A Halftone Effect with the Newsprint Filter and Layer Modes On the site Web Design Fact, I discovered

a Photoshop tutorial that shows how to quickly and easily achieve a nice halftone dot (newsprint) effect. You can get a similar effect just as easily using GIMP.

Halftone is atechnique forreproducing graphicsthat simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size, in shape, or in spacing.The halftone process reduces visual reproductions to an image that is printed in dots of differing size with only one color of ink. This reproduction relies on a basic optical illusionthat these tiny halftone dots are blended into smooth tones by the human eye. Halftone dots of different colors are used to create another optical effectfull-color imagery. Follow the steps below and you will learn how to create this halftone dot effect in just minutes.

A Halftone Effect with the Newsprint Filter and Layer Modes - 1

Open the image to which you want to add the halftone dot effect in GIMP.

Duplicate the image to a second layer, Layer - Duplicate Layer. Label the layers Original and Halftone. The Halftone layer should be on top of the Original layer, and make sure you have the Halftone layer selected.

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Desaturate the Halftone layer, Colors - Desaturate with the default settings.

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Intensify the black-and-white layer. Duplicate the Halftone layer, name the copy Halftone 2. Change the Mode of the Halftone 2 layer to Multiply and reduce the Opacity to 50%. Merge the two halftone layers by selecting Halftone 2 then clicking Merge Down in the Layer menu.

The next step is to apply the dotted halftone effect to the black-and-white layer. Go Filters - Distorts - Newsprint . In the Resolution section, set the Cell size to about 8 and in the Screen section choose Separate to: CMYK.

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Set the layer Mode of the Halftone layer to Dodge and reduce the Opacity to about 25%. And here is the nal image. A very cool halftone dot (newsprint) effect in just a few minutes.

You can experiment with different layer modes and opacity levels to get just the effect you want.

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