10 tutorial. Plus, I include a link to a free template to make it quicker and easier to design an awesome composition for your brand or personal account.
18. How to Design Website Icons in GIMP
Want to learn how to design website icons for a client’s or your own website? This tutorial walks you through how to create circular web icons with a long shadow effect. If you’re fairly new to GIMP, this tutorial is beginner friendly and takes you through each step.
17. GIMP 2.10 Tutorial: Create an Animated GIF for Google Adwords
Animated GIFs are a great way to create professional ads for various advertising platforms like Google Adwords or Bing Ads. In this GIMP 2.10 tutorial, I show you how to animate an ad for a fictitious baking company (“The Muffin Man”) with multiple animated elements, a button, 3D text using the new Long Shadow filter, and an image with a partially removed background. I also show you how to properly export the composition when you are done.
16. GIMP Tutorial: Create an eSports Team Logo
You don’t need me to tell you that eSports are quickly on the rise – and gaming in general has been around forever. For those of you who need a logo for your eSports team, or simply want to design a cool logo for your gaming Avatar, this is a great tutorial that shows you how to do exactly that.
15. Master the Paths Tool in GIMP
The Paths Tool, known on our channel at the Ken Brewer Paths Tool thanks to our Diamond Member Patreon Supporter Ken Brewer, Is one of the more commonly used tools in GIMP – and is perhaps THE most important tool for graphic design in any piece of software. In this GIMP 2.10 tutorial, I show you how to master the ubiquitous Paths Tool for any project.
14. GIMP 2.10 Tutorial: Melting Chocolate and Caramel Text Effect
Once you’ve mastered the paths tool in GIMP (see the tutorial right before this one), you can start to create some pretty amazing effects. This GIMP 2.10 tutorial demonstrates just that – showing you how to create melting chocolate and caramel text using the text tool and paths tool.
13. GIMP 2.10 Tutorial: Magdiel Lopez Style Poster
Magdiel Lopez is a well-known Instagrammer who spent a full year creating a new poster every day. As a result, he developed a really awesome, memorable, and unique style that blends photo editing/manipulation with graphic design using bright, neon-like colors and gradients. I show you how to recreate this style by bringing all of these elements together for a creative poster.
12. Design and Export a Multi-Page PDF in GIMP 2.10
Alright – time to get into some graphic design that can help your business. This tutorial featuring GIMP 2.10 shows you how to easily design and export a multiple page PDF document.
11. GIMP Tutorial – Powder Blast Text Effect
Want to spice up your text by creating a custom text effect? This tutorial shows you how to make it appear as if your text is being enveloped in a powder blast – making the scene appear 3D and really making your text pop!
10. How to Create an Album Cover in GIMP
Check out this tutorial if you want to create your own album art, or create album art for a client or musician friend. I show you how to take an image, add geometric shapes and lines, make those shapes have depth by blending them with elements in the photo, and finally add lighting effects like a super-nova. All of these effects come together to create a memorable, creative and professional album cover.
9. GIMP Tutorial: How to Make a Movie Poster
In 2018 I created this tutorial to show you how to create a trippy mover poster featuring an astronaut that appears to be getting sucked into a black hole. (I’ll admit I am showing my obsession for space, the universe, and physics with this one). Learn how to create a composite scene using multiple photos, selection tools, warp transforms, and text to make a poster worthy of Hollywood.
8. How to Create a Professional Brochure in GIMP
It’s back to business with this one. Tri-fold brochures are a very common piece of marketing collateral businesses use to spread the word about their company or brand. In this GIMP tutorial from 2018, I show you how to design your own business brochure for print.
7. GIMP Tutorial: Design a Business Card for Print
Don’t have a business card? This is certainly a quintessential item for any entrepreneur, business owner, or any professional to have – especially when attending networking events. I show you how to easily design your own business cards – front and back – as well as how to properly set up your document for printing.
6. GIMP Tutorial: How to Design a Twitter Header Photo
This GIMP tutorial covers how to design your own Twitter header for your personal or business Twitter account.
5. GIMP Tutorial – How to Design a Modern Logo
I mentioned how important business cards are, and how prevalent brochures are, but you can’t have any of that stuff with having a company logo first. It also helps to know how to design a logo if you have your own graphic design company or freelance business. I cover the important topic of how to design your own modern logo in this GIMP tutorial from 2018.
4. GIMP Basics Tutorial: How to Design a Geometric Background
Geometric background are a great way to give dimensions to your graphics, and are surprisingly easy to create. I show you how to make geometric backgrounds with 3D shapes in this GIMP tutorial for beginners and experienced graphic designers.
3. GIMP Tutorial: How to Create a Text Portrait Poster
Combing text and images using the “Picture in Text” effect can produce some really awesome results – and that really shows in this tutorial. I demonstrate how to combine an image of a bald eagle with some text to create a powerful text portrait poster that you can use anywhere on the web or print.
2. GIMP Tutorial: How to Make a Website Banner
Design your own website banner in this GIMP 2.8 tutorial, which still applies to the latest version of GIMP. I not only show you how to design a banner that looks good, but also dive into how to make your banner perform well on your site for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and a great user experience.
1. How to Design a Website in GIMP
Speaking of user experience – the GIMP tutorial that tops this list is an in-depth tutorial on how to design a website using GIMP from 2018. This GIMP video tutorial shows you how a web designer would mock up a web page in order to be sent to a web developer. From adding photos, texts, and buttons, to creating a layout using the Twitter Bootstrap guidelines, I dive into everything you need to know to create a successful web page design.
Like these tutorials? Check out more on our Tutorials page, or on our GIMP Tutorial YouTube Channel!
