Layer Effects

This is a series of scripts that implement various layer effects:

• Drop Shadow
• Inner Shadow
• Outer Glow
• Inner Glow
• Bevel and Emboss
• Satin
• Color Overlay
• Gradient Overlay
• Pattern Overlay
• Stroke

Some effects can have contours (a.k.a. curves) and noise added to them. Effects can either be applied on a separate layer, or be merged into the active layer (which in some cases gives better results).

Tested with GIMP 2.4.2.

Updated 4/12/2012:

• New Python version now makes use of layer groups. Effect layers will be automatically grouped with the original layer. This requires GIMP 2.7 or later and was tested with 2.8rc1. Older version is provided for compatibility with previous GIMP versions.

Updated 6/9/2009:

• Stroke now supports gradients and patterns! (Python version only)
• Better undo handling in the Python version.
• Various bugfixes.

Updated 11/15/2008:

• The Python version now has live previewing! With the "Preview" checkbox active, the preview now updates automatically every time you change a setting!
• New "Reapply Effects" function: Reapplies all effects that have been applied to the current layer. If you change anything on the layer, use this to update all the effects in one go! (Mind you, this only works for effects that were not applied using the "Merge with layer" option.)
• Various bugfixes.

Updated 09/02/2008:

• Bugfix in Script-Fu version.

Updated 07/19/2008:

• You can now scale patterns in pattern overlays. (Python version only.)

Updated 07/08/2008:
This script has now been rewritten as a Python plugin! This adds several new features that weren't possible in Script-Fu!

• You can now preview effects! Click the "Preview" button to see what it will look like with the currently selected settings.
• The plugin now records the settings used to make an effect, so now you can reapply it! Run the same effect plugin on the same layer again, and it recovers the previous settings for that layer and shows them in the dialog box. You can then change the settings and apply the effect again, and it will replace the original effect layer! (Note: This will only work if you don't select "Merge with layer". Once an effect has been merged into the layer, it can't be removed or changed.)

Updated 04/21/2008:

• Bugfix

Updated 03/02/2008:

• Added grayscale support
• Bugfixes

How to install (Script-Fu version):

1. Right-click on the link below that says "layerfx.scm". A pop-up menu should appear. Click "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." or whatever the equivalent option in your browser is.
2. Save the file "layerfx.scm" in your scripts folder. If you're not sure where your scripts folder is, you can check by opening GIMP and going to <Toolbox>/File/Preferences -> Folders -> Scripts. If more than one folder is shown, then any one of them will work.
3. Once you have saved the file in your scripts folder, if you are already running GIMP, either click <Toolbox>/Xtns/Script-Fu/Refresh Scripts, or just close and reopen GIMP.
4. If you have done this correctly, the scripts will appear in the menu under <Image>/Script-Fu/Layer Effects. If this menu is not there, try clicking <Toolbox>/Xtns/Script-Fu/Refresh Scripts. If it's still not there, make sure the file is in your scripts folder and that the filename ends with ".scm", not ".txt" or ".scm.txt" or something.

How to install (Python version):

1. Right-click on the link below that says "layerfx.py". A pop-up menu should appear. Click "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." or whatever the equivalent option in your browser is.
2. Save the file "layerfx.py" in your plug-ins folder. If you're not sure where your plug-ins folder is, you can check by opening GIMP and going to <Toolbox>/File/Preferences -> Folders -> Plug-Ins. If more than one folder is shown, then any one of them will work.
3. If you're on a UNIX system, make sure layerfx.py is executable by typing this in the shell:
   chmod +x layerfx.py
   On other operating systems, you might have to do something else to make it executable.
4. Once you have saved the file in your plug-ins folder, if you are already running GIMP, close and reopen it.
5. If you have done this correctly, the scripts will appear in the menu under <Image>/Layer/Layer Effects, and <Layers>/Layer Effects. If these menus are not there, close and reopen GIMP. If they're still not there, make sure the file is in your plug-ins folder, that it is executable, that you have Python support installed, and that the filename ends with ".py", not ".txt" or ".py.txt" or something.