This tutorial was made using the gimp which can be found here.
1) Create a new image 110 x 110 with transparent background.
2) Create 2 new layers that are transparent.
3) Select the elliptical (circle) tool and hold down shift and drag the circle out until it is 100 x 100.
4) Hold down alt and bring circle to middle of canvas.
5) Select the color black as the first color (foreground color), and the background layer (bottom) then click inside the circle (paint).
6) Choose the color you want the orb to be, then set the background color a bit lighter, and the foreground color a bit darker. I'm using blue for the tutorial.
7) Select the gradient tool, and edit the gradient to foreground to background RBG. You can reverse if you would like.
8) Select the second layer and click and drag your mouse from the top of the black color to the bottom of the black.
9) Press ctrl+shift+a to deselect everything, then select the black layer again, then on image window, click on Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur, and set the x and y to 10.
10) Select the elliptical tool again, and select a small circle near the top of the orb, make sure its not touching the black on the outside. 66 x 39 is the best, you can make it elsewhere and drag to top.
11) Change the foreground color to white, then select the gradient tool again and select the gradient "Foreground to Transparent".
12) Select the top layer and drag the gradient from a bit above the canvas to 3/4 of the way down the circle.
13) Select the text tool, and select a font you want and about 20-28 size. This will fit about 5-7 letters in. Type the letters you want in then drag the font to the center of the orb.
14) Set the mode of the text to overlay, or reduce the opacity of the text to about 46. Don't do both, do one or the other.
15) Drag the text layer down below the layer of the white shine, and merge down, from there merge all layers down into one.
16) Save the image as a .PNG and set the compression to 0. This will give the best quality.
17) Your orb should turn out something like this.
That was a basic tutorial on how to make a glass orb in The Gimp, you can screw around with things like borders if you like.
1) Create a new image 110 x 110 with transparent background.
2) Create 2 new layers that are transparent.
3) Select the elliptical (circle) tool and hold down shift and drag the circle out until it is 100 x 100.
4) Hold down alt and bring circle to middle of canvas.
5) Select the color black as the first color (foreground color), and the background layer (bottom) then click inside the circle (paint).
6) Choose the color you want the orb to be, then set the background color a bit lighter, and the foreground color a bit darker. I'm using blue for the tutorial.
7) Select the gradient tool, and edit the gradient to foreground to background RBG. You can reverse if you would like.
8) Select the second layer and click and drag your mouse from the top of the black color to the bottom of the black.
9) Press ctrl+shift+a to deselect everything, then select the black layer again, then on image window, click on Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur, and set the x and y to 10.
10) Select the elliptical tool again, and select a small circle near the top of the orb, make sure its not touching the black on the outside. 66 x 39 is the best, you can make it elsewhere and drag to top.
11) Change the foreground color to white, then select the gradient tool again and select the gradient "Foreground to Transparent".
12) Select the top layer and drag the gradient from a bit above the canvas to 3/4 of the way down the circle.
13) Select the text tool, and select a font you want and about 20-28 size. This will fit about 5-7 letters in. Type the letters you want in then drag the font to the center of the orb.
14) Set the mode of the text to overlay, or reduce the opacity of the text to about 46. Don't do both, do one or the other.
15) Drag the text layer down below the layer of the white shine, and merge down, from there merge all layers down into one.
16) Save the image as a .PNG and set the compression to 0. This will give the best quality.
17) Your orb should turn out something like this.
That was a basic tutorial on how to make a glass orb in The Gimp, you can screw around with things like borders if you like.






