Guide: Change Image Background in GIMP: Guide
We know a picture is worth a thousand wordsSuppose you took a photo with a not so cool background. Having a dull background would undermine the essence of the image, so what do you do? The best way to improve an image is to change the background. Unfortunately, the conventional image editors don’t offer this feature and you will have to use professional editors like Photoshop or GIMP. We will be using GIMP here. Without further ado, let’s get started how to replace background in GIMP.
Replace background color
If the background is simple and consists of only one color, you can use the following method to replace it. In this method, we need to remove the background color first and then add an image. Step 1: Launch GIMP and open the image you want to change the background of by going to File> Open. Step 2: In the Tools panel on the left, choose the Fuzzy select or Select by color tool and click once on the background color to select it. Once you do that, you will see that the background color is selected.
Step 3: With the background selected, go to Edit> Clear. You can also press the Delete key on your keyboard to remove the background.
Step 4: Now that you have an image with a transparent background, you can add anything here. To add a solid color, select the Bucket Fill tool and choose the color from the color palette. Then click on the background of the image to fill it with the new color.
Step 5: However, if you want to replace it with another image, follow this step, otherwise go to step 6. Open the image with File in the top bar and choose Open as Layers from the menu.
You will see that the new background is hiding your original image as it is the top layer. Now from the Layers panel on the right, hold the mouse over the background image and drag it below the main image.
That is it. You have your image with a new background. Step 6: Finally, you need to save the image. To do this, go to File> Export As and save the image.
Replace multicolored background
Usually the images do not have a solid color background. In such situations, we have to use the following methods.
Method 1: using eraser
Step 1: Start GIMP and open the image for which you want to change the background via File> Open. Step 2: Then use File> Open As Layers and open the image you want to keep as the background.
Step 3: You will see that the new image will overlay the original image. Now from the Layers panel on the right, hold the mouse pointer and drag the new background image below the original image.
Step 4: Right-click the original image again in the Layers panel and select Add Alpha Channel. In case the button is gray, it means it has already been added.
Step 5: After adding the alpha channel, right click on the same layer again and now choose Alpha to Selection from the menu.
Step 6: Click on the Eraser tool in the tool panel on the left and start removing the background to reveal the new one. You can change the size of the eraser in the toolbar.
Step 7: When you are done removing the background, use File> Export As to save it to your PC.
Method 2: Using Quick Mask
Another method to remove background is by using Quick Mask. Here are the steps: Step 1: Using File> Open, load the image whose background you want to change. Then using File> Open As Layers, load the new background. Step 2: Since the new background image will cover the original image, place it below the original image from the Layers panel in the right sidebar.
Step 3: Right-click on each layer in the layers panel and select Add Alpha Channel from the menu.
Step 4: With the original image layer selected, click the foreground selection tool in the toolbar and draw an outline for the portion you want to extract.
Step 5: If you think the selection isn’t perfect, use the Quick Mask tool to refine it. To do this, first click on the Quick Mask tool in the lower left corner of the image. Your image will turn red. Then use the mouse and the CTRL or SHIFT key to add or subtract the selection.
Step 6: When you are satisfied with the selection, draw on the image area to select the foreground. Then press Enter button
Step 7: Go to Select and choose Invert from the menu. Finally, hit the Delete key on your keyboard. The new background will replace your image.
Step 8: Then go to File> Export As to save the image.
Method 3: make background transparent
In this method, you need to extract the part of the image that you want to change the background of and make the background transparent. We’ve covered the procedure in detail here. After making the background transparent and saving the image in .png format, open the new background image in GIMP and using File> Open As Layers add the old image with transparent background. Your photo now has a different background.
Change Image Background in GIMP: Guide: benefits
Faq
Final note
I hope you like the guide Change Image Background in GIMP: Guide. In case if you have any query regards this article you may ask us. Also, please share your love by sharing this article with your friends. For our visitors: If you have any queries regards the Change Image Background in GIMP: Guide, then please ask us through the comment section below or directly contact us. Education: This guide or tutorial is just for educational purposes. Misinformation: If you want to correct any misinformation about the guide “Change Image Background in GIMP: Guide”, then kindly contact us. Want to add an alternate method: If anyone wants to add more methods to the guide Change Image Background in GIMP: Guide, then kindly contact us. Our Contact: Kindly use our contact page regards any help. You may also use our social and accounts by following us on Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter for your questions. We always love to help you. We answer your questions within 24-48 hours (Weekend off). Channel: If you want the latest software updates and discussion about any software in your pocket, then here is our Telegram channel.
