Halftone Circles in Gimp

I've always wondered how to make those halftone patterns (using Gimp), but never knew how. I finally figured it out, and its pretty simple.

Step 1
Create a new document in Gimp. Set the background color to white.

Step 2
Create a new layer above the background. Make sure it is transparent. We will be merging the layers later so no need to name it.

Step 3
Make a selection using the ellipse selection tool. Fill it with black.

Step 4
Now click Select -> All and apply a gaussian blur to the circle layer.

Step 5
Merge the layers and apply Filters -> Distorts -> Newsprint. Experiment with cell sizes, spot funtions (round, line, etc.), and oversampling.


And there, you have a halftone circle.

Super Fast Opacity Changes in Inkscape

In Inkscape, I found an easy and quick way to change the opacity of an object.

Simply right-click on the input box for opacity, and select your opacity.

And if you only need to toggle between 0% and opaque, right-click the up and down arrows on the opacity field.

Quick Gimp Tip: Refreshing Font List

Here is an easy way to add new fonts to the font list in Gimp without having to restart.
Go to the tool option for Fonts, then open the list of fonts, and open the font selection dialog. From there just hit the "Rescan font list button and you're done.