How to Change the Color of an Object in GIMP: 2 Easy Ways

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Quickly recolor a specific area using GIMP
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This wikiHow teaches you how to change the color of any part of a picture in GIMP, using a computer. GIMP is a free, open-source graphics editor available for desktop systems. You can create different image layers and use the Bucket Fill or Paintbrush tools in GIMP to change the color and hue of any item, element, or area in an image.

Change the Color of Anything in GIMP

To recolor something using GIMP, create a transparent layer. Use the lasso tool to select the image you want to recolor, and then fill in the selection with the bucket tool. Click the Mode drop-down menu next to the layer and select a mode.

Section 1 of 3:

Recoloring an Area

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  1. Launch GIMP on your computer and click the File button. Select Open , and then select the image you want to recover. Once selected, click Open.
    • If you're prompted to convert the image profile to a compatible color scale for GIMP, click Convert for the best results.
  2. Click Layer in the top menu bar. Select New Layer . In the Create a New Layer pop-up, select Transparency next to Fill with . Then, click OK .
    • In some versions of GIMP, you may see "Layer Fill Type" instead of "Fill with."
    • If you have a "Layer Type" option, you can set it to "Normal."
    • Make sure that this is a separate layer than the "Color Mode" layer you may use with the Bucket Fill tool above.
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  3. This button looks like a lasso icon in the toolkit section on the top-left. It will allow you to select an area in the picture.
  4. When you select the Free Select tool, you can enable this feature on the bottom-left of the app window.
    • This will give softer edges to your selection.
    • You can increase the Radius value under the "Feather edges" option for even softer edges.
  5. Use the Free Select (Lasso) tool with your mouse, and draw an outline around the area to recolor.
    • Make sure the new, transparent layer is selected on the right-hand side, and not the original picture.
    • When you finish the outline, you'll see dashed lines around your selection.
  6. This button looks like a paint bucket in the toolkit section in the upper-left corner. [1]
  7. This will open the color selector in a new pop-up.
  8. You can select any color in the color selector pop-up.
  9. This will fill the selected area with a solid color.
    • Again, make sure the new, transparent layer is selected on the right-hand side, not the original image.
  10. You can find a list of all your image layers on the right-hand side of the app window.
    • Each mode will change the color slightly. You can select Burn , Multiply , Darken only , and more. Try each mode to see which one works best for your selection.
    • By default, the layer mode should be set to "Normal."
  11. This will change your transparent layer's mode to a "Color" layer, and change the color of the selected area in your original picture.
  12. This button looks like a rectangle eraser icon in the toolkit section on the top-left.
  13. You can use the Eraser tool to manually trim the edges and remove the extra recolor around your selection.
    • Remember to save your image when you're finished.
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Section 2 of 3:

Recoloring with the Paintbrush

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  1. Launch GIMP on your computer and click the File button. Select Open , and then select the image you want to recover. Once selected, click Open.
    • If you're prompted to convert the image profile to a compatible color scale for GIMP, click Convert for the best results.
  2. Click Layer in the top menu bar. Select New Layer . In the Create a New Layer pop-up, select Transparency next to Fill with . Then, click OK .
    • In some versions of GIMP, you may see "Layer Fill Type" instead of "Fill with."
    • If you have a "Layer Type" option, you can set it to "Normal."
    • Make sure that this is a separate layer from the "Color Mode" layer you may use with the Bucket Fill tool above.
  3. This button looks like a paintbrush icon in the toolkit on the top-left of the app window. [2]
    • This tool will allow you to manually paint new colors on the pictures.
    • Optionally, you can adjust your paintbrush stroke's size, angle, hardness, and other attributes on the bottom-left section.
  4. On the left-hand side, click the front layer of the two color layers, and open the color selector.
  5. You can select any color in the color selector pop-up or enter RGB/HTML values to pick an exact color.
  6. This drop-down menu is located at the top of all your image layers on the right-hand side, and should be set to "Normal" by default.
    • Make sure the new, transparent layer you created for the paintbrush process is selected on the Layers list. Do not select the original picture here.
  7. This will allow you to change the color hue of the areas you paint with your paintbrush.
  8. You can use your mouse to paint on the picture, and change the color hue of any part of the image.
    • You should be painting on the transparent "Hue" layer, and not the original picture.
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Section 3 of 3:

Exporting the Image

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  1. The Layers section is located on the right-hand side of the app window.
    • This will open your right-click options.
  2. You can find this option at the bottom or top of the right-click menu.
    • This will merge all your layers and create one, single image layer with all your recoloring work saved.
  3. You can find this option at the top of the app window (PC) or on the menu bar near the upper-left corner of your screen (Mac).
  4. This will open a new dialogue box and allow you to save your new image to your computer as a separate file.
  5. Find and click the folder you want to save your new picture in the dialogue box.
  6. You can find this option at the bottom of the dialogue box. It will extend a list of all the image file types you can export your new picture as.
  7. You can select a common image format like JPEG, TIFF, or PNG here.
  8. This button is on the bottom-right corner of the dialogue box. It will export and save your new image to the selected folder.
    • Some image formats, like JPEG, may prompt you to select an image quality in an extra pop-up. If you're prompted, you can optionally adjust the properties here and click Export to finalize.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    An object has a yellow color, but I want to change it to white. What is the hue saturation to get white color for an object. My gimp version is 2.8.
    Community Answer
    Move the slider for saturation on the selected area all the way down. In the selected area, use Image > Curves and play around with it until it turns white.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-tool-bucket-fill.html
      2. ↑ https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-tool-paintbrush.html

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open a new image in GIMP.
      2. Create a new, transparent layer.
      3. Click the front color layer on the top-left, and select a color.
      4. Use the Free Select (Lasso) tool to select an area.
      5. Use the Bucket Fill tool to paint the selected area.
      6. Change the transparent layer's Mode to Color .
      7. Create a new, transparent layer.
      8. Use the Paintbrush tool paint on the picture.
      9. Change the paintbrush layer Mode to Hue .

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