Hello Everyone,

New here and nice to be a part of the community. I've just recently started/trying to use gimp and I have a main criteria that I have found difficult to implement and needs serious solving.

Basically, I just need to cut a part of an image and place it into another image.

The base image is a product that I would need to place in the second image which is a colorless light background.

Problem is the base product image has a shadow which I would wish to keep when I transfer it to the background image and I want to make it look like the original without any shadow distortions.

I have attached the product image and the background image.

Is there anyone there that can help and possibly show a solution?

Greatly appreciated.

Add the IMG jpeg over the background. File -> Open as Layers.

Give the IMG layer an alpha channel for transparency. Layers -> Transparency -> Add alpha channel

Use the fuzzy select tool with a threshold set to about 50. Click in the grey area to make the selection. see screenshot 1

Now you can use Edit -> Cut to remove the original background allowing the new background to show. see screenshot 2

Save your work as a Gimp xcf for future use, It saves all layers, guides, all sorts of things. When complete Export as a png / tiff / jpeg.

rich: www.gimp-forum.net

Thank you very very much. The process you showed is very simple to use and very appreciated. I will do my work in this way definitely. But I still have a distorted/speckled shadow left. I've changed the threshold values but it doesn't seem to help. Is there any way I can smooth out the shadow to make it look more original?

Always a trade-off between keeping it simple and getting into more extensive and complicated procedures.

In this case you need to blur just the shadow area. Working on that layer, make a selection around the shadow somehow. You can use the free select tool and carefully draw around it. Another way is use what is called the quick mask and paint the selection in.

Use Select -> Toggle Quick Mask (down the bottom of the menu) That gets you a red cast over the image. Painting in White makes a selection, painting in Black removes a selection. So using White fore-ground colour and a suitable sized brush, carefully paint over the shadow.

screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/rlOkvOt.jpg

and end up with this: https://i.imgur.com/9pbphDj.jpg

Now go Select -> Toggle Quick Mask again (to toggle off) and you get those "marching ants" denoting the selection.

Use Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian blur with value 30 to 40 and apply that : https://i.imgur.com/Nu9UYuE.jpg

Turn the selection off Select -> None gives this: https://i.imgur.com/cfbAn5u.jpg

rich: www.gimp-forums.net