How to Do a Snake Around the Pole With GIMP
- 1). Press "Ctrl"+"N" to create a new document in GIMP. Set the "Width" and "Height" fields to values large enough to accommodate your symbol. If you are unsure, use 500 and 700, respectively; you can always shrink the symbol later, if necessary. Click "Advanced Options" and choose "Transparency" from the "Fill With" drop-down menu. Click "OK."
- 2). Press "R" to select the rectangular selection tool. Click and drag from top to bottom in the center of the document to make a long thin selection; this will be the pole. Press "Ctrl"+"," to fill the selection with the foreground color, making the pole solid.
- 3). Press "Ctrl"+"L" to reveal the "Layers" dialog. Its title blinks to show you where it is. Press "Shift"+"Ctrl"+"N" or click the "New layer" button in the "Layers" dialog. In the dialog that appears, click the "Transparency" radio button and click "OK."
- 4). Press "E" to select the elliptical selection tool. Click and drag to create a selection; match its size and curvature to how you imagine one curve of the snake's body appearing on the pole.
- 5). Click the "Edit" menu and choose "Stroke Selection." In the dialog that appears, select the "Stroke line" radio button, specify the width of the snake's body in the "Line width" field, click the "Solid color" radio button and click "Stroke."
- 6). Press "R" to select the rectangular selection tool. Click and drag to make a rectangle that splits the ellipse you drew in half vertically, covering one half. Press "Delete" to remove that half of the ellipse.
- 7). Click to select a short section of the end of the upper part of the half-ellipse and press "Delete" to remove it. This is so you can arrange for the snake's body to appear to wind behind the pole.
- 8). Press "M" to select the move tool. Click the "Move the active layer" radio button in the bottom area of the toolbox. Click and drag the half-ellipse in the document so its lower edge is touching a point near the bottom of the pole. This is the bottom of the snake's body. Nudge the layer using the arrow keys to finely adjust its position.
- 9). Right-click the current layer in the "Layers" dialog and choose "Duplicate Layer."
- 10
Click the "Layer" menu, click the "Transform" sub-menu and choose "Rotate 180." - 11
Click and drag to move the new, rotated half-ellipse so that its longer end is touching the pole. Line it up so the upper end of the previous half-ellipse is directly opposite the lower end of the new one, implying a continuity in the snake's body around the pole. - 12
Repeat Steps 9 through 11 until the snake's body is as long as you want it. - 13
Click to select and remove a portion of the uppermost section of the snake's body. Draw a small ellipse at the end of the line with the elliptical selection tool. Press "Ctrl"+"," to fill it with the foreground color to make the snake's head. Select and remove a portion from the bottommost part of the snake's body to imply the tail. - 14
Repeat the process with differently sized ellipses to get the snake looking the way you want. Right-click a layer in the "Layers" dialog and choose "Merge Visible Layers" when you are satisfied. Click the "Clipped to image" radio button and click "Merge." Your rod of Asclepius can now be saved and integrated into other designs as needed.
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