GIMP/Removal of Unwanted Elements in the Image

H7 Often there is a need to remove unwanted elements in an image, such as the background. There are multiple methods.

Method 1: Magic Wand
An easy method is to use the Magic Wand selection l.
 * 1) Firstly, right click on the layer you are working on and add an alpha channel if there is not already one. (Select Layer, Transparency, Add Alpha Channel.)
 * 2) Now switch to the Magic Wand tool. Make sure the mode is set to Add to the current selection. (Mode is on Toolbox palette, just below "Fuzzy select".)
 * 3) Select all the parts that you want to erase by simply clicking in the area.
 * 4) Press Delete.

Method 2: Colour to Alpha
An alternative method is Colour to Alpha. This method works better with logos with fewer than 5 colours.
 * 1) Firstly, right click on the layer you are working on and add an alpha channel if required.
 * 2) Select   Colours > Colour to Alpha.
 * 3) Set the colour after the "From:" label to the colour that you would like to remove.
 * 4) Click OK.
 * 5) Repeat steps 1-4 for any other colours that you need to remove.

Method 3: Foreground Select
A new method is the Foreground Select tool. This is best when there is only one thing in the foreground which you want to keep.
 * 1) Firstly, select the Foreground Select tool.
 * 2) Mark out a rough area around the foreground.
 * 3) Scribble in the foreground only. Repeat scribbling until the coloured boundary is tightly around the foreground.
 * 4) Press ENTER.
 * 5) Go to   Select > Invert.
 * 6) Press Delete.

Method 4: Use Resynthesizer to remove timestamps
To remove items like timestamps with GIMP, you may use the Resynthesizer plugin. Just install it and try 'Filter' → 'Enhance' → 'Heal Selection'.

Method 5: Divide by a blurred version of the image


This method works best with sharp image content on blurry unwanted backgrounds such as the texture of white paper with some written text.


 * 1) Copy the whole image into a new layer. Now two layers with the same image exists.
 * 2) Select the top layer with the image and switch the mode from "normal" to "divide". The result is a blank white image.
 * 3) Select the top layer. In the menu select Filter -> Blur -> Gausian Blur...
 * 4) Adjust the parameters for optimal effect, then apply the filter.
 * 5) Go to layer -> merge down to combine the layers back to one single layer