Using Gimp to create a simple media player skin
Picturesque
Forget the photos – Gimp is also a great tool for graphic design. This workshop shows how to use Gimp to create a simple visual image for a multimedia player application.
Many users call on the Gimp image editor [1] to crop and touch up their digital photos, but the powerful Gimp has many other uses. For instance, developers and graphic artists use Gimp to create graphic elements for desktop applications. The details of how to tie graphics features into a working application are numerous and depend on the programming language, the desktop system, and the nature of the application. However, the steps for creating basic GUI elements in Gimp are often quite simple and serve as a useful scenario for showcasing Gimp's impressive toolbox of graphic design tools.
This workshop introduces you to some of the tools that graphic artists use to build images in Gimp. In this scenario, I'll build the skin for a sample media player application. Of course, the media player on your Linux system is a software tool that processes the contents of a stream or sound file. A media player doesn't really look like anything, but the metaphor of the computer desktop environment means that humans need something to look at. In this case, I'll make the media player look like an old-school CD player, with the usual buttons (Play, Stop, Previous, and Next) and a little window to show what song is playing. A more complete GUI interface would include an enlarged window for displaying playlists, as well as other elements, but for the purposes of this workshop, I'll keep it simple.
The popular Gimp comes preinstalled on many Linux systems, and if you can't find it now in the Start menu (typically with the Graphics applications), you can surely install it from your distro's package manager. The Gimp website also provides source code and packages for several operating systems [2]. This tutorial is based on Gimp version 2.10.14; if you are using a different version of Gimp, the details might differ slightly, but the concepts are similar.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
News
-
Apple M1 Hardware Support to be Merged into Linux Kernel 5.13
Linux users will be able to install their favorite distribution on Apple’s M1-based hardware.
-
KDE Launches the Qt 5 Patch Collection
To support and maintain a stable Qt 5 for KDE Gears and Frameworks, KDE will maintain a patch collection.
-
Linux Creator Warns Next Kernel Could be Delayed
Linus Torvalds has issued concern about the size of kernel 5.12 and possible delays for its release.
-
System76 Updates its Pangolin Laptop
System76 has released a much-anticipated AMD version of their most popular laptop, the Pangolin.
-
New Debian-Based Distribution Arrives on the Market
TelOS is a new Debian-based Linux distribution with a customized, touch-screen-ready KDE Plasma 5 desktop.
-
System76 Releases New Thelio Desktop
One of the most ardent supporters of open source hardware has released a new desktop machine for home or office.
-
Mageia 8 Now Available with Linux 5.10 LTS
The latest release of Mageia includes improved graphics support for both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs.
-
GNOME 40 Beta has been Released
Anyone looking to test the beta for the upcoming GNOME 40 release can now do so.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 4.2 has Arrived
The latest stable version of OpenMandriva has been released and offers the newest KDE desktop and ARM support.
-
Thunderbird 78 Ported to Ubuntu 20.04
The Ubuntu developers have made the decision to port the latest release of Thunderbird to the LTS version of the platform.