Tutorial: how to blur backgrounds at 1:38 PM

This tutorial will show you how to blur backgrounds seamlessly for a great effect. So, to start off, I will be using GIMP, the best freeware photo editing program (actually, it technically has all of the features Photoshop has, but runs faster, and free). Also, I will be using the following pic, if you want to follow along with me or something...



First, click the free selection tool

Now, after opening up your image, draw a selection area over what you want to NOT be blurry.


If you are fairly new to GIMP, you can select more than one area at a time by holding down shift while drawing.

For this picture, I want to really focus on Number Six (woman in red) and focus on other objects at the table. I selected things that define certain characters (such as the knife for Chief Tyrol). I also recommend selecting text, unless you specifically want the text to be blurry.


Now that we have everything we want to be sharp selected, we need to select what we want to be blurred. Go to Select, Invert. This will select everything that you didn't, which is exactly what we need for this project.

Now we are ready to begin. Go to Filters>Blur>Gaussian blur...


In the Gaussian Blur box that pops up, make sure blur method is set to RLE (highlighted in dark red) and check your blur radius (highlighted in red). The blur radius should be fit to whatever size your picture is... for instance, on this rather large pic (a wallpaper practically) I used 5. You can see how blurry things will be by moving around in the preview (highlighted in yellow) box. Now click OK.

Wait until it finishes (should be fairly fast, depending on Computer speed, RAM, size of pic, etc.) Now, go ahead and zoom in on your pic and see if it looks any good! I think mine turned out pretty awesome...

So there you have it! A personal tutorial made by yours truly! If you liked this one, stay tuned for more